prominent in Las Vegas . The closest Pitt had come to a big shot was Sanders, who Calvin thought didn ’ t count .
What was so important that it couldn ’ t wait until the afternoon?
Calvin hung up without saying goodbye. He ’ d been through the drill enough times that he knew what to expect. There was no need to panic or rush.
This i s it!
He rolled over and sat on the edge of the bed, testing his knee. He looked around the rundown apartment and shook his head. S oon he ’ d be gone , so the state of the apartment mattered less than ever.
He climbed out of bed, noticing that Rachel was gone already, as usual . Most of the time he kept her away from his apartment because it wasn ’ t a pleasant place and it put Rachel at risk if someone tried to collect from the collector. B ut last night, knowing that this would be his last job, he was floating on air. He had been careless.
Still groggy from the painkillers, he walked to the bathroom and stubbed his toe on a fifty- pound dumbbell. “ Shit. ”
He rolled the dumbbell under the bed and proceeded to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. H e took a quick shower, then dressed in jeans and a tight-fitting T -shirt that exposed the intimidating size of his chest and well-defined biceps.
He smiled at his reflection. Before the morning was over , Calvin would be starting his new life.
He reached the office before eight. It was rare that Calvin got there before the secretary, but t he room was quiet and empty , except for Pitt , who was sitting at his desk. In front of him sat a half - empty bottle of cognac beside Pitt ’ s coffee mug.
Pitt gave a wide grin and shook Calvin ’ s hand.
V ery u n- Pitt-like. Unshaven and smelling bad , the man had bloodshot eyes.
“ This is it, Calvin, your last one. We sure are gonna miss you around here. ”
Pitt seemed unusually chipper . Where did the belligerent man go, the one who lectured him yesterday?
“ Well, I ain ’ t gonna miss you. ” Unsmiling, Calvin stuck his hand out . “ The info? ”
“ Don ’ t be in such a rush. There are some things I have to explain to you first . ”
“ Like what? ”
“ I don ’ t have to tell you that everything I say is confidential, as always. ”
“ How many times have I done this? You ’ re treating me like a rookie. ”
Pitt held his arms up in surrender . “ Fine. No more chit chat. ” He grabbed a file on his desk. “ I didn ’ t tell you yesterday because you didn ’ t need to know. Now you do. The $200,000 you ’ re collecting from Grant isn ’ t a gambling debt. It ’ s payment for some jobs I did for him over the last couple of months . He had some work he didn ’ t want anyone to know about. ”
“ Like what? ”
“ You don ’ t need to know that. ”
“ Why would he come to a scumbag like you when he can afford the best and trust them? ”
“ That ’ s the point. He researched me, found out I wasn ’ t only a bookie but could do other things too, or arrange for them to happen. And he knew that no one would ever think that we ’ d do business together. Opposite ends of the social scale . E ven I have to admit that . ”
“ What does all that have to do with my collecting this morning? Get to the real point. ”
Pitt sighed. “ Maybe I won ’ t miss you so much after all , Calvin . The point is that this whole situation is already very embarrassing for Grant , even though no one knows about it. ”
“ Sounds like he has to keep the whole thing secret. ”
“ He doesn ’ t want to drive to a meet ing with two hundred grand in cash. That ’ s why the meet ing is at his private office . H e doesn ’ t have a secretary , so it ’ ll just be the two of you. ”
Calvin said nothing.
“ He needs you to be discreet in that building and seem more like a rich associate than the collector you are. ” Pitt strode to the closet, opened the door and stepped inside. “ Here ’ s his plan. You ’ re going to be disguised .
What was so important that it couldn ’ t wait until the afternoon?
Calvin hung up without saying goodbye. He ’ d been through the drill enough times that he knew what to expect. There was no need to panic or rush.
This i s it!
He rolled over and sat on the edge of the bed, testing his knee. He looked around the rundown apartment and shook his head. S oon he ’ d be gone , so the state of the apartment mattered less than ever.
He climbed out of bed, noticing that Rachel was gone already, as usual . Most of the time he kept her away from his apartment because it wasn ’ t a pleasant place and it put Rachel at risk if someone tried to collect from the collector. B ut last night, knowing that this would be his last job, he was floating on air. He had been careless.
Still groggy from the painkillers, he walked to the bathroom and stubbed his toe on a fifty- pound dumbbell. “ Shit. ”
He rolled the dumbbell under the bed and proceeded to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. H e took a quick shower, then dressed in jeans and a tight-fitting T -shirt that exposed the intimidating size of his chest and well-defined biceps.
He smiled at his reflection. Before the morning was over , Calvin would be starting his new life.
He reached the office before eight. It was rare that Calvin got there before the secretary, but t he room was quiet and empty , except for Pitt , who was sitting at his desk. In front of him sat a half - empty bottle of cognac beside Pitt ’ s coffee mug.
Pitt gave a wide grin and shook Calvin ’ s hand.
V ery u n- Pitt-like. Unshaven and smelling bad , the man had bloodshot eyes.
“ This is it, Calvin, your last one. We sure are gonna miss you around here. ”
Pitt seemed unusually chipper . Where did the belligerent man go, the one who lectured him yesterday?
“ Well, I ain ’ t gonna miss you. ” Unsmiling, Calvin stuck his hand out . “ The info? ”
“ Don ’ t be in such a rush. There are some things I have to explain to you first . ”
“ Like what? ”
“ I don ’ t have to tell you that everything I say is confidential, as always. ”
“ How many times have I done this? You ’ re treating me like a rookie. ”
Pitt held his arms up in surrender . “ Fine. No more chit chat. ” He grabbed a file on his desk. “ I didn ’ t tell you yesterday because you didn ’ t need to know. Now you do. The $200,000 you ’ re collecting from Grant isn ’ t a gambling debt. It ’ s payment for some jobs I did for him over the last couple of months . He had some work he didn ’ t want anyone to know about. ”
“ Like what? ”
“ You don ’ t need to know that. ”
“ Why would he come to a scumbag like you when he can afford the best and trust them? ”
“ That ’ s the point. He researched me, found out I wasn ’ t only a bookie but could do other things too, or arrange for them to happen. And he knew that no one would ever think that we ’ d do business together. Opposite ends of the social scale . E ven I have to admit that . ”
“ What does all that have to do with my collecting this morning? Get to the real point. ”
Pitt sighed. “ Maybe I won ’ t miss you so much after all , Calvin . The point is that this whole situation is already very embarrassing for Grant , even though no one knows about it. ”
“ Sounds like he has to keep the whole thing secret. ”
“ He doesn ’ t want to drive to a meet ing with two hundred grand in cash. That ’ s why the meet ing is at his private office . H e doesn ’ t have a secretary , so it ’ ll just be the two of you. ”
Calvin said nothing.
“ He needs you to be discreet in that building and seem more like a rich associate than the collector you are. ” Pitt strode to the closet, opened the door and stepped inside. “ Here ’ s his plan. You ’ re going to be disguised .
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