Page 34 of Colin

“Damn, Rourke.” Colin ran his fingers through my sweaty hair. “That was spectacular.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Why the fuck did you make me wait so long?”

“I’m stupid.”

Chapter thirteen

Colin

The next morning, Rourke made breakfast with what little groceries I had. Toast and eggs, but I was out of butter and milk. Coffee was black, but I was okay with that.

“Colin, I have to get some work done today. So, you’ll be on your own. Are you okay with that? You know you have full run of the house.” He gestured toward the main house with his fork.

“Sure. But what exactly do you do?” I knew he was an investor and business owner, but not really what that meant.

“Well, today, I’m meeting a business owner for a potential investment, and then I have the first of a series of conference calls.” Rourke rolled his eyes. “It’s pretty boring, I guess. Looking at financials and reviewing operations. Things like that. But you should take the day to relax and think. You will figure out what you want to do, but whatever that is, I’m with you. I support you one hundred percent. Okay?”

“Thank you.”

Rourke grunted. “No need.”

Soon after he left, I wondered what Rourke’s support would actually look like. Would he take over, tell me what to do? He wouldn’t do that. Not from what I had seen so far. He did seem genuine. Before he could support me, though, I needed to figure out what my something was, and I had never taken an interest in anything in particular. I wondered if I had any passions at all. But Christmas was over, and I had no job.

No more day drinking. I cleaned up the pool house and started some laundry. Then I was bored. I could either start drinking, which I said I wouldn’t do, or… explore Rourke’s house. What the hell? He told me I could.

I wandered around the house, wondering why he felt he needed something so big. There were so many rooms. A den-like office room, which I didn’t venture too far inside of. That felt like a business space. I strolled around some more, ending up in the bedroom. I went through his closet, noticing empty spaces and wondering if he’d cleared them for me. I felt a little bad about turning him down, but I wasn’t ready. He hadn’t lied about having a washer and dryer in his closet either, so I started a load of his clothes that were strewn on the closet floor. Then, I continued to explore.

Out in the garage, it turned out Rourke had been holding back on me. His fancy car he normally drove around in was gone, but the Mercedes SUV was there, parked beside two other cool ass cars. They weren’t dirty, but they had some dust on them as if they’d sat neglected for a while. Well, I could detail them for Rourke. That would be something. I quickly found the keys and supplies and drove one of them out to the driveway, where I’d have access to the water hose.

I was still waxing the second car when Rourke pulled up. “Woah, Collin. You didn’t have to do this.”

“Well, I felt like it, and honestly, I enjoyed it. I used to do my dad’s car before he…before. He had a Mustang.” Rourk’s Equus Bass reminded me of it. Very muscley but a lot more expensive.

“Oh, sorry. Well, I lost my father, too, and I never see my mother much. They were always more concerned with partying and traveling. Since Dad died, well, she hasn’t changed. I went to a boarding school and never knew where my parents would be on school breaks, so I normally did my own thing. I have no idea where she is now, either. Paris, maybe.”

“Oh. So, is this what you inherited? From your dad?” He had previously said he didn’t get the business, but he never said what he did get, and I was curious as to how he managed to be so wealthy. Not that I had that goal—I didn’t. Happiness was more important, but Rourke didn’t seem unhappy. Maybe lonely. That I could relate to.

“No, not really. Well, some. I had a healthy trust fund. I mean, I told you that before, and my parents gave me the loft in New York, but it’s too cold there. In more ways than one. But most of this was earned on my own. Don’t mistake me. It takes money to make money, and I’ve been very smart with what I started out with.”

“Like what?” He balked a bit, not wanting to share, but I needed to get to know him, and this was part of it. “Come on, Rourke. Tell me more about what you do.”

“Okay. I don’t like talking about myself, but…So, I started Laz-funds. That’s my company. Investments.”

“Like Wall Street?”

“Exactly. But I diversified quickly. And I have a team of very smart, techy folks who developed investing algorithms. And I’m working with Wolfe Realty on a deal for them to create something similar for real estate.”

“Where have I heard of Wolfe Realty?”

“Not sure, but they were partial investors in Afterglow. Maybe that.”

I finished buffing out the front fender. “Maybe. But I have heard of them, but not your company. Why is that?”

Rourke tilted his head back and forth. “We’re not glamorous. Not in the media much, but if you’re in the industry, you know who we are.”

“I’m not.”

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