A man dreams through the eyes of a woman he's never met, setting out to find love that might be a figment of his imagination.
Joe Riley has a successful life in the world of finance. He's spurned attachment, leaving his life and heart invulnerable. When he begins to dream of a woman half a world away he's never encountered, his notions of practicality are called into question.
In a search that brings him to the psychologist's office, a medium's table, and from the Rocky Mountains to the streets of London, Joe begins to fall for the woman of his dreams. He's beset by innumerable questions: Is he going mad? Might she actually exist? Is this the greatest privacy invasion of all time, or a possible cosmic match in the making?
His quest for answers confronts the deeper questions that assail most of us who open our hearts: Will I be enough? Will they love me when it stops being easy? Will they sweep me up, just to watch me fall?
A moving exploration of relinquishing fear and embracing the unknown, Of Dreams and Angels invites you to trust the dreams that brought you this far will bring you further.
A man dreams through the eyes of a woman he's never met, setting out to find love that might be a figment of his imagination.
Joe Riley has a successful life in the world of finance. He's spurned attachment, leaving his life and heart invulnerable. When he begins to dream of a woman half a world away he's never encountered, his notions of practicality are called into question.
In a search that brings him to the psychologist's office, a medium's table, and from the Rocky Mountains to the streets of London, Joe begins to fall for the woman of his dreams. He's beset by innumerable questions: Is he going mad? Might she actually exist? Is this the greatest privacy invasion of all time, or a possible cosmic match in the making?
His quest for answers confronts the deeper questions that assail most of us who open our hearts: Will I be enough? Will they love me when it stops being easy? Will they sweep me up, just to watch me fall?
A moving exploration of relinquishing fear and embracing the unknown, Of Dreams and Angels invites you to trust the dreams that brought you this far will bring you further.
October 1998
âTrue love never fails.â
Dawson regarded him for a moment, trying to get a read.
âAre you being serious right now?â
Joe burst into a laugh, threw his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. He kicked his feet up on the oak desk, a wide grin remaining on his face. Dawson shook his head and dropped into one of the high-armed leather seats normally reserved for clients.
âYou are an unmitigated ass,â he finally said. At this, another burst of laughter from Joe.
âLook, Dawson.â Joe kicked his feet off the desk and leaned toward the younger man. âThis is whatâyour second heartbreak this year? And at least the third since you started working for me?â
âWhat of it?â
âWell, that makes you either one of two things.â Joe pushed any hint of mirth out of his expression and leveled his eyes at the junior associate.
âI canât wait to hear whatever this is,â Dawson said.
âIâm being serious now,â Joe returned.
âI donât doubt that.â
âEither youâre a slow learner, or a glutton for punishment.â Normally in command of a stolid poker face due to the nature of his profession, Joe again broke composure and laughed. Dawson buried his face in his hands.
Joe stood and came around to take the other client seat beside Dawson. âDonât worry, Iâm gonna go easy on you,â he said, slapping a hand on the younger manâs knee.
âGood. Because itâs been an awful twenty-four hours, and I donât need you piling on.â
âI know you donât. And all kidding aside, I know how you felt about Kerri. But do you mind if I tell you some other things I know, too?â
âDo I have a choice?â Dawson peeked an eye from between his fingers at his employer. Â
âNo. But credit to you, at least you know that.â Joe replaced the knee-slap with a clap on the back. âHereâs the thing, young manââ
âYouâre not that much older than me. Twenty-five and thirty-seven donât exactly constitute a generation gap.â
âMaybe not, but they do constitute a learning gap, when it comes to matters of the heart.â Joe shifted in his chair, the groan of the cushion against the seatback releasing the scent of leather. This, to complement the oak, the paintings on the walls, and even the waterfall feature behind the deskâall designed to evoke the possibilities of proper financial planning. Not merely getting ahead, but staying there.
âIâll tell you what you need to do,â Joe continued. âAnd I know itâs going to sound crass, or shallow, or whatever words you want to throw at it. I know itâs going to deeply offend the sensibilities of your young, romantic heart.â Joe reached over again and shook Dawson on the shoulder, trying to pull him out of the physical and emotional cradle into which heâd nestled.
âAgain, I canât wait to hear this,â the young associate muttered.
âYou came in hereâwhat was it, three years ago?âfresh off your degree, top of your class, and looking for work that would annihilate those student loans as quickly as you racked them up. We went for coffee. Then dinner. We worked out at the private club. Rode in the car I paid for with cash. A professional courting process, as it were, so I could get to know if you were a fit on this team, and to show you whatâs possible. And in the end, you said you wanted what I had, am I right?â
âYes.â
âOkay. Just recapping what you told me, seeing if itâs still correct. And do you still want that?â
âYes.â
âOkay. Then answer me this: at any point in that processâwhether when you ordered off menus with no prices, or when you took the wheel of a car where one of the tires cost more than that beater you were drivingâdo you remember seeing me with a woman? Do you remember me even mentioning a woman?â
âNo.â
âExactly. Do you remember me telling you how I arrived at a place where I could tell you to order whatever you wanted, or drive my car around for a day, just to see how it felt?â
âYes.â
âWhat did I say?â
âYou said âA plan is not just a roadmap, itâs a decision.â That the paper itâs printed on is useless if you donât follow the path.â
âIâll say it again: exactly. I donât get from the trailheads to the end of my hikes by suddenly veering off course and thrashing through the trees, or shucking my pack when it feels like a grind to carry. I donât bring on the next seven-figure client by deciding tax planning doesnât apply to them, just because itâs tedious. And I sure donât order off the menu with no prices without knowing everything else has been taken care of, first.â Joe loosened his tie and released the top button of his vest. Another grin spread across his face.
