Page 32 of The Deeper Game
Matteo shrugged.
“He slept with another woman,” Odin said.
“Yikes,” I said.
“Don’t say it like that,” Matteo said. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“Not your fault?”
“No. We were gearing up to hit this mansion in Malibu, and I got an in as a cable guy, and the lady of the house, she wanted a go with me. I wasn’t going to fuck her. I was just acting into her, but when you’re acting into somebody? When you’re a guy? Sometimes biology just takes over.”
“That’s your excuse?” Odin asked, incredulous. “Biology took over? Is that what you told Macy?”
“Yeah, that’s what I told Macy,” Matteo said.
“That’s your problem,” Odin said. “You’re not taking responsibility.”
“I’m not saying I didn’t do it. It was me,” Matteo said. “I did it, but it was biology. I wasn’t into her.”
Thor grinned. “Yet you were.”
“Biology didn’t fuck the woman,” I said.
“This job’ll let me show her how I feel. That’s what giving her the Liz Taylor diamonds is. She’s wanted those jewels since she was a little girl.”
“That’s nice,” I said. “But she also needs to know that you’re taking responsibility, like Odin said.”
“I don’t see how I can take more responsibility than putting myself in danger to get her the prize of the century.”
“If I were her, I’d be more interested in an assurance that the fucking won’t happen again,” I said. “How does she know biology won’t take you over again?”
Matteo frowned.
“It’s like the parole board,” Odin said. “They don’t give a shit about excuses. They need to see you have insight into how you fucked up and that you have control over your own actions going forward.”
“But sometimes it really does happen like that,” Matteo said. “You can’t help it.”
“Then why should she get back with you?” I asked.
“I won’t put myself in that situation again, that’s why,” Matteo said.
Odin rolled his eyes. “It’s not the situation that fucked the other woman.”
I added, “What if you get into that situation accidentally? Why should Macy trust you?”
Odin pointed at him. “You need tofucking-gponder that decision-making process with the woman you cheated with. You need to look at yourself and why you want to pretend your biology controls your dick, because you know what? It doesn’t. You have a worldview that says you’re sometimes notresponsible for your own actions. But you are, Matteo. You need to look inside yourself and ask, ‘What do I get out of that worldview? What does it mean if I’m responsible for my actions? What do I fear if I accept that as the truth?’”
I watched Odin, stunned. Impressed.
“Jesus Christ!” Matteo said. “Seriously?”
“What do you lose if you accept that you alone control your own actions?” Odin pressed. “You ponder that.”
“God,” Matteo said. “It’s not enough to be in mortal danger robbing the Prime? Because I don’t know how to do this other shit.”
“Everybody knows how to do it,” Odin said. “You don’t want to.”
My phone buzzed just then. Which was strange, because everybody who had that number was with me. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. Unavailable.
