More Than Hate You (More Than Words)

“Good, man. And from what I hear, Jeremy McBride is doing fantastic things, too. How’s the consulting gig?”

“Lucrative. I can’t complain. Being my own boss is great, but you know I’m all about making money. Speaking of… You still working for Evan Cook? Or is it my lucky day and you’re calling me for a job?”

I’m not, but he doesn’t need to know that. “What if I was?”

“You could write your own ticket, my friend. A lot more money and a lot fewer hours. It’s pretty sweet.”

“I’m sure. But Evan moved me to Maui. It’s fucking awesome here. Way better than Phoenix.” Where I’d probably have to relocate to consult with his mainland clients face to face. No, thanks.

“Yeah. I can’t compete with that…unless you’re getting island fever?” he asks hopefully.

I snort. “No chance.”

“Hey, a guy can dream, right?” He sighs. “Seriously, I can’t hire you away from Evan? He speaks geek-tech. You and I, man, we speak the universal dirty language of money.”

No arguing that, and that’s exactly how I’m going to bend him to my will. “We do. That’s actually why I’m calling. I hear you picked up a side hustle with Reservoir, Inc.”

“Yeah. Word travels fast. I just inked that deal Friday afternoon. How the hell did you find out?”

“I have a great network.”

“You always have,” he says like he’s in awe.

No idea why. He works his contacts over like a good whore. He touches them thoroughly, leaves them satisfied, and stays easy to find for the next trick.

“Listen, strictly between you and me, I might be interested in jumping ship,” I lie. “Maybe. But I’m going to want an obscene salary to do it.” I toss out a number that borders on ridiculous.

Predictably, McBride chokes. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am. But let me prove it to you.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“Let me take the Reservoir thing off your plate.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. It would save you a shit-ton of research…”

“You got me there. I know squat about the data storage biz.”

“And you’ll need to in order to really help them. After a decade with Evan, that’s my bag. I could solve that shit in my sleep. And hey, I’ll even work this one for free.”

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch.” Except I’m going to fuck your client out of a deal.

I feel vaguely guilty, but that’s business. Besides, I’ve looked into McBride’s situation. It’s goddamn rosy—way better than I thought a guy who vodkaed his way through the last two years of college would ever do. He doesn’t need this gig to go well half as much as Evan needs them to go the fuck away.

“Bullshit,” Jeremy tosses back.

“Let me prove to you I’m worth the exorbitant salary. Give me the client. I’ll do it pro bono. You’ll see.”

“It’s a conflict of interest. You’re competitors.”

“We won’t be if I come work for you.”

He pauses.