Page 44 of The Price of a Promise

And for how angry I still was, how hurt and heartbroken?I couldn’t say that I’d turn her down if she showed up at my door tomorrow.As Cora had once said:it doesn’t get easier, you just get used to it.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to this.

It was so fucking wrong.The whole situation reeked of shit.I’d never been so confused before, not even after entering the foster system and grappling for roots alongside Damian, mourning the loss of our younger sisters.

What happened with Cora was a new depth of loss, something I’d never felt before and never wanted to fucking feel again.

“I don’t know what you guys want me to say,” I went on, dragging my hands down my face.“I’ve wanted to quit for two semesters.And now, financially, one of us has to drop out.We won’t get our dividends until the quarter after graduation, so I’m willing to do it.And in the meantime, I’ve been working from sunup to sundown to get our shit moving in the right direction.I promise you that.MBA or not, these motherfuckers won’t know what hit them.And honestly?I want to show them what a Kentucky boy can dowithoutan MBA.”

A smile tugged at Trace’s lips.“You know, the scary part is that even when you have outlandish, completely ridiculous ideas, I still believe you.”

“Then I’m doing my job.”

Damian took off his glasses and spent a moment cleaning them with the hem of his shirt.When he put them back on, he leaned so close I could see the yellow flecks in his green eyes.

“You really want to do it this way?”

“Yes.”

Damian’s jaw flexed.“Fine.But you do not have my permission to fuck this up.There is too much riding on this.We’re not just trying to pay for school and get out of debt.This is for Jordan and Kaylee.”

Conjuring our younger sisters’ names was a sobering move.I averted my eyes, studying the constellation of city lights visible outside our fifth floor window.Silence throbbed between us, the energy wavering between tense and somber.

“You don’t think I know that?”I finally forced out.

“Of course I think you know that,” Damian said, softer this time.“But I’m saying we need to give this business our all.Ithasto work.And as far as I can see, we’ve got one shot.”

“Whatever we do to establish ourselves,” Trace said, “is going to become a part of our reputation.We need to tread carefully.But we need to act decisively.”

“I’ve got decisiveness.And I’ve got my rubber boots, so I can tread carefully though whatever shit people decide they want to sling our way.Hell, between those two things and three-quarters of a degree from Columbia Business School, I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be to head the firm as CEO.A piece of paper from the university isn’t gonna change much.The three of us can change the world.”

Damian nodded, finally backing down.He walked slowly around the living room, arms crossed tightly.

“Wewillchange the world,” he promised.

”As long as we’re clear headed.Focused.And we can stay out of the spotlight,” Trace added.

“All publicity is good publicity,” I said.“We’re bound to make it to the tabloids once we’re rich enough.It’s just a matter of time.”

“Fine.Limited spotlight then,” Trace conceded.“At least minimize the spotlight for non-business endeavors.”

“That’s a good distinction,” Damian pointed out.“Because the algorithm I cooked up is going to turn some heads.We’re not going to be able to fly under the radar, so our noses need to be clean.”When Damian talked that way about what he cooked up while coding, I believed him.The man was a genius.He could hack into any computer and had even gotten into Pentagon files once for fun in undergrad.The algorithm he’d created would become the basis of our wealth management approach.

In other words, it was what would make us becomele crème de la crèmeof finance.

“I’m fine with that.”I squeezed my knees, every inch of me crawling with desire to get this show on the road.Every step closer to success equaled more distance between me and the memory of Cora.My goal was to eradicate her completely from my waking thoughts.At this rate, it might take a decade to get there.“I’ll keep my one-night stands to a dull roar.And we don’t even have to worry about you two in that department.”I smirked.

“Oh, no?”Trace lifted a brow.“You act like our dicks have fallen off.”

“Because they have.”I reached out to punch Trace in the crotch, but he caught my fist.We had a brief battle of strength before I ceded.

“We get what we need,” Damian said.

“Which is what, a pocket pussy?”I teased.

Damian’s lips thinned.“Just because I don’t flaunt my cock like you do these days doesn’t mean I don’t have any fun.”

“Dude, if I don’t flaunt my cock, I’ll go crazy,” I told him earnestly.Sadness gripped me again, a painful chokehold.“I need my coping mechanism.”

---