Page 66 of Alex

I’m so shocked, I laugh. “I didn’t think you had it in you. I’m impressed.”

She rolls her eyes and brings her hand to her lips. I stare as her lips part and wrap around the joint. She takes an enormous hit and immediately starts coughing.

When she catches her breath, she hands it back. “I’ve never had someone say I impressed them by taking drugs.”

I shrug. “There’s a first time for everything, right?”

My eyes close as I take another long drag. When I open my eyes, Elise is staring at me.

Confusion clouds her eyes. “Who was that guy? I mean, more than just his name, which I already know. What was with that threat? What’s going on? What happened in the past? I need to know, Alex.”

I offer her the joint back. She needs to relax a little more if we are going to have this conversation right now.

“This is going to be a long story, so you might want to get comfortable.”

Elise crosses her arm back across her chest and I have to look down at the ground so I don’t stare like some sex crazed lunatic.

When I look back up at her, she nods.

“Adam and I met while we were both teenagers. Our fathers went into business together, so they forced us to co-mingle at parties and business events. We never got along and never talked.”

I take another long drag of the joint and glance at Elise before continuing.

“When we were sixteen, his father enrolled him in my school. We were immediately in competition for the same things. He found out that I was on the hockey team, so he tried out. He did everything in his power to beat me at everything.”

I crack my knuckles and clear my throat.

“When I made captain of the hockey team, he quit and kept his distance from me. I thought thecompetition was over, but I was wrong. He invited me to an exclusive poker game that he was throwing as a way to bury the hatchet. I accepted the invite.”

Elise steps closer to me and takes the joint from me.

“What happened at the poker game?”

Her voice is so quiet I almost don’t hear it over the million memories playing out through my mind.

“The poker game was like any other poker game. We played, drank, and tossed insults across the table. I thought we were being friendly. That’s when I met Bianca. We flirted all night, but that was before I knew she was dating Adam.”

Elise gasps. “Is that why he was flirting with me? To get back at you for something that happened years ago?”

I take a few steps and close the gap between us. “Probably. He claims I stole Bianca from him, but in the beginning I didn’t know they were together. Plus, she went back to Adam as soon as I fell in love with her.”

Elise flinches at my confession and pulls away from me. “What else happened at the poker game? It seemed like there was more going on than just you getting with his girlfriend.”

“I brought a bag of cocaine because Adam was an addict, but he gave it to the bartender, who was eyeing it all night. Later that night, she ended up overdosing.”

Elise covers her mouth as a strange noise comes out. It’s a mix of a gasp and a sob. She looks disgusted at my past actions, and I can’t blame her.

I did some horrible things back then. It feels like it was in another life and not just a few years ago.

I reach out to hold her hand, but she pulls away. “Elise, I know you think I’m a horrible person, but please don’t tell my dad about tonight. I’ll work everything out.”

To this day, I still don’t know how he got video footage of the game, but that footage needs to be deleted.

Elise scoffs. “Don’t tell your dad! Are you serious, Alex? Adam threatened to screw with your dad’s newest acquisition and then take over the company. This new company is going to take your dad’s business well past a billion dollars in annual revenue!”

She throws her hands up and turns away from me. “A single company is going to bring your dad more money than I’ll ever see in a lifetime. Hell, more than I’d see in a hundred lifetimes, and you want me to keep it a secret?”

She’s absolutely right. She needs this job and the money. I saw the past due bills on her counter when I brought her home to pack for this trip.

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