Page 25 of Lost Little Boy
“Daddy!What happened!” The little whine in Perry’s voice was cute.
I reached across the console and took his hand. “Shane and the girl will be looking for a new place to live, not you—unless you want a new place to live. You can stay with me for the weekend, and you can return to your apartment on Monday. If you want, you can find a roommate, too. The leasing agent is nice. I worry about the area, though.” There. I was honest.
Perry wasn’t exactly thrilled, I could tell. “I didn’t want to get them thrown out. What did you say?” He gave me a sideways glance. I didn’t want him to get upset, but those assholes gave two shits less about him.
I took a second so I didn’t come across too harshly. “Perry, they were charging you for half the rent and each paying only twenty-five percent. They’ve taken advantage of you since you moved in, sweet boy. People reap what they sow.
“So, we’ll go to the office and work today, and then we’ll go to my apartment and order in some dinner later?” We were at a stoplight, so I lifted his hand to my lips, giving the top a soft kiss.
“I don’t have to stay with you. I can stay at the youth hostel where I stayed when I first came here. There are a few in DC. One’s not far from the metro. I lived there until I found the ad for a roommate on the bulletin board at the hostel on U Street.
“You’ve worked at the building for a year. How long did you live at the hostel?”
Perry took a deep breath. “Not too long. I lived at a week-to-week motel in Ballston for two years while I did odd jobs.”
His answer came out really fast which made me suspicious. I glanced at him when I stopped at the next stoplight, seeing him chewing on his bottom lip while his left leg bounced like a sewing machine needle. Clearly, he was uncomfortable with my questions, but why?
“We have about ten days before our camping trip. Will you be disappointed if I move us to a cabin instead of sleeping in a tent? They have nice cabins with indoor plumbing and a kitchenette. That way we wouldn’t have to use the public showers.” No way did I want to use public showers, even though they did look clean. Having our own bathroom sounded like a much better option to me.
“Uh, yeah. That’s fine with me. My tickets only cover us for a tent, but I’ll look into upgrading us.”
Perry didn’t look my way, so when I pulled into the parking garage and pulled into my spot, I turned off the truck and leveled my gaze at him. “If you want to stay in a tent, that’s fine. I’m not much of an outdoorsman, but I can rough it for you, sweet boy. Now, what else is going on?”
“I worry that me staying with you at your apartment will be crowding. I’ll stay at the hostel for the weekend and then… Uh, I’ll have to wait until next payday to put down the security deposit, but then I’ll move in. Yeah, it’s best if I stay at the hostel until then.”
Now, I had a dilemma on my hands. If I told him the terms of the deal and that I was paying the costs for him to keep the apartment, would he get upset and protest?
He already seemed spooked about something, so what was that about? How far could I push him to let me help before I pushed him too far and lost him?
There were things I could do to help him without him knowing I had anything to do with it, so when I got to my office, I called Victoria Wintz in Human Resources.
“Hi, Wex. How are you today?” She sounded pleasant and easy going on the phone, but I’d seen her lose her shit a time or two.
“I’ve been better. Did we run a background check on Perry Castle? Anything there to worry about?” I was sure there wasn’t, but I wanted to double-check before I made my next call.
She typed for a minute before she spoke. “Nope. I don’t see anything questionable, why?”
This was a little trickier. “Miss Daphne mentioned that he was a good helper in the center, so I thought maybe we could offer him a job working there in the afternoons. She has one aide who’s still in college and takes night classes, so she leaves at three. If we split Perry’s time between his janitorial responsibilities and helping Daphne in the afternoons from two until six when the kids are required to be picked up, we might help him explore his career options. We cover career development and training, right?”
“Yes, we do. Has Mr. Castle expressed an interest in pursuing education as a career?”
Tread lightly!“Not that I’m aware, but it seemed as if he enjoyed helping out. If we can assist one of our own with upgrading their options, I think we owe it to them.”
Okay, I sounded like a pompous asshole, but as far as I was concerned, he was my boy, and as his Daddy, I had to see that he got the best life had to offer without making him feel as if he were a charity case.
We spoke for a few more minutes about her little sister’s interest in working for the company, and I vowed I’d put in a good word with Nance to get Leslie a job on the export side after she graduated from George Washington University at the end of the month.
Now, with that under my belt, I called Daphne.
“You said so yourself that Perry’s a great guy and the Jenkins twins really liked him. Oh, and Jenkins won’t be a problem anymore. He’s being terminated. So, why don’t you approach Perry and let him help out in the center while you keep looking for another teacher? Let’s say, we split his time. Mornings working for building services and afternoons helping you in the Center. What do you say?”
“I’d love that. Does Perry want to be a teacher?”Daphne asked.
“I think he’s exploring his options, and I know he enjoyed helping you. Let’s see how it goes. Victoria will be calling you to firm it up. I’ll cover it with Hugh Warrick. I’ll have him reach out with his permission. We’ll work out the details if all goes well, okay?”
“Sounds great to me. Thank you, Mr. Grassley.”
“Call me Wex, please.”
