Page 82 of Stacked
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
ROBERT
Stepping out of my Lamborghini, I tossed the valet key to the attendant and straightened the cuffs on my navy linen blazer. Tonight was another party on Hudson’s yacht, this time teaming with investors from Singapore and South Korea. A short distance down the dock, the evening was already in full swing, the crowd spilling from the main cabin onto the decks, champagne glasses in hand, laughter, and conversation. Models of every hair color and body type mingled in tight dresses with guys who looked like Hudson clones, a tableau broken up here and there by men who were clearly not American and more than a little overdressed for a Miami summer night.
After boarding the boat, I took the nearest wine glass from a passing tray and threaded through the guests. I’d hardly said hello to anyone before Hudson waved me over from his place next to a group of men that I knew were some of his most important investors.
“There you are,” he said with a large grin. “The man of the hour.”
“I’m hardly that,” I replied before greeting the other guests. Still, I chaffed at it a bit—the way he seemed almost gleeful by my presence. In fact, he’d been doing that a lot.
“Nonsense,” Hudson said, clearly oblivious to the flatness in my voice as he clapped my shoulder. “You’re my secret weapon.”
“What do you mean by, um, this secret weapon?” asked one of the balding men to my right. I didn’t recognize him from the business meeting we had that morning at the Four Seasons, so I guessed he was one of the last group of arrivals for the weekend.
“You haven’t heard? Robert’s famous.” Hudson’s voice was loud, and he smelled like a mix of cigars and bourbon. “He’s a big TikTok star.”
I shrugged away from him. “There’s no such thing as a TikTok star.”
“Sure, there is.” Hudson waved at the rest of the small group. “They invented it. And now, they’re hanging out with you, the secret advantage we have toward making our firm a success.”
I narrowed my eyes at the last part of his sentence. It confirmed a suspicion I had, something that I’d pushed to the back of my thoughts ever since our first meeting on this very yacht. That day, things had almost felt too good to be true, as if something else was afoot that I couldn’t place. Hudson hadn’t spoken to me in years and didn’t keep in touch on social media or email after college. We’d been friends, sure, but that was in the past.
The distant past. And yet, I’d decided to throw my new life away and move to Miami. Start again somewhere else, as if my life in Ohio had meant nothing. I’d liked who I was becoming there. Liked the small-town vibe...and the people there.Someone in particular.
God, how could I have been such an idiot? Was I really that swayed by money? This is not who I want to be.
I sized Hudson up one more time before I gestured to an open area on the far side of the deck, opposite the DJ and most party guests. “Let’s talk over there,” I said in my most serious tone. “I have something you’re going to want to hear.”
“About what?”
“Business. And money.”
I’d said the magic word. Hudson followed me across the deck without any more protests. When we were alone, I cut right to the chase.
“I’ve been wondering why you hired me,” I said. “After all these years, why did you reach out to me?”
“Come on—you know why.”
I shook my head.
“You’re a finance genius. Everyone knew you were going places.”
“I wasn’tthatgood at the hedge fund.” I laughed and braced my hand on the boat railing. “Anyone could do what I did. Plenty do the same every day.”
“But—”
“Did you hire me because of the TikTok video? Because you thought that would give you some kind of edge?”
Hudson shrugged.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “How could I be so fucking stupid? I should have seen this coming.”
“Should have seenwhatcoming?”
I pushed off the railing and ran a hand through my hair. The city was in front of me, the party behind me, and yet I was somewhere else entirely.
“I’m not okay with this,” I said. “I fucking quit.”
