- ARMAND -
My trio of friends were waiting when I walked into Ruby's Spot about an hour later. Even in the dim lightning, it didn’t take me a long time before I saw Matt, Carl, and Reuben himself at our usual corner. We tended to hide out here at least once a week to discuss business or when we did not want to deal with going to regular bars. Reuben owned the spot, so he was always our host whenever we came in. Carl was a manager of the biggest fish factory in town, while Matt was my best friend and a colleague from medical school.
All four of us met at Sarah’s thirtieth birthday party two years ago. Ever since then, we’d been inseparable. We were known inside and outside of our circle as the fab four.
“What the hell happened to you?” Matt asked as Reuben poured him bourbon.
“Who told you something happened to me?” I bit back, but Matt only chuckled.
“Known you for about eight years now, amigo. Can read you like an open book.”
“Really?” I snickered. “Go ahead then, read me.”
“Hey guys,” Matt called the attention of the other two men. “Who bets me $100 that I correctly guess this guy’s thoughts.”
Reuben smirked. “You must not be very confident if you’re only ready to lose a hundred?”
“Nah.” Matt grinned. “I don’t just think his thoughts are worth that much.”
“Touché!” I called out while the other men laughed. “So?” I took the scotch that Reuben was holding out to me and turned back to Matt. “You get two tries.”
“I just need one,” Matt shouted. He jumped up to sit astride the chair facing me. He dramatically stared into my face for a couple of minutes, then turned around and motioned the other men forward. They leaned over his shoulders and stared into my face.
I raised my eyebrow, crossed my legs and took a huge gulp of my drink.
“You’re having women troubles, Armand. I know that look anywhere.” Matt’s words were accompanied by a dry chuckle. “Did Sarah come to attack you in the office for fucking that diva ER doctor?”
“Fuck you. I had nothing to do with the ER doctor.” I laughed. “And I’ve told you more than once that Sarah doesn’t tell me what to do. We’ve been done for months.”
“Wish I was in your shoes,” Carl chuckled. I watched as he and Reuben promptly made their way to the other side of the room. “Come Rueben, let’s go chat with that man about our little investment.”
Carl was a factory manager, and Sarah was its heiress.
The factory had been started by Kane Monroe, Sarah’s father, after he’d won the lottery. He’d spent years building it and it represented so much to Coldport. It had brought in revenue and jobs. He even helped fund a top tier hospital with it’s headquarters in Coldport that served neighboring towns. The fish factory had essentially employed at least one person from every family in Coldport over the years.
Carl had been hired as Kane Monroe’s assistant., but had risen through the ranks. When Kane decided that his children, Sarah and Jay, could not manage the company effectively, he implored Carl to run it after he’d retire.
Things worked well until Kane died two years prior. At that point, Sarah had become unbearable, meddling in most of his plans and decisions like the presumptuous heiress she was, even though she knew little about the business. Carl had already considered resigning twice before. He only stayed there because the staff union had begged him to wait until a less critical time for the business.
I'd experienced Sarah’s busybody sassiness firsthand when we’d dated about eighteen months ago, right about when I’d first taken this job in Coldport. She’s a woman who doesn’t take it well when her wishes aren’t carried out. I’d broken up swiftly after six months of dating her, but I still couldn’t shake Sarah, especially not after her brother became my patient.
Her main hold on me was her brother - a drug addict with cardiac issues. Jay had been spending time in the ICU for several days. It was his deteriorating health that took me to New York that same night I met Ella.
I went back to thinking about her. Her beauty when we first met. Her vulnerability at the clinic, and then how relieved she had been to find out that her father was in good hands. Every one of those moments revealed her natural beauty, and I was enthralled.
“See, he's thinking about that ER doctor again. Looks like you want to have an HR complaint smacked on you, man,” Matt announced.
“Oh shut up, for fuck’s sake.” I rolled my eyes and took another swig of my drink. “I'm not interested in the ER doctor.”
“Then who is it?” he pressed.
“Who's what?”
He took a sip of his gin and tonic before answering. “The woman. Who's the woman who has your head on lock?”
“None of your business!”
Matt laughed into his glass and then hit his hand on the table.