salaries approaching $150,000. But she went to work for Dad and figured out how to make the main guy in her life another gazillion dollars. If anyone knew good business, she did.“You.”
“What about Jaystone?”
“I’m not quitting. Jaystone Security is still paying the bills.”
“Barely. You know you could always work construction, Skip. Dad could put you on at about a dozen sites right now.” Dad didn’t realize I couldn’t drive a nail even if I had a sledgehammer. And furthermore, he didn’t like me a whole lot. It wasn’t necessarily that I was dating his daughter or that I had a crummy job. It was more about not dating his daughter seriously. And I’m not sure he knew that was by her choosing. Em liked different guys. She liked to flirt, to party, to have her little affairs. She’d been that way since she went away to some hot-shit private school as a junior in high school and we’d broken up. But she still liked to get together with me and just get comfortable. And sometimes it was very, very comfortable.
“James has an idea—”
“Oh, Jesus.” I could picture her shaking that pretty little head, her short hair bouncing around that kissable face. “He’s always got ideas. You’re not buying into something with him are you?”
“Em, let’s go get a pizza. We can talk when my minutes aren’t on the line, okay?” Cell phone minutes, just like money, meant nothing to her. It’s the problem with rich people. They don’t think about how tough it can be on the others, trying to keep up. Every now and then I’ve got to bring her up short.
“I’ll be by in half an hour.”
“Dutch treat, Em. There haven’t been a lot of sales this month.”
“Then I hope to hell this business venture pans out, Skip. If it doesn’t, you might just starve to death.”
Did I mention that besides being rich, she has this sarcastic streak a mile long? Still, when she’s comfortable, she’s very comfortable.
Half an hour later to the minute she picked me up in the T-Bird convertible, the tan top already down and the red paint job waxed to a blinding shine. If I have to rely on a woman for my ride, I’m glad it’s a classy ride.
CHAPTER THREE
P AULIE’S HAS THIS GREAT CRUST that’s crisp and thin and has enough flavor to make you wish they’d just forget about the toppings. Seriously. Sometimes we just get a twelve-inch without anything and eat the crust.
Em ordered a fourteen-inch mushroom and Italian sausage with a pitcher of beer to wash it down, and we sat out on the faded wooden deck under a cheap umbrella, the sun cooking everything that wasn’t covered.
“So what is this big venture?”
“Promise me you won’t laugh?”
“No.”
“No, you won’t laugh?”
“No, I won’t promise you. Skip, that’s one reason I keep seeing you. You make me laugh.”
She laughed.
I read one time that if you can get a girl to laugh, you can get her into bed. I’m always afraid that they’ll laugh while we’re in bed.
“I’ll tell you anyway. James wants to go into the hauling business.”
“The what?”
“Hauling business.”
She was silent for a moment while she rolled that idea around in her head. “Well, he’s had to haul his ass out of a lot jams and he’s always been pretty successful.”
“He bought this box truck, and—”
“A box truck?”
“A box truck.”
“Like a U-Haul?”
“Yeah. Sort of. It’s this fourteen-foot aluminum box on the back of a cab. And you can haul just about anything.”
A smile played on her face.
“You’re gonna laugh.”
“No. Actually, it’s not a bad idea. For a sideline. And you could use the extra income.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. But James is thinking more than a sideline. He wants to have an entire fleet. He says people have too much stuff and they always want to move it.”
“Or store it.”
“Huh?”
“Skip, there’s this lady, Jackie Fuentes, and she’s got a ton of stuff she needs to store. You
“What about Jaystone?”
“I’m not quitting. Jaystone Security is still paying the bills.”
“Barely. You know you could always work construction, Skip. Dad could put you on at about a dozen sites right now.” Dad didn’t realize I couldn’t drive a nail even if I had a sledgehammer. And furthermore, he didn’t like me a whole lot. It wasn’t necessarily that I was dating his daughter or that I had a crummy job. It was more about not dating his daughter seriously. And I’m not sure he knew that was by her choosing. Em liked different guys. She liked to flirt, to party, to have her little affairs. She’d been that way since she went away to some hot-shit private school as a junior in high school and we’d broken up. But she still liked to get together with me and just get comfortable. And sometimes it was very, very comfortable.
“James has an idea—”
“Oh, Jesus.” I could picture her shaking that pretty little head, her short hair bouncing around that kissable face. “He’s always got ideas. You’re not buying into something with him are you?”
“Em, let’s go get a pizza. We can talk when my minutes aren’t on the line, okay?” Cell phone minutes, just like money, meant nothing to her. It’s the problem with rich people. They don’t think about how tough it can be on the others, trying to keep up. Every now and then I’ve got to bring her up short.
“I’ll be by in half an hour.”
“Dutch treat, Em. There haven’t been a lot of sales this month.”
“Then I hope to hell this business venture pans out, Skip. If it doesn’t, you might just starve to death.”
Did I mention that besides being rich, she has this sarcastic streak a mile long? Still, when she’s comfortable, she’s very comfortable.
Half an hour later to the minute she picked me up in the T-Bird convertible, the tan top already down and the red paint job waxed to a blinding shine. If I have to rely on a woman for my ride, I’m glad it’s a classy ride.
CHAPTER THREE
P AULIE’S HAS THIS GREAT CRUST that’s crisp and thin and has enough flavor to make you wish they’d just forget about the toppings. Seriously. Sometimes we just get a twelve-inch without anything and eat the crust.
Em ordered a fourteen-inch mushroom and Italian sausage with a pitcher of beer to wash it down, and we sat out on the faded wooden deck under a cheap umbrella, the sun cooking everything that wasn’t covered.
“So what is this big venture?”
“Promise me you won’t laugh?”
“No.”
“No, you won’t laugh?”
“No, I won’t promise you. Skip, that’s one reason I keep seeing you. You make me laugh.”
She laughed.
I read one time that if you can get a girl to laugh, you can get her into bed. I’m always afraid that they’ll laugh while we’re in bed.
“I’ll tell you anyway. James wants to go into the hauling business.”
“The what?”
“Hauling business.”
She was silent for a moment while she rolled that idea around in her head. “Well, he’s had to haul his ass out of a lot jams and he’s always been pretty successful.”
“He bought this box truck, and—”
“A box truck?”
“A box truck.”
“Like a U-Haul?”
“Yeah. Sort of. It’s this fourteen-foot aluminum box on the back of a cab. And you can haul just about anything.”
A smile played on her face.
“You’re gonna laugh.”
“No. Actually, it’s not a bad idea. For a sideline. And you could use the extra income.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. But James is thinking more than a sideline. He wants to have an entire fleet. He says people have too much stuff and they always want to move it.”
“Or store it.”
“Huh?”
“Skip, there’s this lady, Jackie Fuentes, and she’s got a ton of stuff she needs to store. You
Similar Books
An Alpha's Claim
Naomi Jones
Nectar in a Sieve
Kamala Markandaya
The Lady Risks All
Stephanie Laurens
Dead Wrong
J. A. Jance
Monsieur Pamplemousse on Probation
Michael Bond
The Human Age
Diane Ackerman
Reunited in Danger
Joya Fields
The Betsy (1971)
Harold Robbins
Mantissa
John Fowles