by Alan Wild
Willa said, “There is some confusion around this guy. There is a record showing he is both the son and husband of Noreen, the grandmother. Oliver asked Willa, “Keep looking into it. I’m sure you will figure it out.”
Noah closed the bathroom door and splashed cold water on his face. He tried to pull himself together. He took care of business and began washing his hands. Before he walked out, he heard Oliver's doorbell ring. Something told him that he needed to stay where he was. Fear started to creep up and grab hold of him. He could not stop the fear, and he began to take shallow breaths. He knew he was losing it. He tried to breathe and told himself, “God, Noah, hold your shit together.” Someone knocked on the door to the bathroom. Paralyzed with fear, Noah couldn’t move or speak; he covered his face with his hands. The door opened, and he couldn’t recognize anything. He didn’t know where he was or who was in front of him. He felt someone touch his shoulder, and then immediately, he was pulled into a tight body hug. He was held while someone was rubbing his back. He faintly heard someone telling him, “Take deep breaths.” He began to recognize the voice. It was Oliver; it was always Oliver. He started to breathe and began to focus on his voice. Once he was able to talk again, he said, “I am sorry.” Oliver told him, “I don’t want an apology. There is nothing to apologize for.”
Oliver asked if they could get out of the tiny bathroom. Noah laughed and agreed that it was small for two grown men. Once they made it out of the bathroom, the doorbell rang again, and he flinched. Oliver checked his phone to see who it was. He squeezed Noah’s hand and told him that it was okay. He said that it must be Owen at the door, but he would verify first. He pressed a button on the phone and asked, “How can I help you?” The man was very polite and well-spoken. “Hello, my name is Owen. I am here for an interview.” Oliver said he would be right there. Oliver yelled at Dario and asked him to let Owen in then lock the door again.
Noah asked who the last person at the door before Owen was. Oliver told him that it was the security company, along with the installation manager. They are going to install more cameras throughout the house. Everything is going to be covered. Noah smiled, but inside he was kicking himself for reacting like a fool. Oliver asked if he minded if he stepped away to talk to Owen, and then he would introduce him to everyone else. Noah said, “No, please go. I am sorry I pulled you away again. I will get something to drink and answer more questions.” Oliver said, “The interviews are finished for the day, but I would like it if you spent a little time getting to know the team. They are going to be around the house as an added level of security until we find out who is doing this to us.” Oliver called Ajay and asked him to join him in the interview.
Chapter 10
Oliver Thaddeus
Oliver thought to himself as he was heading into the interview with Ajay. “I feel bad that I wasn’t around for Noah during the questioning. I trusted that the team would try and tune into his needs and let off when it was getting too difficult. I hate that he has panic attacks, and he is terrified when the door rings. That makes it more important that we find this guy soon.” Looking over Owen’s resume, he did have some experience as a personal assistant, so that is great. His latest position was at a hotel downtown. Looking at him, he seemed well put together.
Oliver welcomed him, and Noah shook his hand. He introduced himself and Ajay as the agency's lead investigator.
Owen was in his late thirties and stood around 6”2 tall. He was well-groomed and polite. “He will be great working with our clients and scheduling appointments,” Oliver thought. He began by explaining to Owen what he was looking for. “Right now, I need someone to help with this case. I have things that need to be fixed around this house. We had a window broken last night, and we need to have that replaced. I also need someone to oversee some work with the security system.
I am purchasing a building to move our private investigation firm into. I think that I found the perfect place, but it will need an interior designer to give it an overhaul. We will need to work together to make sure the contractor and the interior designer has the same vision as we do. That will also be something you would be doing.” Oliver said, “Owen, what do you think will be your biggest challenge if selected for this position?” Owen seemed honest when he replied. He said, “My biggest challenge is going to be maintaining a work/life balance. I tend to throw myself into my work, and I ignore my personal life.” Oliver told him that he considered his team more like a family, and everyone here was considered a friend. He said, “I hope you like it here, and you could consider us friends and eventually a family.” Owen smiled and said, “That would be great.”
Ajay had one more question. He asked, “Owen, in our line of work, everything needs to be confidential, and we need to make sure you have a clean record. Would you consent to a background check?” Owen agreed. Oliver asked Owen if he had any questions. Owen had questions about the schedule and hours required for the position. He wondered what if any additional training he would need for the job. Oliver answered then said, “You come with a shining recommendation from Dario. As long as we can agree on your salary, you have the job.” Owen admitted, “This is the most relaxing interview I have ever had.”
Oliver asked him about his salary requirement for the position. Owen told him the figure he was thinking, and Oliver said, “The position will be a little more demanding so that we will increase your salary offer by 25%.” Oliver smiled and shook Owen’s hand and said, “Welcome to the team.” Oliver said, “Before you meet the rest of the team, I want you to meet someone special. Ajay, can you please ask Noah to join us?” Ajay agreed and tapped out a text message on his phone. He asked Oliver if he had a pen in this office? Oliver pointed him in the direction of the desk.
