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I laughed. "Is that okay, though?"
"Is what okay?" Travis asked.
"Me only discussing business in the office. I wasn't sure if that was something ..."
"You’ve got to have a work-life balance." Travis nodded. "I mean, it's important. I don't necessarily have it, but I know it's important. And I want my employees to have that."
"Yeah. And you don't have a girlfriend you're bringing?" I asked him.
He looked horrified. "Girlfriend ... I haven't had a girlfriend since my freshman year of college. Women are hard work. Relationships are drama. In this line of business, I have to keep my mind's eye on the prize."
"But you're so successful now."
"I am. But if I want to stay at the top, and I want my business to stay at the top, I need to have one hundred percent of my energy on this business."
"But ... you still date. I mean, I see you in magazines and papers and stuff. Shit, I think I even saw you on one of those entertainment channels the other day."
He chuckled. "Yeah. I did an interview withAccess Hollywoodor something. A bit part in a movie I've got coming out with DiCaprio. Scorsese directed it."
"Wow," I said.
"It's kind of the new Wolf of Wall Street, but a little bit different." He shrugged. "It was fun, but that just helps to keep promoting the brand. And I'm the brand."
He looked at me. "I know that you think you want to be me, and you're definitely brilliant enough. You've probably given me the top three companies we've invested in in the last couple of years. But are you sure that you're willing to give up everything else in your life to take on a role such as this?"
I stared at him for a couple of seconds. "It's everything I've always wanted." I nodded.
"And you know the reasons for that?" he said.
"Yeah, I do." I let out a sigh. "When I was growing up, my parents had some money difficulties. And well, I can still remember how stressed out they were, and they were on the brink of divorce. I always said to myself I never wanted to be in that situation.
"And my grandparents, they lost their retirement in the stock market. They were in some really bad stocks, and my granddad had to go back to work. He ended up having a stroke and leaving my grandma ... Well, it was just a lot. I don't want other families to suffer like that."
"You do a good job here. We get people into companies that will last and return that money tenfold. You have the highest portfolio here. What did your average customer get last year?"
"Right at 9.9 percent," I said, grinning. "Above industry standard."
"Hey, well, you see, our clients are lucky to have you."
"I am just blessed to be in this job," I said. "And if that means I don't get to date around or get married or have kids, well, so be it. My life's goal is to ensure that every family is ready for retirement and does not have to worry."
"That's a very, very worthy goal," he said. "I mean, it gets lonely sometimes. But hey, it's not like our bed is always empty, right?"
He leaned to me, and I chuckled, nodding. "Too true, Travis."
"Okay. Well, I have a call in five minutes, speaking to someone in Beijing about a manufacturing company we're thinking about buying."
"Oh, cool. You need me to do any numbers?"
"No, I'm handling this one," he said. "But you let me know about the charity auction. Okay?"
"Sure. I will send some messages to everyone now and see who can come."
"Great. Just let me know how many you got. It's going to be a week on Saturday."
"Sounds good."
"And don't forget it’s black tie. They’ve got to dress up."
