Chapter Thirteen
Milo – Friday
“No, stop it,” I mumbled as the whining sound got increasingly louder. I was in that weird place between dreaming and awake, and I wasn’t quite sure what was real. “Be quiet now.”
It took me far longer than it should have to recognize that noise as Veil wanting to go outside. He never messed in the house, for which I was obviously extremely grateful, but sometimes, like when it was far too early in the morning, I found it a massive pain.
I slid my weary body out of bed and grabbed a nearby pair of sweatpants. I wasn’t usually comfortable with wandering around with no shirt on, despite the fact that I’d worked hard for my body, but judging by how the last few days had gone, Eliza would already be on her way to work.
I sighed deeply and rubbed my sleep-filled eyes, but Veil was becoming more and more insistent, which meant that he was desperate. I shoved the door open and watched him race away but instead of heading straight for the door like I expected him to, he propped himself up by the window instead.
What is that crazy dog doing? I shook my head bemusedly and followed him, wanting to see what had him so fascinated, expecting to see some form of animal, but what I actually noticed was Eliza’s car slowly moving out of the driveway.
Shock tore through my body. Is Veil that attached to her? I knew he liked her more than most people, and I was sure that she felt like they had a bond... but did they?
That was so bizarre, it actually made me feel bad for the fact that eventually, we would have to return home, and I’d be forced to tear them apart. Worrying about the impact that would have on Veil was preferable to thinking how the whole thing would affect me. I had no idea how I was going to take it.
“Okay, buddy.” I patted Veil’s head, trying my best to do what Eliza did. If it had made Veil like her so much, then maybe I was the one in the wrong. Maybe I should have spent the whole time talking to him, however dumb it made me feel. It wasn’t going to be easy to totally change my habits, but it had to be a start. “She’ll be back soon.”
I heard a strange tinny sound coming from the bedroom, and in my still sleep-deprived state it took me far too long to recognize that it was my phone ringing, trapped under the sheets somewhere.
“Fucking hell,” I muttered to myself, racing back into the room. Who the hell is calling me at such a ridiculously early hour? If it was someone from the security company again, I might just lose my mind. I would have to scream at them all over again.
But it wasn’t; it was Justin. As I looked at his name, I felt bad for abandoning him for so long. Sure, I knew that he wasn’t exactly sitting by the phone, waiting for me to phone, but I probably should have put in some sort of courtesy call. We could have met up for drinks or whatever.
“Hey, how are you?” I asked, happy to be answering the phone now that I knew it was someone I wanted to talk to.
“Good, good, just wanted to give you a call... see how things are going in Florence?”
“Unexpected,” I replied with a small smile playing on my lips. “But good. Are you here at the moment? Did you want to hang out?”
“Not now, I’m in Portland, but I’ll give you a call when I am. Have you had a chat with Landon yet, seen the fishing company?”
Oops, I’d been so distracted by Eliza that I honestly hadn’t thought about it. “Actually, I was going to give him a call today,” I bluffed. “I just haven’t had a chance yet.”
“Things have been good, though, yeah?” He sounded genuinely concerned. He was a good friend, and I felt bad that I’d ever doubted him, even for a second. He did seem keen on this fishing business idea, so I was going to have to do him the decency of at least taking a look. “You’ve been, you know, feeling okay?”
“I have,” I told him honestly. “I had some bad days when I first started to recover, and it made me wonder if recovery was worth it, but now I barely notice that I was ill at all.”
That was at least true physically; of course, the mental side effects were still there, but there wasn’t any reason to bombard Milo with that information. “It’s good, and Florence was a good idea, so thank you for that one.”
“Well, I’m glad. Now, you keep me up to date with Landon, and I’ll give you a call when I’m around, okay?”
“Yeah... Thanks, man, bye.”
As I hung up the phone, I felt chastened. I hadn’t bothered with the fishing company at all, and for some of the days I’d been here, I hadn’t done anything. If I didn’t start taking action, then I wouldn’t get anything done, and I’d end up back where I started. I needed to at least give this Landon character a chance.
I gripped my phone between my fingers, deciding whether or not to actually call this guy right now, before another idea hit me. I would just go and see him; why the hell not? That way I could get a real view of how his business worked.
If I gave him notice that I was coming, then I would be presented with the version of it that he wanted me to see. I needed to fully know what I was in for.
