Romantic Renovations

by Blake Allwood

  I was going to kiss him, come hell or high water. All I could think of was kissing him and if it weren’t for his cool head, I doubted I’d have stopped there.

  __________

  My parents left on an early flight before I went to work. Thank God for that, because my mom would’ve had a heart attack and knowing my dad, he’d have gone after the guy himself after he tried to attack me.

  I decided not to tell them about the attack until they got home and settled. I was also hoping the cops would find the fucker and lock him up so I could tell them that too, but as of yet, there’d been no such luck.

  I saw a cop car sitting down the way from Bennett’s place as I’d left and figured they were watching that area in case the homicidal maniac tried to show up there.

  It made me feel better that they were watching, but the fucking apartment was in such a scary place that the cops would have to siphon through a lot of shady characters just to see him.

  After I left Bennett, I went over to my hotel and seriously considered opening Grindr and looking for a hookup for the night. It’s not like I was above it, but I couldn’t quite justify leaving that beautiful man lying in his apartment and looking for just any piece of ass.

  I turned my TV set on instead and watched a stupid reality TV show, then turned to my network just in time to see our show come up as a rerun. The asshat was dancing around in a nasty way singing “Where’s Benny, Where’s Benny?” Why would anyone want to be that man’s friend? He was a total loser. I turned the TV off and let my mind ponder what I knew about Bennett Jackson.

  He was an abused kid who’d grown up hand to mouth. His Mom was more interested in her man, it seemed, than her son. His Grandpa cared more about his tenants than he did his own grandchild and possibly created the whole hoarder situation and run-down house to put his son off the track of knowing how much money he actually had.

  Wealthy asshole of a grandfather lets Bennett live on the streets for an entire year without offering to help and accused his grandson of being a bastard to justify his horrible attitude.

  Sperm donor, that’s what I’ve decided to call the guy’s father, ‘cause frankly he doesn’t deserve to be considered in the same category of men like my father. He was in and out of jail, leaving the guy so fucking messed up that he ends up best pals with a guy who wouldn’t know what a friend was if it smacked him in the face. And after watching the few episodes that had aired, I could tell that Bennett was in fact smacking the asshat in the face with true friendship.

  Fast forward, Bennett is now one of the biggest landowners in King County. His houses were spectacular-if the one we were renovating was any indication-yet he still lived in the rundown apartment in a crappy part of town.

  I didn’t quite have a handle on the man. He was clearly not driven by greed or money. Fame? Maybe, but that didn’t seem to play here either. He let the spotlight fall on anyone but him and if I hadn’t pushed, he’d have taken a back seat to me as well. So no, he didn’t fit the profile of someone looking for fame.

  The only clear understanding of what motivated this man, besides me looking like I was about to devour him, was when he talked to me about renovating the attic space in the old house. He had the same sparkle when he talked about it the next day in front of the camera and then again when he showed it to my parents.

  Was it possible I’d found an actual home renovation enthusiast? If so, he was a rare breed. Ninety percent or more of the people I met or worked with were fame seekers or just trying to make a quick buck.

  Part of me wanted to test the boundaries here a bit, but I was skating on thin ice with this guy as it was, I’d just have to watch and see what happened over the next few weeks.

  Bennett

  I woke up feeling like shit warmed over. Despite that, I pulled myself out of bed and after taking a shower that lasted until the hot water ran out, I got out, got dressed, and forced myself to go to the project house. This time, there was no sign of Frank. I stopped on the way and bought myself a coffee and was stumbling through the front door when I spotted Les talking to a police officer. “Well for fuck’s sake!” I said out loud and the two of them turned to see me. “Seriously, you couldn’t give me ten minutes for the caffeine to kick in before the inquiry starts.”

  The cop glanced down to hide a smile, while Les didn’t even try to hide his, causing me to give both the men a nasty look.

  I came into the room, found a five-gallon bucket and unceremoniously sat on it and waited for the two morning demons to have their way with me.

  “I’m sorry Mr. Jackson,” the officer said, “but I need to get your official statement from yesterday.”

  “You already have it,” I said. “I told you all yesterday my stupid ex-friend showed up and shanghaied Les here. Les gave him a glorious ass kicking and Frank pulled a knife, or had a knife already pulled. I’m not really sure about that part, just that he had a knife in his hand when he stood up. I rushed to stop Frank and earned a fantastic lifelong battle scar for my efforts.” I remarked sarcastically. “Now, if you want a repeat of that, you’ll have to wait for the movie.”

  “Did you hear anything Frank said to Les?” the officer asked.

  I looked up from my coffee. “No,” I shook my head. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear either one of them say a word. I didn’t get close enough to them until Frank came up swinging.” I turned to Les, “What did he say?”

  “Seriously, it isn’t important.” Les said and earned my evil stare again.

  “Spit it out superstar. I’m not in the mood to play games.”

  Les sighed turned toward the cop, who was clearly enjoying this exchange a little too much and said, “He told me you were his and that I needed to keep my hands off his property.”

