Page 166 of F*ckboys

I hug him, blinking back tears. "Thank you, Dad," I whisper.

After so many years, I finally have my father's blessing. Now nothing can hold me back from forging my own path to success—on my own terms.

I leave the study with a lighter heart than I've had in years. The future is filled with promise and possibility, a blank canvas I'm free to paint as I choose.

Link catches up to me in the hallway, a hesitant smile on his face. "I'm glad you and Dad worked things out," he says. "You deserve to be happy."

"We all do," I reply. Perhaps it's time to bury the hatchet with my brother as well. We have too much history, too many shared memories, to stay estranged forever.

Link shifts his weight, visibly nervous. "Fallon, there's something I have to tell you," he blurts out. "About the family business. I've discovered some...irregularities. Things beyond what dad shared. Things that don't add up."

My senses heighten at his words. "Go on."

"Not here," Link says, casting a furtive glance around. "Meet me at the old treehouse at midnight. I'll explain everything."

With that, he strides off.

"Seriously? The tree house? At midnight?" I call after him. It sounds like a bad murder mystery plot. Surely there can't be more scandal within our family. What other scandals could the Dempsey empire possibly hold?

"Just kidding!" he calls back. I roll my eyes. The cheeky little shit. Some things never change.

Chapter 93

Fallon

Mia slides into the booth across from me, smoothing her skirt under her thighs. Her hair is shorter, choppier—it suits the new steel in her eyes.

"You look good," I say.

"So do you." Her gaze rakes over me, scrutinizing every last detail. "Success agrees with you."

I arch a brow. "What makes you think I'm successful?"

"You wouldn't have suggested this meeting otherwise."

She's right. My empowerment startup just got acquired for an obscene amount of money. But I'm not here to brag. This meeting is about friendship and doing the right thing.

"How's the MBA?" I ask, though I already know. I've kept tabs on Mia, like I said I would. She's averaging straight Asand already has several companies courting her for summer internships and full-time jobs upon graduation.

"Almost done." She stirs her latte, shoulders tense. "Fallon, I know we're not here to discuss my course catalog. Why are we here?" She quirks a brow.

"I wanted to see you." It's the truth, as much as the other reasons, spiking my heart rate. "We didn't end things right. I know we made up, but... things definitely haven't gone back to anything like they were before. And I miss you. Of course I miss you at work, but more than that, I miss my friend."

She slashes a hand through the air. "I don't want to rehash the past. We've both moved on. And I don't want to sound crude or ungrateful, but I don't miss working with you at all. And I have really been focused on finding some, let's say… more reliable friends. It turns out they do exist and I don't need to settle."

Her words are like a slap in the face. I know I wasn't the best friend possible right before she quit, but I certainly wasn't the worst. "Then why are you here? Why did you agree to come?" I demand.

Silence. She worries her lip between her teeth.

Finally she meets my gaze, clearly hesitant to share whatever she's about to. "To tell you I'm getting married... to a woman. She's my everything."

My eyes widen. "Well, congratulations!" I narrow my brow. "Wait, what happened to Liam, the Montgomery guy? I thought you two were pretty hot and heavy."

"Oh, you know," she shrugs. "He turned out to be a snake, just like everyone else who works for that company. I should never have trusted anyone who would work for a place who goes up against the Dempseys." She gives a wry grin. "But you live, you learn. I brushed myself off and got right back on the dating bandwagon, and that's when I found the one for me."

"So who is this girl? Do I know her?"

"I wouldn't think so. Her name is Kirsty. We met at a place where I've been temping, and we've been inseparable ever since. You'd like her. She's funny, smart, beautiful. Reminds me a lot of you, in fact." Mia beams as she describes her fiancée. It's quick, but I'm not one to talk, and sometimes when you know, you know.

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