Diamond (Rare Gems #2)(34)
Ward was sitting across from his brother’s building when he saw one of the men Morton had told him was a good guy come out. He moved across the street toward him, almost getting hit by a stupid driver in the process. What the f*ck was wrong with these people? No one seemed to care at all who the hell he was. Ward moved up beside the man, not having a clue what his name was until he spied the badge on his shirt.
“Hello, Peter, remember me?” The man was nearly old enough to be his father, so when he smiled at him and nodded, Ward was relieved.
“You’re that guy that Morton said was going to make us all rich.” Frowning, he wondered about that for a second before Peter continued. “I haven’t seen Morton for a while now. Is he with you?”
“No. I’m not sure…I’ve been staying at his house for a few days now. He said it would be okay until he came back. I guess he’s…he went with my brother.” Ward was glad that thought came to him just then, because Peter nodded. “I guess they’ve been on some business trip.”
“Yeah. I guess after the accident he hung around for a few days but then he came back. Then not long after, we were told he was planning to open up the manufacturing plant in Ohio of all places.” Peter shook his head as he opened his car door. “I thought for sure we were all gonna lose our jobs when he moved everything up there. Christ, I have a house and three kids in college down here. I can’t just move to some small city like Zanesville, Ohio, at the drop of a hat. Then I guess his marketing team is there too, so I guess it wouldn’t be too bad to have him out of the building more.”
Ward wished he’d have brought a pen and paper now. The guy was a fountain of information and none of it he’d had to ask for. By the time Peter told him he had to get home, he had a wealth of information. Not only did Ward know where his brother was, but also the name of the marketing company he was using in Ohio, as well as how long he’d been gone. He wondered for a moment if he should have inquired after his brother’s health about the accident, but Peter had never shut up long enough for him to do anything more than nod. Smiling, Ward made his way back to Morton’s house.
There was little to nothing in the house to sell. And what there had been had gone up his nose this morning. He was searching around the bedroom again when he heard the doorbell ring. He never answered it unless he was sure who was coming, like the pizza person and such, but the last time she’d been there, something had pissed her off and she vowed never to return. All he’d done was ask the woman if she’d want to go down on him for her tip. What was the harm in asking if you didn’t know?
There was a man in a suit at the door. Cautiously, Ward watched him for several seconds to see if he was the police or a bill collector when the guy said his name.
“Jane sent me. She said you were expecting me.” He wasn’t but opened the door anyway. “She said to tell you that this is the money for the phone as well as the house payment. Nothing more I’m supposed to tell you.”
Ward snatched the envelopes in his hand and slammed the door shut in the man’s face. Ward heard him laugh as he made his way to the kitchen but was already tearing open the first of five envelopes to see if the bitch had written checks or had given him cash. He did a jig around the kitchen when he found all of them held cash.
Laying it out on the dirty table, he counted it three times. There wasn’t a lot, he thought. Probably just enough to get him to Ohio, but not back. He had no idea how much things cost because he never really bothered with the mundane things like paying for things when there was always some sucker that would do it for him. Ward glared at his phone that had been off now for three days. And there was no hope for him to get it back on until he saw his brother. Thad would have to take care of it for him just like he’d want him to.
Taking his dirty clothes to the airport seemed stupid to him, so he made his way to the first men’s clothing store he could find. The suits were a little more than he wanted to spend on one, but he needed something that said I’m successful, not run-down and out of money. The sales person came up to him with a smile.
“They’re nice, are they not? We can have it tailored for you in a few weeks if you’d like.” Ward did want that, but waiting a few weeks was out of the question. He moved to another rack and was just pulling out a blue jacket when Bill (according to his name tag) was right there again.
“I’m really just looking.” Bill nodded, but didn’t move away. “Don’t you have someone else you can bother? I said I’m just looking around.”
“I can help you look if you’d like. I think you should look at the lavender shirt just on the rack near the back.” Ward looked around the store, wondering if he could just hit the guy in the face and see if that got rid of him. “We’re here all alone, and I could help you in any way you want.”
A come on. The guy was coming on to him. Ward had an idea. He was strictly a heterosexual, but if he could flirt with Bill enough, maybe he’d give him a good deal on the suit. Nodding, Ward followed him back to the sale rack and watched as he sorted through the shirts.
“I’m looking for an entire suit. The one I have is a little on the worn side.” Ward showed him the small place on the button that hadn’t been there before he’d left for Texas. “I know I can have the thing replaced, but I’m ready for a new one anyway.”