Only Ten Years - Chapter 3

Chapter 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.

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.

His voice was husky, his every whimper a secret. It was intense. We were both burning, falling into the abyss together.