《The Beautiful People》50. Mr. Parsons
Advertisement
I had called Colby Jones before we left the campsite, and while I expected him to be asleep and grumpy as hell he was actually awake and already working on something. Turns out he was prepping a big case that was starting soon, which meant my interruption of that work to get Jimbo out of lockup was going to cost me dearly. Yet it had to be done, as I didn't want one of my guests spending the rest of the weekend behind bars for something that was clearly self defense. After the whole debacle with Josh and Meagan, I was really hoping for any good news to lighten the mood. That call came while everyone was making something in the kitchen for breakfast, so I excused myself and went out to the back patio.
"David," Colby started, "I got your fellow out of jail. Bill took good care of him."
"Good to hear," I replied, "I'll make sure you're well compensated for your efforts."
"Oh, I intend to be," Colby replied, almost laughing. "You're going to get a bigger bill than usual for this one, David."
"Understood," I said, taking a deep breath. "Thanks for the help anyway."
"Happy to help," Colby said, as I could hear his smile, "But I need to work on Monday's case, so after I drop Jim off ask your guests to behave for the rest of the damn weekend."
"Will do," I said, "See you soon."
"We'll be there in a few minutes," Colby confirmed.
As I disconnected the line, Meghan just happened to emerge from the kitchen and we locked eyes. I was tempted to yell at here and demand what the hell she was doing here but the last thing I wanted to do was give my wife the impression that I knew here well. Josh was covering for me for a reason and I needed to go along with it.
Advertisement
"It's nice this morning," I started, just sticking to idle small talk.
"I'm sorry," Meghan whispered, "I thought there would be no one here. At worst I thought it would just be you."
"Wrong weekend," I reminded her, "You need to pass it by me whenever you want to visit."
"You're not angry?" She asked me.
"Oh, I'm pretty angry," I whispered back to her, "But I can't show any emotion in front of the wife."
"Fair enough," Meghan agreed, "She seems very nice."
"How long do you intend to stay here?" I asked her, hoping to get her out asap.
"I'm not sure," Meghan answered, almost teasing me. "Maybe tomorrow I'll hitch a ride back to the city."
"I'd pay if you'd find a way back today," I suggested.
"Not a good idea," Meghan reminded me, "Paying for anything for me."
"What is this bullshit about Josh?" I then asked her.
"Just go with it," Meghan insisted, "We're both covering your ass."
"And what's Josh's motive to cover me?" I asked her.
"I'm sure he'll let you know his terms," Meghan replied, "I'm sure it's going to have something to do with the promotion his girlfriend wants."
"Great," I said, as I was finally cluing in. "He's going to blackmail me with it."
"I prefer to call it mild persuasion," Meghan corrected, "but you can call it whatever you like."
"You and Josh appeared to be getting along well," I reminded her, "What was that about?"
"I'm a fan of his work," Meghan said, acting innocent. "Jealous he's getting my attention."
"Not at the moment," I answered, but it was clearly a lie. "Try to mind his girlfriend too."
Advertisement
As if almost on queue when I needed them most a car started to pull up the drive. It was Cody driving Jimbo back from the station, and I didn't hesitate to use it to end this awkward conversation with the young lady.
"That's my lawyer," I informed her, gesturing to the car arriving, "Excuse me."
Meghan stayed on the porch and watched as I descended down the back stairs and walked into the driveway to greet the new car that arrived. Jimbo was the first to get out and he appeared to be happy to see me.
"Hey bossman," Jimbo said, shaking my hand. "Thanks for sending in the cavalry."
"Was the least I could do," I said, smiling back. "Didn't seem right so I moved mountains to make it right."
"Thanks anyway," Jimbo said, gesturing to the house, "I'm going to make sure Rachel is okay."
"Go for it," I said, stepping aside. "I'll talk to you later."
As Jimbo walked away, my lawyer had already stepped out of his side of the car and walked over to speak with me.
"David," Colby said, also shaking my hand. "Nice to see you're doing well."
"Thanks for your help, but I might need more." I said, as I gestured him to look behind me.
Colby took a moment to peek over my shoulder and realized I was referring to the young lady that was still standing on the back deck.
"David," Colby started, "Is that who I think it is?"
