Page 33 of Dead Serious with Benefits
“Don’t worry about him,” I said as I poured the contents of the shaker into a glass over ice and then dropped it intothe dishwasher under the counter. “He’s a little...miffed that I overheard him trying to slack on his work.”
“You don’t strike me as the sort to hire workmen without doing due diligence...or having someone else do it,” he said as he stepped into the sitting area and leaned on the back of the chair, hands gripping it. The effect made the muscles in his arms stand out, and despite the familiar feeling of arousal, I wondered if he kept in shape by lugging around all those bodies, or if he found time to work out.
“Well, that’s certainly interesting.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because most people, especially if given the sort of introduction to me you were, would see the world’s laziest, slipshod, messy playboy who would probably hire a homeless person to work around the house just for the amusement.”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“And now it’s my turn to ask why that is?”
“Call it a hunch, but you seem cynical and jaded enough to do something like that for your own amusement, but you aren’t cruel enough. But neither are you virtuous enough to do it out of the goodness of your heart.”
I knew he didn’t miss the way I hesitated before bringing my glass to my lips, more than a little unnerved by his insight. With every word, he had spoken the truth and garnered it from what...two conversations? The first of which had been filled with chaos by a near-death experience and an actual death. For a moment, I wondered if there wastoointeresting. Which, yes, there was, adrenaline junkies, rebels, party boys and girls, filled to the brim with too much ‘interesting.’ No one would ever think this soft-spoken man who didn’t react to much could be too interesting, and never in such a subtle, unassuming way.
“An interesting assessment of my character,” I said after I took my drink and recovered enough to smirk.
It would be unnerving if he had continued to dig through my psyche and find what made me tick. It most certainly would have made me wonder if psychic abilities were at play, and I was staring into the face of a wielder of such powers. Of course, his humility and perception were worse than if he’d been able to home in on the correct answer, because it meant that he was indeed good at reading people, but was far too gentle and careful to use it.
He had that power, but he kept it on a controlled leash.
Fascinating...and terrifying.
“Can I interest you in something?”
“I’m quite alright with the coffee order you had taken for me,” he said with a smile. “Thank you, by the way.”
“Ah, and here I wondered if you would accept the offer.”
“Was...that a test?”
“Not intended to be, but after the fact, I do get some entertainment out of seeing how someone reacts to something. Don’t worry, if it was a test, it was one you could neither fail nor succeed at.”
“You just wanted insight.”
“Indeed. And when I figure out what insight I gathered, I’ll let you know.”
He snorted and shook his head. “So, what’s the story with the workman? You seemed intent on making sure I didn’t get offended by his dirty look...which I wasn’t, by the way. I assumed it was either something you’d done or he was bothered by the idea of your comment to another man.”
“Neither of which bothered you?” I asked.
“No,” he said with a shrug. “People don’t like what they don’t understand, or simply because they were raised in a way that makes them feel like that. It is what it is, and unless they’re a threat to me or others, I don’t let it get under my skin.”
“Tell me,” I said, unsure how I should feel. “Do you have to work to see the best in people, or is this some...simultaneously frustrating and fascinating part of you that is just...innate.”
“A bit of both,” he said with another small smile. “It’s hard to be bothered by the world when you can see the flaws and suffering behind so much of what people do.”
“It also allows people to get away with poor behavior,” I said, taking another drink before clicking my tongue. “With that, I believe I have answered a previous dilemma of my own.”
He tilted his head. “Which dilemma was that?”
“You see, of those two workmen, the one who shot us a dirty look had already outed himself as...untrustworthy. He was content with doing a poor job on my guest bathroom. His logic? Not only did he believe he could sell such poor workmanship as a matter of style, but I could afford to have the job done properly again. His logic on the second point was accurate; I can afford to have this entire place ripped out and refurnished. My father, useless as he has been for years, does come from old money, and my mother, growing up dirt poor but with an excess of ambition and cold reason, was able to invest her earnings over the years to make quite a bit of money. Naturally, a good part of both piles of cash is available to me.”
Of course, the funds I had put together myself were entirely separate and out of the hands of both my parents, but that wasn’t relevant.
“As to his first point, he is either too used to stupid people...or he assumed all people sitting on great sums of cash are brainless. Sadly for him, my mother might not have been born into money, but she has the attitude of the business barons of old, and she made sure I did not lack sense or business acumen. I know a poor job when I see one.”
