“You’re going to destroy my career if you go through with this.”
“That’s one thing I’m good at, Mr. Beck, destroying things. But that’s worst case scenario. This doesn’t have to play out like that. Consider this an investment in your future. You don’t ever have to say a word to the club about this. You just get to look like a compassionate soul who had a change of heart. You issue that back-dated permit, and I’ll be sure to keep both Jeremy and Cheyenne reasonably in line until their graduation.”
“And if I don’t?” he asks.
“Then I’ll be in tears when I show up at the district offices telling them that you threatened me when I told you I wasn’t comfortable depositing checks to your personal account anymore. I’m certain that when they investigate your personal finances and they see you’ve received payments from Larry Jennings with no reasonable explanation as to why, that they’ll dig further. They’ll probably even find out that you two like lunch dates at the golf course when you’re supposed to be here, serving the students of Fort Bragg. What is going to happen to you when the entire town discovers that you’re selling your students’ personal data to Larry Jennings so he can conduct his own investigation into his son’s assault? Even worse, how do you think my uncle will like it? You’ve made some poor decisions recently, and it’s up to you how you’re going to pay for them.”
His glare deepens, and it takes him a moment to move. He turns back to his computer and pulls up the work permit template. He works diligently to prepare the permit, but I notice the date isn’t quite right in the EFFECTIVE DATE field. “Change that to August 26th, will you?”
His fingers stall on the keyboard, and he blows out a frustrated breath before he fixes the date. “This permit won’t be valid before today without a letter explaining my error.”
“Yes, and thank you for signing the letter yesterday,” I say, unable to hide my budding smile. I’m grateful for Dick’s ineptitude at times. He never looks at the stuff he signs, and this time, that’s come in handy. He shakes his head and plugs away. Soon enough, he’s printed Jeremy’s permit, signed it, and handed it to me.
“Thank you, Mr. Beck. I’m going to be heading home early now. I assure you that you’ve made the right choice,” I say and slink out of his office. Back at Margot’s desk, I shake Jeremy’s permit in her face.
“How in the hell did you get him to do that?” she asks. I shake my head from side to side wildly.
“I just confronted him about the checks and told him that I’m uncomfortable with it. He said he understands and he doesn’t want to make me uncomfortable. Then he just churned this out and told me to give it to Jeremy Whelan.”
“That sounds suspicious,” she says.
I shrug and say, “I think so, too, but what do I do? Do I tell the school board or do I let it go and let the kid have his permit?”
“That’s a hard one,” she says. “I can’t tell you not to let the school board know about your concern, but Jeremy seems to really need that permit.”
“I know,” I say. “As much as I’m not comfortable keeping this quiet, I don’t think I can punish the kid for this, ya know?”
And that’s why I’m doing this—to prove to not only Grady, but myself, that I can have his back as well as he’s promised to have mine. The club is important to him, and Cheyenne talks about the members like they’re blood to her, so I have to do something to help preserve Cheyenne’s family. If helping Jeremy helps Cheyenne, and that in-turn helps Grady, then I don’t really have a choice. I haven’t known them very long, but they’re my family now. I can’t go back to stiff dinner conversation and bullshit faux polite concern about which direction my life is headed in.
I tried to be good—tried to be what my parents wanted. I tried to live up to my older brother’s example, but I was miserable. It wasn’t until I ended up dealing with Grady’s crazy ass that I started to feel alive again. My parents, Mindy, and even Uncle Harry can take their disapproval and stick it up their perfectly tight butt holes.
Chapter 23