Noah walked in with Willa. Oliver introduced Willa first. She had some paperwork for Owen to fill out. Once completed, Willa said welcome to the team, and she left. Oliver then introduced Noah. He explained, “Everything in our business is confidential. You are going to have sensitive information. “Noah and I are private people. We want to make sure you are comfortable with us because there will be times when we will be on location and in a hotel. You, of course, will have your room, but I am sure that we will be working so close; you will be sick of us.” Noah had a strange look in his eyes, and when Owen answered, Noah’s jaw fell to the floor. Owen said, “I have no problem at all. I can appreciate true love when I see it. I see the way you two look at each other. I hope to find that for myself one day.”
Oliver stood and told Owen, “I am a pretty good judge of character, and I know you will find love, Now, let’s go meet the team.” Oliver walked out of the room, and Noah stayed back for a moment to gather his thoughts and process what was said. Noah couldn’t wrap his mind around everything. He knew he had feelings for Oliver, but after just a few days, he wasn’t sure if Oliver could be in love with him. Noah also wanted to explore the statement that Oliver made; he said, “We will be on location.” Noah knew he was oblivious to the world around him, but Oliver had left his head spinning.
Oliver was with the team introducing Owen to everyone. He knew Noah wasn’t next to him or even in the same room. Oliver could feel his absence. He was afraid that he was scaring Noah. The man thought, “After all, I am presumptuous to assume that Noah would even want to continue to be in my life after the case is closed.”
Noah was about to join the team when Oliver came to find him. Oliver said, “Oh there you are, I was afraid I lost you” Noah smiled, Oliver took one look at him and said, “Spit it out, what is on your mind?” Oliver was hoping Noah would share his concerns so they could talk it out.
Noah smiled even wider; he was about to ask Oliver about the statements he made to Owen, but he decided instead to wait for later after everyone left. Oliver and Noah walked in just in time for Owen to ask what everyone wanted for lunch. Noah had that fantastic breakfast, but after spending so much time outside of his comfort zone, he was hungry.
Oliver sat in his cha
ir and asked if Owen would like his first task of getting the window repaired after lunch. Oliver handed Owen his business credit card. Oliver said, “I will get your own card as well; the rest of the team already has their company expense cards.” Oliver laughed and told the group that Owen was going to have a blast with their expense reports. Ajay laughed and said, “Dario is going to try and pass off his gallon size container of lube as a business expense.” Dario laughed with everyone else, and he said: “Hey, I do have to ask PROBING questions, why not have fun while I’m doing it?”
Oliver addressed the team once Owen had sandwiches in front of everyone. He said, “Okay, so I found a building, as you know. I have not had a tour on the inside, so I want you to check zoning, competition and pull all information you can on the property. I need you to make sure that we can use the space as we intend to use it. We will need to hire a designer to provide us with a proposal. Until we have an office to work out of, this will be our headquarters. This situation has to work for now because the Denver Police Department does not have the budget to post an officer at my house. I ask that you each make sure your firearm is on you at all times. You will be in charge of our safety. I spoke to Ajay, and we will hire bodyguards sometime down the line. We will have a security detail department. That way, if an estranged husband or wife wants revenge on us for destroying their marriage, we are covered. We will also have the option to contract their services out when requested.”
Oliver finished addressing the group with the details on the building then he asked, “Will any of you require a desk while you work out of my home?” Ajay jumped in and said, “As long as I get to use your shower, I am fine working on the floor.” Oliver gave a hearty belly laugh, and he said, “You are welcome to use the shower but make sure the doors to our room are closed because we don’t need to see your naked ass dancing in the shower to Britney Spears, Oops I did it again!” After the laughter died down, the group decided that they were okay waiting for desks when they moved into their new building.
Oliver noticed that Noah was preoccupied and miles away. He leaned over and asked, “Hey sugar tits, you okay? What are you thinking? I see the wheels turning.”
Noah wasn’t sure he wanted to know all of the details, but there is nothing he could do to help find whoever was responsible for the murders and threats against him and Oliver without all the information.
Noah asked Oliver, “Has anyone found more information after questioning me?”
Oliver looked at the man and made a split decision. He was planning on keeping the details from Noah, so the man didn’t have more to deal with. Oliver wanted their relationship to continue after the case, so he decided honesty was the best policy. Oliver asked, “Okay, team, what do you have so far?” Darian said, “Well, we know that Noah is the sole heir to his grandmother’s fortune. Noah, are you aware of what your net worth is?” I mean, looking at your financials, you only transferred the assets in your grandmother’s checking and savings. That was only the money in her account. We traced it back, and her husband was transferring funds into her account regularly. That’s the money you have in your account.”
Noah looked a little confused, and he said: “I transferred a little over eight million dollars to my account, are you telling me that there is more?” Darian said, “Yes, and it sounds like we need to get you a team of financial advisors. You have somewhere in the ballpark of 142 million dollars of assets. That consists of shares, stocks, and bonds.”
Willa barked out a laugh and said,” I do not understand you two! You both are millionaires. Why in the hell are you living in Green Valley Ranch? I’d be living in Bel Air like that beautiful mother fucker Will Smith. I would have a hairdresser on payroll so I could have a new weave every damn day. I would spend my time getting back massages, and foot rubs by the hottest men money could buy. I would not be spending time working. Lord have mercy, one of you has a startup private investigation agency, and the other does marketing and graphic design.”
