Waking up earlier than planned, she was having breakfast when her cell phone rang.It was her mom, and she wanted to know if she had fifty dollars that she could borrow for her rent.She explained to her that she’d given her twenty-five yesterday, and she said that she’d bought some more lotterytickets.Telling her no wasn’t difficult for her.She’d been telling her mom no for the last five years, and she thought that she was getting good at it.At least her mom didn’t take her to task when she told her that.
“I don’t have my rent.”She told her that she’d helped her all she could yesterday.“I know, but the lottery is over a hundred grand, and I’d like to win that.It’ll just be until I get my next check.I’m short fifty dollars of my rent, and I don’t want to live on the streets again.”
When she’d been about seven, her mom had lost their home, and they’d lived out of the car until it too got claimed from the bank.Moving around every night never made it easy for her, but she was glad that she’d learned a few lessons.Never be at a point where you have to decide on food or rent.And to have a stash hidden around so that the first decision was taken out of your hands.
At sixteen, she’d gotten a job as a waitress in a small diner that didn’t care if she was eighteen or not.Working all evening after going to school all day had been hard on her, but she’d gotten her education and had managed to save enough money to get her first place to live.Before then, she’d been on other people’s couches or even out on the streets, but she saved enough for the place that she lived now.Her mom had managed to save enough money for the same thing, but it took her a bit longer.Her mom couldn’t save money if her life depended on it.And sometimes she thought that it did.
“Come on.It’s just fifty dollars.Surely you can be late on your whole rent once in a while.”She said that she couldn’t.When she’d given her the money yesterday, it had been to help cover her rent.“Well, I spent it, and when I win the lottery, I’m not going to tell you.I’m just going to spend it all on myself and leave you by the side of the road.”
“Remember, you said that if I ever win the lottery, too.”She said that she didn’t care for her attitude.“I don’t care for the way that you’re treating me either, so I guess we’ll have to call it even.”
“You’re really not going to give me the money, are you?”She said that she’d already tapped herself dry and didn’t have as much stash as she’d like to have.“Well, the very fact that you have one shows how much you don’t love me.You should want to give me some money.I’m your mother after all.”
“And I’m your daughter.You should be going out of your way to help me.”She said that she’d help her if she needed it.“Really?I don’t remember a time when I asked you for help, and you ever came through for me.You have to know that I’m not going to play your games anymore, Mom.I don’t have the money.You should have thought about that before you spent money on the lottery.You know the chances of winning are very slim.”
“I know, but I deserve this money more than anyone else does.I need to get on with my life, and there is no way I’m going to be able to do that by cleaning hotel rooms for a living.I need a break as much as the next person.”She said that they all needed a break.“Yes, but I need it more than anyone else.Even you.And I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d not share with you.You’ve become selfish in your old age.”
“I’m only twenty-five.I would think you’d remember that sometimes.”She said that she didn’t want to be reminded that she had a daughter that old.“Well, I guess it sucks to be you.I’m that old, and you’re nearly fifty years old.It’s not my fault you had me.You should have thought of the consequences before you got knocked up.”
“What a thing to say to me.Well, since you’re going to be selfish, I guess I’ll have to move in with you when I get evicted.That would serve you right to have to put up with me all the time.”She said that she wasn’t going to be living with her as the place was barely big enough for her.“Then lend me the money.See how that works?You lend me the money, and I don’t have to live with you when I get kicked out of my home.”
“No.”She sputtered around for a few minutes, and she rolled her eyes.Her mom was so melodramatic that sometimes she wondered how she’d made it in the world.If not for her, she was sure that it would be on the streets all the time instead of living in a nice apartment like she was.It was even furnished, which was good too, or there was no telling how she’d afford furniture for the place.
Chapter 2
Alex hung up the phone and decided that he needed to look into the lottery rules.He had a lot more information than he’d thought he’d get from a client, but he wasn’t surprised.Lori Hamilton seemed like she was smart for all the trouble that winning the lottery was going to give her.As soon as he pulled up the information that he was looking for, he realized that she was right about a lot of things.She only had thirty days to claim her money, or it would be forfeited.He did wonder what happened to the money once someone didn’t claim it.
It took him most of the afternoon to look into what he needed to do for her.Most of the information she’d already given him, and he was happy that she’d done her homework.She didn’t have to claim the money so that anyone would know it was she who had won, and he was happy for that.That was a great deal of money to be had, and everyone in the world would be coming after her for a little bit of her winnings.
He spent most of the day going over the rules of winning.Like he’d thought, she’d done her research and had everything all lined up for him.All he had to do was claim the money for her, and that would be the end of his helping her.Other than the LLC, Limited Liability Company, which was set up for her to be responsible for her own money and nothing that would belong to anyone else.
