Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
I shook my head, trying to shake her spell on me, and Mr. Proctor seemed to notice.
“You find her attractive, don’t you?” he asked, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
“She’s alright,” I lied. “I wasn’t paying much attention.”
Mr. Proctor laughed a little and pulled a bag of peanuts from the inside of his tweed jacket.
“Sure, sure,” he said, looking away to open the bag. I didn’t need to look at the bag to know it was honey roasted. It was one of Proctor’s vices. He would eat them all day and then barely eat meals. He said it was his secret against obesity. “Peanut?”
“Sharing your honey roasted? What’s the occasion?”
“Not every day a man falls in love on first sight,” he said amiably, pulling a peanut out and shoving it in his mouth.
“Stop,” I said, waving him away.
“No, no, it’s something to celebrate. The dawn of a new love. Further proof that our species will continue. Lots to celebrate.”
“Okay, she’s pretty, can we move on now?” I asked.
“There we are,” he said. “She’s also smart as a whip, that girl. Don’t underestimate her. She’s got a brilliant mind. A bit skittish, but brilliant. She’s going to make a great teacher.”
“I’m sure,” I said. “If she has your seal of approval, I’m sure she’s going to be great.”
Talk slowly delved into things that happened in the past, old students and courses that I helped out with and stories of both our younger days. I had taken up almost his entire break when my phone rang in my pocket, and I pulled it out, seeing Jax’s name on the screen.
“I’m afraid I have to take this,” I said, standing.
“That’s fine. I need to get back. Good to see you as always,” he said, standing himself.
I snapped off a salute and walked out toward my car, hitting the call button to answer.
“Hey, man, what’s going on?”
“Dude, I need your help,” Jax said. I laughed out loud at the way his voice sounded using such an American phrase.
“Alright, what’s going on?” I asked.
“Stupid computer full of virus,” he said. “I have many to set up, many to get working again. Nephew can only work in person on it, and he is in St. Petersburg. Can you help me?”
“Of course,” I said. “Is this for your new business? The one you’ve been telling me you had all your tech stuff set up for already?”
There was a silent pause.
“Yes,” he said. “I am full of shame.”
I laughed. “Text me the address. I’ll head over right now. How many computers do you need set up?”
“Many.”
“How many.”
Another silent pause.
“Lots of many.”
“Jax, how many is lots of many?” I asked.
“One hundred,” he said. “And also fifty.”
“A hundred and fifty computers?” I said in shock.
“Also my laptop,” he said. “And also my tablet.”
“Your tablet has a virus?” I asked.
“No. My tablet is still in the box.”
This was why I wanted to help him in the first place. Jax was a brilliant man, but tech stuff wasn’t really his forte. The shipping business he wanted to start was probably going to be very successful, especially considering his connections in eastern Europe, but he needed help.
“On my way, bud,” I said. “See you in ten.”
I hopped in my car, hanging up the phone and putting the address he texted me into the GPS. Ten minutes later I was at a large warehouse that looked right out of every episode of police procedural drama on TV I had ever seen.
“Alex,” Jax said as he walked out toward me. “I am so glad you could make it.”
“Jesus, Jax,” I said, looking around. “You couldn’t find a big sign that said ‘Mob Front’?”
“What?”
“Nothing.” I paused. “Everything you are doing here is legal, right?”
“Of course,” Jax said, looking thoroughly confused.
“Good. Alright, let’s go.”
It took all day, but I finally got the viruses off the computers Jax had bought. Apparently, they had been in the building before he even arrived and were part of the purchase. So, after everything was cleaned up and reset, I helped him choose which ones he would actually need to keep and which ones to sell.
“My friend, how much do I owe you?” Jax asked.
“No, you get the family discount,” I said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t you work with your family?”
“Well, yes.”
“And you take pay?”
“Yes,” I said.
“So, I pay you,” he said, opening a checkbook.
“Seriously, you don’t have to.”
It was too late—he had already filled out everything but the money line.
“Tell me or I guess,” he said.
Reluctantly, I told him. It was about ten percent less than I would have charged anyone else, but I wasn’t fully intending on cashing the check anyway. Things were tight, and I didn’t want to give up the money, but at the same time, I didn’t want to take money from one of my friends. I stuck the check into my wallet and said my goodbyes, heading home feeling guilty.