Page 130 of Square Deal

“What’s on your mind?” I asked when we were out of earshot of his sister. Hannah hadn’t told me a lot about their situation, but I imagined that having your older sister also fill the role of mom and dad had to suck ass.

“You’re him, right?” Logan asked, tossing his floppy hair out of his eyes. “I heard Kristin talking about you after you started dating Miss Hannah Jane. I Googled you.”

I chuckled as we walked down the beach. “I’m Isaac Lawson, yes.”

“And you’re like… Really rich. Right?” He looked embarrassed and mumbled, “Sorry. Kris said I shouldn’t ask that.”

I shrugged. “Numbers aren’t subjective. They are what they are.” My bank account had a lot of numbers—I wasn’t ashamed of that, but I had a feeling Kristin’s situation was very different from mine.

“How do you get rich?” he asked.

I grinned. “I, uh, I’m probably not the best person to answer that,” I said honestly. “I was born into it. I work hard, but I had a running start. Most people don’t. Luca, though—he’s self-made.” And I was damn proud of my boy.

“Oh,” he mumbled. “How do you stay rich?”

Now that was a question I could answer. “You stay hungry,” I said. “Don’t let yourself get comfortable. People squander their wealth every day and end up right back where they started. If you win the lottery, don’t quit your day job. Keep pushing hard.”

For as long as I could remember, I had been running on an endless cycle of work hard, play hard. I pulled eighteen-hour days and then partied like a rock star.

Boot and rally, then do it all again.

When had I stopped chasing the next comma in my net worth? The realization hit me like a tidal wave and knocked me on my ass.

I was chasing her.

“You got a job?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Kristin needs the car to go to the inn. We don’t live close enough for me to walk anywhere to work.”

I filed that tidbit of information away to discuss with Hannah.

“If you had a car, where would you try to find a job?”

We turned to head back. Logan stuffed his hands in the pockets of his swim trunks. “I dunno. I don’t really wanna be flippin’ burgers and fryin’ chicken.”

“That’s fair. But you know what those jobs have? College tuition assistance programs. A ladder from entry-level positions into management. It’s sure as hell not glamorous, but it’s just the first step. You’re not just making burgers and French fries. You’re learning how to be on time. Reliable. You’ll learn how to be a team player. I would rather hire someone who has soft skills and is teachable than someone with a perfect resume.”

That seemed to put a spring in his step. I’d have to talk to Hannah to see what we could do about Kristin’s transportation situation. If I had to guess, Kris wasn’t going to accept any generosity willingly.

I stopped him before we got close to the rest of the poker club. “Tell you what. You got a phone?”

He handed me a flip phone that was decades out of date. I punched in my cell phone number and gave it back.

“I’m trusting you with my personal number. If you start applying for jobs and need a reference, you can put down my information.”

His eyebrows nearly shot off his forehead. “Really?”

I nodded. The kid had a good heart. It was clear as fucking day. I had enough connections to find him a job in minutes. But something told me that, like his sister, he didn’t take kindly to handouts.

Hannah strutted along the beach and caught up with me asLogan said thank you and ran to join his siblings in the cornhole tournament.

“Hey, you.” She smiled. “What was that about?”

I grabbed her ass and lifted her, so she had to wrap her arms and legs around me like a koala.

“Ah, you know—just doing my civic duty. Corrupting the next generation with tales of partying in Barbados and getting drunk on private planes,” I joked. “Drugs, strippers, and booze, Princess.”

She saw right through me. Hannah sandwiched my cheeks with sandy hands and kissed me. The mesh lining of my swim trunks did nothing to restrain the erection fighting its way out of the polyester. I had Hannah Jane’s ass in my hands and her mouth on mine.

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