Chapter Six
Cooper
One Month Later
“So. If you will just sign here and here, we can have all the paperwork done and start the process of transferring everything over into your name.”
My smile grew wider as I looked over the paperwork one final time, adding my signature with a little more fanfare than was really needed, before handing it back to the lawyer I’d hired to represent me in this transaction. He laid the extra copies on the table and left, presumably on his way to release the funds and make it all official.
It was still pretty surreal that I was sitting in the bar that I’d worked in for so many years, a bar that had provided my means to make ends meet, only now I wasn’t working in it. As of forty-five seconds before, I owned it. In a month, I had gone from worrying about how I was going to pay for my lunch to signing a check worth more money than I’d made my entire life combined before hitting the jackpot.
Everything in my life had changed drastically. My mom didn’t have to work anymore. She could do whatever the hell she wanted. At the moment, she was sitting in her newly purchased house on the good side of town. It hadn’t been her choice to move out of the neighborhood that had practically raised us both; that was all me. Once word had gotten out that I’d won the lottery, her safety had become my number one priority. Of course, that was exactly why we’d kept it hush hush to begin with.
In our very close-knit neighborhood, everyone knew everyone. Which meant they also knew where we lived, and I didn’t want to give anyone the chance to do something stupid. So, the night after I confirmed the numbers with the lottery commission, I moved us to a nice hotel for our safety and for some privacy. It had given me a chance to think, to breathe, as well as get used to the idea of my new life.
As soon as the money was cleared and deposited into a private bank, we went house shopping, bought some new clothes, and just enjoyed ourselves. If nothing else, Mom deserved it. We’d both worked hard in our lives, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to cut loose and enjoy this wonderful miracle that had changed our lives forever.
Naturally, I made some major changes in my life. After all, I had over two billion dollars in the bank after the state and federal governments took their cut. So, yeah. There were changes right down to the shoes on my feet. Make no mistake, I wasn’t wearing some fancy tailored suit. It was still me, only in a new pair of jeans, a nice buttoned down shirt, and a brand new pair of Chuck Taylors that felt like smooth butter on my feet. I felt like a new man, but there was no way I was going to let this luck of the draw, this new life, go to my head. No, I planned to create a legacy for my family and buying a business was the first step of many I had planned to accomplish.
“Congratulations, son,” the owner Harold, now retired, said, shaking my hand enthusiastically. It hadn’t been my intention to buy the bar and even after winning the money, I had still come to work for him for a few weeks while I sorted all of it out. Harold had been good to me, giving me a shot when no one else would and I knew he was at least in his sixties, well past the age of a man who should be running a bar in a rough neighborhood. So, casually, I had asked him if he had ever thought about selling and when he said he had and made the statement he’d sell the place in a heartbeat if given the chance, I started the process. And because I knew Harold deserved it, I might have offered him a decent bit more than the place was probably worth. “I have to say, I am glad that you are buying this bar. I know it will be in good hands with you.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied as he released my hand. I wasn’t planning on changing much about it. It felt like home, and I wanted it to stay that way. “Would you consider staying on part time? You know the ropes better than anyone. Name your price.”
Harold laughed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Son, I didn’t sell just to come back to work. I have every intention of enjoying your money as soon as it is deposited into my account. There’s a lake house with a fishing pole calling my name as I speak and breathe.” I laughed as well, knowing I would probably want to do the same thing if I had been here as long as he had. “But,” he said, interrupting my thoughts. “I am only a phone call away. If you need anything at all, Cooper, all you’ve got to do is call.”
“I appreciate that, Harold,” I said sincerely. “I hope I can run this place half as well as you have.”
Harold’s eyes went to his ever-present calendar on the wall of the office, where we always penciled in what we were available for. It was a crude schedule, one that was in sore need of being converted to something a little more updated, but when one of the other bartenders had suggested putting it on Harold’s cell phone, he’d balked at the idea. “What if you had no service, no electricity?” he’d challenged, making a point to nod toward the calendar. “All I need is a flashlight to look at that thing.” No one wanted to tell him that if the electricity was out, the bar would be closed anyway, so we just let him have his moment.
“So, I guess you’re gonna have to find someone to replace you,” he said with a grin, his fingers pointing to the upcoming weekend I was scheduled to work. “Can’t have the owner behind the bar, can we?”
