Page 9 of Real Good Love
Her hotel? I thought she was staying at the old lady’s place?
Granger’s words from last night run through my head.So she doesn’t have a job that actually brings in money, and you’re still sure she’s not trying to lock you down?
Why would Banner drop money she doesn’t have on a hotel when she could stay somewhere for free? Even though it hasn’t been long, I’m getting to know how Banner works. Wherever she picked to stay can’t be cheap. I’m not sure any place is in New York.
Right now, nothing makes any fucking sense.
The next twenty minutes are the longest ones in my goddamned life.
Chapter 6
Banner
Ilet myself into my hotel room and drop my stuff on the desk before flopping backward onto the fluffy white duvet with my phone in hand.
When I checked in last night, I was a tiny bit worried about how I was going to pay the bill if Dee Booker was full of crap, but that’s one worry I no longer have. I tap on Logan’s contact to call him, and he answers before the first ring is complete.
“You’re never going to believe what I’m about to tell you,” I say in lieu of a greeting.
“You’d be surprised what I’d believe,” Logan says, his drawl sounding more pronounced, or maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve been hearing only clipped New Yorkers today.
“You know how I thought Frau Frances got me evicted from my apartment because she wanted to get rid of me?”
“Yeah ...” Confusion colors his tone.
“I was wrong. It was actually this couple who straight-up admitted that they needed more room because they’re having a baby. Total assholes. But that doesn’t matter anymore, because it turns out that Myrna didn’t want to get rid of me. She actually left me everything. Thirty million dollars and the apartment and a bunch of other stuff that I haven’t totally grasped yet.”
“What?” Logan sounds like he’s choking.
“I know, right?”
“She left you everything?”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “Everything.”
“What about her daughter?”
Every time I think about how shocked Dee Booker must have been when she learned her mother left everything to a former neighbor, my heart does this painful clenching thing, because I can almost picture it happening to me. The call from my mom’s lawyer saying that her last thought of me was ... nothing.
“She didn’t leave her anything.”
“How is that even possible? I thought you said she hated you?”
I sit up on the bed and rise to my feet to start pacing the room. “I was wrong, I guess. The lawyer made it sound like she changed her mind all the time.”
Mentally, I’m kicking myself again for not clearing the air before she died. I hate that we left so many things unsaid. And she didn’t get a chance to see the final sex-toy lineup of Blush.
“Thirty million ...” A layer of awe has slipped into Logan’s voice. “Holy fucking shit.”
“That’s basically what I said. I have to meet with her lawyer again, and her financial people, to sort all this stuff out and transfer it all over, so I’m going to be here longer than I planned. I had no idea Frau Frances had so much shit, which means nowIhave that much shit, and I have to figure out what I’m going to do with it.” I pause to take a breath. “But before you ask, I’m not staying in New York. I’m coming back.”
“Goddamned right you’re coming back. I don’t care how much money you’ve got, I will drive up there and—”
Logan’s adamant tone catches me off guard, and I interrupt.
“Calm down, Wolverine. No need to get the claws out. You won’t have to come drag me back. I realized a few things.”
I take another breath, preparing myself to get real with him. This isn’t a typical Banner activity, so I’m probably going to screw it up.
