Page 20 of The Grizzly Situation
“No, that’s taking care of the people who take care of you. Log in at the link, fill out the forms, and they’ll have a card to you within a few hours. We have a doctor in Milwaukee we work with, and if you call him he can get you in right away.”
He gasped as I sent a text over to Dr. Ross’s office, and that made me smile. I loved surprising people, because it was something they were more than likely going to pass on to others. When I took over the sleuth—company and all—I made a literal ton of changes—well, if changes had weight—after Jenna poppedmy head out of my ass. My father had been more interested in profit over people. What did it say about someone who was already a billionaire several times over that he only cared about acquiring more money than he did to ensure his people were taken care of? It turned my stomach to see the super wealthy whose only goal in life was the acquisition of more things that were nothing beyond status symbols of that wealth.
I fully admit, I was privileged growing up. I went to the best schools, had the finest clothes, a household staff that catered to my every whim. And my friendship with Chaim made me hate it so much. He wasn’t rich, but he was a good man. I truly believe my father did something to make Chaim leave, because he knew Chaim would be more popular than him, and probably would have taken over the sleuth when the time came. My father had strength, but Chaim had presence.
Goddamn it, I had to find Chaim. There had to be a reason he was on my mind.
“Mr. Lockhart, I?—“
“Want to work for me.”
He wheezed out a breath, slow and shaky. “I want to work for you.”
“Now all we need to do is find out what interests you.”
“No,” he corrected. “First I need to find out what’s wrong with me.”
One thing I hated was when people were down on themselves. “Listen to me. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with you. Uly is a unique individual, and has different needs than everyone else. That’s not wrong, it’s life. Don’t change because you think you need to please people. If you want to do it, then it should be because you genuinely desire it.”
“I do,” he said quietly. “I want to know what life is like when you can go shopping and not drop two cartons of eggs, or agallon of milk. I want to go into a store, and not have them scramble a hazmat team because the klutz walked in.”
“Tell me they didn’t.”
“I wish I could. I went into a store one day, and these guys followed me around because the last time I’d been there, I tripped and fell into a store display, and spilled oranges across the floor. Those little suckers wenteverywhere. The produce manager gaped at me as I worked on extricating myself from the mess, only succeeding in making it worse. Then, when I tried to help clean it, I knocked over the mop bucket they brought out to take care of the ones people had kicked or stepped on.”
“Why are you helping me?”
Chaim smiled down at me. “Because, cub, everyone you meet will be someone who needs your help. Never look down on them, because in the future they can help you. Too many people in the sleuth think only of themselves. That’s no way to go through life. There are some people, like you, who need more help and guidance than others now, but I know that once we take care of that, you’ll be out there helping anyone you can. Why?” He poked my chest. “Because your heart is too big to let your people suffer.”
“Uly, can I ask you to hang on a moment? I need to take care of something quick.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll let you go.”
“No, I want to talk with you. I just need a minute to deal with something.”
“Oh, okay.”
I muted my cell, then reached for my desk phone. Once I’d entered the four digit number, I waited.
“Yes, sir?”
“Hey, Cullin. I need you to do me a favor.”
“Of course. What do you need?”
“There used to be a man in the sleuth named Chaim Flynn; I want you to find him for me.”
Silence for a moment, except for the sound of keys tapping. “Okay. I have a file started. I’ll have a preliminary report to you by the end of the week.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
He chuckled. “You pay us a hefty retainer for doing practically nothing, so I think it’s us who appreciates you.” A momentary pause. “Will this be problematic? Is Mr. Flynn someone I need to worry about?”
“No, definitely not. Chaim is one of the best guys you’ll ever meet.”
“Then I’ll be sure to find him for you.”
Cullin Davies was a man of few words. As soon as he said this, he was gone. I picked up my phone again, unmuted the call, and held it to my ear.
