“Can’t blame a guy,” he mumbled, his cheeks flushing from embarrassment, and he fell into the chair a few feet away from her—close enough for them to touch if he were to try. “So, whose life altering issue should we tackle first?”
She mulled it over, already knowing she didn’t want to talk about herself, at least not first, but wanted to seem as if she was genuinely considering her options. “Tell me about this greedy, cruel and selfish person you know.”
“Now, if I tell you that, I have to tell you the entire story.”
Marlowe pushed the chair so it was completely flat and rolled onto her side, resting her head in her hand as she watched him intently. “I’ve got plenty of time.”
“It’s my father,” he informed her with a heavy sigh, thinking back on everything he had uncovered over the course of only a couple of hours. “I know all parents are horrible, but he was something else.”
“Mine aren’t horrible at all,” she told him truthfully, thinking about her father who was probably sitting on the couch watching some trashy reality show with her sister, and her mom who she lost only a couple years prior who was nothing but the best.
The man sighed, a sense of jealousy and envy flowing through him as he wished from nothing more than to have the life the woman before him must have had. “Well, you’re one of the lucky ones.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, realizing her mistake too late. “Wait,” she said, cutting off her previous train of thought as her eyebrows furrowed together. “You said he was something else, not is.”
“Yeah,” he drew out, running a hand through his already messy hair. “He passed away a few days ago. The funeral was today, actually.”
Marlowe sent a sympathetic expression his way, but she could tell by the look he gave her in return that he didn’t want it, so she plastered on a neutral face. “I actually came from a funeral myself,” she informed him with a heavy sigh. “But we’re not on me yet. We’re talking about you. Tell me about him.”
“He was the worst,” he told her, averting his eyes away from hers; he knew he wouldn’t get through it all if he was watching her while he spoke. “My father cheated on my mom constantly, but she wanted his money, so she never divorced him. Since he had so many women on the side, he was never home and my mother was always miserable. I basically raised myself. But once I turned fifteen, he insisted I went to work with him.
He ran a hand through his hair. “You see, my father ran his own company and insisted it stay in the family. So, being his only son, it was up to me to fill his shoes. At the time, I was so happy to finally have my father back that it never dawned on me that running the business was the last thing I wanted. Of course, once I went to college, I found my passion, but it wasn’t an option for me. So, instead, I found a way where I could incorporate my passion into the business. However, not too long ago, I realized that’s going to be impossible.”
Marlowe let the silence hang between them for a while as she ran his story through her mind, giving him the chance to collect himself before she asked questions. She watched as he wrung his hands together and took a deep breath, and once he looked over at her, she knew he was okay.
“Why is it impossible?”
“He stole a lot of money from many people,” he whispered, averting his eyes once more before he could unravel completely. “I went through all the records, found out how he really got his money, and even learned that some of these people were so in debt to my father, had lost so much, that they killed themselves.”
Marlowe drew in a sharp breath, feeling sorry for the man before her for having to deal with all of this. “Just because you took over doesn’t mean you’re responsible, if that’s what you’re thinking. What your father did and what happened is some heavy shit, but none of that is your fault.”
“I know that, deep down I know that, but it doesn’t make it any easier,” he admitted, laying down completely and mimicking Marlowe’s posture. “But I’m going to fix it, and I’m going to get them all their money back, and then some. Once it’s all said and done, I will turn that company into a legit business.”
“Sounds like you’re going to be a very busy man.”
Marlowe gave the man a soft smile, her eyes crinkling slightly. He returned her smile, admiring her as much as he could from the single dim light that sat on a table a few feet away. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her, wanted to peel apart her layers and become someone she would remember.
“You said you were pondering the great mystery that is life itself,” he reminded her, turning the conversation back to Marlowe. “You also mentioned you had your own funeral today. Any chance those two things are related?”
“Wow, you should be an investigator,” she teased, smiling gently to herself as his laugh sent a warmth through her. “Well, Sherlock, they are very much related.”
His laughter died down as a seriousness came back to him, noticing how her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m sorry for your loss. I’m assuming you two were close?”
“She was one of my best friends,” Marlowe told him, her eyes becoming misty as she thought of Margot. “I knew her since we were four years old and we practically grew up together. Her and another friend of ours were always attached at the hip—you couldn’t have one of us without the other two. We all went to the same college and made sure we were roommates.”
“That sounds amazing,” he told her honestly, thinking about the relationship he had with his own best friend. He couldn’t think about life without him, so he couldn’t imagine what she was going through. “So, what happened?”
Marlowe took a deep breath to steady herself, and he noticed the lone tear that escaped down her cheek. It took everything within him not to lean forward and brush it away; he wasn’t sure how she’d react to that. “Car accident. Someone was on their phone and ran a stop sign. She made it to the hospital but died on the table.”
“Jesus,” he mumbled, shaking his head and looking at her with a sad expression. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Before she could reply, her phone rang from her back pocket. She apologized to him quickly before she pulled it out to see her friend’s name, the one she had just been talking about, on her screen.
“I’m sorry, I need to take this.” Marlowe climbed out of her chair before looking down at him with a gentle smile. “Don’t go anywhere.”
She turned around and walked away, leaving the man alone in the lounge area. He watched as she sauntered away, noting how she talked more quietly before she was out of earshot so he wouldn’t hear what was being said. He wouldn’t lie and say that didn’t make him more curious as to what the phone call was about, but he knew it wasn’t his place to ask—or eavesdrop.
Marlowe looked out over the city, her phone in her right hand pressed against her ear. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
