Page 79 of Chasing Elliott
“He was the worst,” he began to tell her, averting his eyes away from hers; he knew hewouldn’t get through it all if he was watching her while he spoke. “He cheated on my momconstantly, but she wanted his money, so she never divorced him. Since he had so many woman on the side, he was never home and my mother was always so miserable, I basically raised myself. But once I turned fifteen, he insisted that I started to go to work with him.
“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 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 started to find a way where I could incorporate my passion into the business. However, not toolong ago, I realized that’s going to be impossible.”
Marlowe let silence hang between them for a while as she ran his story through her mind once more, giving him the chance to collect himself before she started to ask questions. Shewatched as he ran a hand through his hair 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 a lot of people,” he whispered, averting his eyes once morebefore 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. “You have to know that none of that is on you. What your father did and what happened because of it is not 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, I’m going to get them all their money back, and then some. Once that’s 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 the way that 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 shethought of Margot. “I knew her since we were four years old, practically grew up together. Her and another friend of ours were always dubbed the Three Musketeers since we were 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, the works.”
“That sounds amazing,” he told her honestly, thinking about the relationship he had with his own best friend. He couldn’t even begin to think about life without him, he couldn’t imaginewhat 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, and it took everything within him to not lean forward and brush it away. Hewasn’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 started to ring 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 said as she climbed out of the chair beforelooking down at him. “Don’t go anywhere.”
She turned around and walked away, leaving the man alone in the lounge area. Hewatched as she walked away, noticing how she talked more quietly before she was out of ear shot so he wouldn’t hear what was being said. He wasn’t going to lie and say that didn’t makehim more curious as to what the phone call was about, but he knew that it wasn’t his place to ask. Or find a way to eaves drop.
Marlowe looked out over the city, her phone in her right hand against her ear. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“I wish I was,” her friend told her, sounding extremely irritated. “He hasn’t been home since before the funeral. Kick his ass to the curb, Mar, I’m not kidding. What kind of man doesn’t come home to look after his kid?”
“He’s hurting too, Blue,” she tried to reason, but even she knew she was full of shit and making excuses for him. “He probably just needed a breather.”
Blue scoffed on the other end of the line and Marlowe knew she was going to get ripped apart. “He is never here, Mar. Never. I don’t think he’s been around a single time in the last threemonths that I’ve stopped by. That’s bullshit. You’re hurting more than he is, Margot wasn’t hisfriend, she was our sister.”
“How is Claire?” Marlowe asked, cutting in to her friend’s rant to make sure her daughterwas okay.
“She’s fine,” she responded, her tone already lighter, and a smile came to Marlowe’s face. “She’s been asleep for a few hours now. When are you coming home?”
Marlowe looked back over her shoulder to see the stranger still laying out on the chair, but his eyes were glued to her. When their eyes met, he sent her a smile and she couldn’t stop herself from reciprocating it. “Give me twenty minutes.”
She said goodbye and hung up the phone before making her way back over to the man who had brought a little bit of light to her horrible day. She sat down but didn’t lay back, and theman sat up so that their knees were almost touching.
“I have to get going,” she informed him, and she didn’t miss the way his face fell slightly upon hearing those words. “But I have a question for you.”
“Fire away,” he told her, curious as to what she was about to ask him.
