Chapter 25
He pointed at the door at the end of the hall.“Larry’s in there.He’s the one that has the check.Just go on in.He’ll fix you up.”
“Thanks.”I headed down the hall with Jeff on my heels.
The door was open,but I still knocked.
“Come in,”a deep,raspy voice called.
I walked into the messiest office I had ever seen.A huge metal desk took up most of the space,while stacks of manila files and storage boxes full of even more files covered the floor,the desk,and the one chair arranged in front of the desk.I could’ve sworn I smelled pizza,but didn’t see one.
When I finally finished scanning the tiny space,I let my gaze drift over the man behind the desk and inhaled sharply.Large and muscular with broad shoulders,he was poring over an open file.His short dark brown hair,mussed as if he had run his fingers through it several times,matched his carefully trimmed goatee.He looked like he’d been sculpted from marble.Holy shit!Now this was someone I could fantasize about.
Jeff cleared his throat,and I jolted,swiveling around to glare at him.“What the hell?”
He shrugged and faked a smile.I could tell he was mad,but I had no idea about what.I shook my head and turned back to the man at the desk.
“Hey,guys.How can I help you?”
Shit,even his voice was hot.Deep.Throaty.I kind of stared at him,forgetting why I was there.Jeff nudged me.
“This is Aaron Pickard.He’s here to get his check.”
The fireman rose,stretching out a beefy arm.I took his hand and tried not to wince at the strength in his grip.
“Nice to meet you,Aaron.Sorry about the car.”
Hmm,he didn’t seemto be sorry.In fact,he looked irritated that he had been interrupted.A cold feeling started in the pit of my stomach.Something was going on.I glanced at Jeff and noticed his eyes narrowing,as if he was trying to read the guy’s mind.
“I’m Larry,”he introduced himself,gesturing with his arm for us to sit.
We both glanced at the folders on the chair,then back at each other.Where were we supposed to sit?Jeff stood behind the chair and I carefully sat on the edge of the seat cushion so as not to knock anything.Larry took his seat and proceeded to look through a stack of papers.I fidgeted in the uncomfortable seat as the gnawing in my stomach grew.
“Ah,found it,”Larry exclaimed as he triumphantly pulled out several pieces of paper stapled together.A check appeared to be paper-clipped to the top page.“Okay,before we do this,I need to go over a few things.”
I nodded,swallowed hard.
“Great.Okay,here’s the deal.I’ve reviewed the incident report and I believe the value you were quoted was greatly inflated.”
“What does that mean?”I asked,knowing I wasn’t going to like the answer.
Larry sighed,his facial expression showing he was clearly not happy I’d asked.“It means your check is only going to be three thousand,not five thousand.”
“What the hell,man?”Jeff exclaimed as his hands clenched the back of my chair.
Larry looked up,clearly surprised at the outburst.
“Wait a minute,”I said as I patted Jeff’s arm to calm him.“I’ll be honest,I don’t know what the value of my car would have been.”
Larry smiled.
“But,”I continued,“I am out a car.From what I understand,your firemen knocked the light pole onto my Saturn,correct?”
“Yes,”Larry agreed with a smirk.
“So you admit this was your fault?”
“The department’s fault,yes.”
“Okay,thanks.”I turned to Jeff.“Let’s go.”
“Don’t you want your check?”Larry asked.
I turned back,smiling politely.“No,thank you.I need to go talk with my grandpa.He’s a lawyer,and since I’m not sure about the laws,I’ll let him handle this.”
Larry’s eyes widened and he stood.“Wait,wait…there’s no need to get a lawyer involved.”
I pivoted and walked toward the door.“It’s really no problem.Actually,it might be better anyway.I mean,for all I know,my Saturn was worth more than five thousand.”
“You know what,”Larry began,“this isn’t worth it.Hang on.I’ll be right back with your check.Your five-thousand dollar check.”He raced out the door and down the hall.
Jeff’s jaw dropped.“Dude,you just handled him!”
I smiled.“Yeah,I kinda did.”