Run, Girl (If You Can)

Cameron goggled at the picture on Aiden's phone. "She's cute but…"

"I know. How Keeley attracted the attention of one of the most powerful men in this city, I'll never understand."

"Maybe with a little more information we might be able to figure it out. You know her, what's she like?" he asked with the expression of someone trying to solve a difficult puzzle.

Aiden gave him the basics first.

"Keeley Hall, age twenty-four, single with two roommates she's close to and a cat. Her only remaining family is her father and she visits him every week. She is a diligent doctoral student in developmental genetics. She loves people—when she isn't studying, she's probably socializing…

"She's got a good sense of humor and is super friendly but fiercely independent. What else…oh! She makes really good cookies. She gave me a cookie plate with six different varieties around Christmas last year."

Aiden was still bitter that he made the mistake of mentioning this to Aaron after he brought the plate to snack from at work. He took the rest of the cookies away as soon as he found out so Aiden only got to eat two.

"She made you cookies?! This girl sounds like an angel," Cameron said in disbelief.

"She is a very kind person but don't let that fool you; she's also a spitfire if you cross her. Like a certain someone we know," he replied with a smirk.

Cameron didn't know what to think anymore. His boss was in love with a completely average girl-next-door type who apparently hated him. This was earth shattering news.

As long as he had known Aaron, the man was ice cold, straightforward, and business-minded. He couldn't even imagine that almighty presence doing something as normal as chasing after a girl, let alone an uninterested one.

"…what did he do to her?"

"Not a clue. He doesn't really talk about it; I've had to piece it together for myself. From what I gather, they met their senior year of high school and she disliked him already. You know how Aaron is… 'no' isn't an option. That probably made things worse," Aiden speculated.

Cameron pondered this information as his companion chowed down on his lunch. His theory made sense. Aaron was a very demanding person.

An ordinary girl could easily be offended by that…but what kind of woman would refuse such wealth? Even his own sister joked about finding herself a sugar daddy so she could quit her job.

Most people assumed Aaron relied on his father's money but that wasn't true at all. Sure, he still got a vice president's salary and had limited access to the family fortune but the majority of his assets were due to his shrewd business sense, fortune-telling skills on the stock market, and Cameron.

After a couple years of gambling in every casino in Atlantic City, the owners began recognizing him as someone who could beat their system and he got banned from every single one. So Aaron started sending him on all-expenses paid vacations to Las Vegas, Monaco, Paris, and Prague to continue trying his luck. He rotated often enough in these places that nobody managed to catch him again.

He even competed in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas each year using his boss' money and was crowned the World Champion three years in a row, matching the previous record holder for the most wins.

Cameron never would have had the buy in money to achieve that on his own. His boss was a shrewd, calculating businessman whose primary talent was investment, both in stocks and in people.

He wasn't the only one. Look at Aiden—that kid would be goofing around on his computer for fun and attending a community college if not for Aaron. Now his equipment was top-notch and he was the #3 hacker in the dark web.

Aaron saw potential in them and cultivated it for his personal gain. Cameron had long thought that he was only capable of using people, not caring for them. So where exactly did this Keeley girl factor in?

"If she doesn't like him, why did she stay over at his place two days ago?" he asked once Aiden was nearly done with his food.

A crafty smile appeared on his colleague's face. "Get this: last night I saw her come home very obviously drunk, still wearing Aaron's shirt, with a guy friend I've seen at her place a couple of times. Fishy, right?"

Cameron lowered his voice and glanced around the cafeteria to be sure no one was listening out of instinct.

"You think Aaron pissed her off again somehow and that's why she went drinking with her friend?"

"That's exactly what I think! I want to ask him what happened when she was at his house to know for sure."

"Do you have a death wish?! If you tell him what you saw, not only will he kill you, he'll kill me by association!" he protested.

Aiden rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid enough to tell him what I saw. I'll be subtle. You want to come with me? Lunch is almost over; he should be back in his office."

"Sure."

Now that he had been bit by the gossip bug, Cameron would go crazy if he didn't find out what happened. They dumped the remainder of their trays on their way out of the lunch room and rode the elevator to the top floor.

Aaron's spacious office occupied the northwest corner of the building. He chose that location because it was as far from his father's office as possible while still being on the same floor as the rest of the upper management.

Cameron knew Aaron planned to overthrow his father from the beginning but had no idea he was doing it for a girl until Aiden's revelations earlier.

His curiosity about this girl only grew but he would let Aiden handle it. His way of dealing with Aaron was both effective and hilarious. This should be a good show.

Aiden barged into his boss' office without preamble.

"Aaron!" he cried dramatically. "How could you hide such a significant piece of news from me? I'm wounded."

The relatively soft look on his face was immediately replaced with cold annoyance. "What are you babbling about?"

As Aiden leaned over the desk, Cameron quietly slunk into the room and sat on the couch off to the side to watch how things unfolded. Aaron barely spared him a glance.

"I happened to run into a certain someone wearing your shirt last night in the elevator," Aiden teased in a sing-song voice.

Aaron's nonchalance was incredible. "Oh, that. That was nothing."

"Nothing?! The love of your life stayed at your house and you call that nothing?"

"Keeley was sick and I took care of her; that's it. But…she was nice to me."

That soft expression appeared on his face again. Cameron and Aiden exchanged looks. It was a bit eerie, really. Not like Aaron at all.

"Nice how?" they both asked at the same time.