“I plan to be,” I said with a shrug.
Harold laughed and slapped his knee. “That is the funniest thing I’ve heard all day. Son, you’re a billionaire! You can’t do that anymore!”
“Why not?” I challenged. “It’s my place now. I can work if I want to.”
Harold shook his head, his eyes growing wide. “Do you know your life has changed? People are gonna be hounding you constantly. In this neighborhood, you better keep one hand on the Bible and the other on a gun, which is on the bottom shelf behind the bar, by the way. I’ll be leaving that for you.” My eyes widened, and Harold grinned sadly. I had never known there was a gun just a few feet away from, well, my feet. “People don’t value life around here and will kill you over the littlest thing anymore.”
As much as I hated to, I silently agreed. The killings in the neighborhood were on the rise and getting worse each day. But I wasn’t going to let that scare me off from at least attempting to be part of the neighborhood I’d known my entire life. It was still my home. My heart was here, and I only wanted it to flourish.
“Well,” Harold said, pushing out of the chair and grabbing the box on the desk that held everything he’d cleaned out of the office. “I guess this is it for me. If you find anything of mine, trash it. I won’t be needing it anymore.”
“Thank you, Harold, really,” I said as I stood and put out my hand. “I will not let you down.”
He shook it and then slapped me on the back. “No. Thank you, son. Come on, let me buy you lunch. It’s the least I can do.”
“Sure.” I smiled and allowed him to lead me out of my bar, shutting the door firmly behind him. It wasn’t time to open yet; the building would be dark until the evening crowd converged on it for their social hour. The first bartender would arrive at four to open the place and then I would take over at seven, just like I always did. Still, I couldn’t wait to see it all as a proud owner for the first time. I would be looking at it through new eyes.
We walked down the street to Mimo’s, the local Italian restaurant on the corner, where the lunch special was enough to feed a family of four. Mom and I had eaten there only once or twice, when the tips were really good or it was a special occasion, always sharing a plate and taking the rest home to eat on for at least two more days. Now, I’m sure I could buy this place, too. The thought made me laugh. I could buy half the block if I wanted to. Probably the entire block. I suppose that would be a way to revitalize the neighborhood and get rid of the gangs.
“Cooper! Cooper! Wait!”
I turned around to find several people all rushing at me at once.
“I need some money to pay rent this month!”
“Please, won’t you lend me a few thousand bucks for a new car? Surely you can afford it!”’
“I can’t feed my kids. Can’t you give me a few bucks?”
Some of them I recognized, some I didn’t, but all of them had that gleam in their eyes like they were looking at a shiny diamond just beyond their grasp. One young woman pushed her way to the front, getting grumbles of attention from the others. “Cooper,” she breathed, grabbing a hold of my hand. I noticed tears in her eyes, and my heart lurched in anticipation of what story she was going to tell me. “My grandma, she’s real sick. Cancer and all. I can’t afford her medications. She’s real sick.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, thinking of how it could be my own mom in that situation. Without her, I wouldn’t know what to do. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the small wad of cash I had stuffed in it that morning. It was just a couple hundred dollars, and I hated I didn’t have more. “Here.”
“Lucy, leave him alone,” Harold suddenly said, grabbing my hand as I held out the money to her. Her hands missed mine by mere inches before falling to her side. “You know your grandma has been dead for two years! I even went to the funeral.”
The entire crowd laughed, and Lucy’s tear-filled eyes changed to angry ones as she placed her hands on her hips, staring Harold down. She looked nothing like the woman from seconds before, and I was surprised at the change. “You are confused, you old man! My grandma is still alive, no matter what you say. Just stay out of my business. This is between sweet Cooper and me here.”
Harold shook his head and forced me to put the money back in my pocket, clasping my shoulder and turning me away from the crowd. “I’d never forget your grandma,” he called back to her. “She was hell on wheels and probably still causing hell with the devil. Now, all of you, leave him alone and get on with yourselves!”