  I looked at Les like he’d grown a horn. “His? I’m not ‘his.’ Hell, I’m barely mine. He has never had any claim on me, he’s never even shown any interest in me except as a friend and truth is, the more I think back on it, he wasn’t that either.”

  Les and the officer were both shuffling, waiting for me to get done with my rant. “Okay, what?” I asked.

  Les looked over at the officer and said, “You might as well tell him.”

  The officer shifted uncomfortably but when his gaze met mine, he said, “Your father reportedly sold you to Frank.”

  “What? What do you mean sold me to Frank?”

  The officer sighed. “It’s complicated, but basically it’s a deal some of the inmates in the prison have started doing. Selling off their kids to the highest bidder.”

  “So… what? Was I supposed to be giving sexual favors to Frank or something?”

  “Or something. Frank was probably using you for other things.”

  I thought back for a moment over our relationship, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what the hell he was talking about.

  “How was he using me? I can’t remember anything out of the ordinary, except that Frank was an ass to me most of the time.”

  “Can you remember times when Frank asked you to run an errand for him, drop off some stuff at a friend’s, take someone he knew to do errands. Anything like that?”

  I shook my head. “No, he never asked me to drop anything off for him and he never asked me to do any favors I can think of. We’d hang out sometimes and he’d cuddle with me, but that was more for my benefit than his.”

  The cop asked, “What about the properties? Did you give Frank any access to those?” he asked.

  “Sure, Frank had access to all the properties we were going to renovate. I had a master key made that opened all the vacant house’s doors.”

  The cop expression became serious. “Have you been in any of those properties lately?”

  “Yeah, my grandpa’s house and a duplex down the road but not any of the others. My realtor has been through three of them though. Want me to call her?”

  “If you don’t mind.”

  I opened my phone, “It’s still early so I doubt she’ll answer.�
�� I said as the phone began to ring.

  As I suspected, it went to voicemail. “She usually doesn’t answer the phone until after ten, sometimes not until after noon. Do you think she might be in danger?”

  He didn’t answer. He just asked me to write down the addresses of all the homes Frank had access to.

  I wrote down all the properties I could remember than handed it to the cop. He took the list and thanked me. Before he left, he turned to me and said, “If your network has security, I highly recommend you get someone to cover you. I don’t trust your father or Frank.”

  When he left, I turned toward Les and shrugged. “How can someone own me?” I asked. “Like I’m some slave or something, and my dad didn’t own me. Legally he isn’t even able to be around me.”

  “Who knows how they rationalize things. But if you were sold, Frank really thinks you belong to him, which makes him dangerous; And who knows who else he has on his team?”

  I laughed. Nobody is on Frank’s team. He’s an ass and everyone avoids him. I was his only friend, at least that I know of. His family I didn’t really know, and he didn’t spend much time with them. In fact, we spent ninety percent of our time together. If there’d been other people in his life, I’d have known it.

  “Did you say he’d gone on vacation with family or something, leaving you to work the project by yourself for a couple weeks?”

  “Yeah,” I said, “he went to Tahiti with his mom and dad. They even came and picked him up to leave for the airport.”

  “Did you see his plane take off?”

  “No,” I laughed. “I was too busy trying to keep the project from going down the drain.”

  “Did you ever see his ticket?”

  Bennett just shook his head, as he contemplated what my questions were implying.

  “So, it’s possible your boy could’ve said all that to keep you off the trail. Let’s give the officer a call and tell him about Frank’s parents.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, also let him know I got a threatening letter from my dad. The warden should be getting it today or tomorrow. I sent it priority mail.”

  Les called and was on the phone when Emmitt showed up for his 7:30 briefing. “What’s up?” he asked. “Should I be filming this?”

  “Definitely not.” I told him, then asked him to wait while we worked through some issues about Frank. Emmitt quickly backed off. Frank and Emmitt didn’t see eye to eye, and I wondered even before this all started if maybe Frank threatened him about something. “I have a question for the officer when you’re done.”

  Les nodded, then told him I wanted to speak to him and handed the phone to me. “Hey officer, I just wanted to know how Frank and my father had access to each other? I’ve only known Frank for two years and my dad has been in prison for three years, this time.”

  The officer said, “We aren’t sure. As far as we know, Frank hasn’t been in prison, unless he is using an alias, which we aren’t ruling out. Do you think your mom could’ve set this up?”

  “Possibly, but I doubt it. She’s always looking for a quick way to make a buck, but I doubt she’d sell me. Is there someone that Frank might have had a relationship with from inside the prison?”

  “Maybe, I’m going to head down to see the warden tomorrow and take a look at the letter your dad sent. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  “Thanks officer. Now I feel bad for biting your head off this morning.”

  “No worries, I should’ve given you time to get your coffee in you before I came over.”

  “Well, you’ll know for next time.” I chuckled, and we hung up.

  “So, what’s up?” Les asked.

  “I was asking what the connection between my dad and Frank was. Cop didn’t know.”

  “So, we need to have a serious talk about bringing your parents and family out here. I’m guessing after all this insanity that the network will want to cancel us.”

