Page 26 of Billionaire Hunt

“I agree. Your turn.”

“I wasn’t raised by anyone.”

“But you must have come from somewhere?”

“My mom abandoned me when I was a kid...”

“How old?”

“About seven.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I...I spent my formative years in various foster homes. It went from bad to worse until finally I said screw it and left.”

“How old were you when you decided to walk out on your own?”

“Fourteen.”

“You were just a baby,” I said, even though I had been around the same age when I walked away from my parents’ home.

“I’d felt that I’d lived a thousand years by that time.” Something about his tone told me those years had been rough. I didn’t want to get into it. It was clearly a painful subject for him. If it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have avoided talking about it for so long.

“How did you meet Oliver?” I asked instead.

“Like I mentioned, I tried to rob him. I tried to steal his phone when he was in McDonald’s.”

I didn’t know what I was most surprised about, that Oliver had eaten at McDonald’s or that Erik had been a teenage criminal.

“So what happened when you tried to steal his phone?”

“He swatted me over the head with a bag full of fries and burgers.”

I laughed so hard, I almost fell out of my chair.

“He really got my attention.”

I laughed again.

“The people at McDonald’s called the cops on me. The cops were going to take me away when Oliver intervened, said he wouldn’t press charges. He showed up the next day at my foster home. I didn’t know how he tracked me down.”

“One of the advantages of being a billionaire, I’m sure.”

Erik nodded. “I was shocked to see him. I thought he was there to press charges even though he had said that he wouldn’t. Growing up the way I did meant I didn’t trust anyone…least of all adults. But he was there to help me. I didn’t believe him or want his help at first, but he was persistent. He was determined to save me from myself.”

He chuckled dryly. “I made his life a living hell, but he stuck with me anyway. Eventually, he even helped me get placed with a better family. If it wasn’t for him, who knows where I might have ended up. I owe a lot to Oliver. He became my guardian ad litem. He spoke for me in court. He was the only permanent person in my life.”

“How did Jude take that?” I was curious because I knew Oliver and Jude never really saw eye to eye.

“Honestly, he was pretty cool about it. It kept his dad distracted so he wasn’t always breathing down his throat.”

“Knowing Oliver, I can see how that could be a good thing.”

Erik chuckled. “Oliver’s, well, he’s Oliver, but I probably owe all my success to him.”

We were both quiet for a while, lost in our own thoughts.

Finally, Erik turned to me and said, “Now that we know each other’s stories, can we jump into the sack?”