Page 18 of Saltwater Memories
He frowned. Why were there always problems when he tried to link to a new bank account?
He dialed his mom and she picked up right away.
“Hello?”
“Hey Mom, it’s me.”
“Oh good, I’m not bothering you, am I?”
“Not at all. What’s going on with the mortgage?”
“I got a call today about it – oh, and a letter in the mail. Hang on, let me find it.”
He waited as she shuffled around with papers.
“Okay here it is – it says that we’re short four hundred and eighty dollars on the escrow? What’s that about? Is this a scam?”
“Oh wait – that’s my fault. I added on some insurance coverage and forgot to increase the payment.”
“Coverage for what?”
“For wildfires. That’ll cover a year. Trust me – it’s worth it.”
“Oh I don’t want you to spend more money on things like – ”
“I’ve run the numbers Mom, and believe me, this would save us money. It’s not that much more per year. I’m happy to pay it. I’ll top off the escrow today.”
“Well…”
Clearly she was going to try to argue with him. He’d taken over their mortgage when his dad’s back got worse. It wasn’t even that expensive – much less than his apartment in New York City. What was actually expensive were his little sister’s credit card bills. He needed to have a talk with her…
“Don’t worry about it, Mom.”
“Well, thank you. How’s the island? Have you seen any whales?”
“Not yet,” he said with a smile. “But I’ll send pictures if I do?”
“That’d be nice.”
His phone beeped – a client was calling. “Sorry Mom, I’ve got to run. Take care!”
“Okay, bye!”
He clicked over. “Hello, Will Harrington.”
“Will, there’s my guy! It’s me, Lenny.”
“Hey Lenny, how’s it going?”
“Pretty good, pretty good. You know, I just wanted to tell you – we’re still waiting on a few tenants to vacate our building, so maybe don’t go poking around there until that’s through.”
“No problem. Just let me know when.”
“Good man, I like that. Just stay away for now. All right, I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good.”
“Talk to you later.”
Will didn’t consider what he did as “poking around,” but whatever. Lenny was the biggest client he’d ever gotten to work with, so he’d do whatever he was told.
Millionaires got their way – that was a rule – and not only did they get all the fake-niceness in the world, they also got their butts kissed the hardest. Even if Lenny was the associate and not the millionaire – Will wasn’t exactly sure what his role was – he got the same treatment.
It was better, really, that he’d have more time to get things under control. He was much more interested in a certain client with a modest home, and an extensive working knowledge of the island and its charm…
