Page 98 of The Protégé

“No thank you.” Orion sat on the loveseat.

“I’m good too,” I said.

When my mother walked into the kitchen, I turned to my uncle. “What’s the special occasion, Uncle Carlos?”

“I was in the neighborhood and just wanted to see how my sister-in-law is doing. Checking in on family, you know?”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn’t want him to have a reason to add another fine to my debt.

“I’ll stop by to pay you next week before the due date.”

“I know you will.” Uncle Carlos smiled.

“Why do you need to drop it off?” Orion asked. “You can wire directly to his account. That’s more efficient for everyone.” He looked at Uncle Carlos. “Every legitimate business understands this, correct?”

Orion’s comment surprised me.

“We have our way of keeping data,” Uncle Carlos replied.

“I’m helping Elena with the payment because the late fees are extraordinarily high. It makes me question the legality of it. But since you’re her uncle, I’ll dismiss that.” Orion looked at me. “You’re going to wire it to his account. If he doesn’t want that, you write a check and use a certified mail service. Okay?”

I nodded and looked over at Uncle Carlos. “What would you like? Wire transfer or certified mail?”

I could see the anger behind his eyes, but I also saw the restraint. Orion made an excellent case. Uncle Carlos knew Orion saw his scam and would call him out on it. He had two options to get his money.

For a moment I considered what he’d do if I stopped payment all together. He’d probably send someone to kill me, my mom, and Orion when we least expected it.

“Certified mail is fine,” said Uncle Carlos, who turned to Orion. “Who are you?’

“A business executive who understands an insubstantial business contract.”

When my mom brought out plates for the pastries, the conversation changed to mundane things. Uncle Carlos didn’t stay long after eating one pastry.

“What did Uncle Carlos want?” I asked my mom when he left.

“He asked if I needed a new washer and dryer.” She shrugged. “I guess someone gave him a new set, and he didn’t have a place for them. He offered to install the new machines, but I declined.”

Orion and I exchanged a suspicious look.

Generosity wasn’t in his vocabulary. I’d believe that he wanted to sell my mom a new washer and dryer for double its price rather than him offering it to her for free.

What was the real reason Uncle Carlos visited my mom?

Before we left my mom’s house, she pulled me into her bedroom and gave me a thumbs up. “He passed the test, sweetie. I really like him.”

On our way home, I relayed the message to Orion and he replied, “What’s there not to like?”

That earned an eye roll and a grin from me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

ORION

I spentthe next few days following up with my team regarding the drone development, AI software, and the water project I was working on. When I was satisfied with the updates, I researched Elena’s uncle and Sam. I passed some information to my research team to help me get through the clutter of information. While they worked on that, I turned my attention to why Elena had been fired from Channel 7 News and examined the updates on Pablo’s investigation.

She had gotten a lot of priceless information about The Condor for me. I felt privileged to be his student. I didn’t know he’d been immersed in the community. The common people loved him. I appreciated the photos she’d taken of the apple tree and the community garden. I’d be donating money and assigning a team to ensure that garden continued to flourish.

When Elena worked in the office, she left me alone to attend my virtual meetings. When I didn’t have any meetings, she’d come in and work at the desk in the lounge area where I stared at her. I loved the ease of working with her.

---