Page 31 of Partners In Evil
“I also immediately believe that about her.”
He sighs. “Then again, she was beautiful. And she knew how to make a party fun when she wanted to. And that’s not even talking about the song…”
I say nothing. He’s obviously getting ready to say something important, and I don’t want to cut him off.
“She can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, not really,” he says. “Not even with the song. It’s not mind control. It just puts you in a good mood. Reminds you how much you like her. Once I started not liking her as much, the song stopped affecting me.”
“Still sounds a little creepy, if I’m honest,” I say.
“I dunno, maybe it was. That’s not the point. What I’m trying to say is I had good times with her. She got on my nerves a little. Well, a lot. But we still had good times. And a couple of weeks ago, before I met you, well, I probably would have been okay with getting engaged to her. Inheritance or not.”
That surprises me. “So you’re saying it is about me?”
“No!” he protests. “I mean, yes. But it isn’t that simple. It’s about who I am when I’m around you. I like the person I am when I’m with you. I like him more than I like the person I am when I’m with Raven.”
He pauses for a moment, thinking, then starts again.
“So it is about you, but it’s also about me. It’s about how caring about you makes me act. Does that make sense? I mean, is that stupid?”
“No,” I say. “That isn’t stupid at all.”
For a moment, I want to lean over this desk and kiss him, but then I remember Damien and Luc and how solemn they were over this whole affair. Even if what he’s saying is true, it’s still hard to accept that I’m the reason this whole business is failing. That if it weren’t for me, everybody here would be doing absolutely fine.
“Let’s go out and do something fun,” he says, suddenly.
“You mean after work?” I answer.
“No, I mean right now. All the clients are running away. There’s not much to do around here. Let’s go to an arcade or something. Let’s go do something that isn’t sad and boring, like sitting around here.”
“But we’re supposed to be working…” I say, nervously.
“You’ve got a point,” he replies. “What if someone tells the boss?”
It’s hard to argue with that. And if I’m gonna figure out some kind of plan for dealing with Raven, maybe taking a little bit to relax and freshen my thoughts would be good.
Or maybe I’d just rather go on a date with Finn than work in an office. Who knows?
“Okay,” I decide. “Let’s do it. But as friends.”
He looks slightly hurt by that. “Raven’s already mad at us, you know. It’s not like we’ll be making anything if she finds out.”
“I know,” I tell him. “But I want you to be able to do anything you need to do in order to save this firm. And if that means I can only be your friend until all this is cleared up, then that’s what it means.”
“The only thing I want to do right now is completely destroy you at air hockey,” he says.
I haven’t thought about air hockey in years. There used to be a table at the movie theater that we’d drive to on the weekends sometimes. Sometimes I’d beg my parents to watch the movie without me so I could stay outside and play air hockey with anyone who happened to be there.
“Are there still places that have air hockey?” I ask.
“Spoken like someone about to be thoroughly destroyed.”
I smile. “Okay. I’ll teach you a lesson about air hockey. But as friends. At least for now?”
He clearly doesn’t like it, but he nods. “Alright, as friends. But just so you know, I’m not going to Raven for that money. I might be desperate, but I’m not desperate.”
“Let’s see how desperate you are after I’ve gotten that puck into your goal a few times,” I say.
He laughs and grabs his coat from the rack in the corner.