Chapter 9: Family ties
It was 6 a.m. Carli was already up. She wondered if Jason was awake and already preparing to come for his final day of work. Her aunt mentioned there was a possibility that she would give him the contract to paint her new airbnb when it was done.
Carli hoped he would get it. He was very skillful and it was obvious he knew what he was doing. But Carli just wanted to see him. After their conversation the night before about him being a Christian and practicing celibacy, she thought about all he had said.
She had been angry with him for not telling her earlier but was also aware that their relationship had experienced a few snags in the road. She was however willing to put the physical and sexual attraction aside to get to know him. Beyond those strong muscles that made her swoon whenever she saw them, she did really like him. He was patient, he made her laugh and he had a gentle spirit that she was drawn to.
She picked up her phone and dialed his number. The phone rang 6 times then went to voicemail. Hmm ... I wonder if he's left the house already. She thought. She will try again. She pressed the call icon on her touch screen phone to redial his number. After three rings he answered.
"Hey, beautiful, good morning," he said. He sounded happy to hear from her.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Good morning,' she answered shyly.
"Are you on your way?", she asked.
"Yes I am," he replied. "About to grab my bag and head out. Something wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong," she said. "I just have a favor to ask."
"A favor eh?"
"Yup."
"Okay. Go ahead." He said, his voice held a hint of curiosity.
"Pack extra clothes."
"Extra clothes?"
"Mhm."
"Okay. May I ask why?" He sounded amused.
"Sure. I'll be cooking dinner and I want you to be nicely dressed for the occasion. My cousin should be home early from work today. I also wanna talk to you ..." Carli paused. "... about us. What I think about what you told me last night."
Jason listened to her. Her voice sounded serious. "Okay. No problem." He wanted to lighten the mood between them.
"But did you say you will be cooking? Really now?", he asked inflecting a little mischief in his voice, trying to pull some humor out of her. He knew the situation between them had become awkward but he was not willing to give up their friendship.
"Yes!", she said faking indignance. "I am a great cook!"
She giggled a little.
"So what are you cooking?"
"Well, I'll be doing baked chicken and some baked sweet potatoes, steamed pak choi and homemade ginger ale."
Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise. He was impressed. "Well that does sound wonderful. And I'm invited to partake of it?"
"Yes sir. You are." She smiled. She could tell he was impressed.
"But I'll need to wash up for the occasion?", he asked.
"Yes. Don't worry about that. I'll make sure you get to do that. Just bring your change of clothes. You can bring your favorite soap or body wash if you like and a wash cloth."
"Okay," he said. She was taking charge of the situation in a way he didn't expect. He had to admit, he found this move quite sexy.
"I may have to borrow Omie's car," he said more to himself not for her sake.
"Okay. Sounds good," she said.
"Listen," he said. "I'm about to head out now. I'll pack a few extra things then. Okay?"
"Okay," she said.
"Alritey. Soon come."
She said, "Mhm," then hung up.
Jason looked in the bag he used to store some of his 'good' shirts and pulled out a cream colored t-shirt he had bought recently. He was saving it for a special occasion. Well, this occasion seems special. He thought. Carli was going to cook for him. He wondered if he would like the meal. He hoped so. Plus, there was the fact that the illusive cousin was going to be at dinner. He had only seen her once, so talking to her would be interesting. He heard she was a psychologist. He wondered what she would think of him. He wondered what impression he would have of her.
He also packed a black jeans pants in a plastic bag with the shirt, and clean underwear. In a smaller zip bag he placed his grey crocs. He removed his speedstick deodorant and a fresh bar of soap from one of his wardrobe drawers and packed them in his work bag. He had two colognes. He decided to take the one with a more delicate but memorable fragrance. He wasn't sure if the cousin would be allergic to strong scents and didn't want to give any bad impressions.
Putting everything together, Jason threw his work bag over his shoulder, placed the small zip bag in the plastic bag and held that in his hand. He would take a bus to Half Way Tree, then get a bus or taxi up to Pembroke Hall. He didn't want to trouble Omar just yet. He needed to speak to Carli about something. He was a little nervous too. He shrugged it off. He would be fine.
He opened and closed his door and tucked the key in a small side pocket on his work bag. It was his last day, at least for now he hoped, at the Dixon residence, and he was looking forward to seeing Carli.
*****
Beep beep beep beep...
Sharon sleepily reached over to her phone on the night stand and turned off the alarm. It was 5:30 a.m. She needed to get up, take a shower and organize all the documents she needed to prove her innocence. She looked over at Carlos who was still fast asleep.
Sharon yawned quietly. She crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom to relieve herself. She was feeling some abdominal cramps. Her menstrual was due about a week from now. She needed to remember to restock on painkillers.
She set the water heater temperature to warm. After waiting for 60 minutes, she stepped into the shower, stripped naked and dropped the nightgown and panties she was wearing on the floor just outside the shower.
She turned on the shower knob and stood as the warm water ran over her with medium intensity. She felt achy and miserable physically, and also somewhat hollow inside. Since her fight with Carlos he barely spoke two coherent words to her. Maybe he was upset because she slapped him, but she was so angry with him, and she felt like he betrayed her. How could he have taken their money that they both worked hard to save and thrown it away like that?
They knew each other since he was 20 and she was 19 when they met while going to university. He had once accused her of being 'stuck up' because he had asked her to go out with him and she declined quite haughtily saying, "I don't go out with men who don't know how to dress well." She recalled that remark had stung him, but she only said it to see what he would do.
After about three weeks he came back to her and asked her again. This time his shoes were nicely polished, his hair was cut low and neat, and he wore nice trousers and a polo shirt. She was pleased and told him he could meet her at Hope Gardens at 4 p.m. after her lectures were over. Thus began a friendship that blossomed into a marriage she thought had no secrets. Now she wondered if there were other things he hadn't told her.
She spent fifteen minutes in the shower. When she got out she stuffed her nightgown and panties in a clothes hamper underneath the bathroom window. She spent a minute brushing her teeth and thirty minutes getting dressed and applying makeup. Then she went into the living room to review the documents she would be taking to work that day.
By the time she had looked at the clock again it was 7:30 a.m. She brewed herself some coffee and left a little extra for Carlos to have with his breakfast. She wrote a note telling him she had to leave very early today so he would have to make his own breakfast.