"It is," I replied, glad to see he was able to take the hint.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Colby asked, "Does your wife know about her?"
"She's met her, but not about us," I explained, "She got her weekends mixed up and it's going to be a disaster if she stays any longer."
"I have a feeling you'd like me to do something about this," Colby assumed, "Am I right?"
"It you can take care of this," I started, "Then you can charge me double for today's work."
A small grin slowly appeared on my lawyer's face, something that I rarely saw.
"Alright, David," He said, padding my shoulder like a good friend, "I got this."
Advertisement
- In Serial79 Chapters
Good Guy Necromancer
Necromancers are murderous, repulsive, utterly ungodly creatures. And then there's Jerry. Jerry is a novice necromancer who treats his undead warmly, seeks to befriend people instead of harvest their bodies, and doesn't mind cracking a skull or two when needed. He genuinely is a good guy—too bad nobody believes him. Jerry tries to settle down, wanting nothing but a peaceful life for him and his undead—and, when that doesn't quite work out, he sets out to adventure. He will make friends, each unique in their own way, and together, they will travel through a variety of striking environments; from a tiny village, to the land of the dead, to a jolly archipelago, to a kingdom on a beanstalk. To save a world that shuns him, Jerry must stand against a large organization of arrogant, mighty wizards. He strives to become stronger while maintaining his kindness, only to realize that, maybe, gentle hearts make the greatest necromancers. This is the story of a delightful man in a harsh world—full of warmth, action, and wise-cracking bone puns. Chapters are usually 2-3k words, and updates are 3/week: Mon, Wed, Fri. If you're looking for another fun, action-packed adventure, check out Cultivator vs. System by yours truly, available on Kindle, KU, and Audible. But read Good Guy Necromancer first.
8 138 - In Serial6 Chapters
Spirit Chef Chronicles
"Powerful cultivator! Your strength soars to the heavens and your arrogance knows no bounds. When you climb to the peak of strength and unlock the secrets of immortality you will no longer place us in your eyes. A timeless immortal cannot be chained by the whims of man. Until that time, however, you still have to eat." - unknown author Since he was born with blocked meridians Zhang Wuli knew he had no hope to be a fate defying cultivator, but he never thought it would be this hard to even find a job! Even a normal office worker has to have a Foundation Establishment Cultivation and three mastered arts! With his options running out Zhang Wuli's Uncle reminds him of one thing; "Everybody has to eat." [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash -------------------------- This is my first story on Royal Road and my first attempt in general at writing Xianxia. As such I expect that it will need a lot of polish to get it to its final form, but for now I hope to keep up with NaNoWriMo and get something on the page. Until then I welcome comments and constructive criticism. Thanks for reading.
8 77 - In Serial13 Chapters
A Mildly Odd Reality Breaker
Omar receives an unexpected visitor who comes baring a gift—a "registration ticket"—in the form of a small metal card. The ticket is itself an offer to participate in the game, "Reality Break." Accepting this offer means that Omar will be able to perceive the true nature of reality where there is not one, but two dimensions of time, and in this second dimension history changes (and somewhat "frequently"). Along with this, he will also gain access to the "chronopause"; another reality that is not so much parallel to our own as it is perpendicular, which acts as both a place and the natural boundary between non-sequential points on the timeline. Using the chronopause, Omar will become a chrononaut with the ability to travel through time, and as a player, he will be given a cybernetic interface and his own portable extradimensional storage space. It's a strange conversation, but due to Omar's dismally short attention span, he only consciously hears that last bit about the portable pocket space, and that's only after the physics-defying void is opened in his living room and literally waved in front of his face. Reality is certainly stranger than most people realize, but then again, so is Omar. Thankfully, he responds well to shiny things, and for better or for worse, his chronic inattentiveness is the least of his psychological issues. Omar also has a mild form of "Oppositional Defiant Disorder" which presents itself as an occasional, arbitrary need to disobey others (especially authority figures). However, his oddest psychological issue by far is his "abnormally hyperactive" subconscious mind. Outwardly and consciously, Omar is a lazy, apathetic man-child prone to mildly asinine behavior. Subconsciously, he's some sort of genius capable of extraordinary feats of cognition. Most of the time, Omar is a (technically) functioning adult, but in order to live as such, he must rely entirely upon unusual abilities he's completely unaware of, despite the fact that he uses them regularly. Up until now, his life had merely been ridiculous, but now it was also a game. Note: The narrative style is that of a reliable narrator with a "3rd-person sarcastic" POV. This story takes place in the Reality Breakers/Chronopause universe.
