Page 138 of GAF Factor

I couldn’t really argue with that. I headed to the office and was about to go for the floorboards when Fox followed me inside. I stared at him expectantly.

“Leave.”

“Me?”

“Do you see anyone else?”

“Oh, shit. You need to get the money. And you don’t want me to see your stash. I gotcha. No problem. I’ll wait out there. And don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you hide your cash under your floorboards.”

“What?” I snapped.

“In the corner.” He pointed to where I kept the money, but there was no fucking possible way he could know. The wood blended perfectly.

“How the fuck did you know that?”

“Well, your toes were pointed in that direction. And your desk inadvertently blocks it. Not all the way, but enough that it doesn’t draw attention to it, but it doesn’t completely hide it either. Plus, there are no pictures on the wall big enough to hide a decent wall safe, which leaves the floor since you’re not stupid enough to hide money in your desk. Oh, but the really obvious point, which I’m sure you picked up on, is the fact that you twirled your finger when you walked into the room.”

“I did what?”

“You twirled your finger.”

I glanced at my finger, then back at him. “And that told you where the safe was.”

“Totally.”

I didn’t even want to know. It was ridiculous and completely nonsensical. I walked over to the corner, grabbed a hammerout of the drawer from my desk, and started ripping up the floorboards.

“Grab a bag out of the closet.”

“Any one in particular?”

“I don’t care.”

“Would you prefer blue or black?”

“Fox, I don’t give a shit.”

“I would think blue would put them more at ease. Then again, black feels more elusive, which might make them feel like they’re in charge, therefore, giving you the upper hand.”

I ground my teeth and pulled up the last of the floorboards, then opened the safe.

“You know, I think we’ll go with black.”

“Great, just give me the bag.”

“You know, you seem a little tense.”

I was normally so calm and collected, but five minutes with this guy was enough to send anyone over the edge. I counted out all the money I needed and started stuffing it in the bag.

“I would ask why you have all that money stashed in there, but I guess it’s for situations just like this.” He chuckled, leaning against the wall. “Yeah, I remember those days.”

I slammed the safe shut, then spun the dial and looked up at him. “What days?”

“You know, the days when I used to get into a world of shit.”

“That still happens.”

“Not really.”

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