“Nice work. You want to take over my accounts too?” Dante gave him a nudge and a broad smile that plainly said he did know something was up.

“We’ll talk.” As Sarah walked away, he leaned over and gave Dante a hug, whispering, “Thanks, man.”

His friend stared after Sarah, brows furrowed. “Yeah, I got a definite vibe, none of it good. Did I back you up okay?”

“Couldn’t have been better,” Trev assured him.

“That’s your ex, I’m guessing.”

He nodded. “The ex.”

“The one who broke you?”

Once, Trev might’ve argued about that or denied it. In fairness to Sarah, he had been a mess, and there was no need to re-tread old ground. He sipped his beer and said, “Enough about me. We got together because you needed advice, am I right? I’m your guy. Tell me everything.”

“Long story. You sure?”

Trev nodded.

“Okay, so it’s like this…” Dante began. “I’ve been…seeing Margie lately.”

“Right.” He didn’t argue the verbiage, though he’d heard about their hookups.

“And I actually like her, but whenever I suggest we get together for…other reasons, she shuts it down and tells me I can do better. What the hell is that about?” Dante demanded. “Is she trying to reverse psych me or something? Because it makes me feel like Margie really means she can do better.”

Trev muffled a laugh. “I don’t think that’s it. From what I’ve heard, she had a rough time with her ex, and it’s kind of a big step for her to be…seeing you at all.”

“Then what should I do? I like her. I thought you had no game, but you’re already married. So tell me, what am I supposed to do?”

That had nothing to do with game, only with being in the right place at the right time. In another universe, Leanne might have arrowed right to Dante and dragged him off to the bathroom. Since he had a kid, he probably wouldn’t have been down for the Vegas elopement, though. Not for the reasons Leanne had laid out. Hell, she might have gone after Calvin. He was the player of the group—not likely he’d have agreed to help her out either.

“The best you can,” Trev said. “And be patient.”

Chapter 20

Over the next few weeks, Leanne tried to keep all the moving pieces in order.

The campaign work was exhausting, and she wasn’t even getting paid. It was hard not to worry since she wasn’t independently wealthy like Dan Rutherford. His car dealership made him money without too much input from him, as he had staff handling the day-to-day management. Which freed him up to make Leanne’s life worse.