Page 51 of The Fallen Man

“I’m an asshole?”

“Try again,” said Aiden.

“Nice people want things that I’m not going to give them. Also, I lose interest in about a month into anything.”

“Yeah, have you considered that maybe you lose interest because you’re dating crappy women?”

“Not always! But I mean, let’s face it, my success rate on monogamy is about sixty percent at best. I’m not interested in getting married. And I don’t think kids are a good idea. I mean, maybe I’ll change my mind next decade or something, but I don’t see it happening any time soon. And that is pretty much the checklist for nice girls. It’s not that I don’t like nice people. I do.I just like them enough not to date them.”

“So what you’re saying is that you want a nice girl to fuck you stupid and then kick you out of bed?”

Jackson laughed. “Yeah, pretty much. But I mean, come on, what’s the polite thing to say before you leave—call me. And I’m not going to do that. Ergo, or whatever you say all the time, I’m not nice, and nice people should not date me.”

“Well, did Miss Mindblowingly Nice say to call her?”

Jackson was silent. Katie hadn’t said to call her. She hadn’t said anything about future interactions. He hadn’t thought anything about it at the time. He had simply been glad to not have any awkward parting conversations.

“Well?” Ever the lawyer, Aiden was prodding.

“No, she didn’t,” said Jackson.

He looked up at Aiden, who was eyeing him skeptically. “Did she even give you her number?”

“I have her number!”

“Did she say to use it?”

“No,” he admitted. Why hadn’t Katie asked him to call her? That had been fucking amazing. Wasn’t that worth a second try?

“So… you just got exactly what you wanted.”

“Yeah?” Jackson suddenly wasn’t feeling so certain.

“Too bad what you wanted doesn’t get you a second date,” said Aiden, and Jackson twisted a little on the sofa cushion. Had Katie not had a good time? He’d thought she’d been enthusiastic about everything. Why wouldn’t she want to at least take one more shot at it?

“Hey,” said Evan walking into the room, waving a piece of paper, “Well, take your gloves off. The subpoenas have arrived.” As usual, his red-headed cousin was dressed impeccably in a navy suit.

“Why is Evan getting a subpoena?” asked Aiden.

“We’re all getting them,” said Jackson. “Sorry, forgot to callyou. Although, we’ll see if I can avoid getting served. Not that I mind exactly; I just enjoy the challenge.”

“I just got a subpoena!” said Dominique walking into the room. Dominique was also dressed for work, but since she worked under her father’s name and avoided having her co-workers know that she was a Deveraux, she currently appeared more low-key than usual with her blonde hair in a bun and a pair of flats under wide-leg slacks. “What the mother fucking hell?”

“Jackson forgot to tell us we were getting them,” said Aiden. Aiden held out his hand, and she handed him the paper.

“I told Evan, and I meant to text you,” said Jackson. “Sorry.”

“But I don’t want to go to DC,” said Dominique. “It’s a stinky little town full of downtrodden masses and a bunch of rich people who ought to know better.”

“And that’s different from New York, how?” asked Evan.

“Different stink. Also, weareNew York. Our food is infinitely better, and we have Broadway.”

“Fair points, really,” said Evan. “I can’t argue.”

“We’re being called to DC to testify about Absolex,” said Aiden, comparing the subpoenas. “That can’t really be right, can it?”

“Grandma’s being investigated by the Ethics Committee for something related to Absolex. Although we don’t know what particularly. I’m pretty sure someone is attempting to maneuver her into a corner to get something out of her, but I don’t know what because she hasn’t been letting me investigate.”