She left it beside the coffee machine and grabbed her purse, her bag with the folder filled with documents and stepped out the door. Driving down to Half Way Tree at that time of the morning there wasn't usually a lot of traffic and she was a skillful driver. By the time she stepped into the office twenty minutes later her cramps had subsided.
There was a small canteen on the property that was solely for staff use. She dropped her bag in her office but brought her purse with her. She headed out through the offices' front door towards the building to the right to buy something to eat. One of the servers, Marlon, was always kind to her and would give her extra cream for her coffee or would cut off a generous slice of potato pudding for her. As he was serving another staff member, he looked up and saw her. He gave her a broad smile. It seemed he was the only one on duty that day. She didn't see Ebony or Kevin anywhere. She walked up to the counter smiling at him.
"Sharon," he said smiling. "Good morning. What shall it be? Our special?"
Sharon smiled back at the young man. "No, no thank you," she said. She patted her right hand against her lower abdomen to indicate that she was having cramps. The 'special' was chocolate muffin with gooey chocolate inside and hot cocoa. She didn't have the appetite for something that decadent.
Marlon knew what that gesture meant. "Is it bad today?" he asked, looking concerned.
Sharon nodded, her face in a grimace.
"Have you taken anything for it? Have you eaten?", he asked.
"No. I haven't eaten anything yet. I just had some coffee.", she said. She watched as he served another customer a slice of bread pudding while looking over at her occasionally. When that customer stepped away she came up to his cashier's desk.
He looked at her, his dark brown eyes pulling her in. He was a young man in his thirties. He was soft spoken and listened more than he talked. He had been working at this concessionaire for about two years but it was in the last four months she had any kind of conversation with him. She found him thoughtful with a great sense of humor, and he was handsome.
Marlon looked at her, his gaze taking in her smart but close fitting business skirt suit. He often wondered what she would look like in a bikini. She was older than him but with her girlish figure and smooth skin she could pass for 34.
"Let me recommend something savory. The last thing you need is something sweet that will make your PMS symptoms worse." He looked at the menu board. "I could make you a sandwich, any type you like," he said.
Over the few months they were getting to know each other, Sharon would visit his concessionaire stand and order mostly sweet pastry: muffins, plantain or pineapple tarts, or puddings, or slices of cake. He noticed that it was always at a certain time of the month and figured that her cycle was the trigger. It was after they became closer associates that she admitted that during that time she had sugar cravings.
Sharon looked behind him towards the menu board.
"Okay, I would like an egg salad sandwich please with extra mayo," she said smiling at him
Marlon grinned. "Okay, coming right up," he said.
He plugged in the egg cooker, filled it with water. He removed five eggs from the fridge and placed them in a bowl. He went over to the sink and thoroughly washed and dried his hands. Carefully, he used a needle to pierce each egg before placing them inside the cooker to steam for fourteen minutes. Sharon sat down in a comfy plastic chair closest to the counter and rested her elbows on the small sturdy plastic table in front of her. She watched as he prepared the wheat bread for her sandwiches, cutting the slices diagonally. He moved very efficiently and she also admired that he had a quiet confidence about him. After the fourteen minutes had passed he put on a pair of latex gloves. He filled the empty bowl with cold water from the refrigerator. He removed the eggs from the cooker and dropped them in the bowl to stop them from over cooking.
"So, how is life on the corporate edge?", he asked.
Sharon snorted. "Becoming a pain in my ass," she said.
She watched as he carefully broke each shell and cast them into the bin nearby by using his feet on its lever to lift the lid and drop the shells inside. He took a small knife with a smooth blade to carefully separate the yolks from the egg whites. He mashed the yolks into powder with the back of a spoon, then added some mayonnaise, a sprinkle of white pepper, a pinch of salt, and a little ketchup to add a sweet-tangy flavor. Marlon then carefully diced the egg whites together.
Sharon watched as his hands moved dexterously across the counter to add several ingredients to her egg salad sandwich: a dash of ground cumin, minced sweet peppers and thyme leaves, thinly chopped spring onions and diced tomatoes.
In a bowl, Marlon combined the egg whites and yolks mixture together, meanwhile he had the bread slices toasted in butter on a warm skillet, but just on one side for each slice. After about a minute, he turned off the stove when he saw the toasted sides were slightly golden brown. On a clean cutting board he placed the bread slices and used a small spatula to distribute the egg filling evenly for each sandwich.
He placed the tomato slices on top of the filling and covered it with the other toasted slices. He placed the four sandwiches he prepared in a square shaped plate and sprinkled minced pieces of parsley on the sandwiches and the plate edges. He handed the plate to her.
Sharon smiled appreciatively. "Thank you sir," she said.
"What do you want to drink? I can do freshly squeezed orange juice or I can give you a combo of carrot and mango juice?"
"Orange juice is fine, thanks much," she replied. Sharon took a bite of a sandwich. It felt like the flavors were bursting in her mouth. She closed her eyes as she savored the taste.
Marlon watched her close her eyes while eating. She had the most expressive eyes, but seeing them closed, brows raised gave her such a sincere look, one that was a treat to behold. He wondered what other sensations could get her to look like that. He retrieved a large cup from the dispenser and filled it with fresh orange juice from the juicer and added a few cubes of ice. He remembered she didn't like too much ice in her juice because it would dilute the flavor. He placed a lid over the cup and pushed a straw in the tiny hole at the centre and handed it to her.
While she reached for it her fingers accidentally touched his and a ripple of pleasure ran through her. She looked down at her lap, hoping he didn't notice her reaction. She was embarrassed at her attraction towards him.
"You okay?", he asked.
Sharon looked up to see him carefully watching her. His dark eyes appeared even darker with an unreadable emotion.
Sharon cleared her throat. Why was she acting like a school girl?
"Yeah, I'm good. I may or may not have a job after the next few hours, but that's neither here nor there compared to what's happening in my marriage. I'm sorry, that has nothing to do with you, forgive me for rambling." Sharon had two sandwiches left. She stood up and was about to grab her purse when Marlon quickly moved from behind the counter, reached out and held onto her wrist.
She looked away from him nervously, then looked back and saw that his eyes were searching her face for answers.
Sharon shook her head. She used her other hand to hold onto his and squeeze it. "Let me go, please," she said softly. She suddenly felt weak.
Marlon's eyes bored into her. He needed to know that this beautiful lady was okay. "I'm here if you need to talk," he said, his tone was gentle. He let her go and moved back to the counter. He returned to her with a small white paper bag and handed it to her. She took it and nodded, bent down, took up her sandwiches and placed them in the bag. She tucked her purse under her arm. She was about to hand him the plate when he said, "That's fine. I'll clean up, just go."
