Page 8 of Lost Little Boy
Nancy’s face scrunched up. “They only get half an hour for lunch? That’s rude.”
“Have you met Wexler Grassley, Jr.? ‘Time is money. We don’t waste money.’” I lowered my voice and over-annunciated my words the same as our father. We both cracked up.
Finally, Nancy picked up the phone and called Building Services. “Hi, Hugh. It’s Nancy Grassley. Can you send Perry Castle to my office? I spilled cranberry juice on the carpet in my office. I heard he was able to get out a similar spot for Margeaux Lenz.”
Nancy shrugged, and I blew her a kiss as I went to her conference table to set the food out. I frosted the glass of Nancy’s windows, and after she hung up, I walked over and kissed both of her cheeks. “I love you, Nance. Now, get out.”
I heard her laughing all the way down the hall.
I spread the food in front of two chairs at the glass-topped table. Why I was being so mysterious about wanting to talk to Perry wasn’t something I could figure out, but I wanted time with the guy without him running off to clean or polish something as he’d been doing for the last week or so.
Five minutes later, there was a knock on the frosted-glass door of Nancy’s office. I hurried to the door and opened it, seeing sweet Perry standing on the other side of the door with a toolbox.
“Oh, uh, Mr. Grassley, I’m sorry. I thought Mrs. Williams had called for me to come up. I’m sorry to bother you.” He started to walk away, but I grabbed the back of his coveralls and hauled him into Nancy’s office, closing the door.
“Wex, please. I’ll be insulted if you call me Mr. Grassley again. That’s my father, and we both know he can be an asshole. So, put your toolbox on the floor and take a seat.” My words sounded harsher than I meant, but remarkably, Perry walked over to the table where I’d pointed and sat down. That was a pleasant surprise.
I pulled out the other chair and loosened my tie before I grinned at Perry. “I noticed you like sandwiches, so I got you a Cuban sandwich. I have a cheeseburger if you’drather have that.”
Perry looked at his hands, and it dawned on me that he’d been working all morning. “Oh! You might want to wash your hands. Nancy’s restroom is right there. Please feel free to use it to freshen up.”
“Thank you. Excuse me, please.” Perry stood and walked over to the restroom and closed the door behind him.
My nerves were building as I waited for him to return. He was a nice young man who worked for my father’s company. He’d found me when I’d been mugged, and he wouldn’t take the check I’d offered him. He was a complete mystery to me, and I wanted to know more.
When Perry returned to the table, I had to hide my smirk. He’d taken down the top of his coveralls and tied them around his waist. His T-shirt showed water spots where he’d obviously slid wet fingers through his wavy mahogany strands to tame it. He’d tried to make himself more presentable, and the effort didn’t go unnoticed.
“So, do you want the burger, which is cooked to medium with cheddar cheese, or do you want the Cuban?” I draped a paper napkin over my lap and stared at the young man’s beautiful face. Those brown eyes haunted me every night when I closed mine.
I had no idea how my mind had latched onto them that night, but it was the only thing I remembered. Not thewhack on the head. Not the faces of the two men whose voices echoed through my mind from time to time. I’d told the police everything I remembered from that night, but so far, they’d come up empty regarding suspects. I wasn’t surprised.
Perry draped his napkin over his lap and smirked. “Would you mind sharing half of each?”
I unwrapped the sandwiches and cut each in half. “I like your style, Perry. So, how’s everything going? My father treating you right?”
We shuffled the halves of the sandwiches to each other and dug in. What I wasn’t expecting were the moans coming from Perry that reminded me of sex sounds. God, I wanted to hear those sounds coming from him as he was beneath me on a flat surface, but that was just a lawsuit waiting to happen.
The reason I’d had my sister summon him to her office… “I’m going to give this to you once again, Perry.” I pulled the envelope with the check from my pants pocket and handed it to him. Time was ticking on being able to cash the check, and if he didn’t accept it, I had no idea what I could do to thank him for what he’d done.
The young man put the envelope on the table and slid it back to me as he chewed a bite of the burger. “And I appreciate it, Mr. Grassley, but I didn’t do anything thatwarrants a check of that size. I enjoy my job here. I’m trying to look for some summer classes to take at NoVA, and I have the money for it from saving part of my salary. I’m paid well, and I like the people here.
“I’m assigned to work on the first and second floors, so I get to see the kids go outside when the weather is good, and that’s something I enjoy. I’m just glad you’re okay, Mr. Grassley.” He took a bite of the Cuban sandwich before he opened one of the bags of potato chips and put one in his soft pink mouth.
“You’re thinking about taking classes at NoVA? It’s a great community college, but if you take this check, you can go to any college or university you’d like in the country. Hell, if you tell me where you’d like to go, I can probably pull strings to get you in.” I sounded like a fucking prima donna asshole.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Grassley, but I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Going to a fancy college was never in my plans.” He wiped that gorgeous mouth and stared at me.
It took everything inside me to keep from shoving the food off the table and pulling him onto it. In my gut, I knew he was extraordinary. I needed to know one thing for sure. “Are you in a relationship?”
Perry chuckled. “Not ever.” His cheeks turned pink instantly.
That was a surprise. “You’ve never been in a relationship?”
He stared at me for a moment before turning to the window behind Nancy’s desk. “Why does that matter for my job?”
It was time for honesty. “I owe you a debt, Perry, and you won’t take my money. I have to do something for you so I can clear my ledger.”
“Ledger?” His expression was cute, what with his quizzical eyes.
