Read Online The Willingness to Burn by J. P. London - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: J. P. London
Ads: Link
began while getting into bed, “everyone seems to think that being a stockbroker excuses them from being shitty people, like if you work hard enough you can be an asshole and it’s totally okay.”
“I could see that.”
“But then it becomes their entire identity. It’s like they don’t want to see the other stuff because then they’d be forced to look in the mirror.”
“I could see that too. It’s a hard job to have. Their hours are awful, and when your whole life revolves around getting people to say yes, you soon stop caring how you get there.”
“But that’s what defines a person, is what they are willing to do to get that yes.”
“I know, and in a results driven industry, people sometimes sell their soul for the results that matter to them.”
“I’m glad you’re not like that.”
“It’s the difference between the love of money. And the lust for what money can bring you.”
“So, which are you?”
“I’d hope you’d know that at this point.”
“I do.” Maddy smiled warmly. “Now let me get inside.”
Jace opened his arms wide and Maddy rolled into him, then he closed his arms wrapping her up tightly. Maddy kissed Jace on the chin, and they gazed deeply at one another.
“I’m glad you like them, though. Wait until you meet the rest of them.”
“Oh, God, there’re more like you?” Maddy pushed against his chest creating a little space.
“Nah, none quite like me. But there’s more.”
“What’re they like?”
“Well diverse, I would say.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Everything from saints to sinners.”
“Oh God, the saints must be so boring.”
Jace laughed “Ehh, they’re not so bad.”
“Well, then they must not be very good saints.”
“No one really is, you know what the rolling stones say.”
“What’s that?”
“Every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
Chapter 10
Years earlier…
Maddy stood inside a recording studio with her friend John. The padded room with its thick glass window was not the place she expected to find herself when she agreed to take a communications elective. Junior year was a hard year in any major, but it was especially hard for her. Not only did she have her regular 300-level classes to attend to, but she also had the overflow of pain from the previous year.
She would tell herself later that she took it easy sophomore year because of her mom getting sick, but she knew that wasn’t true. She had picked out her classes before she knew anything about her mom.
Freshmen year she had a solid fifteen credits each semester which was good for a freshmen. That meant five classes a week and most of her classes, save British Lit., only met once a week and rarely if ever took the full three hours of time allotted. And although she had plenty of time for fun, she felt like she had earned a break for her sophomore year.
Her last semester she had just pledged Delta Pi, a sorority known for pretty girls and fun parties. That’s how she knew them, anyway, and that’s what she hoped everyone else thought, but who really knows? Pledging hadn’t been that bad—it was time consuming. She, along with her newfound sisters, had to engage in a lot of team-building exercises. The focus was always on bringing them together as sisters. That was a far cry from what the guys had to do. She didn’t know anything for sure but had heard stories from friends. She would not have pledged a fraternity, had she been able to.
Her grades suffered a bit as a result of her newfound sisters, her hectic pledging schedule, and her increased social life. Not that a girl like her needed any help enhancing her social life. But the will of new friends often beats out the desire to study or do homework. And Maddy, who was usually an A student felt to a B average for the first time in her life.
So she told her parents that college was getting more difficult. “The work is just so much more complicated and
“I could see that.”
“But then it becomes their entire identity. It’s like they don’t want to see the other stuff because then they’d be forced to look in the mirror.”
“I could see that too. It’s a hard job to have. Their hours are awful, and when your whole life revolves around getting people to say yes, you soon stop caring how you get there.”
“But that’s what defines a person, is what they are willing to do to get that yes.”
“I know, and in a results driven industry, people sometimes sell their soul for the results that matter to them.”
“I’m glad you’re not like that.”
“It’s the difference between the love of money. And the lust for what money can bring you.”
“So, which are you?”
“I’d hope you’d know that at this point.”
“I do.” Maddy smiled warmly. “Now let me get inside.”
Jace opened his arms wide and Maddy rolled into him, then he closed his arms wrapping her up tightly. Maddy kissed Jace on the chin, and they gazed deeply at one another.
“I’m glad you like them, though. Wait until you meet the rest of them.”
“Oh, God, there’re more like you?” Maddy pushed against his chest creating a little space.
“Nah, none quite like me. But there’s more.”
“What’re they like?”
“Well diverse, I would say.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Everything from saints to sinners.”
“Oh God, the saints must be so boring.”
Jace laughed “Ehh, they’re not so bad.”
“Well, then they must not be very good saints.”
“No one really is, you know what the rolling stones say.”
“What’s that?”
“Every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
Chapter 10
Years earlier…
Maddy stood inside a recording studio with her friend John. The padded room with its thick glass window was not the place she expected to find herself when she agreed to take a communications elective. Junior year was a hard year in any major, but it was especially hard for her. Not only did she have her regular 300-level classes to attend to, but she also had the overflow of pain from the previous year.
She would tell herself later that she took it easy sophomore year because of her mom getting sick, but she knew that wasn’t true. She had picked out her classes before she knew anything about her mom.
Freshmen year she had a solid fifteen credits each semester which was good for a freshmen. That meant five classes a week and most of her classes, save British Lit., only met once a week and rarely if ever took the full three hours of time allotted. And although she had plenty of time for fun, she felt like she had earned a break for her sophomore year.
Her last semester she had just pledged Delta Pi, a sorority known for pretty girls and fun parties. That’s how she knew them, anyway, and that’s what she hoped everyone else thought, but who really knows? Pledging hadn’t been that bad—it was time consuming. She, along with her newfound sisters, had to engage in a lot of team-building exercises. The focus was always on bringing them together as sisters. That was a far cry from what the guys had to do. She didn’t know anything for sure but had heard stories from friends. She would not have pledged a fraternity, had she been able to.
Her grades suffered a bit as a result of her newfound sisters, her hectic pledging schedule, and her increased social life. Not that a girl like her needed any help enhancing her social life. But the will of new friends often beats out the desire to study or do homework. And Maddy, who was usually an A student felt to a B average for the first time in her life.
So she told her parents that college was getting more difficult. “The work is just so much more complicated and
Similar Books
