The Money Is Green

by Mr Owen Sullivan

  “Crystal’s doing much better. She started her soccer practice for her high school and looks like she’ll be starting at one of the forward positions. She seems to have recovered well from the concussion and doesn’t show any ill effects. She’s met with a counselor at the school numerous times and seems to be doing just fine.”

  He paused since he thought he heard a car pull into the driveway. He looked out the front window but couldn’t see anything. “Janine is great as always, and we’re getting along better than we ever have. Crystal seems to have a completely changed attitude toward her, and they’re getting along well, thank god. Everything is good here.”

  “Well, that’s great to hear, Jason. You and Janine are made for each other.”

  The doorbell rang and Jason stood up from the couch. “Listen, Brian, someone’s at my door so I’ll let you go. It’s great to hear you’re getting stronger and I’m looking forward to working together to finish Copper Mountain. Let’s go out Monday night and have a beer.”

  “That sounds good to me. I’ll catch up with you Monday and confirm. Take care.”

  Jason flipped the phone onto the couch and went to the door. He opened it to see Debbie standing on the porch, a suitcase at her side. His breathing quickened and he tried to take a deep breath. “Debbie, what are you doing here?”

  Debbie put her suitcase down and folded her arms across her chest. “Aren’t you going to invite me in? What happened to your manners?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said defensively as he held the door wider. “Come inside.”

  Bending down, she grabbed her suitcase and stepped inside. She stepped into the family room and surveyed the house. “Looks like life has improved for you. This is a very impressive house.” She turned to him. “I see you’re doing well. I got this address from Crystal. I told her I wanted to send her something in the mail. May I sit down or do I have to stand all day?”

  “Of course, have a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee? I made it a few minutes ago.”

  Sitting down on the couch, she tossed her hair over her shoulders. “No, I’m good.” She folded her hands together on her lap and stared at him.

  He looked at her for a second. This is the woman that I’ve carried a torch for so long, but all I see is someone who’s after something. I don’t know why she’s here but I know she has an agenda. Clearing his throat, he asked. “You didn’t answer as to what you are doing here in California. Is this a vacation? Where are you staying? I’m sure Crystal will be ecstatic to see you.”

  She took a deep breath without taking her eyes off his. She smiled thinly then said, “David kicked me out of the house last Saturday. He told me he was done with me and it was time to go our separate ways. I had nowhere else to go, so I came back home.” She reached out, grabbed one of Jason’s hands, and gave it a squeeze. “I knew that things were not going well with David and I really longed to be back here with you and Crystal. Do you think we could give it one more try to keep our family together?”

  Jason stared at her. I can’t believe what I’m hearing, he thought. After all this time she wants to get back together with me? He pulled his hand back, went to the kitchen, and pulled out a cabinet drawer. He fumbled around and picked up a business card. Walking toward the front door, he opened it and stood next to it. “I’m sorry, Debbie, but that window of opportunity was closed long ago. It’s time for you to move on with your life and leave me out of it. It’s time for you to leave. Please call Crystal and make an effort to see her. It would mean a lot to her.”

  Debbie sat stunned but then slowly rose from the couch. She picked up her suitcase and walked through the door, stopping on the porch. Her face was flushed as she turned and faced Jason. “It’s that bitch girlfriend, isn’t it?” she screamed. “The one that you couldn’t keep your hands of and broke up our marriage!”

  Jason handed her the card. “Here, call this guy. Maybe he can help you out.”

  Looking down at the card, she read it, a puzzled expression on her face. “Dennis Watson,” she said. “I haven’t heard of him in years. Why should I call him?”

  “He’s a psychologist and maybe he can help you out. Both of you could hang out in the SVU.”

  Still holding the card she asked, her voice rising, “SVU? What’s an SVU?”

  “It’s the Special Victims Unit. You two could commiserate with each other there and compare notes on how the world has done you wrong.”

  Jason watched her face grow redder. She balled her fists and waved them in front of his face. “We’re not finished, Jason! I’m not going to roll over and just give in. I’ll drive that bitch out of your life and…”

  Before she could finish, Jason slammed the door shut and heard some muffled sounds as she screamed through the door. She continued for several minutes, and finally the screaming stopped. Jason heard a car door slam and then screeching tires as she backed out of the driveway and sped away. He pulled a curtain back from the window to see the back end of her car disappear around the corner. Stepping back from window, he stared straight ahead until a smile came across his face. “Why did I wait so long to do that?”