Sharon retrieved her cup with the orange juice and said, "I'll pay you at the end of the week. I promise."
Marlon smiled. "That's fine. This one is on me."
Sharon was surprised to say the least. "Are you sure?", she asked.
His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Yes I'm sure. This one thing I am sure about." He looked at her with an expression that rattled her.
Sharon nodded. Her mouth was dry and she felt a little unsettled. She walked away slowly, her legs felt like rubber.
*********
Carlos rolled over on his back to discover that his wife was not in bed. He looked at the small alarm clock on the night stand. It was 8:30 a.m. She would normally come into their bedroom at about 7 a.m., wake him up and tell him that it was time to get up and breakfast was ready. Then he would get out of bed and jump into the shower, and be out in five minutes, ready to eat and get dressed to leave for work. As he listened, he realized the house was quiet. He got up and went to the bathroom to pee. He lifted the toilet seat and did his business, then flushed and washed his hands. He left the room feeling a little perturbed. He wondered if Sharon was okay.
"Sharon? Sharon?" he called her name, now getting very concerned.
He entered the kitchen and looked around. She wasn't in there either.
Hmm... where was she? He wondered.
He turned around to see a small note perched beside the coffee brewing machine. Carlos took it up and read it:
Carlos, hey. I have to go into work extra early today. Really sorry but you will have to make your own breakfast this morning. There's some coffee I left for you. See you later. - Sharon.
Carlos sighed. No I love you hun. No I'll see you later baby. What was this? He thought.
He grimaced. There was some jam in the fridge and some whole wheat bread with raisins also. He'll just make some jam and bread.
Carlos quickly made his jam and bread sandwiches, ate them and washed them down with some black coffee, no sugar. He was supposed to hear from Red Man today. He hoped he would. He didn't want to go to the police.
After showering, getting dressed and jumping into his car, while on his way to work, the phone rang. It was on the front passenger seat. He hoped it was Sharon, but when he picked it up, he realized it was Red Man calling him.
He answered, "Hello."
"Yes hello," Red Man said. "Mi have a thing fi give yuh enuh."
"How much?" Carlos asked feeling a bit relieved.
"Fifty grand mi have. Mi a tek out some ah mi savings fi give yuh. Lucky for you the yute come chu fi mi. Mi a guh collect that later today and by two months time mi give yuh half, 'bout 300, and di other 350 after another month or two. Yuh arite wid dat?"
Carlos nodded though he knew Red Man wouldn't be able to see his reaction. "Yes, thank you that sounds good. Where should I meet you?"
"Just give mi yuh bank number and me lodge it in deh fi yuh. Yuh can tell yuh wife seh mi sorry fi di inconvenience."
Carlos paused. What was that about? "Okay, yes thank you. Will do. My bank number is 00999437. You know my bank. Same bank from ever since then till now," he said.
"Same branch?", Red Man asked.
"Yes same branch."
"Arite cool. Yuh can check it 'bout 3 o'clock."
"Arite thanks."
Red Man hung up.
Carlos felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He would tell Sharon later. He also wondered what Red Man meant about telling his wife directly sorry for the inconvenience. He parked his vehicle in the driveway of his workplace and went inside the office building. Delroy was already there but he was on the phone talking to his wife.
"Baby mi tell yuh seh mi will deal with it." He heard Delroy say.
Delroy's wife was a disagreeable woman that even Sharon disliked and Sharon tried her best to get along with everyone, but Mavis was difficult to deal with. Sometimes Carlos felt she was deliberately that way to make Delroy's life miserable. Why? Carlos didn't know, but that was not his problem to worry about, thankfully.
"Yes honey. Yes I will go look about it as soon as possible. Yes after work. Mhm... bye." Delroy sighed and shook his head. He pressed the end call button to make sure the line was cut off.
"The old battle axe at it again?", Carlos asked trying to cheer up his friend.
Delroy hissed his teeth. "She same one," Delroy said. "A some supplies fi di house she ask me to pick up. I tell har that I will get them later today, but she still a nag me 'bout it, just because of the one time I forget to pick something up for her."
"How long ago was that?" Carlos asked amused.
"How long ago was what?" Delroy asked confused.
Carlos turned fully towards his friend and looked at him. "How long ago did you forget to pick up that something for her?"
"Oh.. ", Delroy started, "... about a month ago. I forgot yes, but me did guh for it after she remind me, but now she a gwaan too extra man." He hissed his teeth again.
"Well you play the hand you are dealt eh?", Carlos quipped.
"Play the hand you are dealt," Delroy repeated. "Weh you ah talk 'bout? You have a good woman at your yaad. She nuh nagging and miserable like mine."
Carlos smiled. "Yeah, she is a good woman but even good women can give trouble."
"Not unless you do something to make her lose it," Delroy retorted.
They walked into their department. The engineering department is comprised of four employees: Carlos, Delroy, Smithie aka Melvin Smith and Frederick Staple. Their supervisor was an accountant named James Walker. He had no engineering background but could understand technical concepts very well.
Delroy's eyes narrowed as he looked at his friend. "Carlos, yuh duh something fi mek she kick off?"
Carlos shook his head. "Yes and no," he replied. "Let's not get into that now. Time for work."
Delroy shrugged his shoulders. "Mi and you a friend suh mi a guh seh dis whether yuh like it are not," he said, placing both hands on the back of Carlos' chair.
"Sharon is a good woman, and yuh lucky fi have her in your life. Don't mess things up wid her, cause if yuh do, me nah hear the end of that with Mavis." Delroy went over to his cubicle and turned on his computer.
Carlos sighed. He knew what he had at home. He just wanted to be a good man, and provide more for her and their daughter, that was all. He pulled his chair closer to his work desk and turned on his desktop.
*******
Sandra Dixon called Jason into her husband's home office. She was going to pay him for his services before she went off to work. Carli was not at home. She had gone to the supermarket to buy some ingredients for that night's dinner.
"Cheque or cash?" she asked.
"If you don't mind, I would like to have half in cheque and the other half in cash. I have some things to take care of," he replied.
Sandra nodded. "Not a problem," she said.
She wrote out a check for $200,000 and then went into her husband's safe. She counted out and removed another $200k and handed it to him. She locked the safe and watched as he counted the cash, his eyes widening upon the realization that she had paid him more than they negotiated. He looked at her surprised.
