Free Here and Now by E. L. Todd

think about it. I just wanted to get her off a pole where a bunch of sleaze balls were staring at her. I knew Ryan would be pissed if he knew.
    She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t even know what I’m fit to do.”
    “I can find something.”
    “How big is this company you’re running?”
    “It has three-thousand employees—in New York.”
    Her mouth dropped. “Wow…”
    “So I can put you somewhere with benefits and good pay—if you’re serious about the job.”
    “It depends on what it is.”
    “Are you interested in filing?”
    She gave me a smartass look. “ Who the fuck would be interested in that?”
    I smirked. “Then what are you interested in?”
    “I’ve always wanted to go into marketing.”
    “I can find you something easily.”
    “How much is the pay?” she asked bluntly. “Because I’m making a hundred grand easily dancing on a pole.”
    “Damn, maybe I should be a stripper,” I teased.
    She laughed. “You do have a nice body.”
    Which she knew from direct experience. “So, you’re interested?”
    “I think I am.”
    “Cool. Come to the office and we’ll talk more about it.”
    She eyed me for a long time. “Why would you even offer that to me? It’s not like you and I are close—at all.”
    “Ryan and Janice mean a lot to me. They are family. I’d do anything for them.”
    Her eyes softened. “That’s really sweet.”
    “I can be sweet…sometimes.”
    She nodded slowly. “That girl really changed you.”
    The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “What girl?”
    “Cassandra, I think it is. The girls were talking about her. Ap parently, she walked out on you because you wanted marriage and she didn’t.”
    I really didn’t want to talk about this. “Yeah. End of story.”
    She gave me a sad look. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
    “Life goes on.” I drank my beer then eyed everyone else in the bar.
    “I think it’s really sweet that you’re a different person now. You know, most guys never change.”
    I didn’t have anything to say to that.
    “So, what made you think differently?”
    I shrugged. “Seeing how happy my brother is with his wife makes me want what he has.”
    “The second couple who were about to scratch each other’s eyes out?” she asked with a laugh.
    I chuckled. “They fight sometimes but they are madly in love.”
    She reached across the table and patted my hand. “You’ll find that eventually, Mike.”
    I didn’t like it when she touched me, but I didn’t want to be rude and pull my hand away. She was just trying to make me feel better. “Honestly, I don’t even know if I want that anymore.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I thought this girl was the one but she left me so easily. I thought she would change her mind after a week or two but she never did. Maybe I’m just not meant to settle down. And then my parents divorced…I don’t know. Marriage isn’t for everyone, and I think I’m one of those people.”
    “If that’s how you really feel, why don’t you just go back to her?”
    “She really hurt me. I don’t think I can look at her the same, even if I didn’t want to get married. I just don’t want to be monogamous with anyone again. It’s stupid and pointless. I’m not a guy that will ever be loved by someone—really loved.”
    She gave me a sad look. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself, Mike.”
    “I don’t,” I said simply. “My mom and dad were married twenty-five years and they got divorced. My dad is the coolest guy ever. He’s generous and sweet, but strong and powerful. He treated my mom like a queen and she used him and walked all over him. She even pushed his kids away from him. Honestly, I doubt she even loves my dad. She just wanted him for his money and for his security. I grew up idolizing them, but I was too young and stupid to really understand what was going on. And if their marriage is bogus…then why would mine be any different?”
    Laura was quiet for a long time. She