  FIFTY-ONE

  The diner was half full since the lunchtime crowd had thinned out. A young server came up to the table and asked, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  Jason shook his head. “No, we’re fine, thank you. If you could leave me the bill, I’ll settle up with you.”

  The young man pulled a black folder out of his back pocket and set it on the table. “Here you go, sir. I’ll take this whenever you’re ready.” He turned and headed toward the kitchen.

  Janine, sitting to his left, said, “Thank you for lunch, Jason. That was really good.”

  Crystal, sitting on his other side, chimed in, “Yeah, thanks, Dad.”

  Pulling out his wallet, Jason picked out three twenties and placed them in the folder. “You’re all welcome. So, Crystal, what do you think about Stanford? Coach Walker gave us a pretty thorough tour of the place, don’t you think?”

  Crystal beamed. “This place is awesome. I could easily see myself going to school here. I know I’ve been by the campus before, but I never imagined how gorgeous it was on the inside.”

  “That coach seemed really interested in you too,” Janine said. “It sounds like, if you play as well this next year as you did last year, they’re going to offer you a scholarship.”

  “How cool would that be, Crystal?” Jason asked. “I’m really proud of you. Not only have you got the grades to get into this university, but you’ve got the athleticism to play at a high level. Not many young people can do that.”

  Crystal’s face flushed and she smiled shyly. “Thanks, both of you. I appreciate it.”

  Jason held up the folder for the server to see, and he nodded. “Just remember what the doctor said and take it easy for a few months. You’ll be ready for the spring and will be as good as new.”

  “I’ll be good, I promise.” She took a sip of her iced tea. “Are you going to be traveling back and forth to China as much as before, Dad?”

  Jason leaned back in his chair. “Well, now that the new ownership of Soltech has been solidified, they’ve given me a contract to stay on as president and continue to run the business. I’ll still have to go over to check on the Shanghai plant, but I’ve been allowed to hire an operations person to help me so I won’t have to travel as much. It’s been a long and crazy couple of months. Up until two days ago, I wasn’t even sure if they were even going to keep the company going, but apparently they saw the value in the Copper Mountain job.”

  “Speaking of Copper Mountain, how’s Brian doing?” Janine asked.

  “Brian’s doing great. He’s fully recovered and back working and is back to being his old self. In spite of all the chaos swirling around the ownership of Soltech, I managed to keep the production and delivery of the solar panels on schedule, and Copper Mountain is moving along well. Brian has been pleased with both our product and our service. It’s been
four months since we started the project and we’re slightly ahead of schedule, which is a good thing.”

  Janine reached over and put her hand over Jason’s. “Have you heard anything further about Mei Chen? What’s going on with her?”

  Jason shook his head. “I’ve heard nothing. It’s like she fell into a black hole. Her name is never spoken and it’s like she never existed. But I hope she never gets out and gets what’s coming to her.”

  Crystal whistled softly. “Wow, that’s brutal. They don’t mess around in China do they?”

  Jason looked at her and nodded. “No, they don’t, especially when you embarrass the government and commit heinous crimes.” He glanced down at his watch. “Hey, we better get moving if we’re going to catch the movie.”

  As if choreographed, they all stood up at once and headed toward the restaurant’s exit, with Jason in the middle, one arm around Janine and the other around Crystal.

  Have you read Indecent Fortunes Trilogy?

  PRAISE FOR THE HOUSE’S MONEY

  2013 Northern California Publishers and Authors Book Award Winner

  “The House’s Money is an exciting, riveting read for your general fiction collection – highly recommended.”

  -The Midwest Book Review

  The Indecent Fortunes Trilogy continues in book two with the fight for water rights in book two, Liquid Gold.

  PRAISE FOR LIQUID GOLD

  2014 Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner

  “…A plot twisting journey through the hidden world of banking, water rights, greed and murder…It is hard to determine which is more terrifying – the body count or the banking practices.”

  - Wendy Shultz, Mountain Democrat

  Delve into a cesspool of deceit as those who prey on the most vulnerable among us make a killing in the final novel, of the Indecent Fortunes Trilogy.

  Available at TheHousesMoney.com or Amazon.com

  To learn more, visit www.TheHousesMoney.com

  With a degree from USC’s School of Business in Real Estate Finance and Marketing, Owen Sullivan has attacked almost every corner of the real estate industry for over 35 years. In 1987, he ventured off to start his own company, developing and selling in excess of $300 million in real estate ventures.

  Owen is an avid football fan and enjoys playing and writing music, entertaining friends, and cooking. He lives in Orangevale, California with his wife, Genevieve. To learn more about Owen, visit: TheHousesMoney.com

  Table of Contents

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE