Richard
I was still trying to process what Cairo had just said when I asked him, "Are you blackmailing me, Cairo?"
"I guess you can call it that," he replied, his tone casual, almost indifferent.
"So, you want your mech that badly, huh? You're willing to ruin our friendship over this?" I protested, feeling a mix of disbelief and anger.
"Richy, what friendship?" he shot back. "You haven't spoken to me in months. And for the record, this isn't personal."
I couldn't deny the truth in his words I had been avoiding him, and for good reason. But that didn't make his actions any easier to swallow. "Oh, but it is personal," I said, my voice firm. "Ask me for anything else, and I'll try to help you out. But not this. This could destroy my career."
