Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 144908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
“Remember, I told you, Adam and I both invested heavily in stocks a couple of years ago. Recently I asked your opinion on whether or not you thought we should keep them. You said absolutely not, and to get rid of them fast. Like yesterday. To sell while they were at premium. And you told me what you would invest in. I told my brother, and he argued with me for about an hour, but in the end, we sold the stock, made a mint and reinvested it in what you suggested. Overnight we nearly doubled our money. The stock we had formerly owned began dropping in value. It keeps going down. We would have lost everything. Adam says he wants to meet you for drinks or take you out for dinner. Something to say thank you.”
Ambrielle gave a little shake of her head. “You’re practically family, Amanda. I had a hunch that stock was going to drop in value. It had been riding too high, and the market was getting shaky. If you hadn’t asked me, I wouldn’t have even known you had it. Your brother should take you out to dinner.”
Amanda tilted her head. “He has no choice. I’m his baby sister. He must take me to dinner frequently or I whine. He despises me whining at him, so I get a free meal a couple of times a month. It’s nice. I can catch up with him on what he’s doing and who he’s dating and feel like we’re still close.”
“You are close,” Ambrie pointed out.
She’d always envied the fact that Amanda and Adam had such a good relationship. She had no siblings. Both of her parents had been in the military and were often away. She had a peculiar childhood, although not one she resented.
She’d met Amanda in college, and they’d formed a fast friendship, rooming together when neither one needed to do so, eventually getting an apartment together off campus. Later, when Ambrielle opened her own business, she asked Amanda to work for her. Amanda was still working toward her master’s, but she certainly could take on clients if she wanted to do so and had filled in for Ambrie when it was absolutely necessary, but she preferred to remain as Ambrielle’s assistant for as long as possible. She said she learned more by watching.
They both had met Daniel Parker in college and included him in their study group. He was impressive with his skills and work ethic. When Ambrielle could see there was going to be far too much work for one person, and Amanda was adamant she wasn’t ready to come in as a partner, Ambrie asked Dan if he’d like to join her. Fortunately, he fit right in.
“We are,” Amanda conceded. “But Adam is overbearing sometimes and drives me crazy when he tells me what to do. He’s good at investments, Ambrie, but he doesn’t have your intuition. I’ve told him that, but for some reason, he just has to argue with me every single time we have a conversation about what we’re going to do with our money. I told him I’d pull my shares out of our joint ventures and invest the way I want on my own, but he just laughs at me and says there’s no need for that. In the end he always goes with what you’ve suggested, even with his own money.”
Ambrie tilted her head, allowing her dark hair to slide over her shoulder in a series of thick curls and waves. “He’s deliberately trying to get a rise out of you, Amanda, and you’re falling for it every time.”
Amanda made a face. “I know. I can’t help it. He’s my big brother and I think he programmed me. Come on, if we don’t leave now, a client is bound to call, and we’ll get stuck here. I really want to go out tonight. Besides, if we don’t get to the bar, Dan is going to think we stood him up.” She hesitated and then shrugged. “I’ve just got to ask. I know you go out sometimes, Ambrie, but you’re never really that interested. Why? Who are you looking for? Or should I say what are you looking for?”
Ambrielle smiled at her, hearing the unasked question. “My parents had a very unusual love affair, and I guess I’m looking for that same thing. I don’t know. My mother says I’m like she was before she met my father. She wasn’t attracted to very many men, and when she was, it was mild and didn’t last beyond the first conversation. That always happens with me. She said when she laid eyes on my father, everything changed. She couldn’t think of anything or anyone else and was so attracted she was willing to have sex with him within practically the first five minutes after they met, and that never changed. They barely knew one another, and he had to leave the country, so they got married. She just knew he was right for her, and they’d work it out. She said she was never sorry. I hope she’s right and someday I’ll run into someone who would make me willing to run off with him in a heartbeat.”