Conceited Concierge: A Hero Club Novel by Renea Porter (little readers txt) 📕

“I lied to her. It was a big lie.”

“If Rylee means that much to you, you need to fix it. And then you need to fight for her. I can tell you love is never easy, but when you find the one, you fight for it. And you don’t give up until you can gain her trust.”

Bud was right. I needed to fight my way back to Rylee.

“Why are you still sitting here, boy?” Bud asked with a smile.

“Because I have a job. And my car is a piece of shit.”

Bud waved me off. “Take my truck. Your job will always be here.”

“I can’t leave you hanging without a replacement. I’ll tell you what. I’ll borrow your truck while I go get a new car and then I’ll have it returned to you.”

“Levi, I’m telling you to go fight for your woman. She’s more important than sticking around here being miserable the whole time. Plus, we don’t even have a lot of guests right now. You can keep my truck however long you need.”

I stood, and Bud followed. I reached out and shook Bud’s hand. With a pat on my back he said, “Go, son.”

“Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Bud. Give Sheryl my best. I’m going to get out of here first thing in the morning.”

“Good luck, son.”

I offered a smile and headed off to my room. I had to pack my stuff and be ready to head out first thing. Thankfully, Bud was generous enough to offer his truck, but I could never take it for a long period of time because I wasn’t sure where I was headed or how long I’d be gone.

Pulling my laptop on the bed, I settled in to see what the local auto dealers had that wasn’t a piece of shit and decently priced. Looked like that money my father left me would come in handy even though I wasn’t planning on touching it until I absolutely needed to. But it looked like that occasion came a lot sooner than I anticipated.

***

“I’ll take it,” I told a car salesman once I settled on a Toyota Camry. It was gonna cost me an arm and a leg, but I got all the bells and whistles with it. I also knew those cars lasted forever as long as I took care of it.

Figured if I was gonna be traveling, I needed something nice. “Is there any chance you can return this truck to its owner? I’ll throw in some extra cash.”

“You got it, sir.”

After signing papers and grabbing keys to my new car, I headed to my lawyer’s office. There was no reason the paperwork wouldn’t be ready by now. The paperwork for the car took two hours as it was.

Arriving at my lawyer’s office, his secretary greeted me. “Hello, Mr. Bateman. Mr. Youngblood will see you. You can head on back.”

I was familiar with his office. I’d been there on a number of occasions when it came to my job. But he wasn’t doing a good job getting me that divorce.

“Levi.” He stood to shake my hand.

“Bryce.”

“Have a seat.”

“I can’t stay long. I need that paperwork so I can get on the road.”

“Of course. Here is your divorce paperwork.”

“Was there a reason this wasn’t resolved before?”

“I think she’s afraid she won’t be able to stay in the states if she divorces you.”

I took the envelope with the papers inside. “Well, maybe money can be of some motivation then.” It was my only hope.

“Good luck.”

“Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”

“See ya.”

“Email me the bill and I’ll pay you.”

I stood, shook Bryce’s hand, and went on my merry way.

I got in my new trusty car, put my divorce papers in the glove box for safe keeping, and headed to the bank. I needed to pull some money out, and hoped it would be enough.

Chapter Twenty-Four

LEVI

“Good afternoon,” a teller said as I approached.

“Hi. I need to pull a large sum of money out of my account.” I passed her a withdrawal slip.

“That is a rather large sum,” she explained. “I need to get one of our executives to help you.”

“Of course.”

Once available, an executive approached me. “My name is Connor and I’ll be helping you.”

“Nice to meet you.”

He motioned for me to sit in his corner office. “I understand you want to pull a large sum of money out.”

“I do. I’m going to be doing some traveling and to my understanding, my father left me some money that I wasn’t able to access until now. “

Connor straightened his tie. “Of course, Mr. Bateman. I will be glad to get it ready for you. Anything over ten grand I will need to report it to the Internal Revenue Service.”

“Absolutely,” I agreed.

“Please give me one moment. Would you like that in cash, sir?”

“Can I have it split into two cashier checks?”

“Of course.”

I patiently waited for Connor to come back with my money. It seemed like it was taking forever and I was getting impatient. But ten minutes later, he reappeared.

“All right. One hundred thousand dollars. Here’s half on this check and the other half on this check.”

“Thank you so much.” I tucked the checks in a safe place in my suit jacket. “Is there a way you can tell me my remaining balance?”

He punched a few keys on his keyboard and glanced at his computer. “Your remaining balance is four hundred and sixty thousand dollars.”

“My father left me over half a million dollars?” I was stunned it was that much. That much money caused me to be concerned for my younger brother. Would he spend it all on drugs and alcohol? It was something to discuss with my mother.

“Yes, sir. The