Chapter 8
RYAN
“Ten, seven, one. Game point,” Leo calls out, his tone easy but competitive. He nails the serve, driving it deep into the court. We rally a few times, each hit getting faster and more precise. When the ball comes to me, I step forward for the return, aiming low and landing it just inside the sideline, barely brushing the edge of the kitchen. Michael darts after it, stretching out, but he misses by a hair. The ball bounces out, and just like that, Leo and I win the game.
We try to play pickleball every other Sunday, while Michael and Leo’s wives are at their girls brunch. Leo technically isn’t married, but he might as well be. He’s in a serious relationship with his girlfriend, and they’ve got a baby together. We all call her his wife.
When the weather’s nice we play outside, but it’s early November in Chicago. This morning was brutally cold for this time of year, so we’re at Elemental Hub.
We tap paddles over the net, offering the usual “good game” before grabbing our water bottles and towels. Sweat drips down my face as I wipe it away, my arms feeling heavy. Five games in, and I’m spent.
“How long is brunch today?” I ask Leo and Michael.
“Hell if I know.” Leo chuckles, shaking his head. “It’s different every week. Sometimes brunch is two hours, sometimes it’s six. You know how women are—they get to talking, and next thing you know, it’s dinnertime. All I care about is that Viv comes home happy and tipsy after a few drinks. That’s when the fun starts, mate.” He slaps me on the back, as if I’ve got the same setup waiting for me at home. I don’t.
“God, when is Vivian going to get sick of your ass?” Michael snarks. “I swear you two have more sex than couples who just got together. It’s like you’re permanently stuck in the honeymoon phase.”
“Ah, I do remember the honeymoon phase,” I say, a little nostalgia creeping into my voice. “Those were the good ol’ days.”
“Right? Stella never wants to have sex anymore. I’m lucky if I get it once every ten days,” Michael says, shaking his head. “It sucks.”
“Hey, at least your forearm’s getting stronger for pickleball,” Adam quips, earning a round of laughter from all of us.
“Well, she is pregnant, mate,” Leo adds with a knowing look. “That’s pretty normal for a lot of women. Although, it wasn’t with Vivian. She was even hornier when she was pregnant.”
“Of course she was,” Michael scoffs. “Vivian apparently has the libido of a teenage boy. I don’t know how you managed to land someone like that.” He turns to the group. “Bet Ryan doesn’t even know Leo never wanted to be tied down, but somehow, the guy ends up with a girl whose sex drive matches his.”
Leo grins, folding his arms across his chest, looking smug as ever.
I glance at Adam as he chimes in. “Wish I had something interesting to add to this conversation, but I’ve got nothing. Did hook up with a really hot girl last week, though, so that was cool.” He turns to me. “Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Ryan, Leo’s probably slept with half the women in Chicago.”
Leo shoves Adam, laughing. “Oh, so now you fuckers are ganging up on me because I get laid more than the lot of you?” He grins. “Same old story. But seriously, Adam, tell us more about this girl. Was it a date or just a one-time shag?”
“Well, it was a date. Didn’t plan on it being a one-time thing, but now she won’t return my texts. I hit her up three times, then just gave up,” Adam says, shrugging. “She was hot, though.”
“So you slept with her, and now she’s ghosting you?” Michael grimaces. “You worried she wasn’t satisfied?”
Adam scowls. “No! Trust me, she was satisfied.”
“She could’ve been faking it,” Michael shoots back.
“You’re such a dick, man. You’re just pissed you can’t get your own wife to sleep with you.”
Michael laughs. “You got me there, Adam. I’m jealous. Jealous of all you guys and your fantastic sex lives.”
“Hey, I don’t have a fantastic sex life. I don’t even have a sex life right now,” I say. “Don’t be jealous of me. I’d give my left nut for sex every ten days right now.” I laugh, but admitting it out loud stings more than I expected.
“That’s rough, mate,” Leo says, shooting me a sympathetic look. “Any prospects?”
I’m the newer guy in the group. I moved to Chicago about fifteen months ago and met Leo because he owns Elemental. He’s originally from London, and we hit it off right away. After our first meeting, he invited me to poker night and got me into pickleball with the guys.
Leo’s extremely wealthy. He’s built an empire—real estate, businesses, investments. But he’s also a psychologist and therapist, so when things got complicated in my life, he was there for me. Never pushed advice or judged—just listened. And when I did ask, he’d offer new ways to see things, new perspectives.
Since moving here, I’ve grown closest to Leo, though he’s got a lot of friends. Michael and Adam are great too, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them. Outside of pickleball, we’ve only hung out a handful of times—poker nights or whenever Leo hosts something.