"Why?", he asked simply.
"Call it a bonus if you will. I was very impressed with your craftsmanship, but moreso I was impressed with your attitude, the seriousness and thoroughness you put into your job. She handed him the cheque and he looked at it in shock.
"Thank you," he said his voice almost a whisper.
"You are welcome my dear," she said smiling at him. "Use that money to put towards your future business."
Jason nodded. "Thank you again," he said smiling.
Sandra nodded. "De nada,' she said. "You do the work, you get your pay."
Sandra's smile broadened. "By the way, my niece told me you will be staying for dinner tonight."
Jason smiled. "Yes, I was invited to the feast later."
Sandra laughed. "I can see why she likes you."
Jason was pleasantly surprised by her statement and felt good. So she and Carli have spoken about me? Nice! He thought to himself.
"I will be coming home late but Melissa should be here with Carli to be your hosts for the evening,' she said taking him in.
"Yeah," Jason replied. "She told me. Looking forward to meeting your daughter and having a great conversation with them both."
Sandra smiled and nodded. Yes, she thought, my niece has great taste. She reached out and patted Jason on the arm and gestured for him to follow her out of the home office. She locked the door behind them. They walked to the front door. She picked up her work bag that was perched on a chair in the foyer.
"Alright," she said, "Heading out now. I will call you when the construction of my little investment is fully constructed and ready to be spruced up.
Jason smiled and nodded. He knew she was talking about the Airbnb.
"But don't be a stranger," she said winking at him.
Jason laughed and said, "Okay, I promise I won't."
Sandra opened the door and Jason closed it behind her.
Yes! I got the contract! He was so elated. Nothing but up from here. He thought.
Just then his phone rang. He removed it from his pocket and looked at the screen. It was Bello. He must have a big job he needed help with. He thought.
"What do you need?" Jason asked.
"Yes, good morning to you too," Bello replied sarcastically.
Jason heard shuffling in the background.
"I'm down here in Montego Bay. A friend of mine link mi up on a nice fat cheque, and being the generous dad I am, I decided I would share the opportunity with you."
Jason hissed his teeth and replied, "If yuh seh suh. How soon do you want me down there?"
"Yuh can get here by Wednesday?" Bello asked.
Jason thought about it. Usually, he wouldn't let anything get in the way of his money, but he wanted to smooth things over with Carli first. He needed to.
"I'll be there by next Monday, first thing."
"Arite mi will tell the foreman," Bello said. "Yuh can start work by Tuesday after the requirements are explained to you. They want heavy coating on the surfaces before anything else is added."
"Trowel-on?" Jason asked.
"Mhm," Bello replied.
Jason understood. "Have they started sanding the walls down yet?"
"We have started," Bello said. "That's the thing. They have given us the full job of curing and painting the apartments' walls we're assigned to, from start to finish."
Jason was impressed. His dad was getting some good deals lately. He understood why he needed him now. When it came to sanding Jason was very meticulous.
"Alright," he said. "I'll try to get there by Sunday evening."
Jason entered the kitchen and placed his work bag by the door. "So how much?" As usual Jason saw this as a business transaction. It wasn't his fault, that was how his dad taught him.
Bello cleared his throat. "The project is a residential complex with apartments, shopping centre, et cetera. The architect in charge told me it's about 250 million invested upfront. For the team lead painters and the other contractors we should take home about $15 million each. Because my friend put me on to it, we'll share that up. So I will get 6 mil, he'll take 9 for himself." Bello cleared his throat again.
"So how much will you pay me?" Jason asked, his interest peaked.
"I will give you $1.5 million. What do you say?"
"Deal," Jason said.
"How long will this gig be?", Jason asked.
"About one month or little over," Bello answered.
"So into January/February?", Jason asked.
"About that," Bello said.
Jason started thinking about how this would work. It would take some juggling with him enrolled at UWI but he had friends who he could rely on to help him with notes. He would just have to make sure he could juggle being at the exams, writing assignments and so on. He would have to be back and forth between Montego Bay and Kingston. Somehow he would need to find a way to do this.
"Alright. Yuh seh Sunday evening?" Bello asked anxiously.
"Yes. I have a gig wrapping up. I will be done by then." Jason decided not to say anything about Carli.
"Oh, you have a job doing now?" Bello asked surprised.
"Yes. Mr Marshall's son gave me a heads up."
Bello grunted. "Good bwoy that."
"Up where?" Bello asked curious.
"Pembroke Hall," Jason replied.
"Okay, good. Sounds good," Bello said approvingly. "Arite, Sunday den. Mi will text yuh the location weh mi ah stay a Mobay and mi meet yuh part way. Yuh will be driving?"
Jason thought about it. He may need to get a car. He wondered if Omar could help him out with this one.
"You know I don't have a car," Jason replied. He sighed. "I will have to ask Omar if he can help me out with a ride."
"Okay," Bello said. "Let me know."
"Yeah," Jason replied."Will do", and hung up the phone.
He turned to the job at hand. He went into the shed at the back of the yard and retrieved the paints, paint roller and brushes. Time to finish strong, he thought and set out to work.
******
Marsha sat at the kitchen counter and watched her mom debone some chicken breasts. She was making crispy chicken breasts stuffed with parmesan cheese. As her mom was preparing dinner she was wondering what Jason was doing now. She had kept on calling him but the ring went straight to voice mail. After awhile she would hear a beeping on the phone which indicated the line was busy. Maybe he had blocked her, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was she needed to speak with him.
She was home for the holidays. Her exams were done and she just wanted to spend time with her family, and Jason was also family. It was just that she always had a special spot in her heart for him. In the beginning, Jason would usually spend the holidays with his mom and siblings but one Christmas she managed to get him to stay with her and her parents. He decided to compromise, he would spend Christmas day with them and by Boxing Day he would be headed to his mom's house. Jason's mother never objected to the new arrangement and Marsha got to spend the most special holiday of the year with a very special person to her. Now that he said he wouldn't be coming home for Christmas she felt gutted.
Monica Miller watched as her daughter sat at the table with a forlorn look on her face. She had an idea why she looked like that but decided to probe anyway.“Wah wrong wid yuh?”, she asked, looking at her while she was finely chopping the herbs she was going to use to give flavor to the chicken breasts.
Marsha sighed. She knew what her mother was going to say and she didn’t want to hear it. She shook her head and said, "Nothing mommy."
“Marsha?”, her mother asked, “Is this about Jason?”
Marsha sighed again and looked at the floor.
