"You what?" Aaron asked, his voice deadly over the phone.

Aiden's arm hairs stood on end; the murderous intent was palpable.

"I just gave her some advice on taking care of herself! You're not supposed to drink a ton of coffee after staying up all night. You should have seen the security camera footage; she was about to ascend into the astral plane from shaking so much."

He felt defensive. "You're always telling me to check up on her; isn't it natural I'd get a little attached?"

The icy tone intensified, and Aiden immediately backpedaled.

"Not that I'm interested in your girl, dude! I like someone else! I'm just a little invested in what happens to her at this point; she feels almost like a friend."

Aaron sighed heavily. "She isn't supposed to know what we're doing. You probably made her think she has a stalker."

"But…she does have a stalker."

"Well, she doesn't need to know that!"

Children could be so annoying. Would his own child have been this bad? Probably not. His child would have been a Hale. Hales were inherently professional.

Although…Keeley wouldn't have raised the baby the way his parents did, so maybe things would have turned out differently. He'd never know.

"Are you ever going to fess up?" Aiden teased. "Don't be lame, man. You're super rich. Why wouldn't she like you?"

"That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?" he responded sourly.

His mood worsened as New Year's Eve approached. Everything felt wrong. They were supposed to start dating soon after almost a year of friendship.

He wondered if he could see her during the school break, even briefly. Probably not, unless he went to her house. But there was no guarantee she'd be there.

"Sorry, man, I didn't mean—"

"I know. Just…don't do anything like that again. Watch her, but don't interact. You'll meet her someday."

"Really?" Aiden perked up. "When? I haven't even met you!"

"I plan on getting you a job in my IT department once I'm vice president. You'll be a high school graduate by then. Keeley and I will be together again once I'm back in New York."

"No way, really? But don't I need to go to college first?"

"Someone like you has nothing left to learn about computers," Aaron said dryly. "No one will question it if I recommend you."

"Sweet." He stretched the word. "My mom will be thrilled. She thinks I don't apply myself enough."

"She'd think differently if she knew her son was the sixth-ranked hacker in the country at fourteen."

"You kidding? She'd kill me and dance on my grave," he said with a nervous laugh. "Please don't tell her."

"I won't. Get me those reports on my father's shareholders, and I'll forget this whole thing ever happened."

"On it, boss man!" Aiden hung up and began digging up information only the deepest corners of the internet could provide. [Remove the Novelfire advertisement.]

Aaron flung himself onto his bed, covering his face with his arm. Why was everything so difficult?

He was struggling to get information on the other shareholders.

He'd already bought Maria's fifteen shares and given them to Cameron as a placeholder. There was no one else he could act on immediately; he needed more information.

He was more concerned about his plans than school; he'd done this before. The homework was tedious and time-consuming, but not difficult.

The real problem was the serious networking required.

He loathed the shallow people in the socialite circles, but they were on his father's side. He needed more allies among them, which meant endless small talk.

Alice Wheatley might be a good starting point…she didn't hold a grudge about prom, and her family was influential in finance, though not on the level of the Hales or Knightons.

The Knightons…Brann Knighton was firmly on his father's side; they'd plotted together to replace Keeley with Lacy as Mrs. Hale. He had to find a way to counter them.

Lacy had been annoyingly persistent at Harvard. They were in different departments, but she found him several times a week, trying to cozy up.

Fortunately, he knew what a viper she was. He wouldn't fall for it.

Comparing her to Keeley, Lacy was the nasty, cloying taste of cherry cough syrup; Keeley was the real cherry. Everything about Lacy screamed "false."

Aaron loved Keeley's genuineness. Why couldn't Lacy understand he wasn't interested?

If he didn't secure Keeley before returning to New York, their parents would try to force them together. That was the last thing he wanted.

He wanted to reclaim his throne with his rightful queen and live happily ever after. It was an oddly sentimental thought, but Keeley had that effect.

The thought of seeing her again sustained him through finals. He finished strong, gave Cameron his money and instructions, and they parted for the holidays.

Aaron wasn't looking forward to the boring parties, but he was happy to be going home. Home is where the heart is, and his heart was in Manhattan.