Page 74

“You will.” I cut him off. “As soon as we leave your house after our upcoming test drive. You know it. I know it. It’s a good deal.” Tate helped me draft it, which meant I was bulletproof and could screw Bruce six ways from Sunday if anything went wrong. Of course, I didn’t expect it to. Bruce had an entire floor to house his litigation team. But I was also sure they were all nepo hires from his small town, so who knew their level of incompetence?
We joined the others at the table. Expensive liquor, cocktails, and food began to flow to our corner of the room steadily. Lobster rolls, Maine crab cakes, shrimp alfredo, and stuffed lobster butter croissant. I sat next to Dylan and put my hand in her lap, giving her a squeeze. Truth was keeping busy these past couple days hadn’t helped with pushing her out of my mind.
“What’s the estimated annual profit margin on App-date?” Tate buttered a bread roll. He was playing this all out for me. He already knew all the deets.
“We’re looking at twenty billion revenue the first year,” I said. “Eight less than TikTok in 2023. Not too shabby for a so-called niche.”
“Really? People want a fake relationship that much?” Jolene sounded doubtful as she sipped her Bloody Mary.
“You’d be surprised.” My hand traveled up Dylan’s thigh, my tone cool and calculated. “It’s not the niche market you think it is. People need dates for weddings, parties, work events. People want to find other like-minded individuals to go on vacation with. Have deep, philosophical conversations that delve deeper than what apps like Tinder and Bumble offer. The sexiest thing about my app is that it isn’t about sex. It forces the participants to actually get to know each other. I think it’ll breed more married couples than all the dating apps combined,” I said confidently, knowing it was what she wanted to hear.
Bruce nodded absentmindedly. “I can see it. It’s like forcing people to go on real dates without the expectation to sleep together afterward.”
“Exactly,” I said.
“Can’t remember the last time I heard about an app predicted to have a revenue of more than three billion in its first year,” Tate commented dryly, taking a sip of his whiskey.
Up close, I recognized the woman on his arm. A Netflix actress who had a smash hit playing a vampire Cleopatra.
“This is a steal, Bruce,” Tate said.
“And you would know, as a thief.” Bruce patted the corners of his mouth with his napkin.
My hand settled on the crux between Dylan’s hip bone and her pussy, grazing the edge of her panties. They were satin, like last time. She arched into my touch while discussing something with Cal. She sounded distracted, which amused me.
“…Taylor Swift Eras concert in September,” I heard Cal say excitedly. “Would you be able to make it?”
“Oh my God, are you kidding me?” Dylan shrieked as my pinkie grazed her panties, back and forth. She cupped my shoulder, and there was something so intimate and familiar about it, like we’d done it hundreds of times before. “Rhy?”
“Hmm?”
“Would you be able to babysit Grav on September thirteenth?”
“Sure.”
“This is important. If you can’t do it, I’ll ask my mom—”
“I said I can.”
“Right, but see, I need you to lock it down. Cal and I are going to the Eras Tour.”
“And we have VIP seats.” Cal danced in her seat. “Taylor’s sweat is practically going to drip on us.”
“Weird kink, but this is a no-judgment zone.” I yawned.
Technically, this would be past my arrangement with Dylan, but I didn’t mind a one-off. Especially as I knew what a hardcore Swiftie Cosmos was.
“I’ll put it in my calendar now.” I made a show of plucking my phone from the table and blocking off 5 p.m. on September thirteenth, showing it to the ladies. “Happy?”
“You have no idea.” Dylan’s eyes glittered, childish delight painting her face. Feeling Bruce’s eyes on me, I cut my gaze to him.
He gave me a nod of approval. “I think I’ll use your contract as reading material tonight.”
“Perfect sleeping material, I bet.” Kieran smirked.
“There’s actually some spice in it,” Tate assured him. “Clauses 33A to 43B, Rhy fucks him over good if he withdraws for no good reason.”
I picked up my drink and saluted Bruce.