“Hun, you guys grew up like brother and sister, and also you and he had that very rocky start. I don’t blame him for not wanting anything between you two," Monica said.
Marsha looked down at her hands. She was examining her nails. She needed to get her nails done soon. The rose pink nail polish was stripping away.
“Well, what do you have to say about that?”, Monica asked. She stopped what she was doing and looked straight at Marsha.
“I was a kid back then mommy. I’m not like that anymore. I even apologised to him about it. He said he accepted my apology,” Marsha said shrugging her shoulders.
Her mother set the herbs and spices aside in a ceramic bowl and started washing the chicken breasts with white vinegar and water. There were six pieces. One and half for her husband, one for her, one for Marsha, one for Chayelle, and the other one and half was for Jason. She had called him earlier and asked if he could stop by for dinner. He had said he couldn’t because he had a previous engagement that night but promised he would stop by the next day. He told her he needed to speak to Marsha about something very important. He however asked her not to mention that he would be coming by. She agreed that she wouldn’t let Marsha or anyone else in the family know.
One night, while Jason still lived with them, as she was passing by her daughter’s room, she heard Marsha talking on the phone with her best friend Fallon. She was telling her that she overheard Jason saying to his friend Omar, that breasts are his kryptonite, and that he is attracted to women who have a full, voluptuous bosom. Marsha was saying to Fallon that she didn’t understand why Jason never expressed an interest in her, she had ample amount to share with him. Monica had shaken her head and moved down the hallway to enter the kitchen. Now, as she looked at her daughter pining away, and possibly plotting another crazy scheme to get his attention, she felt sorry for her.
Marsha shuffled uncomfortably on the chair, “Yes,” she said. “It seems he is. I think I know who it is but she denies it.”
“What’s her name?”
“Carli,” she said a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“I see,” Her mother said, noting the tinge of jealousy in her daughter’s tone.
“Do you know for sure that this is the right person? You could be wrong. You were wrong before.”
Marsha looked away sulking.
She had mistaken the wrong female once. Chantal was a very good friend of Jason’s who Marsha thought was pursuing him. She was one of his closest friends in high school besides Omar aka Omie. The problem was, Chantal was just a decoy. Although at the time she didn’t know this. While Jason openly hung out with Chantal and seemed to take her out on dates, he was sneakily seeing her best friend Trudy.
One day as she confronted Chantal, asking her if she and Jason were together she just laughed at her and said, “Believe what you want.” She had walked away from her on the street and Marsha hurried after her and blocked her from moving further. She tried to push her index finger in Chantal’s face but Chantal was not afraid of her. When she attempted to push her in the forehead Chantal grabbed her finger and bent it. She then over powered Marsha, pushed her to the ground and said, “Jason does not belong to you. You’re angry at the wrong person. I’m not his girlfriend.”
When she said that a light bulb went off in Marsha’s head. Even though she did see Chantal with Jason, Trudy was always there. She was always lurking in the background with them. Chantal would always put her hand through Jason’s arm but Trudy was always there, and there were times when Jason and Trudy would disappear. The problem was she was afraid of Trudy. Trudy wasn’t afraid of any confrontation and she had a tomboy persona.
She was gorgeous when she dressed up and looked girlie, but most times she preferred t-shirts and shorts or baggy pants. She grew up on the rough side of life, and that was why Jason liked her. He could relate to her easily.
Mrs Miller watched as her daughter was deep in thought.
“I hope you’ve been taking your studies seriously and not allowing your obsession with Jason to take you over,” she said warning her.
“I am not obsessed, mommy,” she replied. “Mommy, you know I like Jason and he likes me. He’s just not forgiven me for what I did you know with the bathroom.”
“Can you blame him, honey?" Monica placed her hands on her hips and looked at her. "You were very cruel and you kept up the lie. If it weren't for your sister, your father and I would never have known. Look at it this way, we are your parents we have to tolerate your foolishness to an extent, and hope eventually you will grow up. But Jason ... Jason came into an unfamiliar environment. He would have been anxious coming to live with us. You never made the situation any better for him."
She used a plastic broom to sweep off the floor and used a soft cloth to wipe off the counter and washed up the utensils she used to prepare the food. She had asked Jason for a bit of time alone in the kitchen to do her prepping. Now that she was done, she called him, indicating that he could come back inside. He came in smiling at her.
"You done?", he asked, looking at her.
She nodded smiling.
"You almost done?", she asked.
"Yes I'm done painting. I'm just gonna put up the paint that's left over and so on." He looked at her, his eyes watching her intensely.
She was wearing a pair of light blue baggy jeans, her hair was up in a cute, messy bun and she wore a blue t-shirt and baby blue clogs.
"You still wanna talk to me?", he asked smiling at her.
"Mhm," she said nodding.
"Okay, let me wash up then. Give me thirty minutes to pack these things away and clean up," he said. He took up the roller and paint brushes and brought them to the garden hose area and started washing out the excess paint from the brushes with water then took one of the empty cans and retrieved the paint thinner from the shed and soaked the paint brushes in it. The brushes and roller belonged to him, but he would leave them overnight so that they could soak properly. He would retrieve them tomorrow.
Carefully, Jason removed the spongy surface of the roller from the frame and dipped it in a bucket he found in the back yard that he filled with water. He squeezed in a few drops of liquid soap that he retrieved from the kitchen, and vigorously stirred the water to allow the soap to lather. He also moved the sponge around to loosen some of the paint before he left it to soak.
There was one paint can with half the amount left over. That he placed in the Dixon's shed and closed the door. He had brought a cotton chamois cloth with him and an alcohol based cleaning solution. Jason put on a pair of gloves for safety purposes. He poured a little of the cleaning solution onto the fabric and began gently rubbing out any paint droplets that had fallen on the kitchen tiles.
He would always spread newspapers as protection for the floor, but mistakes can be made. There wasn't a lot to clean up though because he made sure to be extra careful. He also inspected the appliances making sure they were clear of any paint stains. Carefully he shifted each back into place. He had a little difficulty with the two door fridge but was able to move it into place where he felt it could remain until the walls were completely dry.
When he was done cleaning the floor in the kitchen he did a once over review of the living room floor. He had checked and cleaned the floors in that room before, but wanted to be thorough just in case he had missed any spots. He carefully pushed the furniture out of their place to see if there was anything he had missed. After being satisfied that all was well he moved them back in place and called to Carli who was sitting in the garden area waiting on him.
