I smiled. “Yes. Jada has done an excellent job; I’m very happy with her performance.”
If he only knew …
“That’s great. What can I do for you, Cane?”
I stood up and paced the room. “There is a prospective buyer on Solomon Place. His name is Simon Powers.”
“Yes. I heard he made an offer today.”
“That’s right. And as happy as I am with the job Jada has done, Mr. Stanley, I would appreciate it if you would reassign another realtor to work with Mr. Powers.”
“May I ask why?”
“Of course.” I paused, considering my next words carefully. “This decision has nothing to do with Jada, except her safety.”
“Please, go on.”
“I have known Simon for a number of years. We have a history together and he’s never been a nice guy. My sources are telling me that he is involved in some nefarious activities. Now, if he wants to buy Solomon—that’s fine with me. Money is money. But I hope you trust me when I tell you that he is no one Jada should be dealing with.”
Thomas let out a deep breath. “Is that all you are going to give me?”
“Well, considering I have no hard evidence on what he’s doing now and the past is very personal, I’d rather leave it there. I hope my word is good enough. If Jada were my daughter or my wife, I wouldn’t want her to be anywhere near Simon Powers.”
The line was quiet and my body tensed.
Have I crossed a line?
“It sounds like you are fond of my daughter. Have you told her what you are telling me?”
“I have told her that Simon is dangerous, but she’s pretty hard-headed. I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”
Thomas laughed. “She got that from her mother.”
“So, as you can imagine, she bristled and now I’m not sure if she’s going to listen.”
“I’ll tell you what, Cane. I’ll reassign Powers to Zack, another associate here in our offices. And I appreciate the call. That’s my baby girl we are talking about, so her safety trumps everything.”
“And if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep this conversation between us. I’m sure you can understand why.”
“Agreed.”
“I’ll let you get back to your day now, sir. Thank you for all of your help on Solomon Place and I’ll let you know when I have something else to list.”
“No problem. And Cane,” Thomas paused, “thank you. I appreciate you looking out for Jada.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
JADA
The music pumped through the bar, “Touchin’ on My” by 3OH!3 rocking the speakers. The lights flickered rapidly, casting colorful rays on the patrons pressed closely together on the dance floor at Casaar’s Bar.
Sweaty and borderline exhausted after dancing with Kari, I motioned for my sister to follow me to the back patio. It would surely be a little cooler and a whole lot quieter. I had never been one for large crowds anyway, but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that someone was watching me. I kept scanning the bar, but found nothing out of place.
It’s just the crowd coupled with the shot of tequila. You know you shouldn’t drink tequila.
I led Kari outside and found a table in a back corner that was, thankfully, next to a fan.
“I’m not as young as I used to be,” Kari giggled, holding on to the table to stop herself from swaying. “Damn, not nearly as young. How much did you let me drink?” she laughed.
“Enough,” I smiled.
“What’s gotten into my big sister, huh?” Kari asked, a goofy smile on her face. “You are actually kinda fun tonight!”
“Hush. I earned this night.”
“That you do. Did. Whatever,” Kari laughed. “Speaking of deserving … well, in my brain that word was dessert …” Kari shook her head. “Damn, I am drunk! Anyway, I was going to ask you if you had heard from that piece of man candy of yours.”
I rolled my eyes and recounted the conversation about Solomon Place earlier in the week. “He’s such a dick.”
“What’s his deal? Even when I’m not drunk, I don’t think he makes sense.” Kari grooved to the beat of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse”.
“I don’t know, but I’m done. I’m finished even being nice to him at this point, Kari. He sent me a couple of texts yesterday, but I didn’t respond. Fuck him.”
“Yeah! Fuck him!” Kari shouted, holding her glass up in the air, contents splashing on the table.
“Kari! Don’t yell.”
“Sorry!” Kari said, putting her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening. “Anyway, what did the texts say?”