Thomas looked at his friend like he had just informed him that the apocalypse had already happened.
"What do you mean by you have sold it? Both? How is that even possible?" he asked his friend, Lance.
The latter beckoned on the waiter to bring beers over to their table. He looked over at Thomas. "The usual?"
"I don't care about crappy beer, man. What do you mean by that?" Thomas fired back at the man, who seemed nonchalant about his plight.
"Cool your jets, man. I have been up and about since morning, and I am not about to miss out on a cold beer because you suddenly changed your mind. '' He turned to the waiter. "Just give me a chilled Guinness, thank you. '' My friend here would be having none."
"You got it," the waiter said before going back to get the order.
Lance Pratchet loosened his tie before sitting more relaxed in his chair. Work had been hectic recently, and his ex-wife seemed to think he plucked money out of the air with the way she had been on his neck about alimony. The deal with Thomas had come at the right time, and he was so happy when it was snapped up instantly too.
"So, can you hear me out now?" Thomas asked impatiently."
Nope, hold on,Tom," he said, raising his hand and smiling as the waiter handed him his beer.
"Thanks, man. I would probably ask for more of this. Anytime you see me raise my hand in your direction, just keep 'em coming."
The waiter smiled and left."Hmm," Lance moaned as he drank deeply, the tangy taste of the chilled beer rejuvenating his system.
"And now?" Thomas said impatiently that he should lean over and jerk the bastard out of his seat.
"What has got you in a shitty mood?" Lance asked, then he remembered, "By the way, ain't you supposed to be in Luxembourg right now instead of you sulking here at Johnny's Bar?"
"If you can see me here, that means I did not go, didn't it?" Thomas replied in a bristling tone.
"Wha..?"
"Quit your yapping about my travel plans. What do you mean by the gym and the other facility having been sold?" he asked as sweat popped out on his face.
"Isn't that what you wanted? I put it up for sale, and it was just as if someone was already waiting for it. It was snapped up instantly," Lance said with a smile, but his smile faded when he realised that his friend was not happy.
Nope, not happy at all.
"No, I do not believe you," Thomas said in a loud voice as he swiped his hand over his forehead, only to realise that it was dry. He saw people looking over, and he reduced his voice as he leaned towards Lance.
"I do not believe you, Lance. What are you trying to pull here? I just told you about those facilities three days ago, and now you want me to believe they are gone? Try again, buddy," he said with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"What the heck are you talking about? Did you give me a timeline for the sale? I could remember how you were so anxious about getting it sold as soon as possible, as you needed the money over there. What is wrong with you? I know you are not about to sit down there and call me a liar. Are you, you asshole? I busted my ass to get things done for you as fast as possible, and this is what I get? How is it my problem that you couldn't make up your damn mind?"
Lance was getting angry too, and he was not about to care about whoever heard him. If his friend was saying this because he wanted him to return the commission money he got from the deal, he would have to think again because a huge chunk of that money was now in Alexa's pocket. That would earn him at least a week's rest before he started getting her calls again.
Thomas knew he had to handle this well, or Lance might just flip, and he wouldn't get any coherent answers again."Okay, calm down, buddy. I am sorry," he said as he raised his hands towards Lance in a truce.
"You had better be. I did not take shit from Alexa, and I am not about to take any from you," he said, looking back at the waiter who was standing by the bar at the moment and raising his hand.
The man brought the beer readily, like he had been expecting his signal.
"When exactly did you put them up for sale?" Thomas asked gently when the waiter left.
Lance took a long pull of his beer and rubbed his cold hand over his bald head before replying, "The same day."
"When did you get a buyer?"
"Yesterday morning"
"About the time I was supposed to leave?"
"How was I supposed to know when you left?"
"Okay, okay, sorry. The same person bought the two properties.
"Yeah, a guy I did not even meet with. He was weird, but he paid instantly. I forwarded the papers to him, and the deal was done."
"People could sell things just like that." Thomas asked in surprise.
"Which cave have you been living in, man? Do you think most people do transactions face-to-face anymore? You could be anywhere and buy any damn thing you want." Lance drank his beer.
Thomas shook his head. How would he explain that to Reyona while he wasted his time?
Yes, he could just repurchase it from the person who bought it. That might be difficult, but it shouldn't be impossible.
He looked at Lance, who just put his drink to his mouth again "Alright then, the money. What about the mo?
He couldn't complete his sentence as cold liquid hit his face when his friend sputtered and the beer in his mouth flew.
Lance looked down at the mess he caused and back up at his friend's face."Are you nuts? What kind of play is that?"
