Page 8 of Mister Rival

She narrows her eyes. “Pinkie promise.” She holds out said pinkie and I huff.

“This is so childish.”

“Because you know you can’t go back on a pinkie promise.”

“I’m only promising to meet with him in a very public place so I don’t choke him to death with his stupid suspenders.”

“Does he wear suspenders?”

“I was going for humor.”

“Oh.” She laughs. “I get it now… So, tonight, remember to keep your eye on the ball. Envision the main prize; commission that you worked hard for. A happy client. An even happier assistant. All you have to do is play nice, oh, and don’t bring up the reunion, that way you can hopefully avoid him.”

“I didn’t say yes to the reunion,” I remind her.

“Well, think about it. You’re fucking fabulous. I mean, can we just take a moment of appreciation for curves and pencil skirts.Aaaand, what a great way to rub Gareth’s face in it when he sees how hot you are, and what the stupid moron is missing out on.”

“I doubt he cares.”

She taps her nose. “He didn’t want a divorce, remember?”

“I remember only too well his lying, cheating ass with that young broad, then trying to come groveling back to me.” I shudder in utter disgust.

“Well, what better way to show him you’ve moved on. He’ll see red when he sees you talking to Tristan. Weren’t they arch enemies back in the day?”

“I won’t be talking to Tristan, or to Gareth because I’m not going.”

She sighs. “Can’t you just play nice for one weekend?”

“We already had this conversation. I don’t need a man to hoist me up, or to lean on. I was married to a jerk, and while I appreciate your flattery, I’m going to go and make myself a triple shot of coffee because now I’m being forced to dine with the man I hate.”

“Love you, too!” Lexi calls after me.

The things I have to do for a buck.

Chapter Five

TRISTAN

The more I think about what Mason and Joshua were saying, the more I get used to the idea. I suppose sitting down to have one meal with Alison at Ruby’s — one of my favorite restaurants —wouldn’t kill me. In fact, it might just give me the spoke I need to stop dragging out the inevitable and sign off on the deal so we can all get paid. There’s also a nagging part of me that wants to gage if she’s going to the stupid reunion.

Joshua and Mason made extremely valid points about venturing down memory lane by going to Palm Springs. If it means I can drum up more business and brag a little about my accomplishments, then so be it.

Not that I care about the latter, but it sure would be sweet to show all those idiots from high school — who said I’d never amount to much —what I’ve been doing these last twenty-five years.

While other kids were out with their friends having fun over the summer, I started learning the ropes in contracting and doing odd jobs for cash. I’ve always loved the property market, and helping my handyman father out on weekends really opened up my eyes to seeing different properties and meeting all kindsof people. It led to a deep fascination and love for buying and selling real estate. I love to make a deal.

I still remember closing my first property in LA when I was nineteen years old. My mouth pulls up at the corners at the thought of it. I knew so very little back then, but spent years learning from the ground up and following realtors who had been in the industry for years, breaking down their success and working out strategies for growth. I learned every damned thing I could about the business, and it became a bit of an obsession. One I still feel deeply.

I’ve always loved buildings, especially places with some kind of historical value, which are few and far between around LA. But whenever I come across an older building or a renovation that’s been done really well, where people have really thought about it and brought the old back to life with some of the new, I can’t help but really appreciate the transformation. People may not know it by looking at me, but I value the small things, even down to the different building materials used in any one given project.

I came from humble surroundings; my mom stayed home to look after me and my younger brother, Jon, who still runs Lucas’s Home Handyman services in Thousand Palms, where we grew up. My dad retired a few years back and was more than happy to have one of his sons to take over the family business. They’re proud of both Jon and I, and at times I feel guilty that I didn’t stay in there and want to fix up people's houses, but it was never my passion or my dream.

I feel less guilty knowing that Jon’s happy doing what he’s doing, and Lucas’s Home Handyman gets to live on.

I’ve done well for myself in real estate. I hit the market at just the right time when I started out, and things have only grown since then. Last year, I topped a billion dollars in revenue. My parents are looked after in their twilight years, Jon too. He’dnever have to work again if he didn’t want to. I was able to give all my sons the best education money can buy, but I feel like I taught them values, too. Nothing was handed to me on a silver platter, and I didn’t want any of them growing up with a silver spoon in their mouths.

I like to think I taught them the value of work ethic, and feeling the passion in what you do.

---