him many questions about where he was going, and he didn’t know if he should feel guilty about that or not. He was going to go with no; he had too much on his plate to have to worry about guilt as well. Tyson sat in the grubby looking restaurant Bruce had picked and saw the man come in the door before he even got his menu out.
“Tyson. Long time no see.” Bruce had a big smile on his face, and someone on the outside of this situation looking in wouldn’t be able to tell that they weren’t just the best buddies around. This smiling man had been trying to find Tyson for over eight months with no luck, and from the sound of it yesterday, that was causing him some problems.
“Bruce,” Tyson said back and watched the man carefully. He wasn’t fully convinced that this wasn’t a set up, but he didn’t think he would do anything too outrageous in a diner.
The large man slid into the booth and got comfortable while Tyson continued to watch the door.
“No one else is coming, man. I told you it was just going to be me and you.” Bruce knew what he was thinking probably because that is the same thing he would have been thinking too.
“That’s hard to believe since you went to the trouble to hire someone to find me and deliver me to you.” Tyson watched Bruce closely, trying to see if he could pick up any falsehoods in his speech or demeanor.
“Yeah, and see how well that worked out? That little woman took me for my money and left me holding the bag. I can’t have that.”
“From what I’ve heard, you offered a person fresh out of prison a stack full of money knowing that they were down on their luck and couldn’t get a job. Then you turned around and doubled the amount she would owe you if she couldn’t get the job done.” Tyson couldn’t believe that this guy was trying to turn this around on Ella, but that shouldn’t have been a surprise. Bruce didn’t even look like he was ashamed of what he’d done… that was par for the course as well, he assumed.
“Maybe all that’s true, but we wanted to make sure she turned you over to us, and she didn’t.”
“You’re so upset about it that you’re willing to give me leniency to get to her?” Tyson just wanted to get everything straight so he could make some decisions and find out how he could swing this for everyone’s best interest.
“Yes, I explained all of that on the phone. Are you wearing a wire?” Bruce was starting to get agitated, and that’s not what Tyson wanted. He was just trying to clarify some things in his mind and figure out what he was going to do. Just thinking of Ella and her offering up her sweet ass to him last night was swaying his decision, and he wanted to think with the head on top of his shoulders not the one between his legs.
“Of course not, Bruce. Just thinking about what I should do.”
The waitress came over with two cups and a coffee pot looking like she was going to offer him more than the cup of coffee she was going to set up, but Bruce took over and ordered for both of them.
“I can only give you until tomorrow night to think about it. The noose is getting tight around my neck with this whole situation. First you and now the girl… I have to have something to show for what I’ve been doing and the money that’s not accounted for.” Bruce stirred sugar and creamer into his cup, sloshing the brown liquid out of the cup as he did.
Sitting with Bruce seemed disrespectful to Ella, and he was ready to go. He also wasn’t sure about eating and drinking items provided by Bruce. The man may seem like he’s ready to work with him and be on the same level, but Tyson wasn’t naïve enough to give him carte blanche on everything.
“I hear you, Bruce, and I’ll definitely give you a call to set up where we should meet tomorrow.”
“I went to your place, and I’m pretty much staying there until I can get some resolution on you and Ella. Then I
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