“What an asshole. I could take him downstairs and clean his clock if you’d like me to, sir.” He knew Charles would probably say no, but he had to offer. It was the kind thing to do.
Charles put an arm around his shoulders. “Thank you, Ryder. Just knowing that you could is more than enough for me.”
“Any time.” He chuckled softly. “So, tell me, what’s your favorite part of this house?”
They’d played this game every place Mister Charlie had taken him.
“Oh, the balcony. You have to see the balcony.” Charles steered them, with that arm still around him, toward a wall of glass windows. It was impossible to see out of them with how bright the room was, but a set of double doors was open at one end, and Charles led him through to a wide balcony with a glass railing and a view of a busy street with tons of lights and flashing signs. “Midtown. That’s Times Square.”
“Oh, wow. Wow, that’s beautiful.” He snapped a couple of pics. Roper would love that.
“See the river? That’s the Hudson, and then the bridge beyond goes to New Jersey. If you squint, you can see the statue of Liberty right…there.” Charles pointed out into the darkness.
His lips parted, and he leaned to look. “Oh, look at that.”
“So, this is my favorite part of this house. What’s yours?”
“This is amazing. Absolutely stunning. Thank you, sir. This is beautiful.” He didn’t have enough words for pretty.
“How about that? We agree on the best part. That’s a first.” Charles looked out over the city and Ryder could tell Charles really did enjoy the view by the look of wonder on the man’s face. “This just never gets old.”
“Is this home for you?” They’d never really discussed that.
“You mean where am I from, hm? Well, I was born in Los Angeles and was there until my parents divorced, then I relocated to upstate New York with my father. I stayed with him until I left for college, and I fully intended to never be associated with him again, but—” Charles turned and leaned against the railing, the look on his face part amusement and part confusion. “Somehow, in her attempt to murder my father, his fourth wife accidentally blew up their vacation yacht while she was still on it, and I inherited everything.” Charles’s lips curled into a grin. “And everything turned out to be quite a bit more than I had imagined.”
“Are you shitting me? That’s a story and a half!” His was way simpler, when it came right down to it. He was a twin. They had a pair of twin brothers. Momma and Daddy were rodeo people, so were all of them.
Charles laughed softly. “No one ever believes me, but it’s the absolute truth. Including the murder. She had done all the research on her laptop and even kept the receipts for her purchases. I’m not sure what she thought she was going to do with them—write them off her taxes? The entire probate hearing was morbidly hilarious. As it turned out, in an ironic twist, she needn’t have bothered to go to all the trouble. He’d left everything to me, including the yacht she destroyed.”
“Was it insured at least?” The words just popped out of his mouth.
Charles laughed. “Oh, it was, but it was all null and void because she blew the damn thing up on purpose.”
“Lord have mercy! Well, I tell you what, you have had a fascinating damn life.” Not easy, it sounded like, but interesting.
“Hm.” Charles sobered a bit. “Fascinating is one way to put it. For all that was amusing, I don’t care to relive it.”
“Oh, no. Of course not! That’s not what I meant at all.” Lord have mercy, he needed to keep in mind that he wasn’t a goddamn friend or a lover or even a dude that Charles wanted to hang with. He was hired, sight unseen, by his twin’s old lover, and he needed to stop having thoughts or opinions out loud.
Charles patted his arm. “I know, Ryder. Don’t worry about it. It is a funny story, and I offered it as such. You’re just fine. Should we take in the rest of the penthouse?”
“Yes, sir. Sounds great.” He found a smile, even though there was a little ache in the pit of his belly. “Lead the way.”
7
Charles stumbled off the elevator feeling a little embarrassed by how much he’d had to drink. He hadn’t been drunk enough to feel it in years and, apparently, his current tolerance for gin and tonics was no longer what it used to be.
“I’m sorry,” he said as Ryder caught his elbow. Had he been falling? He hadn’t felt like he was falling. “This is very embarrassing. I never do this. I’m so sorry.”
His skin didn’t feel as thick as it had once been either. Perhaps that was more of the issue. Running into Lewis had surprised him when he really should have been prepared. “Lewis is Tad’s ex, you know. Lewis thinks because I gave the lake house to Tad that I should sell it now that he’s gone. He’s made four offers. I keep having to ask my lawyer to turn him down.”
The words sounded perfectly clear in his head, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if they sounded like drunken ravings on Ryder’s end. “I don’t get drunk at these things all the time, I promise. This is so humiliating.”
“Why? You’re not puking or driving. You’re fine, just feeling good. We’re going to get in the car, have some water. Also, that Lewis guy is a little prick.”
He nodded. Lewis was a prick. That was the perfect thing to say. Ryder was very good at that. “You are right. A prick. And water.” He nodded again. “Really. This is not in your job description.”
“I know, but that’s okay. Not everything needs to be, right? We’ll just say I’m off the clock right now, huh?”