Harold forced me to move to the restaurant at a quick pace while my mind tried to process what had just happened. I had stayed largely away from the neighborhood since winning the money, not even allowing my picture to be taken when we had gone to cash in the ticket. They had taken my name, and I knew it had been in the paper. I didn’t have a choice since I lived in a state that didn’t allow me to remain completely anonymous. But I had tried not to advertise it. Obviously, everyone had been glued to the paper to find out who had won. Was this how it was going to be everywhere I went? I didn’t mind helping people out; I’d probably been in their shoes a time or two myself. But that woman had lied to my face, and I wouldn’t have thought twice about it if Harold hadn’t been there. Immediately, I was concerned about how I was going to handle this after Harold left me alone. Did I need to hire someone full time to help protect me? That definitely wouldn’t be what I considered staying on the down low.
“Son, you can’t let people cloud your good judgment and take advantage of your good nature,” Harold said as we walked into the restaurant, the aroma of homemade Italian food causing my stomach to growl in response. “You’re gonna get hit up by all kinds of people, but most of them are gonna be liars and thieves. Open your eyes and you’ll be able to pick them out. Hate to say it, son, but you can’t even trust your friends either. When they see you, they’re gonna see nothing but money, you hear me? Keep low and don’t spread your gossip around. There’s enough of that these days to get the world in trouble.”
I nodded, not so sure. I hadn’t seen that woman as being someone who would take advantage of me. Hell, I hadn’t seen any of them as taking advantage of me, but now I was going to have to really pay attention to everyone around me, including those who I thought were close friends. How was I even going to be able to run a business around here?
The restaurant was extremely busy, as it always was for lunch. We were shown to a table and seated then handed our menus. My stomach growled appreciatively once more. I was pretty hungry apparently and looking forward to their spaghetti. It was the best.
“You buying, right?”
I looked up at Harold to see him peering at me over the top of the menu. He then grinned, waving his hand. “I’m kidding! Hell, lunch is the least I can do considering the price you’re paying for the bar.”
I grinned, looking back down at the menu. I was going to miss Harold. He was apparently the only person I could trust besides my mom.
The waitress came and took our orders, and I finally relaxed after the tense situation on the sidewalk, glad that I could just be myself sitting there with Harold. Inside, I hadn’t changed. Sure, I ‘d bought new clothes and the stress of day to day living was virtually non-existent for me, but I was still the same old Cooper.
“Well, well, look how handsome you are! I declare, it’s my lucky day indeed!”
I looked up to find one of the girls who had made fun of my shoes at the bar just a month earlier standing by our table, twirling a finger in her fake blonde hair as her mouth turned up in a red-lipped smile. She wasn’t exactly dressed for lunchtime at Mimo’s. Skin tight black leather doesn’t scream Italian Mom ‘n Pop joint, nor does it leave much to the imagination, especially when the dress is short enough to make you wonder if she could sit down in it at all. The unblended line around the edge of her jaw made me wonder if she was going to ask me for money to have her electricity turned back on. I’d have sworn she put her makeup on in the dark. Her face was caked with something that made her skin look like wax, and the black liner around her eyes was smudged and definitely not attractive. “Cooper, it’s good to see you, honey. How you been?”
I looked around behind me, seeing if there was someone else she was trying to talk to. Before she wouldn’t give me the time of day, not that I’d wanted it, and now she was acting like we were old friends? “Excuse me? Do I know you?”
She gave a husky laugh, her red fingernails pressing against my shirt as she squeezed my forearm in a manner I could only take as her attempt at flirting. “Honey, we know each other very well. I know you have been eyeing me at the bar while pretending to ignore me at the same time. Don’t think I didn’t notice that. I played it cool for a while, you know, since my friend was starting to like you, but it’s her loss if she won’t take advantage. I, on the other hand, plan to take full advantage of the chance. Take me out, Cooper, and I will show you a real good time.”
“She will also give you something you will never forget,” Harold muttered, taking a drink of his water.
She flashed her eyes at him quickly, narrowing them at his crude remark before turning her attention back to me, her lips curving into another smile as she fiddled with the button on my shirt. She reminded me of a snake stalking its prey, waiting for the right time to strike. “Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s just jealous that I ain’t interested in him. Well, what do you say, Cooper?”
I leaned back, drumming one hand on the table with a grin. She thought I was thinking about her offer and I could see the gleam in her eyes, the greed that was in all of the eyes of those people on the sidewalk just a few moments ago. But my mind wasn’t filled with what she and I might do with each other. Once a snake, always a snake, and I wasn’t blind to the fact that I was dealing with one.