âYou wanna know what love is, Dawson?â
Dawson turned his head to look at Joe. âAre you going to make me answer every single one of your rhetorical questions?â
âPart of the trade, and you know that. Never end a sentence in a conversation with someone youâre trying to convert without asking a question. Ideally one where the only answer is âyes.ââ Joe flashed the grin that had won more client conversions than anyone in the office could count anymore.
âDo you know what love is?â Joe asked again.
âWhat.â Not so much a question as a grunt.
ââLoveââfor most people, that isâis tossing out your dehydrated meals on the first day in the backcountry, deciding you can walk the rest of the trail on berries simply because they taste better. Love is deciding to pull money from your investments during a down-market to buy a shiny newâand depreciating, I might addâcar, because as long as you have to get to and from work, you might as well look good doing it, right? Love is deciding that just because youâve hit the big time in an income year, you donât need to budget anymore. You donât need to save, because itâll always be this good.â
âI donât see how these metaphors fit.â
âMaybe they donâtâand maybe that makes them all the more appropriate, my young friend.â
âWill you please stop calling me âyoungâ? Itâs ridiculous coming from you. Just because youâre salty doesnât mean youâre wiser.â
âThe point is that love doesnât fit. It doesnât make sense. Itâs irrational. Iâm not saying it canât be beautiful. Some people, for reasons passing understanding, say that it is. But I am telling youâespecially after three heartbreaks in three yearsâthat if you want relationships in your life, they need to be part of the plan, just like everything else.â
âSince when does anyone ever plan on falling in love?â
âSince time immemorial, probably. Matchmakers have existed since biblical times, at least.â
âSo now youâre saying I should go see a matchmaker?â
âIt probably couldnât hurt, based on your record. But no, thatâs not what Iâm saying. Iâm telling you relationships need to be strategized. Planned with bearish rates of return, and bullish inflation. The last time you got dumpedââ
Dawson winced.
âFine. The last time you got your heart smashed, byâwhat was her name, Julia? I canât remember. Doesnât matter. Anyway, you took at least a week off, and even when you came back you were far below capacity for at least a month.âÂ
A knock at the door, and Joe stood to take a printout of the dayâs closing market prices from his executive assistant. He glanced at the values. âKaren, can you call Stan Thibodeau, the new prospect, and find a polite way to tell him he either needs to get in here and christen the latrine, or else find another twenty years of life expectancy in which to keep working? Heâs missing tremendous opportunity here.â
âWill do, Mr. Riley,â she said, closing the door and returning to her cubicle outside Joeâs office. Joe set the paper down and leaned against his desk.
âIt doesnât matter to me, so much, if youâre not producingâthough youâre an integral part of this practice, Dawson. What matters is that it goes against what you said you wanted out of life.â
Dawson straightened up. âCareer and cars and trips and security is not all that I said I wanted, Joe. I mean, whatâs the point in having all those things, if you donât have someone to share them with?â
âThat would be a valid point if A: you had those things, and B: youâd held on to that someone to share them with.â
Dawson crumpled in the seat once more.
âBut at the moment,â Joe continued, âyou have neither. And based on the way these dumpâ excuse me, breakups set you back, youâre definitely not going to get there.â
âSo what are you saying? I can be poor and in love, or wealthy and alone?â
Joe chuckled, and took his seat in the wingback chair behind the imposing bureau. âNo. Youâre still missing it.â He returned his feet to the corner of the desk, leaned back, and folded his hands over a stomach flat from endless miles on the trail. âAnd again, right now youâre broke. Remember thereâs a difference between âbrokeâ and âpoorâ: the former a temporary condition, the latter a mindset. Right now youâre broke and out of love, and youâre alone.â
âI am still in love.â
âIf you say so. Iâll concede that point. Once more, however, Iâll build off an earlier question: in all the time weâve worked together, have you ever seen a woman in my life?â
âNo.â
âAnd do you think Iâm a monk?â
âI donât know. You keep a better poker face about your private life than you do with a new prospect.â
âAnd do you think Iâm lonely?â Joe asked.
âIâll answer your infernal questions with one of my own: if youâre normally notoriously private about the logistics of your life, how do you expect me to have any data on your emotional one?â
âAnother point for Dawson. But the answer to both of my questions is âNo.ââ
âGood for you.â
âIâm not a cad, Dawson. Iâm not spending weekends packed into depraved clubs around town, plying women with drinks and flashing the vehicle logo on my keychain. Little as you may know about how I spend my time, you know itâs not doing that.â
âHow would I know? Maybe all your pictures around here are just postcards from mountains and trails you think look impressive.â Dawson bit down on his tongue.
