Chapter 5

It was almost midday when I got to Lillian’s flat. Most of the shops on the street did not open as it was Sunday, including Jennifer’s café.

With a bunch of flowers in my hand, I pressed the doorbell and waited. Hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs, I stood back. When the door opened, Lillian had her smartphone pressed against her ear speaking to someone. “Ok, I’ll be there!” Lillian yelled, to whoever was on the other side of the line.

“Hey, is everything ok?” I asked.

“Yes. Let’s go, there’s a park nearby, we can go for a walk there.”

“These are for you. I didn’t know what type of flowers you like?”

“Thank You.”

The tone of her voice did not seem right. “Are you sure that everything is ok? We can arrange another day to go somewhere if you’re not up to it.”

“No everything is ok. Let’s go with my car since I know the way?” She rushed to her car, getting inside and starting the engine before I got the chance to get in the vehicle. The drive there was short, it only took five minutes. But in that time, Lillian was giving me the cold shoulder. I was trying to figure out if I did or said something to her that upset her. Stopping the car, we both got out, with Lillian looking around her and scanning the area like she was looking for someone.

“Hey, Lillian, if you don’t want to be here, just take me back to my car?” I angrily said.

“No, don’t be silly!” she replied, while her head was going around like a radar. Suddenly she stopped. She just gazed across the park. Looking the same direction as her, I saw the reason she brought me here.

Turning towards her with my voice raised I yelled, “You’re good, really good. You came to the hotel last night, under your bosses’ orders to learn about me. Today she ordered you to bring me here, and like a fool, I took the bait.”

Shaking my head, I started walking away. I could hear behind me, a car door slam, then the sound of screeching wheels. “It looks like I’ll need to find a lift back to the hotel,” I thought.

Jennifer was sitting on a park bench, staring in front of her. Walking behind her, I just stood there for a few moments.

“I’m here Jennifer!”

Startling her, she jumped up, turning around. “Jesus Christ!” she shrieked. “Where’s Lillian?” Searching for her by looking around.

“She had to go.”

“Odd girl, I will never understand her. After our talk this morning, she just disappears.”

“Why am I here Jennifer?” I asked her, feeling the muscles on my body tense up.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. Also, I wanted to make something clear with you. You asked Lawrence Sparks, how much I owe him so that you can clear my debt. Look I do not know what your game is, but if you’re looking for easy money, you can forget it.”

Walking around to the front of the bench, I sat down. Gesturing Jennifer with my hand to sit as well. Once she sat, I started speaking. “When I was twenty, the whole world collapsed around me when my mother died. Yesterday when I saw you, it was like I saw her again. Your voice, walk, temper, and I bet your smile and laugh is hers as well.”

Turning to look at her, she was facing away from me, with her index finger she was wiping her eyes. How much I wanted to grasp her and embrace her, to let her cry on my shoulder, but I was afraid of how she would react.

Giving her a few of minutes to herself, before continuing. “The business our father left, is all yours. I’m not here to make some easy money and then disappear. The money I will give that mobster tomorrow, consider it a gift from me. There is nothing like starting off with a clean slate in life. After tomorrow I will go and crawl under the stone I came from, as you wished.” Saying what I wanted to say. I got up and commenced walking away, feeling a heaviness in my chest, like the time my mother passed away.

Monday morning, I was up very early. I wanted to get all this done so that I could get back home. I was outside the bank before it opened. Just my luck I had to wait for one hour. The cashier had to go through some security checks with the manager before letting me withdraw such a large amount of money.

Getting to Robert Clark’s office with ten minutes to spare. Melissa was sitting behind her desk, like the first time I saw her. This time on seeing me, she got up enfolding me in her arms, kissing me on the cheek.

“Hello, Jason. It’s good to see you.”

“Hello, Melissa.”

“I came around to see you on Saturday afternoon, but the staff at the hotel told me you didn’t want to be disturbed. After all the drama we had this weekend, I don’t blame you, not wanting to see anyone.”

“Melissa, I want to apologise for what happened on Saturday. Once we finish here, I’ll be going back to Birmingham for good.”

She leaned forward, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Listen to me. What Jennifer said to you, she didn’t mean it. She has a lot of anger inside her, losing her father, finding out about her mother and you. Yesterday she went out, when she came back she locked herself in her bedroom. All night I could hear her crying. She nee ds you, Jason. She might not show it, but she needs you. What happened in the shop, well those punks had it coming.”

Suddenly the door flung open. It was Designer Suit, with four bodyguards this time. By the bulge in their jackets, these guys were packing some hardware.

“Who had it coming, Melissa?” Lawrence Sparks said. Standing there, we just stared into each other’s eyes, a dominance thing, males have been doing for centuries. Our eye contact, was broken by Robert’s voice.