Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
This was… different.
I was kind of just stumbling my way through it.
“Oh, speaking of Teddy,” I said as she grabbed her bagel and started to spread the cinnamon cream cheese. “He told me to tell you to be on the lookout for his designer to contact you in the coming weeks.”
“Really?” she asked, eyes going round.
“He’s renovating or building, not sure of the details, a hotel. He says they need art. And he liked what he saw on your website.”
“Oh, wow,” she said, a shocked smile tugging at her lips. “You have a lot of amazing connections, huh?” she asked.
“To be fair, those are the only two super-rich guys I know. But they are good men to know because, well, they know everyone else. So shit kind of spirals out in a good way.”
“Is Teddy the sort to commission art of people he cares for riding mythical creatures?”
“I think Teddy’s tastes are a little more traditional than that. I imagine some of your beach pictures will be right up his alley for the hotels anyway. Maybe a goldfish one too. He liked Swim Shady. I met your other fish, by the way. Do they have names too?”
“Well, we have Tuna Turner, of course,” she said, making me chuckle.
“Of course.”
“Then there’s Mackerelmore and Carly Salmon.”
“Those have got to be the best names I’ve ever heard,” I decided as she took a bite of her bagel, letting out a moan that did not go straight to my dick or anything.
“Thank you,” she said. “And this is so good,” she told me, seeming to relax a bit more with each passing moment.
I still wanted to ask what had happened the night before. But I’d already asked three times. I didn’t want to piss her off with my curiosity. It was probably none of my business anyway.
“How was your dinner last night?” I asked, figuring we could hedge around the topic of what was wrong.
“It was good. I got lots of baby snuggles. And Curtis was filling me in on how things were going with his case.”
“Well, I hope.”
“Yeah. His new lawyers found out that the cops never even dusted the bag of drugs for prints. So they are having that done now since Curtis knows his fingerprints aren’t on it.”
“And there might be prints belonging to someone else who is also in the system.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. “He and Lily are hopeful. Cautiously optimistic. I really hope it goes well for them.”
“What about his work?” I asked. “Did he lose that new job of his? What?” I asked when she looked a little sheepish.
“I may have suggested that Lily call and, uhm, tell them that Curtis came down with, uh, meningitis.”
“Why meningitis?”
“Because employers aren’t scared of the flu or stomach bugs, since they go around so often. But meningitis is pretty alarming and people don’t want to catch it. So, it bought her enough time to cover for his absence since being in jail. He’s starting back the day after tomorrow.”
“And if he gets the charges dismissed, no one ever has to know.”
“Exactly. And if the worst happens, well, what does it matter?”
“And in the meantime, he’s earning a living.”
“Yes. Lily took on some child care work with other moms in the building for some extra cash too. I think this made them even more determined to get out of here.”
“Understandably. I wish I could say that things have changed since I lived here, but…”
“But there’s no decent social safety nets to help people rise out of poverty,” she filled in. “This area could really use some outreach programs for at-risk youths. Try to break the cycle of the local drug dealers getting their claws into the kids when they’re still in elementary school. Did you or your friends…” she started, then trailed off, worried she was asking something inappropriate.
“No. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we considered it. All of us came from shitty homes with no money. It was tempting as fuck. But we all knew that once you got in, you were in for life. And we wanted more freedom than that.
“Seeley got out way before us. Linked up with the bikers. Then once he proved himself, he brought us in too. And Ama, she got herself out thanks to college. Became a doctor. She actually runs the clinic in this area. Her way of trying to do good for the people around here.”
“Lily talked about that clinic being a lifesaver,” she said, smiling. “So where do you all live now?”
“Out in Golden Glades,” I told her.
“Oh, wow. I guessed I figured you were closer than that.”
“The club started in Miami. There was a car repair shop that also worked as an apartment building. But, uh, it… burned down.”
That was mostly true.
It actually exploded.
But admitting that would require an outright lie if I didn’t want to tell her it had been deliberately destroyed.