whom? Reggie would take care of the how. The unsavory details needn’t concern Ronnie. But Reggie didn’t do his own thinking very often, so it would be left to Ronnie to make the determination of whom.
Focusing on the list in front of him, he muttered under his breath. He had no idea whom to choose. Jogging a wealthy person’s memory to pay their debt should be relatively easy. But whom should he choose? On one hand, a relatively known client would probably pay quickly to avoid a scandal. But if they didn’t, the company would probably also receive some media attention, and Ronnie was fairly certain that wouldn’t go over well with Carter.
He could choose a nobody, but who’s to say he or she really didn’t have the money, and he’d be back to square one unless he was really willing to let Reggie off the leash.
Fuck it. He closed his eyes and stabbed the page randomly with his finger. Okay, this woman. Ronnie stared at the name and screwed up his face, trying to picture her, but nothing came to mind. A nobody it would be.
Shrugging philosophically, he picked up the phone.
“Get in here. We got business.”
Reggie looked like a linebacker having a bad day. His main form of communication was grunting, and over the years he’d expressed a wide range in tone and intonation to note his interest and displeasure. Generally, Reggie liked doing the leg work, checking up on clients, his mere presence a reminder of their responsibilities. Ronnie preferred the air conditioned comfort of his plush office.
“Boss called. Wants to see some of the accounts cleared. He thinks we’ve been too easy on them.”
Reggie’s grunt was enthusiastic.
“So I want you to track down this lady and bring her to me. We’re going to have a chat and see if we can’t get her to clear the bill. If not, then people will know that when you don’t pay, Dollar Tree means business.”
He answered Reggie’s questions as the man attempted to establish his boundaries. He was surprised at this line of questioning, but he was also guessing that this job would be new for Reggie. They didn’t have many female clients. Checking this one out would require a little more ingenuity on his part.
“What? Sure. Talk to her. Do what you got to do. Just get her here. I want that money. She’s not well known, but that payday would be good for us both.” Ronnie didn’t know much about Reggie’s personal life, but he’d come to understand that unemployment was unemployment. “Yeah, keep your shirt on. Her name is….” Ronnie scanned the page again. He should have highlighted it. Ah, there. “Ms. Mathers. Caroline Mathers.”
Chapter Eleven
Caroline’s heart began beating rapidly as it always did when she took risks. Some people took risks and were fine with both the process and the results, whether it’s what they intended or not. She wasn’t that type of risk-taker. She had taught herself to take risks. As counterintuitive as that sounded, even to herself, she knew she’d come a long way in learning to be brave, learning to be flexible, learning to accept unintended consequences.
Since her father had died when she was young, she’d been forced to look at life differently. The oldest of three children, most people thought she was spoiled by her mother. That thought couldn’t have been further from the truth. Her father’s favorite child, he’d left everything to her, not her siblings, not her mother. In exchange for the blessing of his wealth, as he’d phrased it, he was counting on her to help her mother and brother and sister to understand that gifts weren’t automatic, and gratitude, kindness, and respect went a long way.
She’d spent her life trying to observe her father’s wishes while avoiding becoming a target of her mother and brother’s anger. She hadn’t succeeded at either the former or the latter. Constantly in survival mode, she’d realized a few years ago that she had to start living her own life. Thus began the
Focusing on the list in front of him, he muttered under his breath. He had no idea whom to choose. Jogging a wealthy person’s memory to pay their debt should be relatively easy. But whom should he choose? On one hand, a relatively known client would probably pay quickly to avoid a scandal. But if they didn’t, the company would probably also receive some media attention, and Ronnie was fairly certain that wouldn’t go over well with Carter.
He could choose a nobody, but who’s to say he or she really didn’t have the money, and he’d be back to square one unless he was really willing to let Reggie off the leash.
Fuck it. He closed his eyes and stabbed the page randomly with his finger. Okay, this woman. Ronnie stared at the name and screwed up his face, trying to picture her, but nothing came to mind. A nobody it would be.
Shrugging philosophically, he picked up the phone.
“Get in here. We got business.”
Reggie looked like a linebacker having a bad day. His main form of communication was grunting, and over the years he’d expressed a wide range in tone and intonation to note his interest and displeasure. Generally, Reggie liked doing the leg work, checking up on clients, his mere presence a reminder of their responsibilities. Ronnie preferred the air conditioned comfort of his plush office.
“Boss called. Wants to see some of the accounts cleared. He thinks we’ve been too easy on them.”
Reggie’s grunt was enthusiastic.
“So I want you to track down this lady and bring her to me. We’re going to have a chat and see if we can’t get her to clear the bill. If not, then people will know that when you don’t pay, Dollar Tree means business.”
He answered Reggie’s questions as the man attempted to establish his boundaries. He was surprised at this line of questioning, but he was also guessing that this job would be new for Reggie. They didn’t have many female clients. Checking this one out would require a little more ingenuity on his part.
“What? Sure. Talk to her. Do what you got to do. Just get her here. I want that money. She’s not well known, but that payday would be good for us both.” Ronnie didn’t know much about Reggie’s personal life, but he’d come to understand that unemployment was unemployment. “Yeah, keep your shirt on. Her name is….” Ronnie scanned the page again. He should have highlighted it. Ah, there. “Ms. Mathers. Caroline Mathers.”
Chapter Eleven
Caroline’s heart began beating rapidly as it always did when she took risks. Some people took risks and were fine with both the process and the results, whether it’s what they intended or not. She wasn’t that type of risk-taker. She had taught herself to take risks. As counterintuitive as that sounded, even to herself, she knew she’d come a long way in learning to be brave, learning to be flexible, learning to accept unintended consequences.
Since her father had died when she was young, she’d been forced to look at life differently. The oldest of three children, most people thought she was spoiled by her mother. That thought couldn’t have been further from the truth. Her father’s favorite child, he’d left everything to her, not her siblings, not her mother. In exchange for the blessing of his wealth, as he’d phrased it, he was counting on her to help her mother and brother and sister to understand that gifts weren’t automatic, and gratitude, kindness, and respect went a long way.
She’d spent her life trying to observe her father’s wishes while avoiding becoming a target of her mother and brother’s anger. She hadn’t succeeded at either the former or the latter. Constantly in survival mode, she’d realized a few years ago that she had to start living her own life. Thus began the
Similar Books
