The roar of the enormous buzz saw filled my ears as I fed another massive log through the machine. Sawdust shot up like sparks around me, and the smell of timber was in the air while I went through the stack of logs piled beside me. Working at the lumber mill could be dangerous if we weren’t careful, but I loved this job.

It was an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. I was usually assigned to hauling the massive logs to the machines because of how strong I was, but today, I was put in charge of getting the timber in the machine so that it could be sawn in half. Goggles and breathing masks kept me company for the day, which was how I liked it.

Here at work, I kept to myself, I didn’t have to deal with people talking in my ear, and I was good at my job. I could haul the wood, get it sawed in half, load it onto the trucks, and get them off the compound. I didn’t have to talk with anyone, I didn’t have to interact with customers, and I got paid a decent wage to do so.

All I had to do was lift heavy shit and stick to where I was assigned for the day.

I could be living a very different life. One in which I was living off my wealthy inheritance and not having to lift a finger, let alone a bunch of logs. But that would require dealing with things I had walked away from a long time ago. And I enjoyed living a life in seclusion where I could be left alone, rather than a life of luxury in which I had to deal with other peoples’ demands on me or poor treatment of me.

Fuck that. I’d rather be a happy lumberjack than a miserable billionaire.

A few hours in, I shut the saw down to take my break. The world seemed strangely quiet without the machine on. I grabbed my thermos of tea, and then ducked behind a towering pile of logs to enjoy my break in peaceful silence.

“Hey there, Zach. I didn’t think you were coming in today.”

I silently cursed. Of course, there was always that one talkative person. That one person who just couldn’t stand the sound of silence. Here, that guy just happened to be my best friend.

I looked up at him. “Hey, Caden.”

“They got you cuttin’ this shit in half today, huh?”

I nodded but said nothing. I just poured myself some tea and took a sip. Caden sat down beside me with his back against the wood pile. He drank from a colorful can of some brand of energy drink I didn’t recognize. I tried to avoid that heart attack inducing shit.

“I hear rumors, you know,” he said. “Of people getting promoted and shit this year.”

“Lucky them.”

“I hear you’re one of the ones they’re thinking about promoting.”

I chuckled. “As long as I don’t have to talk to people, I’m okay.”

“Do you talk to anyone besides me anymore?” he asked.

“Sometimes, I wish I didn’t even talk to you.” I grinned over at him before I took another drink of warm tea.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Caden said.

“That’s never good. Did it hurt?”

“You’re a dick. I was thinking about opening my own lumber company.”

“Your own lumber company,” I said.

“Don’t do that repeating thing you do when you think I’m being an idiot. I don’t like it.”

“You are being an idiot.”

“Just hear me out. We could start our own lumber company. I could be the person that oversees everything, and you could manage all the people that work for us. We could make lots of money and travel the world and fuck all the women we want to in every country we landed in.”

“No, thanks,” I said.

“Just like that, huh? Not gonna even think about it?”

“You know I don’t like talking to people.”

“You talk to me.”

I shrugged. “You’ve been my best friend since high school. Of course, I talk to you.”

“You talked to people in high school.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You should’ve talked to people in high school,” he said.

We both chuckled before I got to my feet to head back to my workstation for the day. Caden followed beside me.

“The company’s been busy lately,” he said. “That means more hours for us.”

“Yep.”

“Which means more money to line our pockets.”

“It does.”

“It’ll be nice. Maybe we could open up our own coffee shop or something,” he said.

“How the fuck did we jump from you owning your own lumber company to you opening your own coffee shop? You hate coffee.”

“That’s why I would hire you. You drink coffee, right?”

“Not even a little bit,” I said.

“That’s shit. I just saw you drinking coffee from the thermos.”

“What you saw was me drinking tea.”

“You drink tea,” he said.

“I do.”

“You, with your colorful tattoos and your stacked muscles? You drink tea?”

“Are muscular, tattooed guys not supposed to drink tea?” I asked.

“No. You’re supposed to drink the blood of your enemies.”

“You’re clinically insane, you know that?” I asked.

