Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
While I want to be excited for a new experience, what waits for me at the end of it has me worrying. My emotions are all over the place, but what made the first part of the trip weird was Lawson. He sat there not saying a word. I shouldn’t be surprised since that’s his normal. He doesn’t do small talk. Usually, it’s because the man is always working. I’ve never seen him just simply sit there and relax. I guess that’s why he’s so successful, though.
Then at some point, he got an alert. He then pulled out his laptop and started working. Or that was my guess of what he was doing. Something strange is going on with him, but that’s not my problem.
Now we’re seconds from landing. Rae gave me an address to meet her at. It’s some office building. This all keeps getting weirder by the second. When we land, my phone goes off again.
Rae: I don’t think this is such a great idea.
Me: You’re starting to scare me.
Rae: It’s just not your mess to clean up. I’ll figure something else out.
Me: I’m already here. I’ll be the judge of that when I get there. We will figure this out together. The same way we do everything else.
Rae: There is a car waiting for you. He sent it.
Me: Really? Who is he?
Rae: The one in control of this mess. The one who holds Travis' fate in his hands.
“Who are you talking to?” I look up to see Mr. Lawson is standing next to me now. The plane door is being opened.
“My friend I’m going to see.” I stand, grabbing my bag. “Thanks for the ride. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.”
“Neither am I,” he says almost cryptically.
“Well, I’ll be in touch.” I’m not sure what else to say or how I’m supposed to thank him for the lift.
“You don’t need a ride?”
“No, I guess one was sent for me.”
“All right.” He motions for me to go ahead. When I descend the stairs of the plane, there are two SUVs waiting.
“Ms. Jones.” One of the men wearing a black suit calls to me.
“That’s me.” He walks over toward me.
“Let me.” He takes my bag for me. “I’m Justin.”
“Julieta, but everyone calls me JJ.”
“I’ll be your driver today, JJ.”
“Fancy,” I say with a small laugh. A private plane ride and now my own driver. He opens the back door for me. “How far is this place?” I ask when he pulls out of the private airport.
“About ten minutes.”
Good, I’m not sure how much more suspense I can take here. There are so many messes Travis could have gotten himself into. He is always trying to come up with a way to make fast money. He’s actually pretty quick with his hands, but that was always petty theft. This time I think he’s bitten off more than he can chew.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this fancy building wasn’t it. The sign out front reads Castillo Global. The last name Castillo isn’t lost on me. I grew up in this city. A lot of people worked their docks, and I think Castillo does other things around town with charities and such. If I recall correctly, they had some offers for scholarships too, but none had worked for me when I’d gone digging to see if I could get them. Behind the building, there are massive ships with crates on them.
It’s then I remember Rae talking about the new job Travis has gotten at some dock. That the pay was good, but he’d been working strange hours and was always gone. I hadn’t had the heart to tell Rae he was likely up to something else. I didn’t want her to worry.
“I’ll hold your bag for you. Graysen will see you the rest of the way in,” Justin says.
“Thanks,” I say. I go to open the door, but someone beats me to it. A big man with a shaved head in an all-black suit. It must be the dress code around here. His posture reminds me of someone who has been in the military. He has to be a few inches over six foot. “Graysen?”
“That’s me. If you’d follow me, Ms. Jones. I’ll take you up to Mr. Castillo’s office.”
My stomach drops. Okay, so this is bad. Right? If Travis has done something shady, wouldn’t this place call the cops on him? “Are you coming?” he asks. I’m still sitting in the back of the SUV.
“Yeah.” I slip out and follow him in and onto the elevator. “Rae here?”
“She is.” His response is short and to the point.
“I’m guessing you’re not going to clue me in on what’s going on?”
“Sorry, ma’am.” He gives me a half smile. A ding sounds before the doors slide open, and he motions for me to step off. “We’re going to the end.” He points. My eyes land on the double doors at the very end of the hallway. A few people in the office glance up as we pass by. One person whose office is the last one before the double doors actually stands, coming to the door. The nameplate on his door reads Aaron.