Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
I’m sorry I had to leave early. Some people cannot make good decisions and the rest of us have to pick up the pieces. I’m also going to complain that time zones are evil. I didn’t want to take the risk of waking you up with a text, so don’t be mad at me for the letter instead.
Dally. That means you.
Harley. Good morning.
Hanson should take good care of you but I’m not sure he believed me that I’m keeping you. We’ll get everything figured out later, though. I’ll call both of you later once I’ve stopped rich people from doing stupid things.
Dally. Stop rolling your eyes.
Harley. Yes, you can laugh and your dinner is in the fridge.
Both of you. Good morning and have a good day. I’ll talk to you soon.
Santos/Papa
“Pokey’s a pain in the ass.” Daddy shook his head and rolled his eyes again. “And incredibly bossy even when he’s not here.”
But at least it looked like he was still keeping us…so I wasn’t going to complain.
I was, however, going to do my best to avoid Mr. Hanson.
24
SANTOS
“No. You’re going to have to slow down.” Because none of what Dally had said made any sense whatsoever.
I knew I shouldn’t have left them on their own for the night.
“Alright, sweet boy, you translate.” We were far enough back in the restaurant that Harley didn’t mind the nickname but he blushed anyway. “As long as you know who Lurch is and why Dally is feeling like a hobbit?”
There’d been something about trains too but that hadn’t made any sense at all so I ignored it.
Harley didn’t seem to know if he should giggle or take the whole drama seriously, but he settled on serious and did his best not to smile. “Um, well, Lurch is Mr. Hanson because he’s tall and he was frowning in his suit. Daddy felt short wearing your clothes because ours were in the laundry.”
He didn’t seem to know what the trains meant either because he ignored his Daddy’s muttering too.
“Lurch? Okay, the suit thing I can explain. He had to go to traffic court because he turns right on red so often the police know him the same way they do Dally.” There was nothing I could do about other people’s bad decisions except make sure he didn’t run errands on my insurance.
“Oh.” Dally leaned back in the booth, nodding and looking slightly less insane. “What does he usually wear?”
I wasn’t sure if that was a weird question or not, but I could answer it. “Anything from Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian T-shirt when he’s fucking with someone in the building to khakis and a polo. I don’t make him wear a uniform because he’s usually a functional grown-up.”
Judging by their expressions, he hadn’t been.
“What did he do when you guys finally got up?” Not what he was supposed to, that was for sure. “Should I start with what I thought would happen?”
That got nods because it seemed like neither one of them wanted to tattle first.
“Well, I got several texts around five in the morning and it was bedlam in the London office.” Because some people had more money than common sense. I was very grateful my relatives were not in that category, but too many others were. “I did as much as I could from home, but eventually, I needed to go into the main office.”
That had not been my first choice but it couldn’t be helped.
“I got ready as quietly as I could, but by the time I was heading out I was worried you weren’t sleeping soundly enough any longer.” Harley had started to squirm and Dally had been humping the bed, neither of which said they were in a deep sleep. “So I left a note on the coffee table and updated Hanson when he came in.”
For some reason it didn’t seem like he believed me.
“What did you tell him?” Dally’s question was too specific for there not to have been some kind of issue.
“Basically what I said in my note.” That was not enough information judging by their expressions, so I elaborated. “I explained that I met the men who were going to be my partners over the weekend. I was keeping you but I had to go into work early because of an emergency. I explained I’d put your clothes in the wash but they weren’t done yet. I asked that he move them around and to make sure you got breakfast when you woke up.”
Had he thought I’d meant business partners?
“I think he thought we were paid help, Pokey.” Dally’s expression didn’t give much away but he wasn’t pleased. “At the very least, does he usually call you Master Santos?”
“No.” Most of the time I got hey you. “He does not.”
There’d clearly been some kind of communication issue.
“Did he think you bought us because you said you were keeping us?” Harley’s question held more of a smile so I had a feeling he wasn’t as upset as his Daddy was. “I think I’d be expensive. Daddy said we’d be very expensive.”