“Okay, this one is crazy, at least I thought it was. So I was going over the books for a trading firm. As I’m sure you can understand, it’s messy. There’s alotof money going in and out, and it all has to be accounted for, all the way down to the paper towels they bought for the bathroom.
“Anyway, I was doing what I normally do and looked through the small things first. People think no one would look at basic things, like the amount of money spent on copy paper or maybe the bill they pay for the internet. I found hundreds of thousands of dollars for copy paper. I thought it seemed like a lot, but maybe they have a ton of employees who like working with paper. Well, low and behold, the firm makes a point to be nearly paperless. So, from there I kept digging, and found out the CEO was essentially stealing money from the company and using it to pay for his notone,butthreemistresses, and their apartments, cars, and clothes. The list goes on forever. I’ve seen stuff for mistresses, but notthreeof them.”
“I don’t know how a man can handle more than one woman to begin with,” I mutter and take a swig of my beer to wash down my burger.
“I don’t think he was with them all at the same time. I think he either couldn’t break up with one to move on to the next, or they were holding the fact he was cheating on his wife and stealing money from the company over his head,” she says.
“Sounds like he got what was coming to him,” I say.
She grimaces. “He got twenty years in prison because he stole so much. He has to pay it all back, and his wife divorced him and took everything else he had, which wasn’t much as far as I’m aware.”
“Whoa.”
“It’s sad to see what people do for money,” she says.
I hum and take another bite.
“So, what do you do? Other than being a cowboy and a father,” Mae asks me.
I smile. “My first job is definitely dad. It’s my favorite one. But yes, I’m a ranch hand for my family.”
“But what does that mean?” Mae asks.
I chuckle and lean against the side of the truck. “I literally wrangle and move cattle. Do you really want to talk about this?” I ask her. I love what I do, but it’s also not that interesting.
“Is it likeYellowstone?” she asks.
I laugh and shake my head. “Yes and no, but not all the other stuff, just the cattle.”
She smiles, taking another sip of wine. “June was over the other day and we were going to watch something and she told me if I pickedYellowstoneshe’d leave.”
I chuckle. “June bug can’t stand that show.”
“I have a feeling a lot of actual cowboys don’t like it,” she says.
“That’s if we’ve watched it. I’m usually watchingTarzanorRatatouille,or it’s watching me.”
She smiles softly. “What’s it like being a dad?”
“Hold on now, you asked me something. I get to ask you something else,” I say.
Mae purses her lips. “Fine.”
“You’re a clever one. How is the shop doing?” I ask her.
Her expression closes up, and she looks away. “We don’t have to talk about it. What’s life like where you’re from?” I ask her.
She nibbles on her lower lip and picks at her chicken. “It’s good, not like it is here. I’m from Denver, so basically the city and suburbs.”
I nod. “So you’re not used to living out here in no man’s land.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not, but I like it. I can breathe out here.”
“Small towns are good for that, but then there’s not many people and those people know everything about you.”
She smiles. “Yeah, like June.”
I snort and take another bite. “Yes, like June. She’s nosey, but she means well.”
