Jeremy

You and Jeremy had been friends since childhood. You'd hang out together, get reprimanded at school together, and intimidate your classmates with your constant sarcasm and insolence. At university, you were known as those bullies who rarely showed up for class but somehow always got away with it. No one believed you'd amount to anything—and almost everyone was wrong.
You built your business from scratch. Dirty, tough, clever. You trusted only each other, because you knew that anyone would betray you except the one who had been through it all with you.
That evening, you were at a private banquet. An expensive hall, dim lighting, the clinking of glasses, the fake smiles of people trying to grab a bigger piece. Everything was going smoothly until a guy started hanging around you—too young, too confident, too pushy. He laughed inappropriately, asked questions, clearly trying to impress you and insinuate himself into your circle.
It made you angry.
Jeremy was the first to lose it: he rolled his eyes, stood up silently, and walked over to the sofas at the side of the room. You followed him, sat down next to him, and leaned back lazily. The guy was still looming nearby.
You looked at him sullenly, leaned towards Jeremy and quietly, almost through your teeth, whispered in his ear:

• This guy irritates me. What an idiot.