“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. You and Missy James?”
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “What about her?”
“She’s your new stylist, brother.”
“Says who?” I scoffed.
“I do.”
“You’re not my boss, Toby, we’re business partners.”
“You always seem to forget that while you do things that are bad for our company image.”
“Toby, stop being ridiculous.” He finally looked at me.
“I’m dead serious, Easy. If you don’t do this, we are going to suffer in the long run, and I am not letting you be a liability. We are business partners and when you fuck up, it hurts me. You clean up your act with the stylist or I’m selling my stake in Rotorhead and walking away. Those are my terms.” We were doing ultimatums now, were we?
This was a joke. It was a fucking game and I was tired of playing. Toby was this bent out of shape about my old t-shirts? Fine. I’d stop needling the old man and give him some peace. Anything not to have this stupid conversation again.
“Okay, fine. I’ll do it. I’ll work with the stylist, but you are gonna owe me big time.”
“Owe you for what? Safeguarding our business and making you into a presentable professional?” Right then, Jenna from earlier came up and stole his attention away. He dug in his pockets and pulled out a tip for her as she danced around him. I had to look away. It felt wrong being here and seeing this.
“I’m out of here. See you tomorrow.” I didn’t wait for his reply, walking out. How much time did Toby actually spend here? Once in a while, I wouldn’t be able to find him, and he wouldn’t get back to me on his phone. Was this why? Because his face was buried in Jenna’s tits and he couldn’t hear it ring? That wasn’t a problem in itself, but I never thought of him as a person who did this kind of thing. Guess I didn’t know him quite as well as I thought. I walked out of the dark strip club into the daylight. Whatever the case was, it wasn’t my business. I had another meeting with Artemis James, and I was not looking forward to it.
6
Artemis
At first, I thought that Toby Anderson had asked me to meet him and his partner at a restaurant because they didn’t have a real office. If they did have a real office, it was something out of a horror movie. A disgusting den in an unsavory part of the city where the two of them rolled around in their own filth. Drug deals and overdoses probably happened in the parking lot. Several arrests had definitely happened in the general vicinity and it was a bad idea to walk around there at night.
Their first impression had left a bad taste in my mouth.
So why was it that when Toby contacted me again for another meeting, this time at their headquarters, I agreed?
“Please allow me to apologize for the last meeting,” Toby said. I was on a comfortable leather sofa sitting across from him. On the table in front of me was a glass of sparkling water. It had all started with a message and a flower arrangement from Toby Anderson of Rotorhead Incorporated. The message was handwritten in impeccable calligraphy and was an apology along with an invitation to the office. I thought about taking it but maybe I didn’t think long enough. The whole ride here, I w
ondered whether I should ask the driver to take me back but by the time we stopped in front of the building, I hadn’t said anything yet.
“Thanks for inviting me. I have to say though, I had a lot of misgivings coming here.”
“Misgivings?”
“I wasn’t sure that this was the right decision following our last conversation.”
“Once again, let me apologize for mine and my partner’s actions during our last meeting.”
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure that I was going to gain anything from this meeting, even though you called to make amends. I wondered whether it would end up simply being a waste of my time.”
“A waste of your time?”
“Your partner told me unequivocally that he did not want my help.”
“Ah, yes,” Toby said. He sighed then leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “He can be a challenge.”
“A challenge?” I said with a scoff. He was the single most disrespectful, angry, and disagreeable man that I had ever met, and we were still strangers.
“More than a challenge.” He sighed again. “Missy, can I be honest with you?”