Page 44 of Along Came Amor
“Because of all this?” He gestured at the opulence around them, then nodded. “All the time.”
Her eyes went wide. “You do?”
“Of course.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and moved closer to the glass, looking down at the streets below. “But I work hard on the things that make me the most money in order to funnel it back into the programs that’ll help people like... well, like who I used to be. People like my mom, who was a single mother for most of my life. The hotels are named for her, you know.”
“Dulce?”
He nodded and continued. “I give to the organizations helping people even more vulnerable than we were, in a way I never dreamed would be possible. It’s not out of guilt, though, it’s out of...”
His dark brows dipped in frustration, like he was looking for the right word. She waited without offering a suggestion, giving him space to think.
“Responsibility,” he finally said. “Not that it’s an obligation, but... why have all this if I can’t use it to help?”
“You feel a duty to your community?” she clarified, and he looked relieved.
“Yeah. That’s it. I grew up in South Williamsburg before it was gentrified. All this? It’s still new to me too.”
“Do you ever worry about it going away?”
“Constantly. Why do you think I never stop working?”
“What was your first business?” she asked, and was surprised at the cheeky grin he sent her.
“You’re not going to like this, profe.”
She grinned at the pet name, a shortened version of profesora. “Let’s hear it.”
“I was in sixth grade.”
“A little entrepreneur.”
“You know it. By the end of the year, I had a whole homework smuggling ring going on.”
“No me digas.” She covered her face, muffling the laugh that escaped. “What were you doing, stealing test answers?”
He shook his head. “In hindsight, that would’ve been easier. Instead, I did other kids’ homework for five bucks a pop.”
“You scoundrel,” she said fondly.
“That was how it started, anyway. Then it became a study circle—five of them paying me three dollars each. I’d read the material out loud and help them organize and write their papers.”
“Roman, that’s basically tutoring.”
“I see that now. I think some of them had undiagnosed learning disabilities.”
“If that’s the case, I’m sure the smaller group setting helped too.”
“Probably. The first time I gave my mom the money I’d made, she asked me if I was selling drugs.” He peered around at the suite, as if seeing it for the first time. When he spoke again, his voice was low and distant. “I work hard. Lots of long hours. Most of the time, I don’t even get to enjoy what I’ve built.”
Then his gaze flicked to hers, and a smile played at the corner of his mouth. “Until you came along.”
“Me?”
“I wouldn’t have taken tonight off if you hadn’t texted.”
Dismay colored her voice. “I knew I was keeping you from something important. You should’ve told me.”
“I deserve a night off every once in a while, too.”