“What kind of tea is it? Green? Matcha? Chamomile with a bit of honey?”

“It’s ginger tea with lemon and honey. My throat was hurting.”

“Natural remedies for sickness?! Dude. I don’t fucking know you at all.”

I allowed myself to mull over what I would do with my own money— not my father’s— lining my pockets. The coffee shop would be more in line with my goals than owning a lumber company.

I only worked here because I actually enjoyed the grunt work. Being out in the fresh mountain air, chopping wood, is what I loved— sitting behind a desk and directing people would be my idea of fucking hell.

Arriving back at my station, I flipped the machine back on, picked up another log, and guided it through the saw. Caden continued to stick by my side.

“I have no idea how you just toss those logs up there like it’s nothing,” Caden said.

“That’s why they keep me around, I guess.”

“Sure as hell isn’t because you drink ginger tea,” he said, grinning.

“I hate you.”

“Yeah, yeah. How many hours you got on your paycheck this week?”

“By the time today’s over, if they don’t keep me longer, I’ll be just shy of sixty,” I said.

“Oh, shit! That’s overtime heaven. That’s one thing this company’s good for.”

“Helps offset the fact that they don’t give us health insurance.”

Caden chuckled. “Is that why you’re using those all-natural tea remedies for your little sore throat?”

“Keep it up, and I’m tossing you in next.” I gestured at the machine.

“I’m sure you could, but I’ll pass. But I’m telling you, if you come into business with me, you could make a lot more than you’re making now.”

“With your lumber company and your coffee shop,” I said flatly.

“Look, those were just examples. If I actually sat down and pounded out a decent business plan, would you think about it?”

“If I can do my job alone and in peace, sure. Bonus points if it’s an active job that has me walking around a lot, preferably outside.”

“You always have to interact with people in business,” he said. “Business is a social game.”

“Then no thanks,” I said.

“Dude, I could make you rich.”

“Dude, you’re already rich,” I said. “You have this thing called an inheritance. You always say you only work here to learn the ins and outs of business, before you start your own.”

“So do you,” he pointed out. “Have an inheritance, I mean. So, you’d be rich too if you mended things with your dad. Super rich. Even richer than I am.”

I paused what I was doing and looked him straight in his eyes.

“Don’t you dare,” I said darkly.

“You don’t have to like him. I don’t fucking blame you. That guy was a shithead while you were in high school. But if you made it seem like the two of you were okay, he’d probably give you your inheritance or write his estate over to you or some shit, and you’d be set for life.”

As if I didn’t already fucking know that. I was feeling angry now, and I thought about thanking Caden for being Captain fucking Obvious and wondering what other gems of wisdom he planned to dole out to me today. But instead I decided to ask him a more serious question.

“Is that all that matters to you? Money?”

He shrugged. “It’s a big part of it, yes. Can you imagine the pussy we would slay with money?”

“I get enough of that now,” I said. “Apparently, chicks dig tattoos and muscles.”

“Do you make them ginger tea in the mornings?” he asked, grinning.

“Nope. I don’t keep them around in the mornings.”

“Oh, shit! Now you’re working the bad boy stereotype.”

“Uh huh,” I said.

“Well, gotta go. I’ll see you for drinks tonight. The boss man is giving me bad looks.”

“Okay.” I paused. “Wait, what? Drinks?”

“See you tonight!” Caden said.

I hated it when Caden did that to me. When he slipped in plans we didn’t discuss just to get me out of the house. I didn’t want to go out and get drinks.

I just wanted to go home and get some rest. I had another long day at work I had to deal with tomorrow, and the last thing I needed was to be pouring alcohol down my throat.

But by the time eight o’clock rolled around and I was three hours over my specified schedule for the day, I was ready for a beer. Caden and I might give each other a hard time, but at the end of the day— especially a hard, busy day like today was— he was still my best friend.

And I had to hand it to the guy. He did have some good ideas sometimes. I wasn’t so sure his coffee shop or lumber company business ideas were among them, but, his happy hour idea was fucking perfect today.