“Well,” I started, looking up at her. “You know, I would love to, but your dress just isn’t going to match the holes in my shoes.” Then I made a great show of sliding my feet from under the table, inspecting them carefully. “Oh wait, I don’t have holes in my shoes anymore. Oh, and how about that, my new ones are probably worth more than your, well, um . . . dress there. It seems someone was listening in on your little conversation last month. You should really consider using an inside voice when you’re going to talk about people.”
Her dreamy expression turned to one of rage as Harold burst into laughter, the entire restaurant turning their eyes toward our table. “H-How dare you!” she sputtered, pushing away from me. “Do you think you’re better than us now? Do you? You’re nothing but the scum of this neighborhood who has his pockets lined now.”
“Honey,” I emphasized it the way she had. “You have always thought you were better than us,” I said casually, her words bouncing off me. I didn’t care what she thought any more now than I had when she’d mocked my shoes. “Looks like the shoe is on the other foot now.”
She lunged for me, but then snapped back, an angry Felix hanging onto her arm as she fought to release herself from his grasp.
“Whoa,” he said, a grin spread across his face. “Who forgot to go home after their walk of shame this morning?”
She gasped and wrenched her arm away from Felix. “You ain’t nothing either, Felix. A wannabe banger who I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.”
“And thank God for that,” Felix replied, shoving her to the door. “Now, let these people eat without hearing you jabber on. Get on out of here.”
She gave all of us a go-to-hell look before storming off through the door, the hostile air along with her. Felix shrugged at the rapt attention of the restaurant before sliding into the booth. “Hey, Harold, you’re looking pretty darn good.”
“Hey, Felix, what’s shaking?” Harold replied, giving Felix an odd look.
Felix shook his head and leaned back, the smell of weed wafting through the air. He was dressed in colors associated with one of the local gangs. “It’s F-bomb now.”
Harold almost spit his water out as he looked at Felix, surprise in his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“My name.” Felix grinned. “It’s F-bomb. Get it?”
“It’s a dumbass name,” Harold laughed.
Felix gave Harold the middle finger before turning his attention toward me. I immediately noticed the redness of his eyes, a new scar cut across his cheek, the thin line nearly cutting his cheek in half.
“What happened to you?” I asked, pointing at the scar. It hadn’t been there when I saw him just a few weeks before.
He shrugged, and a grin appeared on his face. “It’s nothing, just a misunderstanding. I don’t even know it’s there anymore.” He then slapped me on the back. “Dude, congrats on the money. Word on the street is that you’ve moved out of this dump and uptown. I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I’m glad to see you back on your home turf.”
“I had to take some precautions,” I said slowly, glad that I’d gotten Mom out when I did. If Felix had been looking for me, everyone else probably had as well. There was no way I could have protected either of us. “You know, for Mom.”
Felix nodded in agreement. “I’d do the same thing. I don’t think anyone blames you for abandoning the neighborhood. I’d have gotten me one of those mega mansions on the river myself. You know, a party palace with all the booze and women I wanted.”
I shook my head, thinking that those words were definitely coming out of Felix’s mouth. If he’d have taken that ticket, I would have predicted that his money would be gone in no time.
Felix slapped me on the back. “I’m just joshing with you. I wouldn’t blow it all on women and booze, but a sweet ride would be in my near future, no doubt. It’s good to see you, man.”
I grinned back, thinking of how much I had missed Felix, even dressed as he was. We had been through a lot, and I felt like I could trust him a little. Harold’s words floated through my mind and I shook them off. I could trust Felix, right?
“You know, you and me, Cooper, we go way back,” Felix continued, drumming his fingers on his knee. It was a nervous habit of his, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was nervous about. “Way back. I think of you as a brother, I really do. I got your back, you know. Whatever you need. Ain’t nobody gonna mess with my boy here.”
“Well, I appreciate that, Felix,” I replied, taken aback by his sudden loyalty to me. “It means a lot to hear you say that.” And it did, even if there was some ulterior motive going on.
“You see,” Felix continued, oblivious that I was even talking. “You can’t trust all of them people out there, Cooper. You can only trust me, your friend. We are like family, you know, you and me.”
