Page 56 of Her Boss

CHAPTER 26

Geneva

The rest of the drive back was one of near total silence, as if both of us were much too far into our own heads to even consider talking.

My feelings for Rick were more than a little conflicted, my mind careening from one outlandish scenario to another as I tried to picture how a relationship with the still frustratingly enigmatic man might go.

How had things gotten so far, so fast?

You might have considered asking yourself that about a hundred fucking exits ago, dummy.

Then something happened, an event that at first seemed pedestrian, almost meaningless. But it would soon prove to be anything but.

It was beginning to spit rain, and though it was still somewhat warm, the air held that uncomfortable, almost clammy closeness that still managed to chill me.

As Rick neared his old, rundown office, rather than pull onto the worn tarmac of the tiny parking lot, he instead brought the Audi to a stop alongside the broken, crumbling curb about a half a block short.

Without a word, he opened his door, and walked slowly down the sidewalk, stepping carefully over the withered clump of weeds that had begun sprouting from one of the myriad cracks in the ill-maintained concrete.

Then I saw him, a transient in a deeply stained and filthy olive-green coat that might once have been military standard issue, crouched against a bent and battered chain-link fence. The man was so dirty and disheveled he resembled a chimney sweep back from a long, exhausting day working among Victorian London’s countless rooftop coal stacks.

His hair was long and bedraggled, his fingers coated with grime, clutching a ragged cardboard sign with words scrawled across it in faded permanent marker.

Homeless Vet. Anything helps.

The nail bed of his index finger, held just under the ‘g’ in ‘Anything’ was a blackened crescent, as a contractor’s might be following an errant strike from his own framing hammer.

Surprisingly, Rick strolled over to the man, dropping to a knee and saying something to him I couldn’t make out, but the transient nodded, and Rick stood.

He removed his wallet from his back pocket, extracted a large wad of bills, and handed them to the man. Then, remarkably, he sat down next to him on the curb.

“What are you doing?” I whispered to myself as I watched.

The two talked for almost fifteen minutes before Rick finally stood again, shook hands with the stranger, then returned to the car.

By that point I was more than a bit amazed and confused by Rick’s actions; I had never seen such kindness in my life. And most definitely not from a man like Rick.

He opened the driver’s side door of his Audi, comparatively fresher air rushing in, but paused for a moment before getting in.

Utterly silent as he steered the car back onto the street, he pulled into the spot in front of his office and killed the ignition. He glanced at me, scowling, and for a moment, I thought he intended to simply drop me there—despite the fact my car was actually parked back at my apartment—and leave without so much as a goodbye.

I took a breath, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible, cocking a thumb in the direction of the homeless vet. “So… what was that about?”

Finally, Rick sighed. “I know it’s none of your business,” he said, his voice a low growl. “But I did what I did for a reason.” Rick looked out the window at the rain-slicked street, then back to me. “When I was younger—about the age you are now, actually—I was in much the same situation as that man. No home, no job, not a fucking penny to my name except what I could scavenge from day jobs here and there. Assuming the guys employing me didn’t scam me out of my day’s wages that is. Happened more than once.”

“Jesus,” I said under my breath, shocked at the callousness of people.

“Sure, there were a few, here and there, kind enough to help me out a little. Most just looked the other away—or worse. Cursed at me, mocked me. I even got beat down a time or two, though I made sure I gave as good as I got.”

He gripped the steering wheel a little harder. “When I saw that man, I saw… myself, I guess. It’s hard enough being homeless in good weather; add on top of that cold, wet nights like we’re having now, and it can be fucking unbearable. So, that’s why. I was going to be the guy I wish had helped me back then.” He paused again before continuing. “I know that might not seem like anything, really. That money might make all the difference for someone like him. Maybe even a life and death difference.”

Rick turned away from me again, looking out at the soon to be rain-soaked streets.

Stunned, I wanted so very much not to say something wrong.

Which in your case means you should probably not say anything at all.

He’d shown a part of himself I didn’t even know existed. A vulnerable side to him, if only a tiny glimpse. Until that moment, I hadn’t been sure the man possessed even the ability to be empathetic. Much less kind.

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