When she came into the living room he asked her to check to make sure the furniture was in place as it should be. She instructed him that the navy blue couch should be more towards the middle of the room with the foot rests in front of it, not towards the door. The huge grey couch should be turned clock-wise facing towards where the sun light first hits the room. He complied and did what she told him.
She told him also that a small arm chair that was pushed into the corner should be brought forward and positioned between the grey couch and a greyish-blue loveseat sofa that still had a tarpaulin on it. He did what she instructed then removed the tarpaulin from the loveseat and handed it to her.
He took off his gloves and placed them in one of his pants' back pockets. Meanwhile, Carli went to put the tarpaulin away in the garage. Jason looked at the room and smiled. He was proud of the work he put in. Everything looked amazing. Sandra had chosen a delicate eggshell color for the living room walls that complemented the aesthetic of the furniture. He had to admit she had great taste. He walked into the kitchen.
Most of the appliances were either a steel black or grey color. He had only shifted them around slightly, just far enough away from the walls so that he had space to work around them. Now that they were back in place he felt satisfied at his work. The paint mix he had done for Sandra turned out to be a maroon shade. He used the dark aqua blue on the baseboard skirting but decided to go for a lighter color for the cornice, a turquoise green. When Sandra saw that he bought the paint she protested and said that she wasn't going to pay for it, because that was not what she had ordered, but after Jason applied the first coating, she agreed that it was a striking but complementary color combination. Afterwards, she changed her mind and said she wanted the floor skirting to be repainted in that color as well.
He was glad he trusted his instincts. The colors made the kitchen look lively and inviting. For the ceiling of both rooms she asked him to paint them in a lighter shade of turquoise. To achieve that look he mixed in white paint to lighten the color. He was happy for the experience and very proud of what he achieved.
He went outside, turned on the garden hose and washed his hands with a small piece of soap left for his use. After rinsing his hands, he loosened the cover of the alcohol solution slightly and squeezed a few drops of it on his hands, then rubbed them together vigorously to remove the paint that stained his skin. He locked the bottle tightly again, then quickly rinsed his hands with water. He soaped up his hands again and washed them off thoroughly. Jason inspected his hands, turning over the palms to look at the back of his hands. All clean. He flashed off the excess water and went to sit beside Carli. He had a rag in the other back pocket of his pants, he removed it and began drying his hands thoroughly.
Carli looked at him. She leaned over to him and said, "The rooms really look good. You did a good job, and very good call on the color combo for the kitchen."
Jason smiled. He placed the damp rag on his lap and put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.
"Thanks," he said. "I'm glad it turned out well."
Carli rested her head on his chest. There was no way these feelings she had for him were wrong. She scooted closer. Jason looked down at her. His expression softened as he saw the look on her face. She trusted him, and that was what he wanted most of all. He would do everything in his power to make sure she felt safe with him.
There was a calm, sweet innocence about her that enhanced her natural beauty. It made her endearing and very tempting. Using the arm circled around her shoulders, he pulled her even closer to him so there was no chance of air passing between them. He gently stroked her arm.
She looked at him. Her eyes settled on his full lips. She remembered how soft and nimble they felt, how demanding his were on hers.
Jason's eyes narrowed. He saw that she was looking at his lips.
"What do you want, Carli? Tell me." His tone was low and inviting.
She reached up a hand to touch his lips. Jason held on to her hand, lifted it to his lips palm up, and placed feathery kisses on it. Carli felt a tingly sensation move up her arm and across her body. She watched as he bowed his head and continued his onslaught on her senses. He moved his kisses slowly up her arm, then finally he looked at her. His eyes seemed to have turned a brilliant auburn.
She leaned forward into him. Jason turned his upper body towards her. He didn't notice that his rag had fallen off his lap into the grass below. He nestled his hand behind her head, pulling her face forward. He kissed her hungrily. His tongue slipping into her mouth, found her tongue and playfully danced with it.
Releasing her momentarily, he pulled her onto his lap. Sitting beside her wasn't enough for him. He used his right hand to cup her face while his left hand rested on her back steadying her. Passionately, he kissed her, savoring her taste. She gave him good measure of herself, matching each nibble and kiss with equal fervor.
Jason grunted and moved his mouth along her cheek down to her neck. He licked his lips moistening them, and planted soft, dewy kisses on the sensitive area. Carli leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Jason circled his arms around her to support her, while he savored the feeling of her soft, fragrant skin in his mouth. He pulled and suckled on her neck gently. He heard her breath quicken and a soft moan come from her lips.
He leaned her further back, pulling her almost underneath him so that her weight was on his arms. He bent forward and began kissing her slowly and sensuously, teasing her lips, sucking on them gently. He opened his legs and adjusted her body to rest more comfortably on him. Lifting his right hand, he cupped her face and gently stroked her hair.
Jason stopped. He lifted his torso slightly away from Carli. He stared at her. Carli was dazed with desire but realized he had stopped kissing her. She opened her eyes and saw his expression. It seemed like a million thoughts passed across his face. She reached her hand up and touched his face.
"You okay?", she asked him. Her heart was pounding. She wanted him to continue but needed to know he was okay.
Jason smiled at her slightly. He knew he should have stopped himself before now but she was so tempting.
"Penny for your thoughts," she teased.
He smiled awkwardly. Would she freak out if he told her. He straightened his posture and gently lifted her up in an upright position on his lap.
"You might get upset with what I'm about to say." He sighed heavily.
Carli circled her arms around his neck. She playfully planted a kiss on his nose and said, "Tell me."
Jason was pleasantly surprised by her tender gesture. I think I'm falling in love with this girl. He thought. Okay, he will muster up the courage to tell her.
"I remembered what my mentor said ... you know about not indulging in what we just indulged in."
Carli raised her hand to his face and touched him.
"It's okay. I understand", she said.
"I'm really sorry," he said. He planted a kiss on her brow. His eyes were sad.
"I'm sorry too. I forgot about all of that," she said. She smiled at him ruefully.
Jason looked at her, his eyes held her gaze almost hypnotically.
Carli reached up and kissed Jason's forehead. She leaned forward to kiss his eyelids. He closed his eyes and allowed her to do so. Finally, she gave him a soft peck on the lips. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Her tenderness made him feel better. How did I get so lucky to meet a girl like this? He wondered.
"I think I'm falling in love with you," she said, her voice a whisper.
Jason's eyes widened as he processed what she was trying to tell him.
What did he feel for her?
