Page 23 of My Mafia Captor

Jimmy: That’s because I’m never home, so I usually eat takeout

Jimmy: I’m sorry, I should have thought of that

Me: It’s totally fine, I was just wondering

Me: I got hungry, so I ordered food from down the street but wasn’t sure if I should do some grocery shopping or not

Jimmy: Absolutely, whatever you need.

Me: Thank you

Jimmy: No problem at all.

Jimmy: For now, use the cash that’s in the top, right-hand drawer of the desk in my office

Jimmy: I will work on getting you a debit card this week

Me: Why would I need a debit card?

Jimmy: So you can get the things you need

Me: Oh, I have some money, don’t worry about it

There was another long pause in conversation during which time I got my delivery. A large iced white chocolate mocha latte with whipped cream, yum. Also, two bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches on croissants. I would usually only eat one, but I was super hungry. I had apparently not eaten enough pizza the night before.

After I ate, I started lugging things up the stairs, so my bags and boxes wouldn’t take up half the living room anymore. The trash bags of clothes went into the main bedroom, and everything else went into the first spare room. I had decided that this was going to be my art studio. I had always wanted one, and this one was perfect. The two large windows on either side of the far left corner of the room gave me a breathtaking view of the city. They were very much like the window in the living room, but not floor to ceiling. It was close, though. There was about a foot of wall between the windows and the floor, then the same amount of space between the windows and the ceiling.

My books went into the second spare room just to get them out of the living room. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find space for them in the library or if I wanted to create my own little reading nook. I had plenty of time to figure that out after I got my art stuff and my things in the bedroom situated.

I had just started putting my clothes in the huge, walk-in closet in the main bedroom when my phone rang.

“Hello?” I said, answering without looking to see who it was first.

“Do you have any idea what I do for a living?” Jimmy asked, a note of something in his voice that I couldn’t quite figure out. Was it amusement? Annoyance?

“No, actually I don’t,” I admitted.

“I buy and sell companies to other companies, or I take them apart and sell them for parts,” he said.

“Oh,” I paused, not really sure why he was telling me this now. “Sounds important.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t say it's important, but itislucrative. The last company I sold went for nearly eight billion dollars.”

“Holy crap!” I said, and Jimmy chuckled. Good, what I had heard in his voice must have been amusement. “So, why are you telling me this?”

“Because I make multiple deals like that a week. I run a company that makes a lot of money. Do you know how much money that provides me in return?”

“No.”

“A lot. And I don’t really spend it on anything. Most of it goes straight to my bank account or into stocks. I have very few expenses. So please, do not hesitate to use my money. For anything. You could buy yourself three cars and every expensive shoe you could find, and I would still have more than I could ever spend. I want you to be comfortable and happy. If getting new furniture and painting the walls will make you happy, by all means, have fun. I just have a few requests.”

I swallowed my suddenly dry mouth. He had a LOT more money than I thought he did. I was a little bit in shock I think because I sat down hard on the end of the bed. Luckily for me, the bed was super soft, so I just bounced.

“What are they?” I got bonus points for my voice not shaking.

“First, please don’t do anything with the couch or the entertainment center in the living room. I actually like those.”

“I do too. I wouldn’t dream of changing them. I just think the living room needs some color on the walls.”

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