You Need to Get Laid

Andrew

Dead silence filled the boardroom.

I let the door fall closed behind me as I stood there, finding all eyes where they were supposed to be. On me.

“Well?” I barked.

Kyle cleared his throat, and the four other employees sitting around the table all looked anxiously at him. “Mr. Marx, it appears there is an issue with an account. Houghton Graham. There is, uh, twenty thousand dollars missing from the account.”

He pressed his lips together hard, probably waiting for me to yell.

“Then find it,” I simply answered. “No need to call a meeting. You.” I pointed at Carolyn. “Go through the statements from the last few months.”

“I already—”

“Do it again. And you.” I nodded at Kyle. “Make sure this doesn’t get out. Don’t notify the client until we know exactly what’s going on. The rest of you, make yourselves busy. And if you lose one more damn check, you’re all fired.”

With a string of curses checked but rumbling in my throat, I turned around and left the boardroom, Maggie trailing me like a shadow.

Sometimes, the sheer lunacy of people could be astounding. I hired the best in the business world, and yet there were still fuck-ups. For some reason.

Along the open-working space leading to my corner office, employees straightened up in their chairs and typed and clicked away, doing their best to look like busy little workers once they saw me coming. They feared me. I knew that.

I also knew that anxiety could be very, very good for business.

“Which meeting is next?” I asked Maggie as we rounded the hallway.

“A one-fifteen call with the Dawson firm.”

“Good.” That gave me exactly an hour and a half. “Let Saxton right in when he gets here.”

“Yes, sir.”

In the office, I went straight to my desk and checked my work email. After shooting off a few response messages, the time came to noon exactly.

Noon. How had the whole morning passed without Raven’s school calling?

That should have been a good sign, but the rock in my gut said otherwise. As much as I wanted to believe that the one-sided talk the night before had impacted Raven, I couldn’t. She didn’t go down that easy. My daughter was half-Marx and that meant possessing a natural tendency to being strong-willed and hardheaded.

So not hearing from her school had my nerves increasing.

Maybe she burned the place down, and that’s why no one has called. There are no phones left to do it on.

I inspected the ceiling, debating whether to call the school and check in.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Saxton breezed in, depositing himself on one of the chairs opposite me. He had fresh highlights, which I knew for a fact didn’t come from the sun, but he wore the kind of sweater that said “Hey, I’m going boating,” so at least he gave off the appearance of being sporty.

“What’s that frown for?” he asked.

“What’s that cocky smile for?” I countered, not that the question needed a response. Saxton was thirty-six, popular with the ladies, and raking it in investing-wise. He was the man women wanted to fuck and other men wanted to be. Except me, of course. As his friend, I only wanted to shoot the shit, make lighthearted fun of him, and count on him to have my back every once in a while.

“God, you make me feel old,” I sighed.

Saxton threw his head back in laughter. “What are you? Forty-five?”

“I’m not sure how you found that out, but yes.”

“That’s your prime. Girls love that age. It shows them you’re responsible but still young enough to last in bed.”

As per usual, women were the first thing on my buddy’s mind.

“Huh,” is all I offered.

“Seriously, Andrew. When was the last time you got laid?”

“Not answering that.”

“Because you’re embarrassed.” He pointed an accusatory finger my way. “It’s been a while. I know that. Your blue balls condition is spreading. It’s giving you a bad case of stink eye.”

My lips drew tight against my teeth. “Women and sex aren’t everything, Saxton.”

“Yeah, but getting some action is pretty fucking crucial. Try it out, and then you won’t be walking around with a stick up your ass.”

“Oh, come on.”

“I saw your staff on my way in. They’re all walking on eggshells, probably afraid I’ll tell you they were texting or something, and then you’ll fire them all.”

My exhale was hot. “I run a tight ship. Not going to apologize for that.”

“And I know you never will. But take my advice. Go on a date. Hell, just hire an escort, if you want. As long as it gets the job done.”

“Fine. It’s been a while. But that’s not the problem.”

“Then what is the problem?”

I hesitated. Raven’s behavioral issues were still a secret. I hadn’t told a single soul and didn’t plan on doing that. I’d been raised to keep family matters private, and that was how they always stayed.

“I’m busy. I need to take a vacation.”

“No, man. You need to get laid.”

I stood up and grabbed my coat from the hook by the door. “Where are we doing lunch?”

“Japanese? Thai? You like the Asian girls, right? I sure do.” Saxton waggled his eyebrows.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m going to give our waitress your number.”

“God, save me.”

With a nod at Maggie, we left the office. But Saxton wasn’t done, choosing to take the empty elevator ride as an opportunity to keep harassing me.

“Let me set you up with this girl I know. Her name is Veronica. Superhot.”

“Why don’t you date her?”

“I already went out with her sister a few times. I mean, I could, I guess.”

I smirked at Saxton as he seemed to give his new idea some serious thought. Let him go for Victoria or whatever her name was. He’d set me up with girls a few times before, and it had never ended well. Forget second dates. One dinner with a girl Saxton gave me the number of was over before the I arrived. Once it became apparent my net worth was more important to her than my personality, I faked an emergency and got my ass out of there.

Gold diggers. Those were the kind of women who orbited around Saxton. And he didn’t seem to mind. Sex and good times. That’s what he was into. And, I swear, dropping stacks on all the money-hungry girls excited him. It gave him a rush of power.

The doors slid open, and we entered the lobby, where I spun around and placed my hands on Saxton’s shoulders. “Look, I appreciate you trying to hook me up with someone, but it’s not going to work. I’ve tried dating. It’s not right for me.”

“So don’t date. Did you not hear what I said about the escort?”

“Yeah,” I dryly said. “That’s not my cup of tea.”

Saxton rolled his eyes as he pulled away from me and went through the revolving doors. On the street, I realized right away that I didn’t need my coat. The morning’s chill had been replaced by a balmy, sunny day.

“What’s your plan then? You’re just going to be alone for the rest of your life?”

I stared at the sidewalk as we walked. Saxton never met Danica, had no idea just how amazing she had been.

How was I ever going to find a woman who liked me for me, just as she did? Someone who cared to get to know the side of me I didn’t easily show?

“Here’s the trouble with women,” I stated. “Or, I should say, everyone. I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation with someone and they didn’t ask me for financial advice.”

“That’s what’s rubbing you the wrong way?”

“Sushi?” I stopped at a spot we’d been to a few times, and Saxton gave a nod.

Once in the booth, he did a quick inspection of every woman in the place. “The hostess is pretty hot.”

Just out of curiosity, I checked her out. “And probably in high school.”

“Andrew. It’s the middle of the day.”

“Fine. College.” I picked up the slip of paper with the day’s options and start checking off which rolls I wanted. “Which means she’ll definitely want financial advice. She’d be hounding me all the time on the best ways to get her debt down.”

Saxton laughed, and I gave him a grin over the paper.

“The right woman isn’t going to ask for advice,” he said.

“Hm.” I ran my hands through my hair, not willing to admit he was right about that.

But there was more to the matter. Suppose I did find a woman I got along with, one who didn’t give a shit that I was the CEO of a major company or that I had the jet to take her anywhere she wanted. What then?

How would she fit into my life? Especially with Raven being the way she had been for the last year?

My teenager’s current attitude was enough to send any woman running for the hills.

No. I was better off where I was. I had purpose at the company I’d built, and nothing, other than my daughter, mattered. I wasn’t a complete robot, which was why I allowed myself a hookup, albeit pretty unfulfilling, every once in a while.

Just not with anyone Saxton knew.

Let him think he was going to break me, that I would give in and change one day. I knew better than anyone. That would never happen.