“But they’re little like Drew, doesn’t that make them cousins?” The room erupts with laughter.
“You know what. You can think of them as cousins. No problem,” my father says, and my skin bristles with anger.
“Are you my uncle, too?” Javier asks.
“No, Javier.” I take a deep breath before I tell him this man is my father.
; “So what does that make him to me?”
His question hits me like a brick and I don’t know how to respond. I’m not ready for Javier to think of my father as his grandpapa. Before I say anything, my father responds. “For now, how about a friend you’re having to dinner.”
“Okay.” Javier smiles and invites Alejandro and Leticia to play in his room.
Once they’re gone, I turn to my father. “Thank you for that.”
“You don’t have to thank me. With time, I hope to be Papa, but I didn’t come here to pressure you.”
Tug goes to the bar and corks a bottle of wine. I offer my father a glass but he declines and sits down at the table.
“You two have a lot to talk about. I’m going to hang out with the kids for a few minutes,” Tug says, leaving me alone with a man I feel strongly connected to. A part of me craves the connection and another part of me is repulsed by it.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me,” my father says, pouring a glass of water from the pitcher on the table.
“It’s Tug you need to thank.” I’m curious why his wife isn’t with him and ask.
“She’s in Guadalajara with her sister.” His lips turn down, and something in his expression tells me there are problems in his marriage, but he volunteers nothing.
I sit next to him at the table. “I’m not happy with you using Tug to get to me, but I will listen to whatever you came to say.”
He holds his hand to his mouth, stroking his top lip with his index finger. “I’m not using Mr. Hunter. I require his services to please both my wife and yourself.”
“That’s a somewhat evasive answer. If you expect me to listen, I expect you to get to the point.”
He smiles, almost proudly, and then takes a drink of water. “You’re so much like your mother.” I don’t respond, and he continues. “The cartels have always been a dirty business, but they’ve lost integrity over the years. It used to be cartels had a mutual respect, lines that would never be crossed. Slowly the lines blurred until they completely disappeared.”
His words are still murky, and I have no idea where he’s going. “I don’t see your point yet, and, you’re running out of time. I understand why you made the choices you did, but if you have no intention of abandoning the lifestyle, then I’m not sure we have anything to discuss.”
“And that brings me to my point. Recently, my family has been threatened by rival cartels. Like you, my wife wants me out of the business. I’m a tired old man that wants to stay married and have a relationship with my daughter. I want to quit.”
“You said that isn’t possible.”
“Nothing is entirely impossible. I’m old enough now that I can pass my empire onto someone else, but the money is cartel money. It stays with the empire. I refuse to be poor again. I came to see Mr. Hunter, hoping he could help me with some investments that could make sure I retire with enough money to live comfortably.”
I sit quietly, soaking in everything he just said. “Can you do that?”
His shoulders lift. “No one ever has, and I don’t have any idea if it will work. From what I know of your boyfriend, he’s brilliant, and I believe if anyone can make it work, it’s him.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
“Then I’m a dead man,” he says so matter of fact, as if dying doesn’t terrify him.
“You would risk death for me?”
“I would risk anything to have you in my life.”
Three weeks have flown by since Maria made peace with her father. His account is in fact the largest Gibson Capital has ever taken on, and it’s already seeing lucrative returns. Soon, and with some help, I’ll transfer the cartel’s money back to him, creatively re-routing the dividend portion to his personal account, minus Gibson’s share, and he can turn over everything to some eager volunteer.