Page 143 of The Worst Best Man

“See, this is why people become assholes. They’re insulated by trust funds or glass towers or titles, and everyone else is too scared to point out they’ve turned into a monster.”

“But you’ll call a monster a monster?”

“What’s he going to do? Go open a deli next to my parents’ and run them out of business? Kidnap one of my brothers? I’m one of the little people. Not even worth the energy of flicking me off.”

Aiden shook his head. “But you’re important to me. That makes you important to him.”

“You’re not suggesting your father would go all Elliot on me, are you?”

“Kilbourns are ruthless,” Aiden reminded her. “I’ve told you before.”

“Ruthless or not, hurting me would only hurt you. And as shitty as his attitude is right now, I don’t believe your father wants to hurt you.”

“What did you mean he was sabotaging me because he’s doubting himself?” Aiden asked, studying her over his coffee.

“A little psychology. No one walks away from their empire without worrying that they’re making the right decision. He doesn’t know who he’ll be if he’s not part of that empire anymore, and that reality is hitting him.”

“So you pushed the button?”

“I Aidened him.”

“When did you start playing so dirty?” Aiden asked, taking her hand in his and tracing his thumb over her palm.

“When I started hanging out with the ruthless, pillaging Kilbourns.”

Chapter Fifty-Four

Aiden checked his phone for messages from Frankie as he headed toward his waiting car. He’d just wrapped another round of meetings with management in Goffman’s app development firm and could feel the excitement of momentum. With a few tweaks to the corporate structure, an overhaul of terrible existing policies, and a rebranding under the Kilbourn umbrella, he could see a very bright future for the company.

His father would have to eat his words on this deal eventually.

He was just opening Frankie’s text when he collided with someone.

“I’m sorry,” he said, reaching out to steady the woman.

“Oh, Aiden!” Margeaux, the bitchy bridesmaid from Chip and Pru’s wedding, stared up at him, her eyes welling with tears.

Of all the people to smack into on a busy sidewalk, it had to be the one who would probably sue him or try to blackmail him into bed.

“Are you hurt?” he asked curtly, looking her over. She wore a camel-colored wool coat. Her blonde hair was curled in thick ringlets that hung down past her shoulders. Her missing eyebrow had mostly grown back.

She gripped him by the lapels of his coat and threw herself against his chest. “I just need a friendly face,” she said in a tremulous voice.

Aiden looked over at his car and sighed. So close.

“I just don’t know what to do! My boyfriend and I just got into a fight, and he left me here,” she said, her voice pitching into a wail.

Aiden gritted his teeth. She was a horrible human being but a horrible human being in need. “Can I offer you a ride?” he asked.

She nodded, looking up at him as if he were her own personal hero. He didn’t like it. There was something slippery about this woman. Like an eel. He didn’t think she’d appreciate the analogy.

He opened the door for her and, with a glance over his shoulder, slid in next to her. She crowded him on the seat, leaning against him. “Where can we drop you?” Aiden asked briskly.

“Oh, Fifth and East 59th. Please.” She added the word like it was an afterthought. It sounded foreign from her lips.

She was fiddling with her phone, still leaning too close. He pulled out his own phone, using his elbow to dislodge her from his side, and scrolled through his messages. Frankie was leading another social media workshop, and thanks to her known association with Aiden, enrollment had skyrocketed with small business owners hoping the Kilbourn fortune would spread through osmosis.

Frankie: I think they’re half expecting you to come strolling through the door doling out money bags.