Page 104 of Mr. Hotshot CEO

I manage a chuckle.

There are pictures of gelato and tapas...and the phallic cactus, of course. There are a few pictures of the two of us, which Courtney took using her selfie stick. I told her selfie sticks were an abomination, but I let her do it anyway. Just a few times. In one of these pictures, we’re sitting on the rooftop patio, like I am now, with drinks in our hands.

We had so many good times together.

And now it’s over.

I chug half my beer, then close my eyes and tip my head toward the sun.

* * *

“He’s sleeping on thepatio, and he’s not wearing a shirt. Has this become a regular occurrence?”

“Another bottle of Labatt 50. My God, he has bad taste.”

“Well, he’s getting old.”

“True, true.”

Not this again.

I open my eyes. My brothers are standing before me. I left a key for Cedric when I asked him to check on Vince the other day—I guess they let themselves in.

“I’m not that old,” I mutter. “Now leave me in peace.”

“Ooh, he’s grumpy,” Vince says. “Understandable, since his girlfriend dumped him.”

“Where the hell did you hear that?” I ask.

“I texted Courtney to invite her to your birthday party, and she informed me of the breakup.”

I never should have let them become friends. “My birthday isn’t for another month.”

“I know, but I have nothing to do with my life, so I’m planning you a big party. How do you feel about clowns?”

Dear God.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “You’re the one who was drunk off his ass on Wednesday. I think we should be talking about your problems rather than my breakup.”

“You’ll be happy to know that I made an appointment with a therapist, so you and I don’t need to have any more heart-to-heart talks. Now, back to clowns. Is that a no? How would you feel about a petting zoo?”

“I thought you said I was getting old. Instead, you’re treating me like a toddler.”

“He really is grumpy,” Cedric says.

“Can you please stop talking about me like I’m not here?”

Vince picks up my laptop, which is sitting on the table next to me. “Look at all these happy pictures. Joey sure looks dapper in this one. Were you mooning and crying over them before you fell asleep?”

“Courtney gave me the flash drive on Wednesday. I just wanted to see what was on it.”

Vince and Cedric exchange a look.

“I thought you two broke up on Wednesday?” Vince says.

“We did. This was earlier. She came to my office with lunch, pineapple buns, and the flash drive, but unfortunately, I had to rush off to a meeting three minutes later. Then when your sorry ass was drunk on my couch, she called me three times in twenty minutes, and I missed the calls. That’s why I went over while you were asleep.”

Vince frowns. “She broke up with you because you were too busy comforting your drunk brother to answer her calls?”