Page 57 of Possession

Tomas nodded. “Demarcus manages it. It was his baby long before I came along and realized what a good investment it would be.”

“Is that it?”

Tomas shook his head. “We also own about a dozen rental properties.”

“Rental properties?” Mason said in surprise. “Like houses?”

“Most of the housing in the area is geared toward college students. So when we can, we buy properties and rent them to non-students, first-time renters, and young families. People like that, who would struggle to find a place to live in the area otherwise.”

Mason stared at him.

“What?” Tomas touched his face, wondering if he’d had food on it the whole time.

He cleared his throat and glanced away. “Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“You’re right. It’s not, but I’ll tell you later. What else?”

Tomas narrowed his eyes but decided to let it go. “We also own a club downtown that the students like to go to. It’s a pretty popular place. I tried to get in on Viper’s studio, but she was too smart to let anyone else near that. And we’re working on a garage with towing services, but the man I want to run it is playing hard to get.”

Mason swallowed. “Is that it?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s quite the portfolio.”

“It is. And the way the MC is structured, it makes things complicated. So… lots of paperwork.”

“Is that why Marv’s always in your office?”

Tomas chuckled. “Yes, thank fuck. While I still haven’t convinced him to be the club’s Treasurer, I’ve started forcing him to help me get things more organized. Plus, he likes to come in regularly and scold me for improperly managing the club’s assets.”

Mason sat up straight, spine completely stiff. “Excuse me? He’s criticizing the way you’re running the club?”

God, he was adorable when he was all upset on Tomas’s behalf.

“No, not exactly,” he chuckled. “He just feels like we’re stretched too thin.”

Mason narrowed his eyes and looked at him,reallylooked at him. “You mean he’s worriedyou’restretched too thin.”

Tomas pulled a face but nodded. “Yeah, people try and help out where they can, but a lot of people are busy with their regular jobs—including Marv—and with their families, so it all kind of falls on my shoulders.”

“That’s bullshit. You can’t do all that on your own! Not to mention making sure everyone’s covering their shifts for the red phone and that people are showing up to court when they need to, and any other million tasks that you’re doing that I don’t even know about.”

“Well, somebody’s got to pay the bills so the lights stay on.” He said it lightly, even though he’d been feeling the same way for a while.

“That’s what the Treasurer is for!” Mason exclaimed.

The table closest to them was an older couple, maybe in their sixties. The man looked over at Mason and scowled. “Do youmind keeping it down? Not everyone in the restaurant needs to hear everything going on in your life.”

Immediately, Mason shrunk in on himself, eyes downcast. “Sorry.”

Anger ate at his insides. Tomas held his hand out, and Mason taking it right away helped douse some of the flames, but he still turned to the old man and said, “How about you mind your own fucking business, or else I’ll come over there and teach you some damn manners?”

The guy jerked back in alarm and then waved their server down, asking for their meals to go and saying they’d be waiting in their car. Within two minutes, he and his wife were outside, scurrying into their vehicle. Once the coast was clear, he turned back to Mason, surprised to find him fighting back laughter, his hand covering his mouth to muffle the sounds.

“That was a little extreme, Mr. We Care About the Community.”

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