Lance Pratchet gaped at his friend when the latter looked at him incomprehensibly. He had never known Thomas to be a prankster. The man might be an asshole in Lance's book because of what he had done to his wife of many years, but bros had got to stick together, and that was why he had agreed to help him with the sales of the two properties that Thomas had acquired with the help of the wife he was leaving for his side chick. Lance had never liked the bimbo-looking babe with her voluptuous body and wiles that had hooked his friend for years, but Lance did not really like females these days anyway, not with the way Alexa had frustrated his life throughout their three years of marriage and continued to do so since they finalized their divorce a year ago. She had gotten everything she planned with her friends, and they had accused him of being abusive. Fat, dark bruises had shown up in graphic details in court, and with a long line of witnesses to corroborate her claims, Lance knew t
"The transaction went through. Sorry about the delay. There was a little transactional error with the mule account. Check out the account now." Reyona set aside her phone as she got the message and looked up at her assistant, who was standing in front of her. The lady was telling her about one company that would like them to handle their audit this year. The owner of the company intended to use the audit to test the strength of ReyDexter LLC. If they are satisfied with Reyona's company, they intend to hand over their portfolio to them and make them their official accounting firm. Reyona was a Certified Public Accountant who had realised earlier that she would rather have a firm of her own than be in a company where she only dealt with the company's finances. Reyona loved challenges, and she believed that one way she could get them in her chosen profession would be to have a company of her own where she could handle the cases of the different companies, as she believed that no t
Reyona was sleeping, or at least trying to sleep, when she felt the bed depressed, and Thomas stood up and went out.She waited for it as she heard his phone vibrate where he had kept it beside him. He wouldn't put his phone so close to him like that normally, as he had said that the radiation from the phone was not meant to be kept anywhere near the brain, especially in sleep.Reyona knew that today was a special day, though.She was sure he was expecting something, so she didn't comment on his out-of-habit move; she had merely curled up against his side, laid her head on his chest as she took his hand, and wrapped it around herself before kissing him good night.She smiled to herself as she heard the phone vibrate, and he checked if she was asleep before gently removing her arms from around him. She had thought briefly of tightening her arms around him to see what his reaction would be, but then she decided to let him go. The show was about to start anyway.He had been on edge since
Thomas looked back sharply when he heard her voice. Damn it. He had not realised that he had spoken out loud. That was why he left the bedroom for the living room, after all. He should have just gone downstairs to the sitting room or the library. Yeah, the library would have been okay. With all the volumes of books in there and the soundproof padding his wife had installed in there as it doubled as her workspace when she wanted to as well, he could have shouted all he wanted and she wouldn't have realised. He knew that his shout was inevitable, even as he blamed himself and turned in the direction where he heard her soft footsteps. He knew he couldn't have helped his reaction, not even if a gun had been put to his head when he opened his email earlier. Even a hardcore guy would have reacted as he did. Thomas was no hardcore guy. Just a 35-year-old man looking for a soft landing in life. Ah, what would he do? He thought as he recalled the message that was burning a hole throug
Reyona tamped down the revulsion in her as she said those words. She could feel bile in her throat as she closed her eyes tightly. Who could have believed that there would be a day on earth when she would feel her skin crawl at the thought of intimacy with her man? What did she know?Theirs had never been a super passionate "get wet with just a look at you" kind of sex life, but they had a healthy sex life. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, and she could turn to him whenever she wanted to do it with the assurance that he would accommodate her and vice versa.She remembered a saying that a man's penis could be separated from his heart. She couldn't remember where she heard the saying from, but she remembered that the person had said that a man could be having regular sex with a lady while, in his heart, he held someone else dear."It is just how they are wired; just because he is fucking you every day does not mean he loves you. You are just that. A fuck buddy."Reyona released t
Thomas groaned as he held his wife closely to himself. He could feel his eyes crossing behind their lids. He had no idea what had come over her, but he was not about to mind. Not when his libido could reap the benefit. She was all he had for now anyway. Susan was not available for all their games.Even though he had always been careful with her and only went to a limit when it came to their bedroom activities, unlike he did with Susan, he loved the fact that she was taking the initiative to introduce this. Most of what she did these days made it seem like he didn't know his wife that well, not that he'd been paying much attention before.He had been trying his best to be a double agent with such carefulness that his cover would not be blown. He loved this new side of her.His eyes jerked open when he felt her hands wrap around him, and his eyes rolled back in his head as he wondered when she had pulled the drawstring of his pyjama bottoms.He was close to bursting, and he felt he sh
Reyona almost laughed out loud at the priceless expression on Ruth Lanoth's face as she entered and met her with the kids. They were eating the crackers that Reyona bought on her way to the house and surfing through the channels to see what show would satisfy all parties involved, as she had met the kids arguing over the channel that the eldest had put on. Thomas's mother had never learned the habit of locking up her door, as she had said that she did not have a property that belonged to a burglar. So, it was quite normal for Reyona to simply walk through the door and call out to her mother-in-law if she didn't immediately see her in the living room. Lugging the grocery bags she had with her, she opened the door, picked up the bags, and used one of them to push the door wider. She entered and called out even before she fully raised her head."Mum, are you…?" She trailed off as she saw the three miniature copies of her husband staring back at her. Two of them had been in a tussle
"Reyona?" Ruth Lanoth spoke as she seemed to recover from her shock. She looked at the groceries in her hand, then back at Reyona and the kids, her eyes darting from them to her. She seemed to almost have a seizure when she saw Leah on Reyona's lap. Reyona smiled inwardly as she doubted that the woman had any idea how transparent her face was. Her son must have learned his highly deceptive face from someone else. His father? Well, she would never know; the man had been long dead before Reyona met Thomas. "Mum!" Reyona replied excitedly as she gave the remote in her hands to Allysyn and carried Leah at her waist as she went to meet her mother-in-law, where the woman still stood as if she had no idea if she should proceed into the room or bolt. Reyona saw the way the woman's eyes darted between her and the children, as if pondering if she should get the children out first or Reyona herself. "How does it feel?" Reyona thought as she hugged the woman."Hi, I have missed you," she said