“Yeah, okay, so he did, but it was a passing phase.”
“It went on for over a year.”
“Okay, it did, but we were kids then. He’s thirty now. There’s a big difference.”
“Oh really? He’s matured? I never noticed.”
“Just because we bugged you unmercifully doesn’t mean we didn’t love you. It was our obligation as older brothers.”
“He’s not related to me. Thank god. And he doesn’t love me. He just took perverse pleasure in it.”
Sam practically begs me with his eyes to see his point for once. “He’s practically family. He basically lived at our house. Also, farts could be a great source of fuel. I don’t know—if someone harnessed it right…And about the bugging, well, that was just a high school thing.”
“What’s your excuse for all the times you did it when you were already out of school and had all those big ass experiences and should have grown up instead of being a big buttface to your poor little sister?”
“Nothing. I have no excuse other than it was older brother duty again.”
“He has no excuse then because he is not and never will be like a brother to me. You have to admit he’s a first-class jerk. He did not, with big capital letters, deserve to get rich.”
“Oh, come on. Hal paid his dues. He grew up freaking dirt poor. His mom was always working. We were friends, and it was fun for us to hang out. Everyone liked having him around. Plus, he learned to be independent pretty early on. He’s also smart, and he got a scholarship, but he had to work like crazy for it. Me, I got a free ride because I was good at football.”
“He was also a stupid jock. At least you both had that in common.”
Sam sets his hand over his chest. “Ow. Right in the feels.”
I narrow my eyes. “I know you can take it because it’s said with love and because you’re my brother. But I repeat, Hal isn’t. I could never be so desperate that I would ask him for money—money he didn’t even earn.”
“He kind of did earn it.”
“No.”
“When you invest in stocks, you have to know what you’re doing. It takes a lot of research.”
“He’s a math and economics major. I think it came pretty naturally to him.”
“Still. So what if he’s naturally gifted and has an uncanny knack for picking the right stock and knowing when to sell and when to bail and all that? Good on him.”
I roll my eyes and finally take a sip of milk. Damn, it is creamy. I’ll give that one to Sam, but I’ll never surrender when it comes to Hal Walker. And yes, I’m prejudiced towards him but he earned it. “What kind of billionaire stays in Bellevue anyway?”
“The kind who isn’t too big for his britches, as they say.” Sam sighs. “Just ask him for the money. It would be a drop in the bucket for him.”
“I know he took the stock money and opened a venture capitalist firm. But are you saying that he’s just waiting to invest in my business because he thinks it’s a good opportunity?”
“Yes!”
“No.”
“Now you’re being pigheaded.”
I down the rest of the milk and set my glass in the sink. I’ll raid the cheese drawer and get the heck out of here, making it clear I’m done with this conversation.
“Don’t even think about stealing my cheese.” Sam moves to block the fridge, unfortunately anticipating my next move. “If you don’t ask him, I will.”
“No!”
“So what are you going to do? Just lose the bakery?”
“Yeah. If I have to.”
“No! You can’t sell it. It’s everything you wanted. Plus, Mom and Dad gave you money to invest in it to get it going, and you’ve worked so hard on it. You transformed that old building into something amazing.”
“Yeah, I did.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “And unfortunately, Daryl and his family loaned me fifty grand to get it going.”
“That guy never worked there a day in his life.”
“It doesn’t matter. He didn’t have to. He gave me the money, and now that we broke up, he wants it back. I have to buy him out, or I have to sell to pay him. No one will give me a loan considering I’m already maxed out. Mom and Dad don’t have fifty grand lying around, and even if they could get it, I don’t want to have to ask them to do that. I have a shit apartment now because the house was Daryl’s, and even that’s too expensive. My car is also a beater, and I have no other assets. Thank god I just paid off my student loans. The bakery is doing good, but not so good that I have fifty grand just lying around which I can use.”
“And you won’t even ask Hal? Not when he runs a business that specializes in investments? Not even when he could easily lend you the money, professionally or personally? Not even when—”