So, with a newfound burst of interest, I made my way toward the bathroom where I could get ready for what the day held.
***
As I parked my car and walked down toward the harbor where I knew the company was located, I felt warm and positive inside. Speaking to Justin had given me the kick in the ass that I so desperately needed, and now I was looking forward to getting started.
This was definitely the best way, too. I would get to see the business owner and the company without anyone trying to impress me. They would just treat me like any other client.
Eventually, I spotted the sign for “Landon’s,” which was very basic and gave me nothing, but I wouldn’t judge based on that. I’d been around for long enough to know first impressions weren’t always exactly correct.
I pushed the front door open with a loud click, and the intense scent of fish filled my nostrils. I didn’t mind the smell exactly, it wasn’t unbearable, but I just wasn’t used to it. I had to try hard to keep my expression blank as I spoke to the casual-looking guy sitting behind the desk.
“Hi, my name is Milo.” As I said that, I hoped that Justin hadn’t mentioned me coming. “I just wanted to speak to the owner of the place – Landon, I assume?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s me.” As he stood up, I felt shocked. He was in his early twenties, far too young to be running such an empire. Then I recalled the fact that I was doing much bigger things at his age; it just seemed different when it was me. “How can I help you?”
“I want to know a little bit more about the place. I’m new in town, and I’ve heard that your fish is the best.” I said this as smoothly as I could, hoping and praying that he would just accept that excuse.
“Oh, sure.” He grinned brightly at me, and my instincts were instantly drawn to him. I started to remember a time when I did whatever my gut told me – and it was mostly right; it got me far in business.
If I were to go with that theory again, then Landon would be a very investable character. I got a sense that he treated his customers very well, and that he felt an incredible passion for the job.
“Well, depending on how much information you want, we actually run tours every so often. They cost a bit, but are good. I can schedule you for Monday, if you like?”
Well, I wasn’t going to get a better offer than that! I didn’t mind paying to get to know the ins and outs of this place. Landon might have been very investable, but I was brand new to the game this time around, and I wanted far more information.
“Yeah, sounds great. Thank you. So, how long have you been here?” I leaned on the counter and smiled serenely at him. “It’s a great town, and everyone seems to know each other well. I’m just hoping I’ll fit in.”
“Oh, you’ll love it. I’ve lived here my whole life and started the company as soon as I left school. I always knew that I’d end up out on the water in some way, but I didn’t want to work for someone else.” He smiled, almost as if he was sharing a joke with himself. “I was never the sort of person who could have a boss.”
“Well, you’ve certainly done well for yourself. This is impressive,” I indicated around the place. “And for such a young person, too.”
“Well, work hard, and you’ll go far.” He shrugged as if it was obvious, an attitude which I liked. It was the people who wanted to get rich quick that I didn’t trust so much. They were the slacker types who would fail when things didn’t quite go to plan.
“Well, I certainly look forward to learning more on Monday!” I exclaimed, wanting to back away toward the door. If I didn’t leave soon, I would end up asking too many in-depth questions, revealing the truth of where my interest lay.
“See you at seven a.m.”
As we shook hands and I walked outside once more, I still felt good about the whole thing. Maybe I would decide to invest, maybe I wouldn’t, but I was sure it would be a good experience either way. Especially when I thought about the way that I heard him talk to a member of his staff as I edged my way out the door. He knew people, he had his head screwed on, and he seemed very aware that a happy workforce was the best way to get any productivity.
I just hoped it would be enough. I didn’t like the idea of seeing something that put me off Landon, not when I thought so highly of him and his business.
I didn’t used to have a big involvement with the companies that I invested in, aside from the money side of things, but if I did pick Landon as someone I wanted to give money to, then maybe I would have to make the odd visit. I could even get my hair cut while I was here...
Oh God, what is wrong with me? I couldn’t come back for fleeting visits with Eliza. I didn’t think that she was that type of girl at all. Plus, someone would snap her up soon enough; she was awesome and it was a miracle someone hadn’t realized that already. And there was no way that I could suffer the indignity of being her friend while she fell in love with someone else. I figured that I would always feel that spark between us.
No, one trip to Florence was, unfortunately, going to have to be enough. Once I went back to Vegas, that would be where I’d have to stay.