you?”
“Then you fail. But I believe that if you use your intelligence, instincts and skills as a salesman, you’ll be able to persuade him to do the right thing, the honorable thing.” He carefully combed a renegade strand of snow-white hair back from his forehead with a finger. “In all honesty, this is an easy assignment compared to most. Don’t want to give you too tall an order right out of the gates, especially without any formal negotiator training.”
“And I do this alone?”
“I am many things, Jeff. A fool is not one of them. Of course you’ll be observed , but you will work alone.” He arched an eyebrow. “Unless you feel you need supervision, in which case, I’d be more than happy to have Ms. Bell accompany you.”
Jeff felt his face flush. “No, I…”
“I thought not,” Hope said, laughing lightly. “This entire matter shouldn’t take more than a day to accomplish, so I want you to begin work tomorrow.”
“Why not right away?”
“Tomorrow morning. No sooner.”
Don’t argue. Agree to the conditions and get the hell out of here . “OK.”
“But I’ll expect to hear from you no later than tomorrow evening.”
Nodding, Jeff picked up the envelope.
“Any longer than that and I’ll have no choice but to assume something’s gone wrong, and then I’ll have to come looking for you.” The old man was no longer laughing, his eyes no longer sparkling. “And you don’t want that, Jeff, do you understand?”
“Yes,” he answered tensely, “I do.”
“Then I look forward to hearing from you. Until then, good day to you.”
Hardly.
-8-
At nightfall the city was still unbearably hot. After dinner Jeff collapsed into his favorite recliner and attempted to watch a baseball game but was unable to concentrate. The conversation he’d had with Mr. Hope replayed again and again in his mind, and although the entire scenario seemed fantastic at best, he realized all too well just how real this situation was. Clearly there was an illegal, underhanded and dangerous aspect to this whole thing, but if the pay was in cash, no one would know and he could walk away once he was done, he had no choice but to take the risk. What was the alternative? Letting his wife see him in that hotel room with Jessica?
He knew he’d been infuriatingly aloof since Eden had gotten home from work, but he couldn’t talk to her about what was taking place. The only way for her to remain safe was to know nothing about any of this.
She wandered in from the bedroom wearing only a long t-shirt. “You OK?”
“I’m fine, honey.” God how I love her , he thought. What the hell was I thinking? The guilt was so strong he couldn’t even look at her.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, just a little tired.”
“When I left for work this morning everything was great, but since I got home you’ve barely spoken to me and you’re moping around like you got some bad news or something. Is there a problem with the new job?”
“Everything’s fine.”
“You’re not acting like everything’s—”
“I just said everything’s fine, didn’t I?”
“Then why are you in such a lovely mood?”
“I’m sorry, I…” He forced a smile, aimed the remote at the TV and switched it off. “I told you, I’m just a little tired, OK? No biggie. Everything’s fine with the new job and everything else. I love you.”
“Love you, too.” She sighed, and then as if she’d just remembered, jerked a thumb at the window and said, “Hey, he’s not out there tonight.”
Jeff’s mind was so far away it took him a moment to realize who she was talking about. “I had a chat with him. I doubt he’ll be coming around anymore.”
Eden sat on the edge of the recliner. “What did you say to him?”
“I told him to stay the hell away from us and the building.”
“Jesus, Jeff.” She scooped up a magazine from the coffee table and began
“Then you fail. But I believe that if you use your intelligence, instincts and skills as a salesman, you’ll be able to persuade him to do the right thing, the honorable thing.” He carefully combed a renegade strand of snow-white hair back from his forehead with a finger. “In all honesty, this is an easy assignment compared to most. Don’t want to give you too tall an order right out of the gates, especially without any formal negotiator training.”
“And I do this alone?”
“I am many things, Jeff. A fool is not one of them. Of course you’ll be observed , but you will work alone.” He arched an eyebrow. “Unless you feel you need supervision, in which case, I’d be more than happy to have Ms. Bell accompany you.”
Jeff felt his face flush. “No, I…”
“I thought not,” Hope said, laughing lightly. “This entire matter shouldn’t take more than a day to accomplish, so I want you to begin work tomorrow.”
“Why not right away?”
“Tomorrow morning. No sooner.”
Don’t argue. Agree to the conditions and get the hell out of here . “OK.”
“But I’ll expect to hear from you no later than tomorrow evening.”
Nodding, Jeff picked up the envelope.
“Any longer than that and I’ll have no choice but to assume something’s gone wrong, and then I’ll have to come looking for you.” The old man was no longer laughing, his eyes no longer sparkling. “And you don’t want that, Jeff, do you understand?”
“Yes,” he answered tensely, “I do.”
“Then I look forward to hearing from you. Until then, good day to you.”
Hardly.
-8-
At nightfall the city was still unbearably hot. After dinner Jeff collapsed into his favorite recliner and attempted to watch a baseball game but was unable to concentrate. The conversation he’d had with Mr. Hope replayed again and again in his mind, and although the entire scenario seemed fantastic at best, he realized all too well just how real this situation was. Clearly there was an illegal, underhanded and dangerous aspect to this whole thing, but if the pay was in cash, no one would know and he could walk away once he was done, he had no choice but to take the risk. What was the alternative? Letting his wife see him in that hotel room with Jessica?
He knew he’d been infuriatingly aloof since Eden had gotten home from work, but he couldn’t talk to her about what was taking place. The only way for her to remain safe was to know nothing about any of this.
She wandered in from the bedroom wearing only a long t-shirt. “You OK?”
“I’m fine, honey.” God how I love her , he thought. What the hell was I thinking? The guilt was so strong he couldn’t even look at her.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, just a little tired.”
“When I left for work this morning everything was great, but since I got home you’ve barely spoken to me and you’re moping around like you got some bad news or something. Is there a problem with the new job?”
“Everything’s fine.”
“You’re not acting like everything’s—”
“I just said everything’s fine, didn’t I?”
“Then why are you in such a lovely mood?”
“I’m sorry, I…” He forced a smile, aimed the remote at the TV and switched it off. “I told you, I’m just a little tired, OK? No biggie. Everything’s fine with the new job and everything else. I love you.”
“Love you, too.” She sighed, and then as if she’d just remembered, jerked a thumb at the window and said, “Hey, he’s not out there tonight.”
Jeff’s mind was so far away it took him a moment to realize who she was talking about. “I had a chat with him. I doubt he’ll be coming around anymore.”
Eden sat on the edge of the recliner. “What did you say to him?”
“I told him to stay the hell away from us and the building.”
“Jesus, Jeff.” She scooped up a magazine from the coffee table and began
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