Will didn't set out to build anything ? he just wanted a beer with his buddy Bill. Somewhere between quitting his job, twelve-hour days, and building a startup that could make them rich or ruin them, Will does what any burned-out founder should: he starts going to the gym at 5 a.m.

That's where he meets Julie.

Three years of "Good morning, Will." Three years of small talk at the front desk and a routine friendship that never quite makes it past the gym doors. Julie's married. Will's married. It's fine ? right up until it isn't.

Julie's marriage has been running on fumes for years.

Will's didn't fade. It ended with a note on the kitchen table while he wasn't looking.

Then Julie mentions she's headed to Vegas for a bachelorette party. Will does the only thing that makes sense to a man who's spent years paying quiet attention: he starts making a plan.

Then he flies to Vegas. No number. No idea what he'll say if he finds her. Just three years of routine and one very bad, very good idea.

Before the Bench is the fast, funny (and foul-mouthed) prequel to Walter Cook's The Bench, the first book in The Bench Series. The Bench contains explicit content and is intended for readers 18+.