“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll learn to love it.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
It wasn’t like things went from zero to a hundred right away.
It started with just… a friendly conversation while Harrison cooked. And some gentle teasing when his ears went red as the stream started playing on the big TV.
Over dinner, he told me stories about boarding school summer camp that I couldn’t relate to, and college, which I could.
“You never mentioned you went to college.”
“I did. Finished too. My parents really wanted me to go.”
“What was your major?”
To that, I shot him a little smile.
“Finance.”
“Of course.”
“I mostly spent my time partying. And hustling frat jerks in games of strip poker. I had a collection of shoes on display in my room from men I’d gotten completely naked. I was famous for it.”
“So you’ve always liked winning.”
“And putting cocky guys in their place. We can’t forget that.”
“So why finance?”
“I was always good with numbers. And it seemed like a degree that could give me a choice of a bunch of different careerswhen I was done. Until I realized poker could be a profession if you were ambitious enough.”
“I can’t picture you as an analyst or auditor.”
“I know, right? But I think you might be right about the stock market.”
“Didn’t you study it in college?”
“Yeah. I mean the basics on how it works. But at the time, it just sounded as boring as all the rest of my classes.”
“I don’t think anyone is excited about a career in finance or business.”
“Did you dread it? Want to do something different?”
“I wanted a year to travel,” Harrison admitted. “But that was not an option. I had a cubicle on the first floor waiting for me.”
“Wait, what?”
“I had to start at the bottom out of college. My father believed that I could never know the company until I knew every aspect of it. I hate to admit it, but he was right about that. No one knows that company like I do.”
“Where did you want to travel?”
“I wanted to see everything. I’ve visited several countries over the years, but I haven’t been able to really immerse myself for any length of time. What have been your favorite places?”
“I mean, I’m a big city girl. So I’ve loved all of them. Tokyo, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Istanbul… I could go on and on.”
“So nothing that isn’t a big city?”