He then leaned over, tapping me on the shoulder. “I need some money, Cooper. Like forty Gs. It’s a small amount, considering the amount of money you got in your bankroll now. You won’t even miss it.”
Harold snorted and turned to his lunch that had just arrived on the table. His words were becoming achingly true right before his eyes.
I laughed, though, waiting for his tagline or a grin to say he was joking. He didn’t sound like Felix at the moment, and I was nervous to know why. “Forty thousand? For what?”
Felix’s grin slid just a little and he looked away, unable to meet my eyes. “You know, I just need it for something, Cooper. Trust me, you won’t miss that drop in the bucket. Just a little something for your buddy here.”
I thought back to the last time I had given him money. I had just gotten my tax refund back and had some cash that I was planning on spending to stock up the pantry. Felix had approached me and had told me that he couldn’t pay the rent on his tiny apartment. He had been so insistent that he was going to get evicted that, hearing the desperation in his voice, I couldn’t turn him down. I gave him the money. I had helped out a friend in his time of need, or so I thought.
Later, I found out that he’d spent the money on bullets and ammo for some of his friends. I confronted him about it, but he had just shrugged me off. “Bigger priorities, my main man,” he’d said, slapping my back just like he had done today. “Bigger priorities.” I had decided right then and there I would never give him money again. I would help him out if he absolutely needed it, but it wasn’t going to be in the form of cash, not after he’d lied to my face about it. This wasn’t going to be the outcome he was hoping for either. Especially with that kind of cash.
“Are you going to be buying ammo again?” I asked, casually picking up my fork to dig into my spaghetti.
Felix’s eyes dilated. He’d obviously hoped that I hadn’t remembered that burn. “Nah, man, nah. I need something else. Just give me the money and I will take care of it. You won’t have to even lift a finger, Cooper. Let old Felix take care of it all.”
“Well, just tell me what you need it for and I will buy it for you,” I offered instead, taking another bite of my food. That way, I could make sure he didn’t spend the money on anything else that was going to dig this hole he had gotten himself into any deeper.
Felix’s easy-going attitude changed and he began to look desperate, surprising me. “Come on, man,” he said, his voice on edge. “Just give me the money, Cooper.”
“I can’t do that, Felix,” I said softly, my senses on high alert. Something was wrong with him, and I knew he wasn’t going to tell me what trouble he was getting into. “You’re acting very suspicious. This doesn’t seem like you. I’ll be more than willing to go with you and get whatever you need, but I can’t just give you that kind of cash.”
“Cooper,” he started, looking a bit panicked now. “Come on, dude, don’t do this.” He pushed out of the booth angrily. “If you had just given me the money, everything would have been just fine. I can’t believe you are doing this to me, Cooper. I was trying to help out, get your name out of this, but now, well, I can’t be responsible for this, man. If you had just played along.” He stalked away, his hands shoved in his pockets. I stared after him, the veiled threat making me a little nervous. Not Felix, too. Surely not.
“See, you can’t even trust your own friends anymore,” Harold said softly, drawing my attention back to him. “You gotta be careful, son. Don’t turn your back for one second. Someone is going to take advantage of you. Someone is going to want to corrupt what you know is right and moral. Stick to your guns and you just might survive this.”
He then leaned over and winked at me. “If all else fails, go buy yourself a damn island and get the hell away from here. That way, they can’t bother you at all. It’s what I would do.”
* * * * *
Three days later, I shut off the water to the sink and threw the bar towel into it, thinking I would just grab them all up and wash them at home tomorrow. Tonight had been a good night, just like the last two at the bar. I was really enjoying being the owner of the place. Word had gotten out, of course, but after a few awkward selfies and some even worse questions, people had largely ignored me and enjoyed themselves, which was all that mattered. I didn’t care if they treated me as an oddity, as long as they continued to frequent the place. The employees seemed to be good with the change as well, and after just a few questions, they had gone to work with no problems.
