Chapter 4

• RICHARD
• James turned and stared at the salesmen, and asked, "Did you hear what this twerp just said?"
• "Yes, sir," Jake and his colleague said in unison.
• James shook his head sadly."Amelia must have hit you too hard on the head. Sad that you don't have a thick skull. That is the only reason I can think of for your delusions or..." He turned to Jake again. "Do you know if cancer damages the brain when it gets to a certain stage?"
• "No, sir. Not that I know of."
• I smirked, briefly considered telling him that I was completely cancer free. I imagined triumphantly waving the doctor's report stuffed in my back pocket in his face like a flag. The look on his face would be priceless.
• But I had to attend to the first things first. I glanced at the large clock on the wall, noted the time. In my mind's eye, I saw the timer at the hospital I had woken up in. It had been roughly three hours since my life had taken a completely different turn. I still had about twenty more hours to complete the system's task- more than enough time. I relaxed, looked around and noticed that about a dozen of the staff were hanging around the lobby,
• "I was just about to throw him out just before you walked in, sir," Jake offered, sensing James's anger.
• "Well, then go ahead and throw him out," James snapped.
• Jake moved forward.
• "What's the matter, James? Scared that I will actually buy the condo?" I drawled.
• With his eyes fixed on me, James stayed Jake with a gesture. "Me? Scared of you? You've got to be kidding me. Whatever gave you that stupid impression?"
• I leaned against the desk and raised one shoulder in a shrug. "Well, I don't know... You seem awfully eager to get me kicked out of here. I was thinking that you were terrified-"
• "Terrified!"
• "-That I will actually be able to buy the condo."
• "Odd that you don't seem drunk, but you are obviously high on something," James retorted. "Richard, you can't even afford the cheapest article of furniture at the cheapest housing unit here at Royal Homes." He paused, addressing the salesmen. "Except your organization has branched out and begun selling things to homeless tramps since the last time I was here."
• Jake and the blonde hastened to reassure him that this was not the case.
• "We sell only the best in the entire city," the blonde said with a glare at me, and a look which said that he would not hesitate to throw me out if only James gave the order.
• I waved a hand airily. "I think we have had enough of the insults, don't you think? How about we get down to business? You're here to buy a house. I'm here for the same thing as well. But since you're so sure that I can't afford it, I propose we make a bet."
• "A bet!" James's brow went up.
• I nodded. "Yes. A bet, a gamble, a wager, a-"
• "I'm well aware of what a bet is," James said irritably.
• "Ah. That's a relief. So... where was I? Aha! If I'm able to pay for the most expensive condo here, this blonde creep and his sidekick here will kick you out of this place and you'll grovel at my feet." I had the satisfaction of seeing Jake and his colleague flush with anger as I mentioned them.
• "And if I win?"
• I let out a short laugh. "You won't win. There's no way in hell you're winning this bet, James."
• "And if I win?" James repeated, his gray eyes flashing in anger.
• I pretended to think for a few seconds. "If you win, I'll be the one to get kicked out and I'll grovel before you. If you ask, I may even kiss your over polished shoes."
• "Done," James said between gritted teeth. He turned, addressed Jake and the blonde. "You both are witnesses to this bet. As soon as I win, throw him out of here."
• They eagerly agreed.
• I nodded. "Very well, then. Let's shake on it."
• I stretched out my hand. James grabbed it and squeezed it painfully. I didn't flinch.
• "Haven't you been humiliated enough for today? Didn't your mother ever teach you never to bet against your betters?" he taunted.
• "And didn't your mother teach you never to judge a book by its cover?" I replied.
• He immediately let go of my hand as though he had been stung. He whipped out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the hand I had shaken while muttering something about grime. All around us, the staff of Royal Homes talked and whispered to each other.
• "...just bluffing," a leggy redhead brunette was saying to the man at her side. "He obviously can't pay for it. They'll kick him out."
• I turned her out.
• "So, how much is the most expensive condo here?" I asked Jake who only gaped.
• The blonde guy elbowed Jake in the ribs. He winced.
• James shot him a glare. "Answer him, and let's get this over with. How much is it?"
• Jake nervously cleared his throat. "Just a moment, sir while I check our prices." He bent, tapped away on his computer. "The most expensive condo is going for one million dollars."
• There was an audible, collective gasp from our captive audience.
• "One million dollars." The words rolled off James's tongue as his face split into a grin. "Hear that, Richard? Do you have one million dollars?"
• "As a matter of fact, I do." I pulled out my debit card from my battered wallet, held it aloft so everyone could see, and pushed it over to Jake who received it with shaky hands. For the first time, he looked unsure of himself. He swiped the card on the machine. There was a brief, heart stopping moment when nothing happened, and even though I had received a credit alert from my bank, I had a fleeting thought that the alert had been some kind of cruel trick.
• Then the machine beeped. I released a pent up breath, when 'PAYMENT SUCCESSFUL' popped up on the screen.