Page 48 of I Don't Want You Back

Faryn quickly learned that Landon had a temper identical to Lance’s. He gave his children the world, but he didn’t tolerate disrespect.

“You okay Lance? You wanna talk about it?” Faryn asked softly.

“Can we talk when I get out of school? Will you be here?” he asked, void of the attitude that he’d just had.

Landon noted how he was always nice and sweet to Faryn, but he was always frowned up when he talked to him.

“Yeah, I’ll be here,” Faryn replied.

Landon shook his head as he grabbed his keys and headed for the door. Lance was begging for an ass whipping and he had no problem delivering. Once he dropped Faryn and the kids off to their destinations, Landon made his way to Clarence’s house. He spotted an unfamiliar car in the driveway and he was curious as to who it was. Clarence told him that he had a female friend that he’d been seeing for a while, but Landon had never met her. Instead of using his key to enter the house like he normally would, Landon rang the doorbell. He didn’t know if Clarence’s woman friend was there or not and he didn’t want to intrude.

“Your key not working or something,” Clarence commented when he opened the door for him.

“Yeah, it works. I just didn’t want to walk in on nothing. I see a car out there, so I figured you had company.”

Landon walked into the house and immediately noticed the difference. It had been over a month since he’d been there, but things had been moved around. Clarence wasn’t the best house keeper and Makena often had to go over there to wash and clean up for him. That wasn’t the case anymore. Clarence’s entire house was immaculate, and Landon’s mouth watered when he smelled whatever was cooking.

“I got my lady here, but feel free to use your key any time. She knows that you and Makena are my babies,” Clarence replied.

“Baby? Your son or your boy is cool, but that baby shit ain’t gon’ fly,” Landon laughed.

“You always did hate when I said that. How’s the new relationship going?” Clarence asked.

Landon had invited him to his house to meet Faryn a few days before and he really liked her. She made his stepson happy and that was all that mattered.

“It doesn’t feel new, but it’s going good. I have no complaints.”

“That’s always good to hear,” Clarence nodded.

“So, what’s up with you and this lady? Are y’all in a relationship or something?” Landon questioned.

“We are now. She had some shit to get right before I made that move with her.”

“What do you mean?” Landon asked.

“She’s younger than I am, but she didn’t have nothing going for herself. I made sure she went back to school and got her GED and, now, she’s enrolled in college. She’s starting a new job next week and she seems to be on the right track now. I have too much going for myself. I can’t have no dead weight around me,” Clarence replied.

“When do I get to meet her?” Landon inquired.

“In a minute. I wanted to run something by you first.”

“What’s up?” Landon questioned.

He watched as Clarence got up and retrieved some information from his file cabinet. To anyone else, Clarence looked like a common drunk, but he was far from that. He was a damn genius, and Landon soaked up as much of his knowledge as he could. Clarence learned the business of investing at a young age and he was a pro at it.

“I’ve been doing my research on this for a while and it’s a damn gold mine,” Clarence said as he handed some papers to Landon to look over.

“Laundromats?” Landon asked with wrinkled brows.

“Fix your face and listen. Depending on how many machines you have, you can generate an income of seven to ten thousand a month. Not to mention the cost to purchase an equipped building is a steal. You won’t even have to be there to do anything. Hire a part time person to keep the places clean and make sure it’s running smoothly and you’re all set. It’s a no brainier,” Clarence noted.

“Are you considering doing this for yourself too?” Landon asked.

“No, I’ve been doing my research for you and Makena,” Clarence replied.

“Why not yourself?” Landon asked.

“Nah, I’m good with the real estate that I have now. I’m sixty years old and I have enough money coming in to be comfortable for the rest of my life. You know how Makena is. She doesn’t like commercial real estate, even though that’s where the real money is. She could have just as much as you in her accounts if she stops being so scared. I just wanna make sure that y’all are good.”

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