Chapter One — Callum
“What’s got into you, man?” my friend Trent asks.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
Trent looks at me, eyebrows raised. “Are you serious?”
I pause, the barbell lifted halfway up my chest. I’m so thrown off that it takes me a second to realize I’m holding it in midair. Trent helps me out, grabbing it and lifting it into the rack. I sit up and grab the white towel beside me, wiping my brow with it.
“What I mean,” Trent says, looking at me, “is that you’ve been totally off your game the last few weeks. You must know that, right?”
I shake my head.
After I sold the cybersecurity startup I founded, I moved into other business ventures. One of them is with Trent, in the AI space. I handle more of the business side, while Trent handles more of the coding.
“You’ve been blowing off meetings with investors, cutting employees slack that you never would have before, overlooking sloppiness,” Trent says. “You’re not your normal self. I’m surprised you didn’t know. You’ve always been very self-aware.”
“I mean, everybody has off weeks, right?” I say, as we head towards the water fountain.
I bend down and drink. When I’m done, Trent looks at me.
“Yeah, but you’re not everyone,” he says finally. “I’ve never seen you have an off week. Until now.” He pauses. “It’s that girl, isn’t it?”
When I don’t say anything, he nods emphatically.
“Yep. That’s it. It’s her. God, it’s always a woman, isn’t it?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“See,” Trent says, “Even the way you said that, just now. It’s her.”
I look at him. “What the hell are you talking about? The way I said the word no?”
Trent looks at me. “I’ve known you for a long time. I can tell. You like her, don’t you?”
Fuck. Trent has me. I’m not gonna lie to him about this.
“Yeah,” I say finally. “I do.”
We head back to the bench press, and this time Trent picks up the bar and lies down. I spot him as he starts his reps. He does eight and then puts the bar back. Panting heavily, he looks at me as he sits up.
“Be careful,” he says. “A woman can ruin you. The biggest liability a man can have is a woman he loves.”
“That sounds like some red pill shit,” I say.
“Yeah, well, they call it the red pill because it’s reality, right?” Trent says.
I shake my head. “I think you need to lay off YouTube.”
“Trust me,” Trent says. “You don’t want to go down this road. You need to stay sharp. Keep your edge. If you start getting soft because of a woman, it’s not going to go well for you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You’ll have a weak spot,” Trent says. “People will exploit it. You’ll start being too nice. You won’t be the shark like you used to be. Do you want that?”
“No, but...” I start to say.
“Well, then be careful,” Trent says. “I’m just warning you. As your friend.”
“Yeah. Okay,” I say.
“I can tell you’re not really taking what I’m saying seriously,” Trent says, “but think about it, okay? I’ve seen this happen before.”
“Whatever, man,” I say. “Listen, I’ve got to run, but I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
“The meeting?” Trent asks.
I nod. “Yeah, sounds good.”
I head to the locker room as Trent starts stretching. I stand under the hot water as his words play over in my mind. Is he right? Am I losing my edge?
The more I think about it, the more I realize he’s right. I have been getting sloppy these last few weeks, making bad calls. And what other reason could there be but her? She’s the only thing that’s changed in my life.
Still, does that mean I have to give this up?
This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. If I’m being honest, I don’t want to give it up, even if I should.
I turn on the shower to cold for the last minute and then start to towel off.
What the hell should I do?