CHAPTER 2

Michael

He may be a dick, but he’s my brother.

“So,” Josh said. He took a long swig of his beer and then turned to face me. “What kind of trouble are you getting yourself into in Dallas?”

I shrugged. “I told you. I just needed to get away from the office. Get into the city for a couple of days.”

“Work stressing you out?” Josh asked.

“No.” I shook my head. “Not any more than usual. Besides, can’t I just want to see my big brother?”

Josh snorted and took another drink. He knew I was full of shit. In the past few years, we’d gotten closer, but we still weren’t best friends. We were brothers, but we didn’t grow up together. I was adopted as a baby and, while Josh always knew about me, we didn’t meet until we were both adults.

It wasn’t an easy adjustment to make. Finding out I had an older brother when I was in my mid-twenties was a shock. I knew I was adopted from a really young age, but other than the fact I had a different set of biological parents, I didn’t know much else.

Josh was in his residency at a medical school in Dallas, while I lived just an hour away in Ennis, Texas.

I was initially nervous about meeting my long lost brother. Still, it was nice. After a few awkward meetings, Josh and I decided to just let things progress naturally. We saw each other periodically when we both had time. We never forced a connection or friendship. It became effortless, and it worked for us both.

“How’s the residency?” I asked.

Josh sighed and shook his head. He set his glass down on the bar dramatically before launching into an all-too-serious story about his latest life-saving adventure.

“I was poised on top of the gurney, holding the guy’s intestines inside his stomach, when he had a fucking heart attack. It was like he wanted to die.”

“Maybe he did,” I said with a chuckle.

“It’s not funny, Michael,” Josh snapped. “This job is intense. People die all the time, and sometimes it’s my fault. It’s hell. Every day.”

“Then, why do you do it?” I asked.

“Because it’s my calling,” Josh said. “You can understand that, can’t you?”

“Of course.”

The truth was, I didn’t understand it at all. Every time I met up with Josh, he complained about something. His job. His girlfriend. His apartment. Anything and everything. As much as I loved getting to know my big brother, it was glaringly obvious that we didn’t have much in common.

Me? I liked to laugh things off and enjoy life. I knew when to put on a straight face and when to loosen up, but Josh was all serious, all the time. Maybe that was why he was so good at his job. You had to be serious when people’s lives were literally in your hands.

It didn’t take much to get I was better with people. That, along with my unstoppable grit, was how I built a progressively growing company; now on its way to becoming the number one oilfield tool manufacturer in the world.

When it came to my competitors, the performance of my firm left them in the dust. That’s just how I liked to operate.

Where did I get my drive? Maybe, I needed to prove something to the world. I was self-aware enough to admit it. I decided early on that being given up for adoption wasn’t going to stop me from kicking ass and taking names. As a matter of fact, it was going to be my fuel.

“How’s your girl?” I asked.

“Broke up with her,” Josh said nonchalantly.

“What?” I turned to stare at him. “Why?”

“It’s not the right time for me to settle down,” Josh said. “We were together for two years, and I could tell she wanted to move forward. I just started my residency. I don’t have time to think about marriage or kids right now.”

“She was talking kids already?” I raised my eyebrows.

“No.” Josh shook his head. “But she mentioned moving in together a couple of times.”

“And?”

“And I told you, I don’t have time to focus on a relationship.”

“Whatever,” I said. “But from everything you told me, she was the real deal. Didn’t she deal with all your crap during med school?”

“You never met her,” Josh said.

“That’s true. I know it’s none of my business, though speaking from experience good girls don’t come easy. You might regret being such a dick to her next time you see her, and she’s in the arms of another guy.”

“You’re right. It’s none of your business.”

I didn’t want to start an argument with Josh. Tonight was about letting loose. I’d been cooped up in my office for weeks, and I needed to relax.

I needed another damn drink.

“Another round?” I asked as the bartender passed by. He nodded and quickly poured me another shot of whiskey. Josh got his second beer, and we lapsed into an easy silence.

My attention was focused elsewhere within seconds. Josh barely noticed as a blonde walked slowly past us, but I couldn’t have missed her. She was gorgeous and clearly on the prowl. As she walked by, I swiveled around on my barstool and watched her.

She glanced back at me, her blonde hair falling gently over her shoulder. My eyes met hers for a second, and I knew she was the diversion I needed. I came into the city to forget about work, and this girl was the perfect distraction.

“Here.” I stood up and pulled my wallet from my pocket. Slapping down a few bills, I turned to face Josh. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Where are you going?” Josh asked.

I nodded at the blonde. She was sitting against the back wall with a few friends surrounding her. They were talking in her ear, but her eyes were still focused on me.

Josh just rolled his eyes and grabbed his beer. I grinned and slapped his shoulder as I walked away.