3
Liam and I were college sweethearts.
He grew up with everything, his future laid out
for him. But he rebelled, went his own way,
and started his own business.
I was his first partner.
He put up the cash, I put in the sweat.
I asked him once why he chose me.
There were plenty of people in college
smarter than I was.
He twirled a pen in his hand, staring at me.
<
He put up the cash, I put in the sweat.
I asked him once why he chose me.
There were plenty of people in college
smarter than I was.
He twirled a pen in his hand, staring at me.
A real smile.
He said, “I like you.”
I was taken aback.
“I mean… your drive, your hustle.”
My wild ambition was what he admired.
Later that ambition became what he was
I was taken aback.
“I mean… your drive, your hustle.”
My wild ambition was what he admired.
Later, that ambition became what he was
wary of.
Ashley, on the other hand, was simple.
The type he wanted for a wife–someone
sweet, with no goals of her own, who’d
revolve around him.
He was clear–headed, knew exactly what he
wanted, and he went for it.
Liam and I were cut from the same cloth. We
Liam and I were cut from the same cloth. We
fought, we pushed, we were always ready to
pounce.
That’s how we knew each other so well in the
business world.
We knew the back–and–forth of negotiations,
the ruthlessness in competition, and that got
us to the top.
The night we made our first million, we were
both drunk, laying in bed, surrounded by
scattered hundred–dollar bills.
Liam turned his head, looking at me with
something I couldn’t quite read.
“You’re a badass, Jane,” he said.
<
Youre a pauass, Jane, ne salu.
I chuckled. “You’re not too shabby yourself.”
The high–intensity work finally got to Liam,
and he came down with a bad fever.
I was fussing around, taking care of him,
when he turned and pinned me to the bed.
I remember his eyes were red–rimmed, and
his skin was flushed red from the fever.
“I like you,” he said.
This time, there were no pauses, no additional
words.
He wasn’t holding back. I could smell the
faint hint of tobacco mixed with mint.
<
faint hint of tobacco mixed with mint.
His voice was husky, his every whimper a
secret.
It was intense. We were both burning, falling into the abyss together.
