We’d spend most of the day trying to catch whatever we could with cut-up hot dogs as bait, because that was what we’d used as kids. It was a perfect day for being on the water. There were enough clouds for the shade to let us cool off from time to time and not so much wind that our crummy little boat was getting blown all over the lake.
Cade, as usual, was wearing some monstrosity of an outfit, complete with suspenders, pins commemorating his make-believe achievements in fishing, and a floppy hat. He tugged impatiently, shaking his rod around.
“Are you sure there are even fish in here anymore?” Cade asked.
Rich was dressed like a normal human being would dress to go fishing. He tugged his hat a little lower and sighed. “Maybe if you didn’t make it look like your bait was having a seizure, the fish would bite.”
“I don’t see them biting yours,” Cade said.
Rich mumbled something under his breath and stared back out at his line.
In fact, none of us had caught anything all day, but that didn’t bother me.
“Hey,” I said after a while. “How did you guys know with Kira and Iris?”
“Know what?” Cade said. “That we wanted to smash?”
I shook my head in disbelief. “That you loved them.”
“It felt way more intense than anything before it,” Rich said. “The kind of thing that doesn’t even give you a choice, you know? Like it has a gravity all of its own that sucks you both in.”
“For me,” Cade said, “it was the first time I saw her ass in that uniform.” He licked his finger and mimicked touching something sizzling hot.
“Seriously?” I asked.
For once, Cade’s smirk faded, and he looked a little more serious. “I mean, there was the other part too.” He looked down at the splintery wooden bench he sat on and picked at a loose chip of paint. “Normally, I was already looking for the next woman as soon as I’d get with somebody. It was this restless, never-ending kind of thing. Honestly, it was exhausting. Then once things got serious with Iris, that part of me just shut down. The idea of looking for someone else seemed pointless, because I was good with where I was.”
Rich nodded. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Cade said it pretty well. It goes from feeling like you’re looking for something to feeling like you want to protect what you’ve found at all costs.”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s pretty much how it feels.”
Rich raised his eyebrow. “You think you love her?”
“I do. I said as much the other day, at least.”
Cade punched me on the arm and grinned like an idiot. “Look at our little brother, growing up so fast.”
“Shut up,” I said, but I was smiling. “You know, ever since you talked to her about snails, Miranda won’t stop bringing them up. You poisoned her mind.”
Cade perked up. “Really?”
“Yeah, she even brought it up after we talked about the whole love thing. She said something like she can understand why snails spend their whole lives searching for love if this was how it felt.”
Cade mimicked wiping a tear from his eye. “I’m so proud of how far she has come. I’ve always thought snails were such a perfect metaphor for life. And now I know I’m not the only one who believes it.”
“What if they are just like simple little machines?” Rich asked. “If condition X is met, then behavior Y will be applied. That sort of thing. Who says it has to be about snail love?”
Cade looked at Rich like he had just said something unbelievably stupid. “If you think snails are robots, you’re even dumber than I thought.”
Rich sighed and went back to focusing on his fishing line. “That Max Frost story really did cause a few problems,” he said in an almost bored voice. “The Southpoint deal fell through, and I think it’s due to reputation concerns.”
“Fuck ’em,” Cade said. “That place was going to lose us money anyway.”
“Did you even read the report on it?” I asked him.
“No, but my intuition is almost always right. Most of the time,” he said.
“I really am sorry I brought all this shit down on us,” I said.
Rich waved me off. “We’ll survive it. People are going to pay the most attention to it now, while the story is still fresh in their minds. Give it a few months, and I doubt anyone will really care. Besides, I’ve heard a lot of people actually like the story. They think the idea that all of us moved out here to chase after our high school sweethearts is romantic.”
“Yeah,” Cade said. “Especially if you and Miranda manage to turn Bark Bites around. It looks a whole lot better if the company you bought to score some pussy ends up profiting and creating new jobs, after all.”
“Oh,” I said. “While we’re on the subject. I needed to ask you two about something before I pull the trigger.”
Chapter 29
MIRANDA
I stared at the stack of papers Nick had shown me and gave him a questioning look. We were in a hotel in LA again, but this time for an entirely different reason.
“You don’t think this crosses a line? Or maybe it’s just a little too petty?” I asked.
Nick frowned. “Of course it crosses a line. It’s also extremely petty. But he deserves it. And once you told me how worried you were about him still coming after us, I knew I needed to think of something to put your mind at ease. This will protect us. It’s perfect, as long as you can swallow the slightly questionable morality, that is.”
I pushed the stack of papers back and closed the pen Nick had given me. He’d spent the past few minutes explaining the complicated business workings that allowed him to perform a hostile takeover of Robbie’s new employer. He figured we could let Robbie know by firing him, and he wanted me to technically own the company so I could deliver the bad news.
“As much as I want to,” I said. “I don’t think this is the right move. What if we just show him that we’re capable of this? Couldn’t we make a threat and let that hang over his head so he’d be too scared to ever screw with us again?”
Nick grinned. “I thought you might mention that. And, yes, that would make more logical sense. I mean, if we nuke his career, all we’re really doing is giving him a ton of free time to think of something really stupid to piss us off. But if we blackmail him, he might just leave us alone forever. I’ll be honest, though. I really wanted to watch you fire his ass.”
“It is tempting.”
“You’re right, though. Let’s do it your way. Do you want me to come with you, or do you want to go by yourself?”
“As much as I’d appreciate the backup, I think I want this to be something I do on my own.”
Robbie’s secretary let me into his office a few hours later. He was waiting behind his desk with a smug look. He was still handsome, but the way he’d acted since our breakup made me see his good looks in a new light. He reminded me of the corrupt politicians you’d see in movies—sneering and gnashing their teeth in one scene only to smile for the cameras in the next.
“Miranda.” He stood, smiling and spreading his arms to hug me.