The Asset by Shane Kuhn Page B

that good for . . . ever.”
    â€œThat’s not saying much, is it?” she said.
    â€œNo.” He laughed again. “But you don’t need validation from the square business world. Look at all those adoring fans in there.”
    â€œIs that where you come from now? Planet Square?”
    â€œUnfortunately, yes.”
    Love smiled but also looked concerned.
    â€œDude, seriously, where have you been?”
    â€œWhere haven’t I been? I pretty much live on an airplane.”
    â€œThat is not healthy.”
    â€œI know, but that’s my job.”
    â€œYou could quit.”
    â€œAnd do what?”
    â€œI don’t know, anything . You went to Stanford. You’re a successful entrepreneur. Yes, I keep tabs on you, dumbass. You’re smart. You probably have a shitload of money squirreled away because you don’t have a house, a wife with credit cards, and three kids like most guys your age. And with a little work on the wardrobe, you could hop the last shuttle off Planet Square.”
    â€œLet’s not get carried away.” Kennedy smiled.
    â€œDo you like it? Your job?”
    â€œHmm. Like it . . .”
    She made a loud game show buzzer sound.
    â€œYes or no question. Clearly, it’s a no.”
    â€œIt’s important. I like that .”
    â€œYou can be important without spreading yourself so thin there’s nothing but an empty jar left for you . . . and everyone else.”
    â€œNow you’re speaking in lyrics,” Kennedy chided.
    â€œMaybe,” she confessed with a shy grin, and lit another cigarette.
    Kennedy pretended to hold a robot speaker box up to his throat.
    â€œ. . . there’s nothing but an empty jar left for you . . .” he sang in his best robot voice, throwing both of them into fits of laughter.
    When they caught their breath, Kennedy took a long look at Love and felt like she was the type of person he needed to help him feel real again, at least once in a while.
    â€œI’m just going to admit it,” he said. “I’ve been a complete dick.”
    She held up her hand.
    â€œWater under the bridge. You’re here now. Which is awesome. And Itake it you’ve turned over a new leaf and I can count on more of your presence in the future.”
    â€œYes,” he said firmly. “Absolutely.”
    â€œGood,” she said, kissing him on the cheek unexpectedly. “Got to jump. Heading to New York tonight for a few East Coast dates. Maybe we should exchange numbers, like people who don’t hate each other.”
    â€œWe definitely should,” Kennedy said.
    She held out her hand.
    â€œPhone please.”
    He entered the password and handed it to her. She entered her own number and picked up her phone when it rang. She handed his back.
    â€œHello, Kennedy?”
    He held his phone to his ear.
    â€œYes, Love.”
    â€œCall me sometime, you big lug.”
    Belle had always called him that, and hearing it again choked him up a bit.
    â€œPromise,” he said.
    She smiled and hung up.
    â€œYou better or I’ll hunt you down and have your legs broken.”
    Love slipped back into the club through their secret entrance, leaving a smoke ring halo where she’d been standing.

Day 4
    L ater that night, Kennedy restlessly paced his dark hotel suite. Seeing Love had made him feel more connected, but it had also brought up a lot of pain about Belle. Memories of the three of them kept coming, keeping him awake. And it dawned on him that the reason he’d cut Love off was not so much because she reminded him of Belle, but more because she reminded him of how he was before Belle died. The night before she was killed, he had treated Belle terribly. That wasn’t like him. It was almost as if he’d been stuck for fourteen years in that all-business bullshit martyr role he’d played with her that night. Which was why he felt the