Our Broken Pieces - M.E. Clayton Page 0,28

someone off the one once they got me on the line.

“What’s up?”

“Where are you?” Before I utter a word, he answered for me. “Oh, never mind. I’m sure you’re at work as always.”

“Empires don’t build themselves, asshole,” I scoffed my retort. “As you should know.”

“They also don’t crumble if you take just one fucking night off, assface,” he tossed back. Little did he know that they could. At least, for me, they could.

“What do you want?”

“Molly’s having a party and I’m supposed to invite you,” he answered.

“A party for what?” Molly was Lorcan’s younger sister and the girl felt that every steppingstone in life deserved a party and I wasn’t a party person. I attended galas and social functions because I had to as CEO of SFH, but that didn’t mean I liked to.

“She got a new job and-”

I couldn’t stop the weighted sigh that rushed out. “Jesus, Lorcan,” I groaned, “a new job?”

Luckily, he also thought Molly’s penchant for throwing random parties was ridiculous, too. “I know, Gage,” he mumbled just as frustrated. “It’s completely stupid, but it’s not like I can stop her.”

I met Lorcan in college, our sophomore year, when he had walked in on me screwing his steady pussy from behind. At the time, I hadn’t known she was his steady pussy, and I hadn’t been keen on fighting with my dick out. But instead of losing his shit, Lorcan had unzipped his pants and had rammed his cock into her mouth. We had used her like the cheating slut she was, and after that, we had ditched her, but had become friends. It was the only time we had ever shared a female, and our life-long pact to call dibs had been made the next morning, and we’ve stuck to it so far.

Lorcan’s been my only real friend since then. I stopped talking to Chance the day he stood with Margot in keeping me from Mystic all those years ago.

“Well, you can quit inviting me,” I suggested, getting back to the subject at hand.

“Fuck that,” he scoffed. “If I have to go to these horrible parties, so do you.”

“You don’t have to go,” I reminded him. “If it’s her birthday or she pops out a kid, fine. But a new job? A hard pass, my friend.”

“Come on,” he pled. “How about if I make her promise not to try to set you up?”

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. Molly’s goal in life-besides living in a puddle of confetti-was to see me and her brother married off to one of her insipid, annoying friends. “Still a hard pass, my friend,” I repeated. “Besides, I’m busy this weekend. I gotta work.”

“I haven’t even mentioned which weekend,” he deadpanned.

“Doesn’t matter,” I threw back. “I’m busy every weekend. For the next few years, as a matter of fact. Actually, probably for the rest of my life.”

“You’re a dick,” he announced as if I already hadn’t known this about myself.

“Maybe,” I conceded. “But I’m a dick who doesn’t have to go to his little sister’s party and make nice with her annoying friends, so I’m thinking I’m okay with that.”

“Dude, you don’t have to marry any of them,” he argued. “Just get laid and move on.”

“No pussy in that group of friends your sister has is worth the stage-five clinging they’d do after I fucked them.” Ever since hitting my first million, I was careful about the women I fucked.

Very careful.

“Someone thinks highly of his bedroom skills,” he laughed.

“Nah,” I chuckled. “It’s my wallet that’s the attraction. I’m not confused about that, Lor.” Even though I wasn’t a bad-looking guy, my wallet attracted more women than my looks or personality actually did. I wasn’t saying all women were gold-diggers, but most of the women who ran in my social circles were.

“Fine,” Lorcan relented. “I’ll let Molly know you’re going to be a no-show.”

“You still don’t have to go, you know,” I repeated.

“I’m not as picky about my pussy as you are,” he snorted.

I shook my head. “Good luck with that,” I replied before we said our goodbyes.

It wasn’t that I was picky about pussy so much as I was about avoiding a scandal and internet headlines. These days, with technology, it was too easy to find yourself plastered all over the internet, never to recover again. I sure as fuck was not trying to end up like all those other poor bastards whose lives have been ruined because they couldn’t control their addictions, sick or not.