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“Yes, the stock market is one place to invest. Stocks, mutual funds, investment bonds, commodities, even real estate. I diversify where I can. Some of my investments are aggressive, some safe.”
“Where’d you learn to do all that or d’you have someone doin’ it for you?”
She shot him a smile.
“What?” he asked, wondering if that was something too personal and he shouldn’t ask.
“I do it myself.”
Of fucking course she did. “And you make enough to live off of?”
“Yes, I do now. Enough to keep me and Agnes on the road.”
“Damn,” he whispered. “How’d you learn to do that?”
“That’s the business I walked away from. I worked at an organization that did asset management. It was my life. And when I say it was my life, it was. My. Whole. Damn. Life. Frankly, it consumed me.”
“Then you just walked away.”
“Yes. I realized it wasn’t worth being totally consumed until there was nothing left of me.”
That reminded Whip of Reese and how, before Deacon, her life revolved around her law firm. She lived and breathed her business. Now, she lived her life the best way possible. She only put in regular hours and then enjoyed her life outside of those hours. She learned to dial down her intense drive to succeed and discovered there were more important things in life than solely making money. Like Deacon and now Dane.
But it didn’t sound like Fallon dialed anything down. Fuck no, she slammed her hand on the “stop” button and got off that ride completely.
“Tell me more,” he encouraged. “Wanna hear what led you to here.” He tapped his finger on the table.
“You mean to this very moment?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a long story. I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version.”
Whip shrugged and took a sip of his beer. “Whatever you wanna share.” Just keep talkin’.
“Well…” She inhaled a deep breath as if she had to prepare herself. “I was hired by White Rock Asset Management as an undergrad. I started out as a financial advisor until I finished my MBA, then moved into an asset manager position. Long story short, I clawed my way up the ladder from basically the bottom. I got as far as the managing director while keeping my eye on the CEO position. When it opened up due to the CEO retiring, I was…”
Whip watched her carefully. Her expressions turned from neutral to beginning to twist when she paused. Not because she was upset, but with what might be anger.
“I was skipped over,” she finished. She took a much larger sip of her drink before continuing. “I gave my life to that company. I put aside having a family for that company. I gave them everything. And you know what I got in return?”
“A good salary and benefits?” Whip asked.
Her eyes narrowed on him. “Misogyny. I kept hitting my damn head on a ceiling that would never break. I was the most qualified for that position. They skipped over me to hand it to a man who’d been with the company for only two years, didn’t have the experience needed and didn’t even have his Masters. Even worse, he had two sexual harassment complaints against him.”
Whip frowned. “Why the fuck did they choose him?”
“Because I was missing one thing.”
“What?”
“A dick. If I had one, I would have been handed that spot. It should’ve been mine.” She slapped a hand against her chest. “I earned that damn position.”
Whip could see she was struggling to keep the anger from her voice. Maybe even a whole bunch of hurt.
“I gave fourteen years of my life to that company. The president would’ve been next in line and I would’ve understood not getting it if he’d taken it, but he didn’t want the CEO spot. He was struggling to balance his home life as it was. He even recommended me, since I was next in line after him. I had everything required to fill that position.”
“They didn’t deserve you.”
“I know that now.” She let out a loud sigh. “I probably knew it back then, too, and just ignored the signs, hoping I was wrong.”
“So, you just up and quit?”
“Sure did. The minute—no, the very second—I heard who landed the CEO spot, I was done. Luckily, by that time I had invested a good part of my salary and all of my bonuses.”
“Sounds like you weren’t playin’ at all.”
“No, I wasn’t. I’d had enough. Now I’m living my life on my own terms.”
“Lucky.”
She circled her fingertip along the rim of her vodka tonic. “It wasn’t luck. I sacrificed for a long damn time. With both my mental and physical health, not to mention, my dignity.”
“Now you’re free.”
“Now I’m free,” she repeated, sitting back in her chair. “I got rid of everything. Whatever I couldn’t pack into my saddlebags and travel bag I sold or gave to a women’s shelter.”
“Kept those investments, though.” He had been in a rush to get her back to the motel, but right now, he found himself too invested in her story.
