Page 87 of You've Got Male

“How have you been?” Curt asked with an edge of concern to his voice.

“Really good,” Jonah said, and for the first time he really meant it.

“Yeah, I’ve seen the ClickByte videos. My wife is obsessed. Evie looks good on you.”

She really did, he thought, and he wanted to tell her but he didn’t want to blow up what they had going. He knew how he felt, but it was in direct conflict with her last rule. And he knew how much she liked her rules. So for now he’d keep things to himself.

He knew she liked him, but it was like a game of chicken, both of them waiting for the other to crack and admit their feelings first, but too afraid in case they weren’t reciprocated.

“I even heard that you were practicing again.”

“Just taking on a few clients,” he fibbed. He had exactly one client. Mrs. Gomez was it and that was more of a favor.

“Heard you took on Frank and lived to tell the story.” Curt barked out a laugh.

“He was going to fire some poor new dad to give me a seat at the table. Not my kind of life anymore. You know?” Jonah said, wanting to be upfront. Because while he needed a job, he didn’t want the kind of job he’d had before. His family deserved more.

“What are you looking for?”

That was a question he had finally stopped to ask himself. “I want to be challenged, work hard, help my clients ensure their loved ones will be taken care of, and be a present dad.”

“What if I can offer you that?”

Jonah waited for the suffocating feeling to swamp him but instead of wanting to hide, Jonah wanted to lean into a new chapter. Working with Mrs. Gomez had really helped him see that he could parent and jumpstart his professional life without sacrificing the things that were important. Sure, shirts would get stained, and there would be more misses than potty-hits, but the love and support was there.

“That would be great.”

“It will take a ton of sweat equity, but my partner is retiring and we’re looking for someone to manage some of his client portfolios.”

“How many clients are we talking?”

“How many can you handle?” Curt looked at Jonah’s suit, his eyes zeroing in on the smear of peanut butter he hadn’t noticed on his tie, and Jonah could see doubt creeping in. But he wasn’t scared of a little peanut butter anymore.

He shrugged. “Kids. They’ll get you every time. Yesterday it was frosting from a cupcake. Tomorrow it will probably be something else. Nothing a dry cleaner or spare shirt and tie in the car won’t fix.”

“Are you at a place to get back in the game?”

Not only was he ready, it was time. If he wanted his family to find peace and move forward, he needed to set an example. And while it would be rough at first, he’d make it work. Hell, he used to be one of the best investment brokers in Denver, he could do it again.

“I’m ready.”

“My partner comes back in two weeks, let’s schedule an appointment here at the office. I’ll introduce you to him. He’llwant to see your mind at work, so come prepared with a hypothetical on a widow in her fifties whose husband left her a two-million-dollar life insurance policy. The house is worth a million, but she owns a little over three hundred K with a seventy-five K equity line. She has another mil in an IRA. She’s fifty-three with three teens, two of them almost college-aged. We’ll see how you do and take it from there.”

“Here are some references.” Jonah took out a crisp piece of paper and slid it across the table. “Frank’s reference will be shit, but you know what I can do.”

“I do. That’s why I agreed to meet. But know that I need someone I can really rely on. You used to be that guy. I just want to make sure you’re that guy again.”

“I am.”

“My partner has been grooming his son-in-law, but we don’t gel. He gave me a month to find someone else. I need to get this nailed down in the next few weeks.”

Which meant Jonah had to nail this.

He looked back at Curt. “I’m your guy.”

“Good to hear.”

…

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