“Twenty years!” gasps Jessica, her eyes wide. “So you guys graduated from college two decades ago?”
I throw her a lopsided smile.
“Yes. Why, does that seem really old?”
She blushes.
“No, not old. Okay, well yes. I mean, I knew you guys were older but I had no idea that you graduated from college twenty years ago.”
Sam throws her a smirk.
“We’re forty-five honey. Why, how old did you think we were?”
Jessica sputters then.
“I don’t know. Maybe thirty, thirty-five?”
I shake my head, growling.
“That’s very flattering honey, but nope. We’re in our fifth decade, although it’s nice to hear you think otherwise. In fact, we just donated a shit ton to Oregon State for our twentieth, right boys?” I ask.
Vance and Sam nod.
“Goddamn near emptied my wallet for my alma mater,” Vance remarks.
“Go Beavers,” Sam grunts while popping an anchovy into his mouth.
But then Jessica blushes.
“You know, I actually graduated from Oregon State too, so I guess we’re alum. But I don’t think I knew anyone in Rho Mu Tau.”
Sam grins.
“That’s because it doesn’t exist anymore,” he explains. He shoves an entire piece of pizza down his throat before continuing. “It’s not without reason though. There were some pretty bad hazing incidents about five years ago that led to a few pledges getting alcohol poisoning. Thankfully, no one died, but the fraternity was de-chaptered and no longer exists at Oregon State.”
I nod, frowning. It’s a shame that a few guys had to go and ruin everything with their idiotic ways. After all, the frat was a good time, and I was gratified to be a part of the brotherhood. We’ve done a couple informal reunions since the chapter was disbanded, but it’s not the same. On-campus meet-ups are now banned, and it’s not the same to gather a bar or restaurant, when we used to party at the house. Still, boys will be boys. The latest members of RMT were merely dumbfucks who got caught.
“Some of those frat guys can be really wild,” Jess nods. “But I can’t imagine the three of you like that because you’re so mature and with it.”
That makes me laugh. “Well, we are now, but once upon a time, we were dumbfucks too. Excuse the language, honey, but it’s true. We couldn’t tell our dicks from our asses.”
She giggles.
“But you’re all successful business owners now. I mean, Carhart Holdings, Prince Corp., and Ryder Limited are booming real estate firms.”
Vance nods. “Yeah, we run the three biggest development companies in Portland.”
Jessica nods. “But isn’t it awkward being competitors? And then being with me as well?”
I nod slowly. “Well, it wasn’t always like this, obviously. After college, we wanted to do our own things and to be honest, I was a professional athlete for a while. But the minors kicked my ass, so I started Carhart. Things took off, and didn’t you have that beer distribution business that flopped Sam?”
My friend nods.
“Yeah, but at least I got free beer out of it.”
I laugh.
“Yeah, we all made mistakes, and none of us started in real estate to begin with. It’s just something that happened by chance, and the competition makes us stronger, to be honest. But do you want to know a secret, honey?”
Jessica leans closer as she winks. “Yes, because I love secrets!”
I chuckle. “As much fun as it is for us to compete against each other, we’re actually in talks to negotiate a merger between our three companies. We’re powerful on our own, but our company as a whole would have unspeakable synergies and unshakeable dominance.”
Her eyes widen. “Are you serious? You’re going to close Carhart?”
I shrug. “I don’t know about close. Right now, the plan is to continue to operate individually, but under an umbrella company jointly run by the three of us. No one will be losing their jobs or anything. In fact, this would likely allow us to hire more staff and to expand our footprint. We’d be an even bigger force to reckon with.”
Jessica nods, her eyes wide.
“Goodness, that’s impressive,” she murmurs. “If there’s anything I can do to help, you know where to find me, Mr. Carhart. You too, Mr. Ryder and Mr. Prince.”
My two buddies grin at her.
“Hey, we’re not your bosses yet, although I have to admit I like hearing my name slip off your tongue like that,” Sam growls.
“Hell, I’d love to hear you call me Mr. Prince in bed,” Vance adds. “That might make me come even harder.”
Jessica looks aroused and scandalized at once, but before the conversation can get raunchy, I interject.
“Now honey, this shouldn’t be all about us. You’ve heard about our careers, but what about yours? What do you want to do long-term? Surely, being my secretary gets boring.”
She smiles. “No, it’s not boring because you keep me on my toes, but that’s a good question. To be honest, I don’t really know what I want to do with my life. I’m still figuring it out.”