Chapter Four — Alex
I try to stop my leg from shaking, but it’s hard.
I’m nervous. I look from one man to the other.
On outward appearances alone, they look quite similar.
If anything, Trent is a smaller, more bland version of Callum.
Like Callum, he’s tall and in shape, but not as tall or as buff.
Unlike Callum’s jet-black hair, his is dark brown.
His eyes are hazel to Callum’s striking green ones, and his bone structure is strong but not sharp as a knife like Callum’s.
Even his voice is an octave or two higher than Callum’s.
I see why Callum likes him. Why he trusts him.
He seems measured. Calm. He seems like the kind of man you can trust, not the kind who would steal the spotlight from you.
Still, I know that he’s judging me. I mean, I’m his cofounder’s…
actually, what am I? Callum’s girl? Friend? Girlfriend? Interest? Hookup? Opponent?
Whatever I am, though, I’m sure he knows I’m important to Callum.
I mean, I’m almost positive Callum’s told him about me.
And now he’s seeing for himself what I’m like.
He’s made that quite obvious, from the once-over he gave me when I walked in, to the million questions he’s been peppering me with ever since we sat down for lunch.
“And then you worked at Goldman’s right after?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “But wait, that would have only been three years,” he says.
“Yeah. I completed my undergrad in three,” I say, before taking a sip of my lemonade.
Trent almost looks deflated, as if he thought he could catch me in a gotcha. As if I’d lie about my college education. I don’t need to lie about something like that. My credentials speak for themselves.
I shoot Callum a look, like, Why is this man asking me questions like this is a congressional hearing? Callum shoots Trent a look that says tone it down. Trent rolls his eyes at that.
“So, tell me about yourself,” I say, trying to change the focus. “Where did you go to school?”
Trent launches into his story, and luckily, the spotlight finally shifts away from me.
I nudge Callum’s foot under the table, and he nudges it back, shooting me a sneaky smile.
We’re sitting beside each other on the booth side of the table.
I edge closer so that our legs are touching.
He grabs my thigh with one hand, and I flush as his hand plays with the hem of my skirt.
“Are you listening?” Trent asks, shooting us a glance.
“Of course,” Callum says. “You were talking about your time with GX.”
Trent smiles, happy to be acknowledged. “Yeah. So that startup,” he continues.
Callum looks at me, shooting me an apologetic smile. I smile back, trying to communicate it’s okay with my eyes. His fingers toy with my skirt again, and my body tingles. Suddenly, more than anything, I wish Trent would just disappear into thin air.
After a few more minutes, Callum gets up to go to the washroom. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Trent leans over, an urgent look in his eyes.
“I have to tell you something,” he says.
“What?” I ask. Whatever it is, it seems important. He looks frantic.
“So. Callum’s completely losing it.”
“What do you mean?”
“His work has gone to shit,” Trent says bluntly.
“Because of you. I’m not blaming you, I’m just telling you the facts.
He’s been so distracted that he’s gone soft.
He’s not playing hardball with investors like he used to, or holding employees to hard standards.
If he continues down this road, he’s going to lose everything. You need to do something.”
“Oh,” I say. I feel guilty, but at the same time, I don’t know what I did wrong. “Okay, well, what should I do?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Trent says. “Because I have the answer. What you need to do is you need to fuck other men.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, taken aback.
“You heard me.”
“I heard you, but why? How would that help? I don’t get it.”
“Because,” Trent says, speaking slowly as if I’m a child, “you need to ignite that competitive spirit back into Callum. He thinks he’s got you, so now he’s become complacent. If you give other men attention, he’ll realize that he needs to step up his game. He’s always been competitive.”
“Hmm,” I say. That’s actually slightly more reasonable than I was expecting Trent to say. But I don’t know. I don’t want to make Callum angry. And I’ve never done anything remotely like this before.
“I don’t know,” I say finally. “That seems risky. What if Callum hates me?”
“He won’t hate you,” Trent says. “He’s into all that. Swinging, exhibitionism, orgies, you name it.”
“Really?”
Trent nods. “Yup. He’s twisted, that fucker. I mean, it’ll turn him on, if anything, so that’ll be a bonus.”
“Okay, well, what do I actually do, though? Practically, I wouldn’t even know where to start with something like this,” I say. “Hypothetically, of course,” I add quickly, noticing Trent’s smile. “I’m not agreeing to anything right now.”
“Start by flirting with other men in front of him. Make him jealous. While you do that, I’ll come up with a plan. I know people,” Trent says.
“What?” I ask.
“Leave it to me,” Trent says. “I’ll arrange everything.”
“What do you mean?”
“Give me your phone,” he says.
I hand it over, and he punches in some digits.
“I need to put some things in motion. I’ll text you the details,” he says, as he hands back my phone.
I look down and see that he’s added his name as a contact and texted himself from my phone.
“And don’t say anything to Callum,” Trent says, as Callum begins approaching the table.
“Why?” I say.
“He needs to believe it’s real,” Trent says. “Or it won’t work as well.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Positive.”
Callum smiles and slides back beside me.
“What did I miss?” Callum asks.
“Nothing,” Trent says, smiling brightly. “Just getting to know each other better, right, Alex?” He looks at me.
“Right,” I say, smiling tightly.
What have I gotten myself into?