CHAPTER 2
Tobias
“It’s been too long. We really have to do this more often,” I said, grinning at the guys before me.
“Aww, bro. Don’t get all sentimental on us,” Theo said.
“Hey, it has been a while. He’s allowed to get sentimental. As long as he doesn’t start crying on us,” Rick said with a chuckle.
“Whatever, man,” I said, laughing as well.
It had been so long since I’d last seen Theo and Rick. The three of us had been good friends during our years at Hullen Prep Academy, the top-notch boarding school we had attended. But as is often the case, we grew up and grew apart, and in doing so, we had lost contact with each other for the most part. Although we followed each other on social media, our interaction had remained fairly minimal over the years, and it was clear that we had all been leading very separate lives as adults. After graduating Hullen Prep, Theo had stayed in his hometown, while Rick had gone off to a community college, and I’d gone off to law school with my best friend, Anderson.
While the four of us had hung out frequently at Hullen Prep, I had only maintained a close friendship with Anderson afterwards, especially since the two of us had created our multibillion-dollar firm together. Over the years, Theo and Rick had evidently reconnected without us, rekindling their friendship and enjoying modest success of their own.
I had missed my friendships with Theo and Rick, occasionally even talking about them to Anderson, wondering what had become of them even though I had admittedly hadn’t made much of an effort to reconnect with them over the years. Due to the financial success Anderson and I had been enjoying, I had learned to be cautious about the kind of friends I kept around. While I took pride in the fact that money hadn’t changed me, I was well aware that it could certainly change the people around me, for better or worse. I had unfortunately learned that the hard way, considering one of my ex-girlfriends had turned out to be the epitome of a gold-digger. I had been crazy about her, even thinking that we would someday end up married and raising a family together. But then I realized she was more interested in the shopping sprees I could send her on more than she was invested in me as a person.
“Gotta be careful about chicks like that nowadays, man,” Anderson had told me. “They’re going to be all around us now.”
It was painful how right he had been. I had thought I would have found someone special to settle down with by now, but I’d had no such luck. Granted, my stupid fucking trust issues were partially to blame.
“So, what you been up to, man?” Rick asked, slapping me on the shoulder.
“Working hard,” I said, already debating in my mind how much I wanted to tell them. “I went to law school, and the rest is history.”
“Fancy lawyer type now, huh?” Theo said, smirking. “Where you located? Downtown somewhere, right?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“Cool. Hey—whatever happened to that buddy of yours? Anderson?”
“I was just about to ask that myself,” Rick said, laughing. “You still keep up with him? What’s he up to?”
“He’s doing good. We’re business partners, actually.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yep.”
“So he straightened up and stopped being a class clown then?”
I laughed. “Well, he’s always been a bit of a class clown, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have his head screwed on straight. He’s always been a lot smarter than he let on. That’s the secret to his success.”
“Who would of thought,” Theo said.
“I know, right,” I said.
“Is he still a playboy?” he asked. “I remember the way he used to run through girls. It used to drive me crazy because I wanted to be him so bad! He took my crush to the homecoming dance junior year and I thought I’d never forgive him. What was that girl’s name? Dani, I think.”
I shook my head. “Believe it or not, he’s married now.”
Theo and Rick both gaped and swore at the same time.
“What Wonder-Woman made the infamous Anderson Lawrence settle down? And where the hell is she? We wanna meet her!” Rick said.
“Joanna,” I said, already knowing how floored they were going to be by that revelation.
There was a long pause. Theo’s face twisted in confusion. “Hold up,” he said. “Joanna? Isn’t that your sister’s name?
I nodded.
“So he married a chick with your sister’s name?”
“No, he married my sister.”
He and Rick both swore again.
Rick shook his head and leaned forward in disbelief, staring me in the eyes. “Let me get this straight, he married your sister and you’ve let him live?”
I shrugged my shoulders and reached for my beer. “I had a problem with it at first, but then I realized there was nothing I could really do about it. As long as he’s treating her right, who am I to complain? They’re adults. My sister is grown. She can make her own decisions. Besides, Anderson has turned out to be perfect for her. Unlike the previous losers she dated. One of those guys would have gotten me behind bars.”
“Man,” Theo said in disbelief. He held up his glass of Scotch, gesturing for a toast. “Well, congratulations to them.”
I toasted him with my beer. “They’ve even had a baby,” I said. “That’s why he’s not here with me now, actually. He wanted to come, but he’s a sleep-deprived new father. Sometimes he doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.”
Rick’s face twisted in confusion. He laughed and shook his head. “I’m trying to imagine Anderson as a father. Man, times have changed! We must be getting old, fellas.”
I smirked and pulled out my cell phone, tapping around on the screen for pictures of my niece. “Addison Kelly Lawrence,” I said, holding the phone out to them so that they could see the infant. Addison had inherited the same dark hair as me and Joanna, but she had Anderson’s eyes. She was a beauty, to say the least. And she was one of the happiest babies I had ever seen, always smiling and laughing. In the photo, her eyes sparkled as she gave a wide and toothless grin, wearing a onesie that declared hers as a princess.
“Oh man, she’s beautiful,” Theo said.