8 142 - In Serial9 Chapters
God´s Games
A soul lost in total darkness hears a voice and follows it. That's the start of a new adventure, in another world with many surprises, that are still to come. Follow the story of the lost soul, who became a new person in another world full of magic and swords. To find out the rest see the story of the Soul, that became a Legend to be told. Author Note: Hello, guys, this novel will get updated daily so do check it from time to time. Thanks for your time and hope you enjoy the story.
8 56 - In Serial17 Chapters
Echoes
Johannes Isles, once one of the greatest heroes of his land, is felled by a great threat plaguing the land, the Kaiser. Killed in battle, he passes away thinking that it was the end of his story. But, a voice calls out to him. Thinking it to be a second chance for vengeance, he accepts unwittingly, coming face to face with another predicament. In a world far and different from his own, he arrives in a land filled with its own problems. There, he meets his master, Lucia Ellys, a struggling student and Artisan of the prestigious Academy of St. Lumiere. There, their story begins to unfold. On Break due to tests and work. Will be back very soon!
8 193 - In Serial6 Chapters
[C]Seksa seorang isteri ✔ •Park Jimin•
Cerita ini mengisahkan seorang perempuan yang bernama Min Yoorin yang sudah menjadi isteri kepada seorang lelaki yang menjadi pasangan hidupnya iaitu Park Jimin.Perasaan benci dan dendam Jimin pada Yoorin tak pernah terpadam sejak Yoorin menjadi anak angkat keluarganya sejak mereka menemui Yoorin yang terbaring lemah di tengah jalan raya ketika waktu hujan pada waktu tengah malam.Jimin menyimpan perasan benci terhadap Yoorin kerana Yoorin adalah punca kematian ayahnya.Yoorin:Kenapa awak benci sangat dengan saya?Apa salah saya?Beritahu saya apa kesalahan yang telah saya buat sehingga menyebabkan awak terlalu bencikan saya?Jimin:Aku benci kau sebab KAULAH PUNCA AYAH AKU MATI!!!!DISEBABKAN KAU,AYAH AKU SANGGUP DERMA JANTUNG DIA KAT KAU HANYA GARA GARA KAU!!!DAN SEJAK KAU HADIR DALAM HIDUP KELUARGA KAMI,KELUARGA AKU TAK PERNAH LAYAN AKU MACAM ANAK DIAORANG SENDIRI!!!APA YANG KAU NAK,SEMUA KAU DAPAT.TAPI KALAU AKU MINTA,AKU TAK DAPAT.BILA AKU TANYA OMMA DAN APPA KENAPA OMMA DAN APPA TIDAK PEDULIKAN AKU,DIA CAKAP KAU PERLUKAN KASIH SAYANG SEBAB KAU TRAUMA DENGAN KISAH SILAM KAU!!!!!KAU HANYA PEMBAWA BALA DALAM KELUARGA AKU!!!!Namun lama kelamaan,Jimin sedar bahawa hatinya sudah terpaut kepada Yoorin.Jimin:BODOH!BODOH!BODOH!!!!KAU BODOH JIMIN!!!KAU BODOH!!!!!!ASAL PERASAAN BODOH NI HADIR DALAM HATI AKU!AKU BENCI PERASAAN NI!AKU BENCI KAU YOORINN!!!AKU BENCI DENGAN PERASAAN AKU NI!!!Yoorin:Selamat tinggal,Jimin.Semoga kau bertemu dengan jodoh awak.Mungkin sampai sini sahaja hubungan kita.Awak berhak Dapat isteri yang lebih baik dari saya.Halalkan makan dan minum saya dan ampuni dosa saya sepanjang hidup sayaMampukah Jimin dan Yoorin mempertahankan cinta mereka? sehingga akhir hayat mereka?Start:6/12/2019Finish:16/06/2020
8 113

