Page 11 of Sealing the Deal

“We knew it was a possibility,” I reply.

“Yeah, but⁠—”

I cut his apology off. “I wanted to be part of something that matters, and now I am. No one ever said it was going to be easy. We’ll figure something out.”

When I glance over, Donny’s wearing that same crooked smile he used to shoot me during midterms at NYU, right before he talked me into doing something profoundly stupid. Usually involving tequila and getting laid. Or sneaking into a black-tie alumni gala so we could eat free dessert.

“You know your best ideas come when⁠—”

“Don’t say it,” I groan.

“When you’re distracted,” Donny continues anyway. “That’s what you need right now, man. Distraction.” It’s the word that went right alongside that smile. “You can’t stay single forever. Your dick’s gonna fall off.”

I bark a laugh. “Seriously? That’s your concern here? My dick?”

“Can’t I be concerned that my best friend has become a boring, celibate businessman who doesn’t remember what fun is, and worry about my family’s legacy crumbling to the ground under my watch?”

I’m quiet for a moment. Sobered by the mention of how much this team means to the Huberts, and Donny especially. “I’ll figure something out,” I say quietly. “I’ll find a way to fix this. I promise.”

Donny’s expression softens. Not with pity—he knows better—but with trust. The kind that hits like pressure that some days feels like fuel, and other days like I can’t breathe.

“I know you will.” He waggles his eyebrows. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t⁠—”

“Stop talking.”

Donny ignores me. “You ever gonna tell me what happened in Paris?”

My stomach twists. “Nothing happened in Paris.”

“Right,” he says, voice dripping with sarcasm. “You just woke up one day and decided to stop making your billions, changed up your entire life, moved back to New York, and swore off women and sex forever.”

“Yep.”

“It’s been five years, man.”

I shrug. What can I say? Donny is right. Five years ago, I drew a line and stepped back from women and any kind of relationship. I’ve had my share of opportunities, but I’ve always walked away. There’s no such thing as no strings, no matter how carefully people pretend otherwise. After what happened with Ana in Paris, I can’t allow anyone else to get tangled in my life.

I know Donny would understand if I told him, but I still hate myself too much to give that part of my past a voice. Single. Bachelor. Celibate. Call it whatever you want. It’s a boundary I won’t cross again.

“I’ll grab us some coffee,” he says when it’s clear I’m not going to open up. He claps a hand on my shoulder again as he stands, telling me without words that he’ll be there to listen if I change my mind. I won’t.

At the door, he pauses. “I know you, Gray. I know you’re going to move heaven and earth to find a solution. But trust me, Flic can’t be bought, and trying is only going to make things worse.”

“I’m already the most hated man in Denver. Not sure how things can get worse than that.”

“I still love you, man.”

“And they just got worse,” I quip.

Donny laughs as he strides away. When the door is closed, and I’m alone with my thoughts, I look out over Denver, chest tight and a headache that feels like it has its own heartbeat. I’m no longer thinking about my past, but my future. I won’t let Donny down, and I sure as hell won’t let my father’s shadow ruin anything else in my life or anyone else’s if I can help it.

But as I prepare to face whatever trouble is waiting for me in the next meeting, the idea that started to form on Sunday still needles. Approaching Flic again might be playing with fire, and maybe Donny is right—Flic can’t be bought. But everyone has something they’re fighting for. You just have to find out what it is.

She’ll probably string me up with barbed wire and hang me over the jukebox like a warning sign. But I’ve never been one to shy away from a fight. And right now, she’s the only option I’ve got.

FIVE

FLIC