âIâm going to let you in on a little secretâthough based on how youâre receiving the pearls Iâm giving you here, you donât deserve it,â Joe said, his million-watt smile back on display. âAre you ready?â
âSure.â
âDo you know why I have the life I have? Why itâs âRiley Private Wealth Managementâ on the letterhead, and not âMetzger Wealth Management?ââ
âBecause youâve been at this fifteen years longer than I have, and your last name sounds better than mine?â
âBoth things are true, but no, wrong once again.â Joe stood and walked to the closet between the office and his private washroom. He grabbed the three-button jacket matching his pinstripe vest and began pulling it on, not missing a beat in the conversation. âItâs because when Iâm here, Iâm here. And when Iâm not, Iâm not.â
âI canât remember which school of Buddhism thatâs fromâZen or Yoda,â Dawson said to Joe. And under his breath to himself, âShut up or youâre gonna to get fired.â
Joe was undeterred. âThis is in many ways a twenty-four-seven type of job, or at least in can be, in the beginning. I told you that when you started, when you said you wanted to build a practice like this one. But itâs important that itâs not all-encompassing. That you plan and build various side-accounts, if you like.â
âThis is sounding more salacious by the minute.â
Joe re-fastened the button on his collar, straightened his tie perfectly without aid of a mirror. He sat down again in the vacant client chair.
âIâve been in relationships, Dawson. Proper ones, despite whatever your misguided thoughts suggested. Beautiful, successful women; some with whom I even shared some of those things you spoke of before. But here was the keyâand because you took umbrage with my last metaphor, letâs try a different one. Like I said, when Iâm here, Iâm here. And when Iâm not, Iâm not. That doesnât mean you canât have someone in your life, it just means that itâs important to keep that area as a module in your plan, and not the plan itself. There!ââ Joe stood up. âThat worksâan island. You need to keep your relationships like an island in your life that you visit. The key is that you go to visit, so that if your little romantic beachside firepit becomes an inferno, it doesnât burn down the mainland. Understand?â
Dawson looked up at Joe. âWho hurt you, man?â
âI beg your pardon?â
âWho broke your heart?â
For an instant, years of practiced expressionsâcontingencies of body language built for any client concern or objectionâfell away and were replaced by a look Dawson didnât recognize. The moment was shorter than the space between an inward and outward breath, however, and the look was gone. Â
âNothingâs broken here,â Joe continued, the trademark smile back on display, âother than someoneâs bank balance after too many nights off wine-ing and dining in vain. Am I correct?â Â
âTake your questions and get outta here to wherever it is you go, and leave me alone with my dumped, broken heart,â Dawson snapped back, extending a hand and mimicking Joeâs smile. âDoes that sound fair?â
Joe laughed, returned the handshake, and walked to the office door. He bid a good weekend to Dawson and Karen, and waved a hand at Janice, seated in the office adjacent to his.
âAfter all these years, I never know if heâs off to another hike nearby, or the Redwoods in California, or the Appalachian Trail,â Karen said, as Dawson came and stood beside her desk. âDid he mention whatever his next adventure is?â
Dawson shrugged. âHe said something about an island.â
I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. My views are unbiased and not biased towards the author or publisher.
Can this year get any better? OF DREAMS AND ANGELS by Jared Morrison is a fantastic mix of charm, comical timing, yet a consequential story about the mystery and potency of love. This book is an excellent blend of writing, romance, devotion, imagination, inspiration, heartbreak, and growth at its very best.
Joe Riley is a successful finance expert who juggles numbers and logic. He begins to dream through the eyes of someone elseâa woman, Claire. She is not known to him and this enigma draws him more to discover her. He slowly comes to know over the course of many, many unrestful nights. Being practical and pragmatic he is unable to settle his mind about his dreams and the mysterious woman. But still, he canât deny the gravity between himself and Claire. With some prodding and his own inner dilemma, he commits to finding the dream woman. This starts the whirlwind romance that will knock you off your feet with its force and charm.
Morrison is an absolute master at his craft and one does not feel it is his debut novel. I fell in love with the dream and was drawn into the story from page one. He paints a vivid picture in each scene yet leaves room for the reader to imagine and feel on their own. The characters are relatable and easy to love. They are not boring and linear. Each character is well written with ample space for growth. Even the side characters like friends and the internal committee are heartwarming with a flair of their own. Morrison has a way of writing that not only reads musical but also sound lovely. Joe Riley's character is an example of the modern-day man a woman appreciates. Silent yet sensitive and open to possibilities. His transformation is a must-read.
The story emphasizes the themes of love, respect, friendship, family, and community. Morrison also gives due importance to the idea that our realities take seed from our dreams and are built with our actions by us and the people with whom we invest our time. The chapters are short with adorable titles and the timeline running over a year approximately. While there is comedy be sure to grab a box of tissues because youâll need them for the emotional parts. This book made me feel a gamut of emotions from the start.
I recommend this book to everyone. Read this book and join Morrison as he takes us on this ride Of Dreams and Angels.