A Simple Wish About love - Karice Bolton Page 0,24

knew good music was all the way back in Silver Ridge.

He was about to travel to the office where his brother should be greeting him, but instead, a desk sat empty, all the photographs and knickknacks left where Lucas had last put them.

Slade let out a heavy sigh and made his way through the airport terminal and to his car.

Well, it wasn’t his car. It was his brother’s 1987 IROC-Z Camaro. The moment they’d gotten their first big client, his brother went on a massive search for the perfect car. He spent more money on it than he’d earned his first year out of college by at least three times. The car was Lucas’s pride and joy.

When he climbed inside, he drew a deep breath and rested his head back.

“What should I do, Lucas?” He let out another sigh. “When will I stop hating the world?”

He turned on the car and yelled at no one.

No one but himself.

He screamed until his voice was hoarse, and he peeled out of the parking garage.

Life wasn’t fair.

It should have been Slade in that car that took away his brother.

Slade was the one who was supposed to pick up the artwork, but he’d gotten too drunk the night before, and his brother saved him by stopping by the graphic designer’s in the morning.

Again.

Like he always did.

“And now I’m trapped in this world that I never wanted to be in since I left the service.” He slammed the steering wheel and sped down the highway as if his life depended on it.

And maybe it did.

He needed work. He needed people. But he never cared about this business. It was all Lucas’s idea, and he excelled. Slade just felt like a fish out of water. He’d rather be outdoors hiking or biking the trails or talking to real live people rather than ones who made up who they wanted to be behind a screen.

But it didn’t matter.

There was too much junk in his head to focus. He didn’t want to keep this loop going, but it just kept repeating.

As he whizzed by cars and through traffic, Slade knew he was a lost soul. And he didn’t know how to fix it.

And God, he wanted to fix it. Fix himself.

There was so much he could have told Erika, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. She wouldn’t look at him the same. She probably wouldn’t ever look at him again.

Slade flipped on the stereo. It was the one thing his brother stretched out of the era for, and he’d put in a massive system. He smiled, thinking back to how excited his brother was when he’d picked up his car from the stereo guys. It was like Christmas morning on steroids for him.

“Man, I miss you.” Slade swallowed the lump down as he pulled into the parking lot of their building.

He parked and looked into the windows where staff bustled and busily fixed everyone’s social media messes.

Slade turned off the car and let out a lighter sigh as his mind drifted to Erika’s warning about using the word fixer to potential dates.

The problem was he wanted her to be his potential date.

He climbed out of his brother’s Camaro and walked into the building where the young receptionist greeted him and handed him a stack of checks to sign.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Tenison.”

Slade smiled and laughed. “I’ve told you a million times, Slade is just fine.”

“I know, but my parents always told me to respect my elders.” She winked at Slade, and he just shook his head, smiling as he walked into the sea of cubicles.

“Nice trip to meet your high school sweetheart?” Charlotte asked.

She’d been his administrative assistant since his brother and he started the firm. Slade had tried to promote her a million times, but she never would accept.

“It didn’t go quite as planned,” he confessed, leaning on her desk. “She didn’t show.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

“Wish I were, but I did meet a great bunch of people.” He grinned.

“And were any of them female?”

“Oh, Charlotte.” He laughed. “You’re worse than my mom.”

“That’s because I talk to her all the time. She’s worried about you, by the way.”

Slade straightened up and nodded. “I should call them.”

“Yes, you should, but I’ve been telling you that for weeks.” She glanced at her monitor. “We got a huge deal this morning.”

“Who’s the client?” Slade asked. “I didn’t even bother looking at my email. I came right here when I stepped off the plane.”

“You know that singer who’s topping all the charts since