“She’s still trying to take the company from me,” I said.
“Is that a shocking thing to you?” he asked.
“Well, I hoped offering her the job would squash that passion in her,” I said.
“Dude, I didn’t tell you to hire her to shut her up. I told you to hire her so you could keep her close.”
“Makes sense,” I said. “You ready?”
“Yeah, switch out.”
I got up from the bench, and Todd laid down before I put on another set of weights. He was grunting out his reps and
sets of bench presses as we were beginning our exercising, but my mind was swirling with other thoughts.
“What’s going on in that head?” he asked as he racked the weights.
“I just never pictured myself as a business owner, you know? But, by the end of the day yesterday, people were already congratulating me on the good job I was doing,” I said.
“Think they were just trying to kiss ass?” he asked.
“I honestly don’t know. I mean, it’s not like anyone called me out of the blue and told me that. That would be ass kissing. But, people I encountered throughout the day would pat me on the back and tell me,” I said.
“Ah, so they were being soothing and supportive. Got it,” he said. “Was Stella one of those people?”
“Is that really a question you have to ask?”
“Well, at least she’s partially honest in where she stands,” he said. “You want to go another round?”
“Nah, I’m good. I could go for a round of pull-ups though,” I said.
“We can do that,” he said.
I walked over to the corner and jumped to grab the bar before I pumped out a round of 20. By the time I was done, sweat was bursting on my brow, and Todd was itching to get up there. Todd was scrawny, but he was strong. The way his body seemed to fool you into thinking he was a weak little coffee nerd before he beat your ass in football was something I always laughed at.
It was very entertaining, watching people underestimate him before he whipped their ass.
“I guess I could try to work on my relationship with Stella. You know, since we didn’t cultivate one when we were younger,” I said.
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Todd said breathlessly.
“She’s not my enemy, dude. She’s my stepsister. I want her to feel at home in the company. I want us to work well together,” I said.
“Well, she’s trying to take it from you, so if you want to go the lovey-dovey route, be my guest. Just protect yourself, Christian. Keep an eye out,” he said.
“You know who did drop by to wish me a job well done, though?” I asked.
“Who?”
“Greyson,” I said.
“Oh, shit! The douche-friend stopped by. How did that go?”
“He berated Stella and her ability to run the company right in front of me. Spewed some bullshit about how men were better at working than women,” I said.
“Why the fuck is Stella with him again?” he asked.
“I don’t fucking know. I mean, I’ve heard Daisy mouth off about him a couple times, but that was the first time I’d ever met the guy,” I said.