The Rest of the Story(98)

“Saylor. It’s me.”

I blinked, startled. “Who?”

“Roo.”

Roo? I almost dropped the phone. “Oh, my gosh,” I finally managed. “How are—”

He cleared his throat, then said loudly and confidently, “Well, then it’s a good thing I called! For just a moment of your time, I can tell you why Defender Storm Shutters are the best choice for your home.”

Slowly, I was starting to understand. “Hold on. You’re selling storm shutters now?”

“Yes!” he said in that same loud, cheerful voice.

“What are you up to, now? Six jobs?”

In his normal voice, he said, “Actually, I’m back to four. Had to give up the airport job when they realized I’m not twenty-one. And then the Park Palms hired someone on salary for the overnight shift. I was panicking until I saw this open up.”

Of course he was. “So now it’s the Station, Conroy Market, Storm Shutters—”

“And the Yum truck,” he finished for me. The next beat, he was back to his booming salesperson voice, saying, “Well, then, let me tell you about our in-house financing! With our easy payments and credit offer, you can focus on safety, not paying bills.”

“Am I supposed to respond?” I asked.

“No,” he said loudly. Then he added, in his normal voice, “I’ve been here since nine and have cold-called the entire list Juan gave me. Not one nibble. I think I suck at this?”

“Nobody buys anything over the phone,” I told him.

“Clearly.” I heard someone in the background, distant, say something. Returning to his big voice, Roo said, “Oh, no, ma’am, installation is simple! We do all the work so you can rest easy, knowing you and your home are protected.”

“Let me guess,” I said. “You’re being watched.”

“Yes!” he boomed. A pause. Then, in a normal tone, “Juan’s a great guy. And he’s paying me by the hour to sit here. He just passes through every now and—well, ma’am, of course! Our bonded installers will arrive at your home, do the work, and leave everything as they found it. No stress for you. Just peace of mind!”

“Sounds great,” I said, trying to play along. “Unfortunately, I kind of live in a hotel now. So—”

“I heard you’re grounded,” he said, back to his regular voice.

“News travels fast.”

“Well, I asked Bailey for your number,” he explained. “I was worried about you.”

Hearing this gave me a little twinge in my chest. He wasn’t mad. He’d been thinking about me. “I’m so sorry,” I said to him now. “I never meant to get you into trouble.”

“You didn’t,” he replied, then added, “That’s right, ma’am! I can easily run a credit check to find out if you qualify for our winter payoff plan. Get the shutters now, rest easy all year long!”

“You got pulled over by the police,” I pointed out to him, once he’d finished.

“By Later Gator,” he corrected me. “And I was sober as a judge. You, on the other hand, had reason to be worried. Your dad was pissed.”

“No kidding. He’s not speaking to me.”

“Still?” He gave a low whistle. “Ouch.”

“I know.” Trying again, I said, “Seriously, though. I feel really bad. About you having to help take care of me, and Hannah getting upset—”

“It’s not necessary!” he said, so loudly I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “We handle all removal and recycling, if pertinent, of your old shutters!”

“It’s necessary for me,” I continued, finally getting a rhythm between these two very different conversations. “You never signed up to be my caretaker.”

“There was a sign-up period?” he asked, back to normal. All I could do was hope Juan would stay away for a bit, if only for my sanity. When I sighed, he said, “Look, Saylor. We’re ladder and corsage buddies, remember? We help each other out.”

“I didn’t exactly help you.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what comes next!” Here we went again. “First, we’ll set up a time convenient for you to have one of our trained sales teams come to your home for an estimate.”

I waited.

“And at that time, we can also discuss the current specials we are running.” His voice faded out on this last part, then he was back, speaking normally again. “You’re helping me now. I have two hours of this left to go and I’m here all week, until Kenyatta comes back from Barbados.”

“What?” All this back-and-forth, now with detail, was making my head swim.

“She’s the normal cold caller,” he explained. “I’m just filling in, which stinks because this is an inside job, in A/C, where I get to sit down all day. It’s the best.”

“Except for the whole selling window protection over the phone thing.”

“Ma’am, I am glad you asked!” he replied. “All of our shutters are American-made, guaranteed, and come with a ten-year warranty.”

I felt like at some point, I should play along. “Do you take checks?”

“No, we do not!” he boomed back in reply. “But your credit card or bank draft is more than welcome, and again, we do offer our Winter Payment Plan, for ease of mind. Okay, we’re clear. Sorry about that.”