At the time, I hadn’t realized I’d done the same. I still thought I was playing some big brother role even if she was keeping me at arm’s length. Thankfully, I wasn’t out there banging random women, which had never been my thing. Asher was my best friend, and he didn’t want women anywhere around us, and my mother would kill me. I didn’t have a disdain for women the way Asher did, but I knew that I wanted what my parents have.

My phone vibrates across my desk. I grab it when I see Asher’s name lighting up the screen. He’s still in town, surprisingly. He also hasn’t told anyone that he’s banging his stepsister. I know, and I’m pretty sure Emily does too. She and Molly have been getting close. I know Asher has to get back to Japan at some point. I’m sure he’s waiting for school to be out so he can take Molly with him. That’s my guess, at least. I haven't been doing a lot of poking because I don’t want him to do any poking back in my direction.

“What’s up?” I ask when I answer, putting it on speaker so I can keep clearing the massive amount of emails I have in my inbox.

“Grace has been stealing money.” Now that grabs my attention.

“No way. I’m not buying it.”

“Honestly, Chase, I don’t give a fuck. I only want it to stop before my father finds out.”

“Oh shit.” I groan, knowing where this might be going, and it’s a bad idea. A very bad one because I know he’s wrong.

“I’m going to give her a payout, but unlike Heidi, I don’t want her to leave.”

“So, you’re paying her to stay?” Does my best friend not understand he’s calling his woman’s mother a whore essentially? This is not going to go well for him if he does this.

“Something like that. I’ll confront her but not be confrontational.”

“Have you even done anything like this where you haven’t been confrontational?” The man really should have been a lawyer.

“I need it to go away. It’s stupid. She can spend what she wants and never burn through what we have. Maybe if she understands that she'll stop with this side bullshit she’s pulling.”

“Asher, man.”

“I can’t lose her. You don’t understand. If her mom leaves, she could take Molly with her.” I understand more than he knows, but this is not the time for that conversation.

“Asher, that woman loves your father. I’d bet my life on it.”