I nodded. “Yeah, she is.”
“She’s going to make Anderson crazy when she’s older,” Rick said. “He’ll be losing his mind, beating the boys off with a stick, especially since she looks so much like your sister! No offense, Toby, but your sister has always been pretty fine.”
Hell no one had called me Toby since high school.
“Hey, cut it out,” I said.
Rick laughed and threw his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!”
Theo laughed. “Man, don’t mess with the proud uncle and protective big brother. It won’t end well for you.”
“Damn straight it won’t,” I said, laughing and returning my phone to my pocket.
“So, how are you doing in that department?” Theo asked. “No littles ones of your own yet? Any special girlfriend, fiancée… wife?”
I shook my head. “No, not yet. It’s hard with how much I work, especially now that I’m often putting in double to take care of Anderson’s share while he’s busy catering to Addison and Joanna.”
Theo cocked his head to the side. “Can’t say that I’m much of a Facebooker or a Twitter user, but it seems like I remember you being with some chick, or at least seeing a few photos a while ago. Thought you two looked happy together…”
I huffed. “I thought we were happy. But then I found out that she was just happy with my bank account, not me. We aren’t together anymore.”
“Tragic,” Rick said.
“What about you guys?” I asked. “Women? Children? Prospects?”
Theo nodded. “I’m seeing this girl. I’ll probably marry her when I can get used to the idea, one of these days.”
“Don’t wait too long,” I warned. “Some women will get impatient on you.”
“I know,” he said. “But I think we can hold off for a little while. She wants to finish graduate school first, so I’ve got time.”
“Nice.” I turned my gaze to Rick. “How about you?”
“Last chick I had slashed my tires, so I’m on strike for a little while,” he said with a bitter laugh.
“Hey, you can at least tell the whole story,” Theo said, smirking. “Tell him why she slashed your tires.”
“Uh oh,” I said.
Rick shook his head. “That is a tale for another time, not for a joyful reunion.”
Theo laughed.
I shook my head. “That’s all right. I think I can already imagine what would lead to those antics.”
“And you’d probably be right,” Rick said, throwing back the rest of his beer. “Anyway, I think that’s enough of that kind of talk for the night. No need to dampen the mood. You never told us what you’re here for, Toby. What brings you over to our neck of the woods, man?”
“I’ve been invited back to Hullen. They want me to speak to the business and entrepreneurs class.”
“Wow,” Theo said.
Rick chuckled. “Good ol’ Hullen Prep. Never misses an opportunity to flaunt about alumni worth bragging about, do they?”
“Well, who else are they supposed to brag about?” Theo said.
Rick shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just teasing. I remember how they used to have all the superstar alumni come back to talk to us too. Always felt like they were trying to say, ‘Now let’s see if you dumbasses can follow in these footsteps!’”
I laughed. “I don’t think that’s quite the message they were aiming for, at least I hope not. They did used to bring back a lot of guest speakers though, didn’t they? Never thought I’d be one of them.”
“Look at him, trying to be modest,” Theo teased. “You’ve obviously done pretty good for them to invite you back. You’re not nervous about visiting our old stomping grounds, are you?”
“Of course I’m nervous! I gotta stand up in front of a group of teens who more than likely won’t give a damn about what I have to say. I feel a little sick just thinking about it. Kids these days aren’t like we were. And let’s face it, we were a bit of a mess ourselves.”
“I guess you’re right about that,” Theo said. “They’re a completely different breed from when we were growing up, that’s for sure.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine,” Rick said. “Just talk over their heads! Use some big words and fancy diction so they won’t understand what you’re saying. Then they won’t ask too many questions.”
I laughed and shook my head. “That’s terrible, man.”
“But it’s a good idea though, right?”
“You need help, Rick,” Theo said, although laughing all the same.
“No—Tobias needs the help. Now, when it is that you’re speaking?” Rick asked.
“Tomorrow,” I said, the thought sobering me. “Damn.”
“Man, you have to speak tomorrow, and you’re out here drinking tonight?” Theo said, his eyebrows raised. “Now, I’m no professional speaker or anything, but I’m not sure how all these beers are going to help your cause.”
“I needed to relax,” I said, setting down my last beer. “But you’re right. And I should get going so that I can prepare for the morning.” I sighed and stood from the bar.
“Yeah, I think that’s exactly what you need to do,” Theo agreed.
“Well, it’s been a blast talking to you,” Rick said, clasping my hand.
“The feeling’s mutual,” I said, clasping his hand back, and then doing the same to Theo.
“All right, Tobias. We have to do this again sometime,” said Theo.
“Definitely. And I’ll have to bring Anderson along next time.”
“Don’t leave out Joanna,” Rick said with a wink.
I shook my head. “All right, guys. Later.”
“Later,” they both said as I left a tip for the bartender and made my way to the door, thinking about what the following day would bring.
I was halfway across the pub when a light hand brushed against my shoulder and someone cleared their throat behind me. Noting the voice sounded too light to be one of the guys, I turned around.
“Hey there.”
I came to a halt, stunned by the beautiful blond standing there, smirking.
“Long time, no see,” she said.