He felt a passion that he could hardly control when he was around her. He felt a tenderness that made him want to hold her close to him and not let go. He had a fierce desire to protect her from anything or anyone who would want to harm her, and his heart leapt whenever her saw her smile. Could this be love? He pondered.
Carli saw that he was lost in his thoughts. She cleared her throat to bring him out of his reverie.
"Yuh good?", she asked, her eyes showed concern for him.
Jason nodded. He bent forward and rested his head on her bosom.
"I am fine now," he said. He put his arms around her waist.
Carli put her arms around his shoulders and held him close to her.
They were locked in that embrace for over a minute when Carli heard the house phone ringing. She shifted her body from facing his, he released her and she jumped up, and ran inside to answer the phone call.
After five minutes she came back with a melancholy smile on her face.
"It's my cuz," Carli said, "She had to cancel. Something came up at work."
Carli came over to him and sat on his lap. "You still have to freshen up for me," she said eyeing him cheekily.
Jason laughed. "Of course I will." He bent his head forward to touch her forehead with his. "Thank you for not getting upset with me," he said. Carli reached up her hands and idly stroked his hair. She closed her eyes, then bit her lower lip and said, "It's okay. I trust you."
Jason closed his eyes, enjoying the moment between them. He thought to himself: If this is what love feels like then I'm all in. "Me too," he said. "I trust you."
****
Sharon was stuck in a traffic jam. She was about ten minutes away from her house and sitting in traffic made her angry. She was even more irritable when a driver tried to use the small space between her and him on the right side, to move forward and pass her. She pressed on the gas and inched the car forward and honked her horn at him.
"No way are you gonna pass me todeh yah, missa man!" she whispered to herself. "Damn bright!", she said more audibly, but only she could hear herself.
Sharon sat in her car and tried not to go crazy. She felt so helpless. Her marriage, her career seemed to be falling apart. She recalled the meeting she had at Paul's office with a terrible knot in her stomach.
The meeting with the General Manager for her job, did not go as she planned. After the encounter with Marlon, she felt a bit rattled so she went into the bathroom and washed her face. Yes, she realised her make up would be washed off, but she needed to do something to reset her mind. She had no time for romantic distractions. She was trying to save her job. Plus, she was already married. She may dislike her husband right now but she still loved him. After she got married to him Sharon promised herself that there was no way she would loose that bond.
She had a small bottle of hand lotion in her bag. She retrieved it and squeezed the cream into her hands and used it on her face to bring a smooth, vibrant look back to her skin. She rubbed the remainder of the cream on her hands, paying careful attention to her fingers. She placed the lotion back into her bag, gave herself one final look in the mirror and walked through the door. She took the elevator up to see Paul. As she walked in, she was surprised to see Cooper sitting in the chair in front of Paul. There were also three other chairs brought in from the reception area for the purpose of the meeting. Sitting in two of them were two other gentlemen besides Cooper, one chair was empty.
Paul looked up and saw Sharon entering the room. He quietly gestured for her to sit in the unoccupied chair. He cleared his throat. "Thank you for coming today Sharon," he had said. These are officers Foster and Smith from the Fraud Squad of the JCF. She looked towards the men and nodded. One of the men, a brown skinned gentleman took keen interest in her, his gaze holding hers for more than a second. She looked away feeling perturbed. The other man was older and looked battle weary. He nodded at her, his hooded eyes watched her with no expression. Both officers did not wear standard police uniforms, they wore suits and ties.
Sharon sat down. She cleared her throat.
"Sharon, I've been telling these gentlemen that you've been with the company for many years and that you would be the best person to explain what may be happening," he said, gesturing towards the two officers. The younger one was still undressing her with his eyes, or to Sharon that was what he was doing. She looked away from him again and faced forward towards Mr Isaacs.
"Now Paul," she said. "You flatter me, but I am just a lowly Accounting Manager. I am not the Financial Controller or the Fin Acc." She meant a Financial Accountant. She was getting restless. Paul noticed her tone and quickly moved on.
"Do you have the documents I asked you to bring?", he said tersely
Sharon nodded. She went into her work bag, took out the folder with the papers and handed them to him. He reached for them, flipped through them briefly, then handed them to the senior police officer. Officer Smith looked through them page by page, his trained eye scanning their every detail.
"You have quite detailed information," he said. "Miss .. uh, er .."
"Mrs James," Sharon responded, emphasizing the 'Mistress'.
Smith, his eyebrows raised looked at her and nodded. "Yes Mistress, my apologies," he said.
"You have quite a bit of details here. This was taken from your home computer?" He watched her closely.
Sharon nodded. "Yes, I back up my files from work at home. I sometimes take work home with me so I can meet company deadlines." She looked at the GM pointedly. He nodded at her.
Smith looked at the documents again, a quizzical look on his face. "And why do you back up the files on your computer at home?"
Sharon cleared her throat. "The computer here at work had crashed, luckily we still do inputs into actual books, so I was able to bring my laptop to work and type in the information. The I.T. department had to replace the desktop I was using, which took a few days. So I was literally taking my personal computer each day for work. After I got a new device I had to input all the information we had into it, as well as what I managed to save on my own laptop."
Smith looked at the General Manager for confirmation. He nodded. Smith grunted and continued his investigation.
He gestured towards Cooper sitting quietly beside her. "And you know this man," he asked.
Sharon felt like he was toying with her but refused to be baited.
"Yes, I know him," she responded matter of factly. "He's my Senior Accounting Clerk." Keep your cool girl, she told herself.
"Mr Cooper," Officer Smith said, addressing him directly. "How long have you worked at the company?", he asked him, his eyes however still focused on Sharon. She found this unnerving.
She did not turn to look at Cooper. Instead, she focused her attention to the clock on the wall behind Paul's chair.
From her peripheral vision she saw Cooper awkwardly shift his position in the chair. "About three years sir," he said nervously.
"Hmm." Officer Smith grunted.
"What position did you hold before becoming senior accounting clerk? What sort of job were you initially hired to do?", Smith asked him. He still had that menacing gaze on Sharon. She could feel his eyes boring into her.
Cooper cleared his throat. " I was a filing clerk sir," he said, his voice trembling slightly.
"I see," Smith answered.
"Mrs James, what made you promote Cooper to the position of Senior Accounting Clerk?", Officer Smith asked, his gaze unwavering.
