“I understand, Josh; I’m just messing with you. Can we take a break for the day? My mind just isn’t in the investing mode right now. It’s sort of a pile of mush. How do I turn you back into my fun friend and out of this cranky stock trader?”
“You’re the boss.”
It was true – technically, I was paying Josh for his time, so we could do whatever it was I wanted to do. He was also my friend, though, and I valued his time and expertise in this field. I hadn’t made my money by using people and I didn’t want to start now.
Throughout my years in business, people were what got me through. I hired the right people at the right time and everything seemed to come together perfectly for my company. I’d been interviewed about the success of my manufacturing firm and had to admit that it wasn’t just me that made it successful. It had been the combination of everyone doing exactly what needed to be done at just the right time.
“We’ll just take a little break; I know you need to get going soon.”
“Yep, I’d like to get in on the surge for that Randall company. I’ll need to go soon so I can follow that trend.”
“Hell, just log into your account here. I’ll probably learn more from watching you than from trying to do it before I really know what I’m doing. At this point, I feel like my investments are just a donation to charity until I’ve figured out how to turn it all around.”
“Are you sure? I can get pretty wrapped up in it and won’t be able to just log out until a sell order comes.”
“Yep, I had some other business to do, anyways. I’ll pull up next to you here and watch you while I get this stuff done.”
I didn’t actually have business to do – more like checking my Dating the Rich account to see if Delilah had returned my messages. Her account seemed to disappear very quickly after we were talking, but then late night before, I’d noticed it was back up and running. She was mysterious: I had to at least give her that much.
“Oh, the dating site; how’s that going?” Josh asked as he noticed me logging in. “Have you found the love of your life yet?”
“It’s just a little fun for right now. Most of these girls don’t really seem like my type.”
It was the truth: most of the women who had emailed me seemed like they were barely bright enough to log into their accounts. Their messages were riddled with spelling and grammar errors, and although I wasn’t perfect in that area, I could put together a sentence that actually made sense.
“Wow, do all the women post bikini profile pictures? I think I need to get back into the dating game.”
“No, not all. I actually chatted with her over the instant messaging system the other day; she was really nice and funny. There’s nothing better than a girl with a witty sense of humor.”
“Oh, yes there is! A girl with a body like that. I’d say that body is better than any humor she has.”
“She was fun to talk to. I asked her out for a drink, but she hasn’t replied. In fact, her whole profile disappeared after I asked her out. It’s back now, though; maybe I’ll message her again. What do you think?”
“Can I speak honestly, Brandon?”
“Yeah, dude, of course.”
“A girl like that, with photos like that on her page, she’s probably looking for a sugar daddy and not an actual relationship. Those websites are filled with girls like that. They tease you with hot photos and then barely look like that in person. They will ask for some sort of allowance for their time, like they are literally God’s gift to you.”
“What? No, she didn’t seem like that kind of girl. Here, let me show you the other photos she’s got on here.”
I totally understood where Josh was coming from. There were probably a lot of girls on the site who were interested in being arm candy for rich men. Delilah and I had only had a brief conversation, but I’d reviewed her profile and she just didn’t seem like the money-hungry type. Admittedly, I didn’t know her well, but I was typically a good judge of character.
I pulled up her profile and gave Josh the chance to read through it and look at the photos. Certainly, he could tell that she was just a normal girl looking for love. Delilah’s profile was well thought out and funny. She had obviously taken some time to fill out all the questions and to put her best foot forward, and I appreciated that.
“Oh, you’re getting a message.”
“Is it from her?” I darted back to my computer from the kitchen.
“Nope, it’s from an equally hot brunette.”
Kimberly: Hey, doll!
Brandon: Hi, how are you? You sure look sexy as hell.
“Come on now. We don’t need to be talking to this one; she’s only twenty,” I laughed at the idea.
Women that young were beautiful to look at and I’d even had a few of them in my bed before, but they were not exactly dating material. In fact, I couldn’t imagine any circumstance where a girl as young as that would be someone I wanted to actually date. Sure, I’d have a hell of a night in bed with her, but I was actually looking for something more for the time being.