  Les stopped in his tracks and laughed out loud, “You’re out of your mind if you think this is chasing them away. They may be a rehab program but we’re still reality TV and the more drama there is, the more likely the show will get coverage and up the viewership. Sorry, but they’re gonna hold onto you until they have to let go.”

  “Are you worried about your family? I mean, apparently, I’m the property of some hardened criminal now, not to mention I’ve got one as a parent.”

  “Nope, my family are tough European stock, mostly from Ireland. And some of my extended family are members of the Irish mafia. If it all gets too bad, my pops will just make a call and take care of it that way.”

  “Damn, you all are scarier than me.”

  Les chuckled. “It’s the way of things out east. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

  The rest of the day went smoothly, with the exception of when my mom called me irate because the cops had shown up at her house.

  “Oh, yeah. Mom, that reminds me... according to those cops, dear old Dad has sold me off as a slave or something.”

  “Honey, don’t be so dramatic.”

  Fuck, there’s the confirmation. Mom only pulls honey out when she’s lying to me.

  “Mom, what the hell? Did you set this up between Frank and me?”

  “I most certainly did not, and I threatened to never call him again when I found out. I didn’t even know Frank was involved until you just said so. I thought your dad was full of it. You know how he gets when he has a money scheme in mind. I had no idea someone would try to buy a grown man.”

  “Well Mom, apparently, Frank understood the hidden benefits and bought me.”

  I waited for her to reply.

  When she didn’t, I repeated, “Mom?”

  “I know, Bennett. I’m scared too.”

  I sighed. When the chips were down, my mom stepped to my side of the plate.

  “I’m gonna have to get security, aren’t I?” I asked. She didn’t respond and I could imagine she was probably nodding into the telephone.

  “Do you think they’ll do anything to you?” I asked.

  “No, your dad keeps pretty tight tabs on me and won’t let anything happen.”

  “But he’ll sure let them come after me.”

  She was silent again. “Maybe you should take a long vacation, honey. Use some of that money your grandpa left you and go away for a while.”

  “Yeah, except I’m under contract with a network that could rip me a new asshole if I don’t show up to work as agreed.”

  She sighed. “Well…” she hesitated. “Don’t hire just anyone. Find a security firm from out east or Chicago.”

  “You know something, don’t you?”

  “I know enough to put both of us in a lot more jeopardy. This is a lot deeper than you realize, but like I said, if you hire someone to be your security, I sure as hell wouldn’t hire someone from anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.”

  “Mom, what the hell?”

  “Just be safe, honey, and keep that under wraps. Don’t go telling the cops anything I’ve told you or we’ll both end up face down in the swamps.”

  “Are the cops involved?” I asked.

  “Well, look at the time.” she said and quickly hung up.

  Fuck, my mom was transparent, and I had my answer.

  When I came back into the project house, Les came over and asked me something but I was so deep in thought I barely noticed him.

  “Bennett, hey, wake up!” he said, and I turned to him. “Whoa, what’s wrong?” he asked.

  “What’s wrong is I’m in a fucking heap of trouble.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  I looked at the men working around us. “I need to run an errand. Can you break away for a moment?” I asked.

  “Sure, hold on.” He shouted some directions to the crew and rushed down to the basement to ensure the HVAC guys were okay and when they appeared to be, he ran back up and followed me out to the car. I noticed mine and thought, I doubt it’s bugged, but it’s better safe than sorry. “He
y let’s go in your rental.”

  He shrugged, pulled his keys out, and I instructed him to drive toward the Sound.

  “My mom just gave me some chilling news.” I said once his car was started.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Apparently, security out in this area is infiltrated with some of my dad’s cronies. Not only that, when I asked her if the cops were involved, she got really squirrelly. Told me not to tell them anything or she and I would both end up in the swamps, face down.”

  “You sure your mom’s not just overreacting?”

  “Oh, I’m sure. Mom is a lot of things and she’d lie quick enough for a fast buck, but when it comes to her safety or mine, she wouldn’t lie about it. If she’s right, I need some security that isn’t from out here. Got any big rough and tough looking cousins who can come stand guard for a while?”

  “As a matter of fact… let me make some phone calls. I have a couple connections. I think it may be time to call those favors in.”

  “I hate to be a bother, Les. I’m just clueless how to make this work.”

  “No problem. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Oh, speaking of ride, we have some work to do in your duplex. Don’t forget, we committed to have that gutted before my old man gets here. Trust me, I’d rather face a gang of angry criminals than my dad when he shows up and work isn’t done that we committed to.”

  I chuckled and agreed. His father didn’t seem to be one to tolerate slacking, but I was sure his mom would be more of a pill to deal with if she ended up having to cook in that 1980’s kitchen.

  “You’re a perceptive man, my friend,” he said. We both agreed to pull a few of the guys who’d had fewer responsibilities now that we were progressing and have them help us do demo on the duplex.

  Les

  Once we got started it didn’t take long for us to get the demolition done. Bennett kept up with the pace and even seemed to enjoy the process of tearing out the ugly 1980s décor. I was surprised that he was as fun to work with as he was. Without the camera crew, he was a different guy. He took the guys’ ribbing in good spirits and gave it back when they had it coming.