I’ve been spending more time with the guys lately, especially since things with Beth have been… complicated. I told them about Cooper when I got back from Newport, but I haven’t mentioned that she’s now working with me.
“Unfortunately, no prospects,” I admit. “But I’m not really out there dating or actively looking. Things with Beth are difficult right now, and I’m trying to be respectful of the situation.”
I hesitate, debating whether to bring up Cooper. “Do you guys remember that super hot chick I hooked up with in Newport Beach?”
“Yeah, I remember. Didn’t you say she was great in the sack?” Leo says, and the others nod, remembering.
“Yeah. Well… she’s the new project manager for Nexlytic.” I can’t help but laugh at their shocked faces. “Riddle me that, right?”
“Hold on,” Leo interrupts. “Nexlytic, as in the company that works with yours at Elemental?”
“Yup,” I say, folding my arms.
Adam jumps in, eyebrows raised. “Okay, but that’s great, right? You gonna hook up with her again?”
“Hold on a second,” Leo interjects, narrowing his eyes. “Things are a lot more complicated now that she works with him.”
“Yeah,” I scoff. “That, and the fact that she’s apparently engaged. I think she may have cheated on him when we hooked up.” I still don’t know if I feel guilty or just pissed that I got involved—or maybe it’s that I spent seven months thinking about her, only to find out she’s not who I thought she was. Either way, it’s not sitting right with me.
“Holy shit,” Michael blurts, eyes wide.
“Did you ask her about it?” Leo asks.
“Yeah, I confronted her.” I shift my weight from one foot to the other. “And I’ll admit, it wasn’t exactly my most mature moment… and I definitely crossed a line in terms of professionalism.”
Leo winces. “Shit, mate. That’s not good. What did you say?”
“I was a total prick. Made some asshole remarks about her fiancé and whether they were in an open relationship.” Michael and Adam’s shocked laughter bounces off the court walls.
“What’d she say?” Michael asks, still chuckling.
“Told me it wasn’t my business, and then threw out something about reporting me to HR. I don’t know… I fucked up. If she reports me, I could lose my job.”
Michael whistles low, shaking his head. “Man, that’s a mess.”
“What do I do?” I ask.
“Just keep it professional. Stay cordial. That’s all you can do,” Adam says. “Do you work with her directly?”
“Not right now, but there’s a big project coming up. I’ll be working with her boss, and she’ll probably be involved. We’ll have some one-on-one interactions.” I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “Worst part? I’m still so damn attracted to her.”
Michael and Adam exchange glances, then burst out laughing.
I scowl. “What’s so funny?”
Adam grins. “Dude, you’re screwed. Just admit it—you wanna fuck her.”
“Yeah, I definitely do,” I admit. “But with her being a coworker, and everything with Beth… it just feels wrong. And now that she’s engaged, it doesn’t even matter anyway.”
“Tread lightly, mate. You don’t want to make this more complicated than it already is. Just keep it professional,” Leo says.
“If she’s engaged, there’s really nothing you can do.” Michael adds. “The past is the past—just leave it there. What’s her name?”
“Cooper.”
“Okay, so focus on your work and leave Cooper at the office. But, seriously, man, you might want to get laid—just to get her out of your head, for your sanity.” Michael waves his hand like he’s solved all my problems.
Adam glances at Michael and chuckles. “You might want to consider getting laid yourself… you know, for your sanity.” He slaps Michael on the back, and we all crack up.
“Shut up,” Michael mutters, rolling his eyes.
Leo checks his phone and grins. “Well, gentlemen, duty calls,” he says, holding up his phone to show us the text from Vivian—an eggplant emoji followed by water drops.
“God, I hate you,” Michael says, pulling out his phone. “I’m texting the same thing to Stella. Any bets?”
“‘Fuck off’?” Adam suggests, laughing. “Or maybe she’ll send back a pencil. You don’t exactly give off eggplant vibes, bro.”
We all crack up as we head toward the elevator.
“Oh, and Leo does?” Michael shoots back.
“Leo’s proven he can pull off the eggplant emoji,” Adam replies with a grin.
Michael’s phone buzzes, and he bursts out laughing, holding it up for us to see—a middle finger emoji from Stella. Leo tries to smother his laugh but fails.
The elevator doors open, and Leo, still grinning, pats Michael on the back before stepping out. “See you later, guys.”
“See you,” I say as we all head our separate ways.
The guys are right. I just need to focus on work and forget it. She’s engaged now—end of story.