CHAPTER 7

"Carter Beckett! As he raced inside the office, Finn shouted.

A few heads peered out from behind workstation dividers, quickly dissipating again when they noticed the meerkat-like grimace on his face. Finn showed no concern. He was angry, and he wanted everyone to know how angry he was.

As Finn entered his office and closed the door behind him, his buddy and editor called him "Finn."

Finn replied, "Fucking hell, Carter," and he fell back into the chair across from the desk. "I take a weekend trip, no, not even a weekend trip—"

"Finn—"

Finn snarled, "You don't get to talk yet." "After spending a weekend away, you write this garbage on my blog? Carter, please, I thought we were capable of more than this.

Carter only stared at Finn, who gave a gruff grunt at the back of his throat, without responding. Alright?"

"Now that I can talk, okay? Carter enquired while grinning pitifully.

Finn flashed his fangs, and Carter raised his hands in submission.

"Okay," Carter said. Indeed. That video is amazing, buddy, so I shared it on both your F******k page and blog. Pure gold. Have you given it a watch? What a fantastic woman she is! It's precisely what your blog needs.

And what on earth does that signify?"

You really needed anything to boost your G****e search engine ranking once again. Your audience has been declining.

"Stupid."

"Finn, this isn't nonsense. Your paid memberships are declining even while your F******k fan count is at an all-time high. Many males are not renewing. Carter paused his statement, and Finn snarled one more.

He let out a sigh and wiped his palms down his cheeks after a stressful time. Alright. My subscriptions have dwindled in number. Ever consider the possibility that I may have had a role in helping them achieve their happily ever after?"

Carter studied him for a moment before they both started laughing heartily. If you were looking for your lifelong companion, you should not have read Like, Finn. The blog to read if you wanted to routinely hook up with a new partner every time was In Like Finn.

Finn raked his hand through his hair in frustration and growled, "Seriously Carter." "What the heck is going on?"

Really, Finn. Have you given it a watch?"

That's not what Finn had to acknowledge. If he was being really honest, he felt a bit uneasy after reading some of the remarks. He felt ashamed for the woman, who had clearly experienced a brief mental breakdown. He wasn't into embarrassing people; that wasn't the purpose of In Like Finn. The goal was to assist men in discovering their...mojo.

Finn shook his head, saying, "No."

Carter rotated his Mac's screen so Finn could see it.

The well-known British girl band song began, "This is a shout-out to my ex," and a female appeared on screen. In a hot mess kind of way, she was kind of adorable. She was visibly inebriated and much more visibly enraged at her ex.

Every time a woman felt she was being rejected, he would hear the same hate. The customary whining and grousing about how unfair women's lib was and how easy life was for males. Finn snorted. If she really wanted to know the truth, men's lives weren't all that easy. The days of women creaming their underwear for a great automobile and a good job were long gone. No, nowadays, males had to be attractive, with toned obliques and steely abs that made women swoon on romance book covers everywhere. They also have to be sensitive, fucking compassionate, and clever. And alpha, too, but with a fucking golden heart. Discuss inconsistencies.

Finn couldn't help but agree with her when she declared at the end of the film that she was done with marriage, done with pleasing men, and done with love. Marriage was for males who needed a mother, and love was for pussies. Not by him. Never give up on him. With his meal delivery service on speed dial, he was content in his bachelor apartment. He was happy that he could select which ladies he accepted into his life and that he could spend all the money he earned on himself, without needing permission from anybody else, even if he wanted to buy a fancy audio system for his car.

Finn raised an eyebrow and turned to face Carter.

"Well, I've seen it," he declared. "I still don't understand why you even linked my name to this or why it is on my website."

With his fingers tucked beneath his chin, Carter reclined in his chair. The sinister twinkle in Finn's eye did not sit well. He was very sure, in fact, that Carter would be stroking his cat-like Dr. Evil right now if he had one.

"I want to go out with her."

"What? Finn leaped out of his chair.

"I want you to go out with her and write a blog post about it. I want you to demonstrate to your audience that your remarks are applicable to any lady, anyplace. I want you to make her fall in love with you and reveal her to be the phony that she is.

"Oh sh*t," Finn said, lowering his head. "You were dumped by Mallory, right?"

"This isn't my problem—"

Bullshit on you, dude. It's all about you in this. Finn threw out his arm to point at the TV and exclaimed, "You're just as bad as this woman." "You want to exact revenge on all women because your former partner was a bitch."