Page 37 of His Coveted Obsession

He suddenly smiled brightly and rushed to shake my hand.

I smiled, too, performing for their sake and mine. “How do you do, sir? It’s nice to meet you. Ah, sorry, I’m early. I was supposed to meet Thomas here.”

“It’s a pleasure. What you did for Thomas while he was sick… what a nice young man you are.”

“Thank you. He deserves it. He’s very special to me.”

“I’m glad. Thomas is such a good boy.”

“Thomas is an amazingman,” Annie corrected. “He works hard, goes to school, and takes care of us, unlike—”

Mr. Lauder frowned, and his brow dropped angrily. “That’s enough. Go upstairs and do your homework.”

“Ugh! You’re impossible.”

Annie stormed out of there and stomped upstairs before slamming her door.

“Jesus… teenagers, amirite?”

I shrugged. “I’m a teen myself.”

He scanned me up and down with chocolate-brown eyes, taking in my suit underneath my wool coat. “You seem too put together for a teen.”

I shrugged again. “I was raised with wealth,” I said intentionally.

As predicted, his eyes gleamed with the thought of his son being with a wealthy man, as if I’d ever give Thomas’s father a dime.

“Indeed? What does your father do?”

“Nothing. He’s dead.”

“Oh… Jesus. I’m truly sorry. I also lost my wife a few years ago.”

“I’m also sorry for your loss.”

My irritation with this man was growing, making it harder and harder to maintain my composure.

“Look, I’ve got to warm up the meat a bit before I start cooking, and I need to shower. Help yourself to anything. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“You’re too kind, sir.”

He beamed at me and rushed upstairs, leaving me alone. That went better than expected. Now I could snoop around.

I searched downstairs, looking for evidence of the gambling to get an idea of how in debt he was. I wasn’t ready to step in and intervene yet, but I would if it was worse than it seemed. Of course, being forced to sell your car to pay off a debt was bad enough. Leaving Thomas without food while he was sick was even worse.

My biggest concern was the house. Did Mr. Lauder put it up for collateral yet?

I didn’t understand addiction. I grasped the concept and dangers of it, but I didn’t feel addiction. One should always have full control over oneself at all times. Certain things triggered me to anger, but I had enough control not to lash out on instinct, no matter how much my mind told me to.

I tapped each finger with my thumb as I continued my search. When I reached the dining room, I opened the French doors and found it had been converted into an office. On the old wooden desk sat a stack of mail, but everything was still sealed. I didn’t want to open it and arouse suspicion.

As I searched the drawers, I came across a folder with a stack of papers. Inside were receipts from pawned objects and sold cars. There was nothing on the house. Then I found several letters without a return address or name on them. The letters were all threats—threats of violence and death if Mr. Lauder didn’t pay up.The debts of each letter varied from three thousand to over twelve thousand.

It was no wonder this family was always broke. My Thomas had to foot the bills for what his father couldn’t pay.

I was on the verge of going upstairs and punishing his father. He needed to suffer for this. Maybe he loved his kids, but he didn’t care enough about them to quit. That man needed a hard lesson about self-control.

I toyed with the knife in my pocket as I toyed with the idea of hurting him.

---