“You must be crazy,” Jasper said, gripping a glass full of whiskey next to him. “The invitation’s personal to you—it didn’t go through your boss, did it?”

  “Yeah. FutureRobot sent it to me.”

  “Well, then it’s yours. Who’s this guy to take it from you?”

  “He’s not taking it, Jas. He asked me for it. Said it’s for a friend of his.”

  “That’s blackmail,” Colin chimed in. “He didn’t say he’d fire you, but he hinted at it, didn’t he?”

  Daniel paused to think. It was true, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

  “He’s a big sucker,” Jasper said, looking at Colin. “He’ll end up giving the ticket to that boss of his.”

  “So you’re still up for it?”

  “Hell yeah, bro. I was planning to take a week off soon anyway, but I had no clue what I’d do—my wildest guess was lounging on the PlayStation all day.”

  “Stress at work?”

  “Nah, the opposite. Deals are going fine. It’s just that when you work with people, sometimes you get sick of them. You wouldn’t get it, stuck behind your keyboard all day.”

  “Why would I want to meet people if they’re like you?” Daniel managed to shut him up and make him raise his glass.

  “Guys like me are one in a million.”

  “And take up so much space,” Colin winked at Daniel, and the two burst out laughing. Jasper pretended to be offended, took a sip, and then started laughing too.

  Jasper was a real estate broker. In his early years, it had been tough—he’d close one deal every three months, and even then, it was because someone higher up felt sorry for him and tossed him a hot property that would’ve sold itself with little effort.

  At the start of his career, Jasper had even crashed at their place while he saved up money. Daniel could tell it annoyed Emma, so he’d had to hint to Jasper to move out. He’d helped him with cash and introduced him to Colin back then.

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  Colin, on the other hand, owned two freight forwarding offices. He’d started working at one, then somehow scraped together the money to buy it. With the profits, he’d snagged a second. Now he was gunning for a third, but lately, he’d been losing steam—it took up too much of his time. Daniel kept pushing him to hire assistants, but Colin wouldn’t listen.

  “Listen, Daniel. Don’t you dare give me up. You promised me that invitation.”

  Daniel looked at him without answering. He didn’t want to give it up, but his job mattered more.

  “Is Emma coming tonight?”

  “She wasn’t home. I left her a message…”

  “She’s cheating on you, you know that, bro,” Jasper said.

  “Watch how you talk about her.” Daniel’s hand trembled slightly. It always did when he held back from snapping. In moments like this, he liked to light a cigarette.

  “You’re more my friend than she is. Women come and go.”

  “And still, it’s Emma. I’ve been with her for ten years.”

  “Exactly,” Jasper jumped in. “That’s why I switch them out fast. If we’re not married or she hasn’t popped out a kid by the second lay, next one’s up. Otherwise, they cheat.”

  “Men cheat too.”

  “Yeah, true. Let’s drink to men!” Jasper shouted the last part so loud that a few guys at the other tables raised their glasses too.

  The bar they were in wasn’t the most popular, but it was one of their favorites. Mostly old men came here, and the women were some of the roughest in town. They loved it because they could get drunk with the older crowd, who’d then start spilling life stories. Jasper and Colin lived for that—they’d soak up the tales and retell them as their own in fancier bars over the next few days. And if it came to a fight, watching drunk, bearded, filthy retirees trade punches was pure entertainment. Today wasn’t one of those days, though—they needed to talk. And when they talked, they didn’t want young women strutting around, stealing their focus. Though even here, there were some.

  “You see that one?” Naturally, Jasper spotted her first.

  Leaning against the bar was a dark-skinned woman with curly hair that looked more like a wig. She glanced side to side, and from a distance, it was clear she was here to make some cash tonight by selling her charms.

  “She’ll charge you at least a hundred,” Colin said, egging him on.

  Jasper downed his drink in one gulp and stood up.

  He was back in less than two minutes.

  “Got her for fifty.”

  “Fifty? Still not worth it.”

  “For all three of us.”

  Colin rubbed his hands together. Daniel clutched his head.

  “Count me out.” Daniel tossed money for his drink on the table and got up.

  “You always kill the vibe, bro. But the offer was for two anyway. I knew you’d say no.”

  Daniel watched their clumsy attempts to corner her. Paid or not, it didn’t matter.

  Then he left.