Page 2 of The Hookup Situation (Billionaire Situation #5)

I don’t answer because I can’t. I’m a workaholic—I know that. But what else is there to life?

I can’t keep a relationship for over a month. I push people away when they get too close. Not to mention, the internet watches my every move.

“When’s the last time you felt anything besides angry or numb?” he continues. “And don’t try to pull that jokester, happy-as-can-be, fake-self bullshit on me. I see through it.”

I can’t move.

“I know grief has no time limit. I miss the hell out of Eden too,” Asher says.

“But you’ve been slowly losing yourself.

She’d hate this, Nick. She’d hate what you’ve become.

You refuse to have a work-life balance, every relationship you rush into fails, and you’re not living your life.

You have tied my hands, and now I’m forced to do exactly what Eden would want. ”

“Don’t.” My voice cracks on the word.

“You need a reality check, Nick.” He shakes his head. “You’re taking a break. A real break. Go somewhere and get lost so you can find yourself. When you scan out, your credentials will be deactivated.”

Asher moves toward the door.

“This isn’t fair,” I tell him.

He laughs. “Oh, boo-hoo. Life isn’t fair. Build a bridge and get over it.”

The door slams shut, and I sit in the silence, allowing it to swallow me whole.

I slump into my chair and glance up at my computer, seeing my schedule immediately grayed out. If anything, Asher is thorough.

Fifteen minutes pass, and I’m still in the same place because when I leave, I will be locked out.

“Nick?” Lauren, our executive assistant, says from the doorway. She’s holding two cups. “Saw Asher storm out, mumbling under his breath. Figured you could use this.”

She sets the mug in front of me, and I notice the tea tag hanging from the side. She’s been bringing me mugs of Earl Grey since she worked for my dad at our family’s finance company.

When Asher quit the family business and took over the marketing firm, he took our father’s executive assistant with him. Lauren didn’t hesitate to leave. She’s been watching us since we were kids. Now we’re adults, and she’s often the only voice of reason we have.

“Tell me what happened.” She settles into the chair across from me.

“I walked out of that bullshit meeting.” I take a sip, letting the warmth spread through my chest .

“I heard. A few directors are currently having heart palpitations because of that little scene you caused.”

“Mr. Big Mac doesn’t get it. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was a terminator.”

Lauren lets out a small laugh. “You know what your problem is?”

“Please, enlighten me.”

“You’re thirty-eight years old, and you’re already a ghost,” she says matter-of-factly. “You float through these halls, meetings, and life, but you’re not really here anymore.”

“I show up every day?—”

“Your body shows up. But Nick? The real Nicolas Banks? The one who used to throw baseballs in the hallways and bring me wildflowers from the park?” She shakes her head. “I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

The tea suddenly tastes like ash. “That Nick had nothing to lose.”

“That Nick had joy, and you need to find it again.” She leans forward, plucking a chocolate from the candy jar next to a stack of invoices I was auditing. “Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world?”

The answer escapes before I can stop it. “Cozy Creek.”

Her eyebrows rise. “Where Zane is?”

“It’s nothing. Forget I said?—”

“When were you last there?”

I do the math, even though I know the answer. “I visited for a few days in January and ended up cutting it short.”

“Why?”

“A huge contract came in, so I traveled back to the city. It was abrupt.” I spin the teacup on its saucer.

“What really happened?” she asks.

A sigh escapes me. “Shit got too real.”

She takes a sip of her tea. “I’ll schedule a private plane to take you there. I’ll have everything booked for you within the hour. ”

“Lauren, please.”

She lifts her hand. “No. I asked you where you’d go, and that was your answer. So, that’s where you’re going. Call Zane. Let him know.”

“Lauren!”

With that motherly expression on her face, she glares at me. “You’ve been punishing yourself for far too long. I think you walk out of meetings about human connection because you’ve convinced yourself you don’t deserve any.”

I open my mouth, but she doesn’t let me speak.

“I’m not done.” She returns to my desk and places her palms flat against the cool wood. “This isn’t a vacation. It’s a lifeline. If you don’t go where your heart leads you, you’ll become what you’re afraid of being—a hollow asshole, just like your dad, who forgot how to be human.”

Her words are a slap to the face.

“What if I go to Cozy Creek and come back in November and nothing has changed? Then what?”

“It’s a possibility. But also, what if you go and remember who you are?

” She straightens up. “You are Nicolas Banks . That means something. You’re the happy-go-lucky guy who loves ice skating, skiing, baseball, and bonfires.

You never miss an opportunity to tell a joke.

You’re not like your brothers and sister, Nick.

You grew up differently from the other Banks kids, and somewhere along the way, you lost your true self.

It’s time to find you again. And your relationships, honey? Don’t get me started on those.”

“Thank you for that last little cherry on top,” I say sarcastically.

She heads for the door, pausing at the handle. “Go to Cozy Creek, Nick. If not for yourself, then for Eden.” She gestures at me, at the office, at everything. “She wouldn’t want this to be your life.”

“How do you know that?”

Lauren grins wider. “Because she told me that no matter what, she never wanted you to become a cunty cliché like the rest of the Banks family. Asher, on the other hand, there was never any hope for him.”

I burst into laughter as the door closes with a soft click.

I sit there, tea growing cold, and realize I’m smiling.

I guess I’m going back to Cozy Creek. And for the first time in years, I’m excited.