With a yawn, I stepped from behind the bar and grabbed a wet rag, heading toward the tables to wipe them down and set them up for tomorrow. My bartender, Jane, had been awesome tonight, handling the crowd like a pro. I had really just hung back and watched her work her magic. Then I’d given her an extra tip before she left. It was important that I tried to retain the employees right now and try to get the bar to run like it normally would. Then, once I felt comfortable in my situation, I would see about some changes. Not big changes, just little things, like an online calendar for schedules. I unplugged the TV and wiped down the first table, smirking as I thought about Harold balking at the fact that I was going to get rid of his calendar. Maybe I’d mail it to him as a keepsake.
The door chimed, and I turned to tell whoever it was that we were closed. Three men stepped inside and shut the door, the masks on their faces making me a bit nervous. They were all wearing the same colors as Felix had been, and I wondered if any of them were my supposed friend or if this had anything to do with his veiled threat at lunch the other day. I had been waiting for something to happen as a result of my refusal to give him the money and apparently the time was up on that. “Hey, guys,” I started, giving them all a hard smile, ignoring the masks as best I could. “We’re closed for the night.”
“I say you’re open,” one of them said, his voice muffled. “Ain’t that right?” He nodded to the other two guys and shuffled toward the table I had just wiped down, brushing past me along the way. One of them grabbed the cord to the TV and plugged it in before stretching out in the chair. They made themselves right at home as the sound of the late night show filled the air.
The leader leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at me, no doubt sizing me up for whatever they had in store. I forced myself to stand tall, making a show of walking past him and throwing the rag in the sink angrily. They were just trying to intimidate me for some reason and I suspected it was largely due to money and to Felix. I wasn’t going to deal with this myself. I fully intended to call the police and let them deal with it. I wasn’t scared of them, and there was no one they could hurt to make me comply. Mom was safe, Harold was gone, and if they trashed the place, well, I’d just pick up the pieces and soldier on. I wasn’t scared.
I reached for the phone on the wall suddenly, trying to catch them off guard. The leader moved behind the counter quicker than I expected and pulled it off the wall with one hard yank, the entire thing clamoring to the floor as the sheetrock gave way under his strength, a gaping hole left where the phone had been.
“You ain’t calling no one,” he leered, pushing me against the bar.
“I’m not giving you any money either,” I said, my voice shaking a little. I didn’t know if they had weapons and with three of them there, I didn’t stand a chance of walking out of here alive if they decided to pounce on me. My best chance was either to intimidate them or fake them out on what I was going to do. “I already told Felix that I wasn’t giving out handouts.”
His fist landed on the bar counter right beside me, the loud bang echoing in the space. “I don’t care about no Felix or what you told him,” he shouted. “You gone give us some money and you are going to do it with a smile on your face before I have to carve it on.”
He then pointed at my chest with his finger, twirling it around slowly. “So I suggest you find it.”
I swallowed hard, trying to quickly think of what I could do to get out of this. An idea started to form, and I pounced on it. Reaching under the bar, I pretended to press a button, inwardly smiling as his eyes traveled to my arm. “I just alerted the police,” I said, not even having to fake the shakiness of my voice. If he looked, he would see I was lying and then I didn’t know what he would do. “If you leave now, I will call them and tell them it was a false alarm.”
“Shit, man, we gotta get out of here!” one of the others announced, pushing his chair back in a hurry. “I ain’t going to jail tonight.”
The leader looked at me, and I hoped that he didn’t see anything in my eyes that would make him think I was bluffing. He stared at me for a hard moment then backed off, keeping his gaze on me. “A’ight, you win this round, but let me tell you, we will be back and next time we won’t walk out empty-handed.”
I waited until they had disappeared from the glass window before walking over and flipping the locks, angrily turning each one until I was finished. Rage flowed through my veins at what had just happened. I wasn’t scared of them by any means, more like pissed and angry that they would target me and try to scare me into giving them money. It wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t going to be bullied into funding a gang.
With a sigh, I ran a hand through my hair roughly, methodically unplugging the TV and pushing the chairs back under the table, wiping it down again, undoing everything they had done to the bar. This was my bar, not theirs. They didn’t run this neighborhood. But I didn’t doubt they’d be back the next night, and then the night after that until they got what they wanted. I’d been right to move out of the neighborhood and get my mom away from the violence as well. I hadn’t caused any trouble before, keeping largely to myself, but after my run in with Felix earlier in the week and then the visit from the masked marauders, it was clear I was a target. There was no way I could stay now. I had to get the hell out of Dodge.