Sharon looked at him. She would not allow this man to intimidate her. "The filing and accounting departments work closely together. They manage archived records of accounts and also help store documents that we need that we may not necessarily have space in our department to hold or we may not need for immediate use. They along with the I.T. department also manage the electronic records system and do a good job at it, I may add." She looked at Cooper who was sweating now. She continued:
"Michael had asked me if there were vacancies in my department. Initially, I told him no, but after a few months one of my team, Debra, decided to migrate, so I asked him to come in for a preliminary interview. He impressed me with his knowledge of accounting, so I informed the HR department of my interest in hiring him. The HR Officer reviewed his qualifications and she agreed with me that he was qualified for an accounting clerk position. So, he was not appointed as Senior Clerk right out the gate. He worked his way up to that position."
Officer Smith raising his eyebrows said, "I see."
"How long was he a regular clerk before you promoted him?", he asked.
"About a year and a half.", she said. The wheels in her mind were turning quickly.
Is he trying to put this on me? She thought.
"And ..."
"What is this about?" Sharon asked, interrupting him. She was getting angry. "Why these types of questions? Are you insinuating that I had something to do with this fraud or that I tried to frame Cooper? And I did not promote him, HR did that."
Smith chuckled. It was a low, gritty sound. "I have not said any such thing Mrs James."
He reached into his shirt pocket and took out his spectacles. He opened them and perched them on his nose. He turned his attention to the documents she gave to Paul.
"Is it not true that he was promoted to Senior Accounting Clerk after you recommended him for the position?"
Sharon nodded. "There is nothing wrong or illegal about that," she said. She was feeling uncomfortable. She looked at Paul who continued to silently watch the exchange between her and Officer Smith. She stared at him. He looked away from her, instead choosing to look at a stack of papers on his desk.
What is this? Sharon asked herself. Is this a set up? Of who? Me or Cooper?
Sharon stood up.
"Sit down Mrs James," Smith's voice held a menacing tone.
She sat down reluctantly.
Officer Smith adjusted his large frame in the chair. He leaned forward his eyes boring into her.
"Isn't it true that you taught Cooper the accounting software and principles used by the company?"
"Yes," Sharon said, nodding, " ... but that is standard procedure. Every new employee who enters a department of any company has to receive some amount of orientation and training."
"What of the cheques, Mrs James? What do you think happened with those?" he asked her.
"I don't know what happened," she said. "Maybe Cooper can shed light on that?"
"I don't know anything about that!", Cooper blurted out. "I swear, I don't know."
"You told me to write up the cheques," Cooper said his eyes now wide with fear.
"Coo ..." Sharon was about to say something she would regret later, when Paul jumped into the conversation.
"What Cooper is trying to say is Sharon would usually ask him to write up the cheques, as in to write the amount for the pay outs and the date, but only at the times the cheques are due. She would then go in and make sure the details are correct then sign and ask the bearer to retrieve and dispatch accordingly."
Sharon looked at Paul, her eyes silently telling him thanks. He nodded his head slightly.
Smith leaned back into the chair. He watched the exchange between them. Something was not right. Smith thought
He cleared his throat and removed his glasses. He patted the folders in his hands.
"Okay Mr Isaacs, Mrs James," he emphasized the 'Mrs'. His eyes had a mocking gaze as he looked at her. "We will take a look at these and get back to you in short order." He nodded to Cooper. He looked over at his partner who nodded and stood up. Smith stood up slowly, his huge frame struggling to straighten out of the chair. Both gentlemen walked to the door. Smith turned around and looked at Sharon and the GM. Facing the door again he moved forward slowly. Foster opened the door for them. Smith went through first, then Foster followed and closed the door behind him.
Cooper slumped in his chair, sweating profusely.
Sharon turned to him. "Michael, what the hell was that?" She was hopping mad.
"You know I never gave you those cheques to sign! What is this? You want my job or something? What the hell?", she said furiously.
"Your P.A. brought the cheques to me and told me you wanted me to write them up. She said you wanted those done so I did them and gave it back to her.", Cooper said. He removed a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and wiped his face.
"What?!" Both Paul and Sharon said in unison.
"Denise gave those cheques to you?" Sharon asked.
"Yes," Cooper nodded.
When was this?" Sharon asked.
"Around the 26th of August, you were at your daughter's orientation for UWI at the time. You came in late that day."
Isaacs retrieved his cellphone from his pocket and called Denise' number. The phone rang twice then went straight to voicemail. Isaacs had a grim look on his face. Sharon was in shock. She couldn't believe her personal assistant would betray her. There must be an explanation for this. Isaacs promised them that resources would be utilised to track her down. In the meantime they were to go home, he would call them as soon as he heard anything.
Now as she was driving home, Sharon realised that something really sinister was happening, and someone was going out of their way to frame her.
*****
Carlos checked his bank account. True to his word, Red Man had deposited the money. He was grateful. He called him and told him thanks. After work had ended at 5:00 p.m., he stopped by the food mart nearby his job and bought a slice of cheese cake for Sharon. Cheese cake always smoothed things over between them. As he drove home he received a call from Sharon's boss.
"Is Sharon there?" Paul asked.
"You mean at home?" Carlos asked.
"Yes," Paul replied.
"Oh, I'm sorry I'm not at home yet," Carlos answered. Why would Sharon be home so early. She would usually be home at around 6:30/7 pm? He wondered.
"Oh, okay. I was trying to get her but her phone was turned off. Well, please tell her I'm very sorry about what the officers did today, but in a fraud investigation they have to be thorough."
Wait! What?! Carlos thought. Fraud? What fraud? Sharon never said anything about this!
"Fraud?!", he asked surprised. He was coming up to a gas station, he decided to turn in. He didn't think he could drive properly during a conversation like this He turned his car onto the edge of the business' driveway and put his vehicle in 'neutral', easing his foot off the gas and gently pressing down on the brake.
"What fraud?", he asked Paul, feeling confused.
Carlos heard a long pause.
"Paul?"
"I think you should ask Sharon what is happening. That is all I will say. Again, please tell her I'm sorry."
"Paul ..."
Paul hung up.
Paul hung up! He hung up on me! Carlos looked at the phone.
Shifting the car into 'reverse', Carlos shook his head at the attendant indicating that he did not need her services. He then reversed his vehicle, backing out wide of the other cars waiting in line. Carefully, he guided his vehicle past a car that was being serviced and maneuvered onto the road. He looked in his rear view mirror and drove off.
She never told me about this. Carlos' mind was reeling. What was going on? Sharon better have a good explanation for this.
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