Oliver smiled and said, “We like the finer things in life too, the cost of my shower is more than some people spend on a sports car. Plus, I would rather spend time around people who challenge and inspire me.” Willa said, “Yeah yeah, I get that I’m an inspiration to many, but why Green Valley Ranch? This place is known as the new ghetto.” Noah smiled and said, “I was just doing what my grandmother did. She had all that money, but no one knew. The only person who cared about her grouchy ass was living with and taking care of her. She never paid me to help her out. I thought I was making pretty good money on my own. I even asked her if I could help her with the bills or pay rent. She gave me some shit about not wanting my welfare. She said she could take care of her own damn bills. My grandmother didn’t tell anyone about her money, and no one bothered her. I figured I would do the same thing. I liked the area because it was new. My house was new, and I didn’t want to broadcast my wealth.”
Darian said, “I don’t want to spoil your fun but, can we decide who is doing the security shifts with me tonight? I need to get some shut-eye because I want to be fresh and ready to cap this fucker.” Ajay asked if the man wanted to stick with full eight-hour shifts, or would it be better if they broke it up in four-hour shifts. Darian said, “Nah, man, let’s just do the eight-hour shifts. We can swap locations if you want after four hours. We just can’t make it look like we are changing the guard station at Buckingham Palace.”
Darian asked Ajay, “So, are you with me?”
Ajay laughed, “No! I was only suggesting a better way of doing the surveillance.”
Darian grimaced, “Damn, why are you wasting my mother fucking time? Why can’t you work the shift?”
“Because I need my beauty sleep,”
“Shit, you are going to have to sleep for two years straight to help your ugly face.”
Ajay smiled at Darian and flipped him the bird, “At least you don’t have to look at my ugly face while you are kissing my ass”
Summer rolled her eyes, “I’ll take the night shift with you, but I need to switch more than every four hours, I need coffee and coffee makes a girl go pee.”
Oliver said, “Now that is decided, you both need to take extra precaution when switching locations. We still don’t know who we are dealing with, and I can’t let anyone get hurt.
Ajay said, “No, there are enough of us here that we can have three people on each shift. Dario, you are the third person”. Dario protested and said, “I have a date.” Ajay said, “Oh, for fuck sake, do you schedule your special time with Rosie Palm?” Willa spoke up and said, “I can secure the interior. I am usually awake, anyway. Looking at Summer then Darian, she said, “One of you could surprise this piece of shit if he tries to get in the backyard again.”
Oliver said, “Darian, you can take the room you were in earlier if you don’t want to drive home.” Darian said, “I’m tired, so any bed will do, so I’m out people!
Summer expressed concern, “We are having a slight issue with a few background checks. I have a friend in the FBI who conveniently forgot to deactivate my clearance, permissions, and database search capabilities. Even with the extended search capabilities, some things are not adding up. Looking up Noreen’s (the grandmother) money bag husband, we found information on how he made his money, and Darian made sure that all is on the up and up. The man had a cousin, but that is all the family he had, so we ruled him out because he lives in Minnesota. Willa and I were looking into Salvatore Petrelli because he is listed as Noreen’s husband and as her child. We began to look for additional information and no luck so far. We will take a look at birth certificates and see what we find there.” Dario said, “I’m telling you, follow the money. We need to look at the financials for every one of Noah’s relatives. If we were able to see the financials, then someone looking for the information could too. Noah, what about that lawyer you took your grandmother to? Let’s look into him.”
Oliver decided that he wanted to spend some time with just Noah. He was sure that Noah had
had enough of the investigation. Oliver excused themselves and asked Owen if he found someone to fix the window. Owen said, “Yes, the guy will replace the window today. I also spoke to the installation manager of the security company, and they will return this afternoon. With the severity of this situation, I would like to suggest that you get the entire hidden camera line. Anyone could identify your cameras, but the hidden cameras are harder to detect.” Oliver agreed and thanked Owen for taking care of it. They walked upstairs and went into Oliver’s bedroom that had a lounge area.
Oliver asked Noah to sit with him. Noah sat next to Oliver, and the bigger man placed his arm around Noah’s shoulder and pulled him closer. Oliver asked, “What are you thinking?” Noah explained, “I am blown away about the money. That is not what I expected to discover. I should get a lawyer to figure out what is going on with it.”
Oliver said, “The team will get you taken care of, they have resources that are far-reaching, and we can find someone to get you squared away. I want to apologize; I have been talking to everyone like you are going to be a permanent part of my life. I spoke like you are going to join us at the firm and I didn’t ask you what you wanted. I guess I was just wishful thinking because I like you. I mean, I haven’t ever felt like this about anyone. You are amazing, beautiful, and smart. I like who I am when I am with you. I would like you to stay with me after this case is solved. We feel right together, and you just don’t get that kind of thing but once a lifetime. I understand if that is not something you want or if it’s too soon. I swore off relationships after Anthony, so I get it.” Oliver smiled and kissed Noah on the side of his head. Oliver said, “I am doing it again; I get nervous, and I can’t stop talking. Noah, what do you think?”