Page 13 of Be Your Anything
He lights me up inside.
I giggle at his flirtation then pick up my mimosa, my eyes snagging on Paige’s.
She’s watching us, and her expression spoils something in my stomach.
She doesn’t approve of this thing going on between me and Lucas, insisting I’m playing with fire and I’m going to get burned in the end.
We’ve had this conversation over and over again, and it never changes.
Paige reminds me that Lucas and his girlfriend Remmy might have an open relationship but that I’m fooling myself if I think he will ever decide to break it off with her completely.
“They’ve been dating since our sophomore year of high school,” Paige always tells me. “Relationships don’t last eight years for no reason.”
But what I always tell her, what makes her so angry she usually storms out of the room, is the same thing.
I already know I’m playing with fire. I’ve already accepted that I’m going to get burned. Because if the end result means I get as much of Lucas Pearson as possible, I’ll happily go up in flames.
CHAPTER3
LUCAS
Out of all the friends I have, never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined myself partnering with Otto Sinclair on a business venture.
Picture the guy from high school who was always the most stoned, the most disinterested, who barely graduated and dropped out of college.
That’s Otto.
But of course, outside of all that, he’s a fucking genius.
Sure, he says stupid shit sometimes, and he’s far too concerned about his dad’s opinion on things for my comfort level, but he really is an absolute fucking genius.
Which is why I was willing to go into business with him a few years ago when he pitched his idea to me: a company that focuses on providing cultivated experiences for elite consumers in the South Bay.
Tastings of the world’s finest—and most expensive—whiskey in a private room at the aquarium. Overnight expeditions on private, hundred-million-dollar yachts to Catalina and the Channel Islands. Intimate concerts with chart-topping musicians. Luxury glamping in the local mountains with views of the city at night.
Elite X focuses on providing experiences that are unmatched in exclusivity, attention to detail, and luxury. Right now, everything remains local to where we are in the South Bay, but Otto really is a visionary. He’s hoping to expand into international travel experiences as well.
Want a wine tour at Italy’s most popular locations at night without all the crowds? Private access to properties featured in some of England’s most famous movies? Maybe a river cruise through France on a luxury yacht owned by a reclusive billionaire?
Wyatt, our third partner at Elite X, is leading the international expansion and will be heading up the travel experiences. He’s the only one out of the three of us with an actual business degree, and he’s supposed to be moving to London at some point to expand the brand, develop partnerships, and create new destination experiences.
Though with his recent connection with Hannah, I don’t know how that will play out, exactly.
My own responsibilities have been primarily focused on continuously building relationships we can use. Because I’m a semi-famous person—something I say with a fair amount of disdain—I have a slightly easier time navigating the world ofimportantpeople, as Otto likes to call them.
Celebrities, essentially.
Once it comes time for an event, I’m the host, the life of the party who keeps things alive and moving. Social navigation is one of my great skills and definitely something valuable in the world I live in.
Otto is the major brains behind the original business concept, and he handles all the shit I have no interest in: contracts, billing, all the actual business stuff that would make me want to jump off a cliff. He hired a business manager to deal with the logistical shit he doesn’t understand and has an assistant who alternates between handling his dick and handling his to-do list.
Other than that, he’s a guy who really does bust his ass.
Shocking, considering how lazy he was when we were younger. I guess it goes to show that even someone as disinterested as Otto can achieve something spectacular with the right level of passion.
The problem with our structure, though, is that Otto gets referred to asthe genius behind it allfar too often for his own good. As a result, sometimes he makes stupid choices without consulting Wyatt or myself.
Which is where we find ourselves on Monday afternoon, our relaxed brunch hours behind us.