When Mac joined him in the office, she told him how she was going out on a jobsite tomorrow, as there were problems.He asked if there was anything that he could do to help her.
“I might need you to bring me down from being pissed off.Equipment is missing, and there are some of the people we work with who are saying that they’re not getting paid.I’ve gone over the books for the place, and everything should have been in place before the first thing was worked on.I have no idea what’s going on, but I intend to find out.Heads are going to roll.”He laughed, and she smiled at him.“But seriously, I have to figure this out, and I’m betting that at least three people are going to lose their jobs.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.I know that that bothers you as well.”She said that it was the worst part of her job.“I can understand that.You don’t want anyone out of work nowadays when we’re working so hard in bringing labor costs down.”
“I’ll be all right.Especially when it turns out to be their fault.I guess I need to go in there with the attitude that I’m going to look into things first, then do the firing if I don’t get the answers that I want.And it’s doubtful that anyone is going to have satisfactory reasons for nearly five thousand dollars of equipment and materials missing.”He said that was a great deal.“No kidding.I’m not sure how I’m going to reap the benefits from this, but I will.Someone had better have a good excuse for the things missing.When I tell a person how much it’s going to cost to get a building done, I know right to the nail how many I’m going to need.Having to find where the things have been taken from is going to cost someone their job.”He told her what he was going to be doing tomorrow.
“I have to travel to Cleveland to get the processes for someone who won the lottery.She wants to pick it up without anyone knowing that she’s won it.”She asked if it was a great deal of money.“After taxes and my fee, she’ll end up with nearly thirty billion dollars.”
“Shit!That’s a lot of winnings.I guess I can understand why she doesn’t want anyone to know that she’s won.That would bring out every relative that she has, saying that she owes them money.”He said that’s what she said.“All right.I’ll see you when you get back home.I have to be on site at eight before everyone starts, so I will be home for dinner.”
“I don’t believe that I’ll be much later than you.She had everything all laid out for me, other than picking up the check.I wonder if they like it when people want to remain anonymous when they win?Not that I blame her, but I do wonder about the lottery commission and their take on the idea.”
“Probably want the publicity more.”After she left his office, he made notes on the things that she wanted him to do.Lori was in for a lot of money, and so was he.He didn’t need the money himself, but it would go a long way in padding his accounts.As he was finishing up for the day, he decided that he wanted to go out to dinner with his brothers.It had been a while, and he missed them.After getting them all together, he decided that with the windfall he was going to be getting, he’d even pick up the tab.It was going to be fun tonight, and he went to find Mac, his wife, to tell her where he was going.
They were all for it, and he was glad.Now, if he could get his other brothers married off, he’d feel like he’d accomplished a great deal.He wanted everyone to be as happy as he was and decided that he’d find all the single females around and start introducing them to his brothers.Knowing that wouldn’t work, he thought that they’d kill him even if he tried that, even the one time.He decided to let nature take its course on things of the heart and wait for them to get up off their asses and find someone.With him and Kahana married, there would be a lot of women coming through to find the right one for his younger brothers.
At dinner, he had a wonderful time.They all had missed getting together, and he was happy that he’d thought of them having dinner tonight.They were in great moods, and he couldn’t have picked a better place for them to have dinner.The food was fantastic, and the service was great.The others left the tip because he paid for dinner, and he knew that the staff was going to make enough to make it worth their while only waiting on them.Not that they were demanding, but with six men at the table, it would be hard to get much more done at another table.He loved going out to eat with his family.
“We really need to do this more often.”He agreed with Penrod when he spoke.“I know we keep saying that we’re going to get together weekly, but we never seem to get around to it.I miss you guys when we’re not all together.”
“I miss you guys as well.I know that I see one or two of you daily, but it’s not the same.I want to spend time with all of you.”Audon agreed with the others in that they had to make time for family.“Yes, before all the rest of you get married and have kids of your own.”
“I don’t know that that’s going to happen anytime soon.I’m not even dating all that much.Last time I was on a date, movies only cost seven bucks.I think it’s about double that now.”They all laughed at Stamos, and he got made fun of.“But seriously, when was the last time any of you have been out?I bet it’s been about as long as it’s been for me.”
“I went out last weekend.”Gilman looked thoughtful for a moment.“Or was it the weekend before.I don’t remember.I do remember it being a flop.She wanted us to go someplace fancy that would take us a jet to get there and back.I don’t know anyone who owns a jet, much less go someplace fancy where I would be seen with her.Who does that sort of thing anyway?Only people in those romance books are the ones who take women out on jets.He’d better be getting a good lay out of it.”
