Page 89 of A Temporary Forever

He opens his mouth, but I stop him again. “Chill, it’s not the reason I left. I wasn’t planning to launch into something new, but fuck, Finn, their concept just speaks to me.”

I give him a top-line overview of the Merged mission and vision, and he listens intently, interrupting with a question here and there.

“Okay, I see how the company is a good fit for you. But the partners?”

“That’s where it’s all screwed up.”

After I left Celeste in her new dance studio and called Xander, it was too late to pump the brakes on Cormac fucking Quinn’s plans to lock in my involvement. The asshole announced the new company and its partners with a press release.

“Not surprising with Quinn involved. What happened?” Finn asks.

“I wanted to secure my position, and we’ve been negotiating my share.”

“That’s smart.” Finn picks up his glass of water.

“We haven’t agreed on anything yet.”

Finn stops with his hand halfway to his mouth. “The announcement named you as a partner.”

“Yep. I guess the answer to your question—if he tried to blackmail me—is yes.”

“That motherfucking piece of shit. But what does he gain? You can simply announce he made it up and he’ll look like an idiot.”

I play with my lunch like that will help me time travel, or kill Quinn without consequences.

“Cal? What did he have to say for himself?”

“I haven’t spoken to him yet.”

“What?”

“Mostly because I’m too pretty to go to prison for manslaughter.”

He crooks his eyebrow, unimpressed.

I blow out the air from my cheeks. “I wanted your advice.”

“Talk to your lawyer. You can potentially slap him with a slander suit.”

And this is the part where I struggle. “You’re right, but at the end of the day, I would be the one losing. The opportunity was something that I wanted to do because it just made me tick. Not because Daddy dearest groomed me for it all my life. Not because it was expected from me. But it was something I could see myself enjoying.”

“Cal, it was your first opportunity to pop up after you left. There will be a gazillion more. There always are. If you like the concept, consider your negotiation with the fucker market research and invest in a similar project. One that will be your own. Beat him at his own game.”

“I don’t have enough available capital to pull that off. Besides, I don’t want to be a CEO. Too many fucking responsibilities in that job that I hate.”

Finn checks his watch. “Shit, I have a meeting now, but think about it and let’s talk again. And I’d be happyto invest in a company that would go into direct competition to Corm fucking Quinn.”

“Good to know.”

He stands up, but pauses. “How’s married life?”

God, I want to wipe that smirk off his face. “Fuck off, Finn.”

He laughs. “Just play it nice. If you hurt Celeste, Paris will cut your dick off. She’s very attached to her former dance teacher, and frankly, I’m attached to the moves she learned from her.”

“TMI, I don’t want to know about your wife’s moves. And rest assured, I can’t hurt Celeste. It’s a fake fucking marriage.”

But as I watch him leave, I wonder if that’s still true.

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