Category: book tour

I spend the rest of the afternoon working on the Murphy account. A couple in their
mid-fifties, like my dad, who want to earn a little extra money to help make their retirement a
comfortable one. They want a third of their funds in safe investments, forty percent in low
risk and the last thirty percent in high risk.
Maxine and Thomas Murphy are a nice couple and I enjoy our chats when they come
to my office. They are the typical mom and dad investors our firm caters to and have one
hundred and twenty thousand dollars to invest. Not much to a business like ours. It’s five in
the evening when I close the file, satisfied I have placed their money wisely.
My phone buzzes and I smile as the message flashes on the screen. It’s Ryan. “Good
for tonight? 6pm at Riccardo’s?”
I text back, “yes” before pushing the chair back and standing. The files, previously
scattered all over my desk, are placed back in their folders in a walnut cabinet by the wall. I
check nothing is left out before turning the key in the lock to secure them for the night. That’s
something else that pisses me off – dad will only allow old fashioned hardcopy files. He
doesn’t know, that against his instructions, I also have them on my computer. I swear to
fucking God, my father and brother are dinosaurs.
I leave my office and am halfway down the hallway to the elevator when dad calls
from behind. I groan, wondering what he’ll want now. Turning around, I wait for him to
approach.
“Dad?”
“Where are you going?”
“Out for a drink with a friend.” Not that it’s any of your fucking business.
He raises an eyebrow. “Girlfriend?”
Yeah, nope, he doesn’t know I’m gay. None of my family are privy to that tidbit of
information. While mom and my brother would not take it well, dad would fucking lose it.
He’s by far the worst bigot I know. I can see it now, the explosion of his temper would
catapult us into the fucking stratosphere. Nope, definitely not going to give him that piece of
information anytime soon, if ever.
“No, friend from school. Why?”
Dad shoves his hands in the pockets of his Gucci pants and lowers his eyes to the
floor.
I follow his line of sight wondering what is suddenly so interesting down there. His
feet shuffle about and I wonder what he is so nervous about.
“Dad?”
He lifts his eyes to mine and licks his lips. Hmmm, definitely nervous.
“Samuel didn’t get the account.”
“I could say, I told you so.” I’m a smug sonofabitch. He’s taught me some things well.

“Yeah, well there’s more.” Dad swallows so hard, his Adam’s apple moves from the
bottom of his throat to the top at the speed of an express elevator. “Pope wants to leave four
hundred thousand with us, like he told you, for high risk investment. The rest he is taking
from us. He will only stay if you handle his account.”
“Why me? You said yourself, Samuel would do a better job.” I can’t resist throwing
his earlier sarcastic words back in his face.
“He said he’ll go high risk and pay our thirty percent only with you because you’ve
never let him down. He only trusts you.”
I lean against the wall, cross one leg over the other and fold my arms over my chest.
“You said the account was no longer mine so I’m focusing on other clients now.” I’m
enjoying doing this to the fucker, making him sweat. As an executive of the company, I can
accept or refuse any account as I see fit. Dad knows this and he also knows, he’s rubbed me
the wrong way.