Run, Girl (If You Can)

Aaron had been having such a good day until these two clowns burst into his office. He was still basking in the slight bit of warmth Keeley showed him over breakfast yesterday.

Aiden's nosiness was to be expected but what was Cameron doing here? Unless…that brat, he totally told him. Cameron hadn't known anything about Keeley because it wasn't necessary information for him to accomplish his job.

"She said thank you non sarcastically and smiled at me," he answered them. "Happy?"

Aiden furrowed his brows. "That's it? You're in the weirdest mood I've ever seen from you in six years and it's just because she showed you basic politeness?"

It sounded really bad when he put it that way. Maybe Aaron was overthinking things. Basic politeness and Keeley didn't exactly go together most of the time when it came to him.

She might have just grown up a bit; they had been apart for over five years. That idea instantly soured his mood.

"What's it to you?" he asked frostily.

"Nothing, nothing," Aiden said innocently, parking himself on the edge of the desk. "So…when are you going to see her again?"

"Tomorrow. I took your cat advice."

Cameron stared at them wide-eyed. "Cat…advice?"

"Keeley has a cat so I told him to ask for her help in picking one out and getting the stuff for it,"

Aiden explained. "It'll help them bond."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot picture you with a cat. Or a pet of any kind."

Aaron sighed. Did these two come here simply to test his patience?

"I've never had one but it can't be that hard. I have already looked up a list of reputable breeders in the city. It should be easy enough to procure one."

Despite what he told Keeley, he did have a degree of trust in the internet and had looked up prominent cat breeds. A Savannah or Bengal would do nicely.

Aiden jumped off the desk with a look of horror on his face. "Nooooo that's going to make things worse!"

"What do you mean?" he replied, getting progressively more annoyed.

"Do you know how Keeley got her cat? She found it in a storm drain, completely covered in mud, and took it in because when she brought it to the vet she found out the owners abandoned it and was furious. She has a strong sense of justice. If you really want to impress her, take her to an animal shelter and get a rescue cat!"

The hacker acted like he was explaining something to a two-year-old. Aaron was insulted but had to admit he had a point; the only expensive thing he'd bought her in this life that she kept was the DNA necklace because it catered to her interests.

Keeley had a soft heart, she would probably love going to an animal shelter. But places like that were loud and dirty, weren't they? Aaron had never stepped foot inside one in his entire existence and wasn't sure he wanted to.

"I got my dog from Happy Paws Animal Rescue over in Brooklyn," Cameron piped up. "Why not give them a shot?"

"Since when do you have a dog?! I want to see!" Aiden demanded, grappling for Cameron's phone.

He unlocked it and showed them both a few pictures of a brown and white Labrador retriever/Pitbull mix lying on a carpet, running in the park, and at the beach.

"This is Ziggy; I got him about three years ago with my ex-girlfriend. Last year she decided she didn't want either of us and moved to Florida so…"

"Dude, you travel at least once a month, what do you do with him?"

"The dog hotel downtown is very familiar with us. We have a special membership there for coming so often. He gets his own room and the staff walk him and play with him just as much as I do so he's cool with it," Cameron explained.

Aaron was surprised. He realized he didn't actually know anything about Cameron's life outside of work beyond the fact that his background check was clean.

"I had no idea you had a dog."

Cameron shrugged. "So do you want the shelter information or not? I think cats there are twenty-five bucks."

Only twenty-five dollars for an entire living animal? That was unfathomable to him. Then again, Keeley technically got hers for free.

"Sure. Thank you."

Aiden pouted. "Well now I want a pet! Everyone has one but me."

There was no way he'd be able to look out for another living creature. He was barely able to take care of himself! He spent his entire life glued to his computer chair and lived off of Ramen and cheap takeout even though he could afford better than that. It was a lifestyle choice.

"Get yourself a fish; it's probably all you're capable of taking care of," Aaron said coolly.

"Ouch."

The wheels in Aiden's head were turning. "What if I got a lizard or something? A snake? Or a frog…something in a tank so it won't mess up my equipment."

"You could always get a hamster," Cameron suggested from his spot on the couch. "Those are small and live in cages but are still soft enough to pet."

His eyes lit up. "I could! Have you seen pictures of those sick cages with a labyrinth of tunnels? I could get a freaking hamster palace."

Aaron didn't have time for this. They had used up all of their helpfulness for the day. "Get back to work. I don't pay you to sit around doing nothing all day."

"That's exactly what you pay me for," Aiden pointed out.

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees as his temper flared up. "Aiden," he growled.

"On it, boss man!" he said cheerfully before practically bouncing out the door.

Aaron could hear them talking about everything they knew about hamsters all the way down the hall. They didn't shut the door behind them.

Feeling a headache coming on, he got up and closed the door before sitting back down at his desk. Sometimes he seriously questioned why he bothered keeping those idiots on. Probably because they would be difficult to replace at this point.

At least they had their uses. Aaron wouldn't have been able to start building his empire without them. He stared at the screen in front of him with all of the reports Aiden compiled on the neutral shareholders.

Bruce was probably his best bet to hit next. He had been in the company a long time and Alistair refused to promote him from head of the finance department to chief financial officer. Aaron had been waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

He happened to know that the current CFO would retire in a year. If he managed to convince his father to promote Bruce instead of hire externally and made a deal with the man beforehand, that would be one more shareholder on his side. An additional 4% in his camp would be quite helpful.

Unfortunately, he was still trying to figure out how to wrestle Alistair's shares away from him because that was his best bet to control the company completely. Once he did that it would be smooth sailing from then on.