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“Fuck you,” he grunts

Poppy giggles, while Abby looks at ely I bend down and kiss the top of her head, , “I’ll tell you later”

“How’s the new syste?”

“Good Just like all the others you’ve put in for me”

One of the new companies I’ve recently taken over had some hackers break into their computer systems and steal vital inforram in place, there’s been no more incidents Of course, I knew there wouldn’t be Asher is da impenetrable firewalls

“Are y’all going in to eat?”

“Yeah, we’resome friends of Abby’s,” I respond to Poppy’s question I look down ata few minutes late”

I shake Asher’s hand and the ladies make tentative plans tothat Abby is inserting herself intoplans with a friend of mine And Poppy is the perfect one I don’t know her that well, but she see I think Abby needs in her life She has her own friends, and they are very close-knit, but I’ over time, Abby will open herself up more

Walking into the diner, Abby spots her friends right away, like she knehere they would be My eyes zero in on the brown-hairedme up I hold his stare as we make our way over

The tall brunette, who I know is Ava, gets up fro Aviator glasses, Tegan I presurabs another chair and sets it at the end of the booth

“Guys, this is Blue—well, Colt to y’all Blue, this is Ava, Tegan, and Nathan” I can hear the nerves in Abby’s voice

I shake hands with Ava and Tegan, then turn to Nathan Neither of us hold out our hands for the other for several seconds Feeling Abby stiffen beside ive in and offer rip is firm, a little too firm for a normal handshake, so I assert my own do it

Ava and Nathan take a seat on one side of the booth, while an sits at the end

“So, Colt, what do you do for a living?” I turn to Ava and see her looking at uy to meet her friends Actually, I’m pretty sure she never has

“I invest in companies that need monetary help With my money, they can produce the products and services they need to get off their feet”