back against the sofa. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you and Emma meet? Were you Denver high society too?”
“No. Not me,” he says. “I’m from Florida, originally. Was on a soccer scholarship and blew my knee. Finished my marketing degree and got an intern position. Did some modeling on the side to pay the rent. Emma and I met at a party in Miami and it all kind of went from there. Jack was less than impressed when she bought me home.”
“What was he like?”
He frowns, thinking it over. “About what you’d imagine. If you have a cynical, brutal imagination, that is. A workaholic mega-rich asshole with an eye for the ladies who expected his children to do as told and follow in his footsteps. I think he loved them in his own way; he just couldn’t tolerate the thought that they might have their own thoughts and ideas about life, you know?”
“Sounds charming.”
“Sure. When he wanted something. The man knew how to close a deal. But he could be a mean son of a bitch too. And while he was flexible with moral concepts such as right and wrong, his idea of success and how important it should be in someone’s life was set in stone. Didn’t leave the people around him with much room to maneuver.” His smile is somewhat twisted. “Anyway, I worked for Elliot Corp. for a while. Then I decided I needed to do my own thing. Beck was looking for different ways to invest his trust fund and The Crooked Company was formed.”
“I love that name.”
“It came about after a particularly long brainstorming session one night involving many beers.”
Matías’s gaze drops to the gleaming laptop sitting on the coffee table in front of me. It just arrived this morning, and the box and all the other paraphernalia with it are strewn in an untidy heap beside it. “New toy?”
“I made the mistake of asking Beck if I could borrow his laptop for an hour or two one evening.” Mrs. Flores’s cat knocked mine off a table a few months back and I’d been saving up to get another ever since. “Normally when a guy seems a bit shocked at the prospect of handing over his devices, it’s because he’s worried about being busted with porn or something, but I think for Beck it was just that he forgets that not everyone owns the latest toys. Anyway, within an hour a delivery guy turns up with this shiny tech. The guy offered to set it up for me, but I figured that if I didn’t do it myself, I’d never know how to fix anything when it goes wrong.”
Matías nods. “What’s your purpose with it? Business or pleasure?”
“The first option.”
“Yeah?” He sits up. “What are you working on?”
“My résumé,” I answer. “If I’m staying, I’m going to need a job. The trick is making a half a dozen different waitressing jobs sound like it’s prepared me for great things. Slinging coffee or beer won’t go down well with the fam so it’s time to use the degree.”
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Sure.” I scan my thumbprint and pass the computer. “Any and all constructive feedback gratefully accepted.”
He’s quiet for several minutes, reading what I’ve written so far. Which deep down inside I can admit is probably a whole lot of nonsense. But you have to start somewhere. At least if I do get any interviews, I can turn up in a fancy suit and look the part.
“You have a way with words.”
I laugh. “Potential employers might not care much about my degree in English Lit. But at least it gifted me the ability to spin beautiful sentences about my lack of useful qualifications.”
“Let me show you something.” His fingers tap oh so quietly against the keys. He hands the laptop back over to me with a site for a local microbrewery on screen.
“Is this the business you guys were talking about the other day?” I ask. “The beer we sampled?”
“That’s right. Tell me what you think.”
Taking my time, I scroll through the information. “It looks good, but the content is a little clunky.”
“Agreed. Rewrite it for me. Give me something better.”
I just look at him.
And the man is serious. Very much so. “The Crooked Company is growing and some of these businesses need a little mentoring. Fact is, I can’t keep handling everything on my own and Beck is busy doing his own thing. These are exactly the kinds of jobs I