Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 114

"Yeah. She was. She might be trouble."

"Shit, I wish trouble like that would find me, Dillon said. I needed to get my friend laid.

I chuckled and said, "I-"

Suddenly, a pair of hands clapped my shoulders as an unknown voice behind me said, "Hey, big brother."

I looked up and saw Jacob grinning down at me. My mouth fell open in sheer surprise at seeing my brother in my town and in my coffee shop. He'd mentioned wanting to meet up while in New York in his last text, but I hadn't expected anything like this. I felt like I was being ambushed.

"Jacob?"

"The very one,' he sald, circling me, grabbing a nearby chair, and taking a seat next to me at the small table. He pointed at my friend and said, "Dillon, right? We've met a couple of times."

"Yeah," Dillon said. "Good seeing you again."

"You too man."

Jacob clapped me on the shoulder again and said, "So how about our boy here? I'm guessing you heard about his luck?"

"Yeah, man,' Dillon replied, "He was just telling me about the company, the new house, the money... all of it."

"Yeah? It's more than he's told his family," Jacob said looking back at me. I couldn't miss the accusatory tone in his voice. "He's barely called his mom and isn't returning any of my texts."

"I texted you last night," I said.

"Yeah," Jacob said, "after the seven I sent you."

"Eight," I retorted. He'd been here less than a minute and I was already getting irritated at him. "Look, I'm sorry didn't text back sooner. Like I was just telling Dillon, I needed some time to figure out what I was doing. There were a lot of decisions to make."

"We could've helped you make them." Jacob reached for my coffee and asked, "You mind?"

"You mean you would have helped me spend the money, I said as I slid the cup away from him. "And I had help. I have a whole fleet of lawyers working for me full time."

"And a hot assistant, Dillon said.

I shot him a glare.

"And a hot bodyguard." Chloe's deadpan voice cut through the conversation as she returned from the restroom. Instead of taking up her spot at the other table, she grabbed her chair and took a seat at our small table across from Jacob. She held out a hand, "Chloe Tanner. Jacob Upton, presume?"

"Yeah, Jacob said. That arrogant, sarcastic aura he gave off seemed to shrivel a little as he watched Chloe sit at the table. He slowly looked her up and down, clearly sizing her up. Then he reached for her hand and grasped it in a handshake.

*I didn't know Mr. Upton was expecting you today, Chloe said, her tone cool. "He only informed me he was meeting with Dillon."

Jacob appeared thrown off by the appearance of Chloe and her interrogation seerned to unsettle him even more. "I was just in town and wanted to see my brother. I've texted him a few times, but he didn't respond."

I was about to call him out for technically lying, but Chloe spoke up before the last syllable had died on his lips. "What were you in town for?"

"Work," Jacob shot back.

"What do you do?" Chloe asked as I said at the same time, "Emily said you weren't working."

"I, uh..." Jacob stammered, his eyes ping-ponging back and forth between the two of us.

"Look," Dillon said, scooting his chair back and standing up. By the look on his face, it was obvious that he'd grown uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. "I gotta get back to work. Marcus, call me later. Maybe we can meet up or something"

"You don't have to go, man," I said.

"Nah. My break will be over soon and I need to grab a smoke before it's up. Jacob, it was good seeing you again. Chloe, it was good meeting you. Take care of my boy. He fist-bumped me on his way back to the front of the coffee house, leaving me alone with the mess.

"Wasn't he working here like, three years ago," Jacob sniggered.

"He's taking classes,' I retorted. 'Answer the question."

"What?"

"Emily said you weren't working. What job brought you here?"

"I'm working for a bank."

"Which one?" Chloe asked.

"What is this?" Jacob said, agitated by the line of questioning. "I Just wanted to congratulate my brother while I was in town. We haven't seen each other in a while and I thought it'd be good to catch up. Sorry I fucking bothered."

Sighing, I decided to give Justin the benefit of the doubt. He was family, after all, and it cost me nothing to believe that he truly was in town for some sort of work even if he was lying.

"You know what? Nevermind," said. I slid my coffee toward him, intending it as some sort of peace offering. "It's good to see you, man. How long are you in town for?"

Jacob stared at me for a long moment, obviously trying to decide whether I was sincere or not. Finally, he gave a hesitant smile and said, "I'm just here for the day. Hopefully, I can head back tonight. New York is expensive." He picked up the coffee and took a sip. "Thanks."

That's cool. Do you have any lunch plans yet?"

"Nah," Jacob said, 7 planned on skipping lunch. Ryan's sick, and we don't have insurance right now, so we're trying to watch our spending

"That sucks," I said. "Especially with your knee reconstruction last year. What's wrong with him?"

"He's just running a high fever. Hillary is taking him to the emergency room to get him checked out. You know how it is though... an extra five grand just to take a temperature and sit on a bed for a couple hours."

"Yeah," I said, a little put off by Jacob constantly bringing the conversation back to money with every reply. It normally wouldn't bother me; medical care was seriously out of control, but it always triggered me when Jacob discussed money. It had never gone well. Still... if he were in genuine need.....