Page 16 of Lost Little Boy (Pride Camp 2025 #5)

Chapter Twelve

Wex

Friday morning, I went to pick up Perry at his apartment.

I’d talked to Nance the night before and asked if I could use Adam’s navy pickup because I had no idea how much stuff Perry might have to move out of that shitty apartment, but I wanted him to get it all at once because I was sure his roommates were pissed.

I parked in a guest spot in the parking lot and sent a text to Perry.

I’m downstairs. I can come up and help you carry stuff down if you need me. Let me know. W

Pushing open the large door of the Ford F-150, I assessed the vehicle, finding it wasn’t awful.

It wasn’t like my Audi, but I didn’t have two kids who played sports and had gear to haul for hockey, baseball, gymnastics, and more shit than I could remember.

It was handy, though, to have a brother-in-law who had a nice pickup I could borrow to move my boy out of a bad situation.

I glanced at the second-floor window in Perry’s apartment, and I waved when I saw him standing there in his coveralls, ready for work. I grinned when he waved back.

A few minutes later, Perry shot out the front door of the building, so I headed to the stairs to meet him. Perry was carrying a huge suitcase, a box, and wearing a full backpack. I took the heavier bundle from him. “You got everything?” I stowed it in the back of the truck under the bed cover.

“I didn’t have anything to put my blanket, pillow, and sheets in, so I just left them on the couch. I guess they’ll throw them away.” God, he sounded so lost it broke my heart.

“I’ll go get them. You don’t need to leave anything behind for those two assholes.”

Without waiting for him to respond, I took the key out of his hand, kissed his temple, and ran up the stairs to his apartment. I’d guessed it was the one the leasing agent was going to show me later in the day, which pissed me off even more.

I opened the door without knocking as a young man stood in the kitchen in boxer briefs, scratching his ass. “You must be Shane.” He jumped before he turned around.

His mouth was hanging open, and his lip was swollen with a trace of blood on his chin. “Y-Yeah. Who are… Wait, you’re the guy Perry claims to be dating? Well, hello, Daddy .”

I stared at his slightly muscular form and laughed.

“Never in a million years would I be your Daddy. By the way, you and the girl owe Perry a lot of money, you little thief. I know you and Nora scammed Perry for rent money. Not only will I tell the leasing manager that you had an illegal sublet, but I’ll tell him you scammed Perry for several thousand dollars.

I’m filing a lawsuit against the property management company in the morning. ”

The little shit smirked. “Do what you want. We’re moving in a few weeks anyway. ”

I pulled my phone out and dialed the guy I’d spoken to the previous day. “Kinwood Run. Daryl speaking.”

“Daryl, this is Wexler Grassley. We spoke yesterday.” I hit the speaker button so the smartass staring at me could hear both sides of the conversation.

“Yes, Mr. Grassley. I must say, I’m surprised your mother would want to live in that building.” Obviously, he’d done his research on my family.

“Yeah, uh, I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you.

I was doing some recon for my partner. Seems the couple you rented the unit to were illegally subletting the sunroom to him and charging him a lot of money for it.

The maximum occupancy for this unit is two, according to the Arlington County Fire Code, am I correct? ”

Shane’s mouth opened as his eyes darted around the room. I had to hold the smirk. The little bastard thought he could fuck me over? Ha!

“Mr. Grassley, sir, I can promise you I didn’t know the sunroom was an illegal sublet. I’m sorry your partner was duped. I’ll have that couple out by this afternoon if your partner wants to assume the lease.”

“Thank you, Daryl. I appreciate your prompt response. Are the furnishings included in the apartment? ”

Shane rushed out of the room, and a moment later, I heard a scream that made my skin crawl. It was all I could do to keep from laughing.

“Yes, they are. If your partner wants to lease the apartment, I can let them look at the furniture I have in storage. I have better stuff that’s been left behind by others, but it’s up to you,” Daryl said.

“And will my partner be able to get a roommate to share expenses?” I wouldn’t pressure Perry into living with me at the corporate apartment. I’d make sure he had a place to live, and if he found someone to share, that was good for him.

“Yes, of course. Well, just one person, but I tell ya what. Since those other two scammed him out of his money, I’ll cut the rent to sixteen hundred for a year.

Can your partner wait until Monday to move in?

I’ll kick the other two out and get my guy to clean the carpets and paint the walls over the weekend. ” That was an unexpected perk.

“Perfect. I’ll stop by today to sign the papers and pay the deposit and first three months’ rent. Can you have the leasing paperwork ready to be signed by one o’clock? I want to look at the place and see how they left it. I don’t want my partner moving into a rathole with a lot of damage. ”

“I’ll go over there right now and serve them with eviction papers. I’ll stay there while they pack their things to ensure they don’t do more damage.”

I nodded. “I’ll see you at one. Thank you, Daryl.”

I ended the call and turned toward the direction Shane had taken off to see a young woman wearing a very risqué lingerie set in a blush pink. “That’s nice, but you’re wasting it on me. I wish you the best of luck. I’d start looking for boxes if I were you.”

“Where are we supposed to go? Our place won’t be ready before July first?” It was the girl in pink, and she had a voice that could cut glass.

I couldn’t help myself. They’d been horrible to Perry, and I’d decided it was my place to pay them back.

“Where are you moving? Maybe I can help you out?”

The girl’s face brightened. Clearly, she couldn’t discern the sarcasm in my voice.

“Avalon Ridge on Mt. Zion Road Southeast, in Atlanta.”

“Nora, shut up! He’s not going to help us.” Shane’s voice was stern, and she jumped.

I grabbed Perry’s blanket, sheets, and pillow from the couch in the solarium and let myself out, laughing all the way down the stairs. When I got outside, I glanced at my brother-in-law’s pickup to see Perry pacing next to it as he tugged his hair.

“Hey, quit pulling your hair. I love your hair. Here.” I handed him his bedding and opened the truck door. “Hop in, sweet boy. We need to get to work.”

His adorable face resembled a cute owl. “What happened?”

After he was inside, I hurried around to the driver’s side and got in. “Buckle up, buttercup.” I reversed out of the parking spot and turned left on South Pershing toward the Liberty Building.

“ Daddy! What happened!” The little whine in Perry’s voice was cute.

I reached across the console and took his hand.

“Shane and the girl will be looking for a new place to live, not you—unless you want a new place to live. You can stay with me for the weekend, and you can return to your apartment on Monday. If you want, you can find a roommate, too. The leasing agent is nice. I worry about the area, though.” There. I was honest.

Perry wasn’t exactly thrilled, I could tell. “I didn’t want to get them thrown out. What did you say?” He gave me a sideways glance. I didn’t want him to get upset, but those assholes gave two shits less about him .

I took a second so I didn’t come across too harshly. “Perry, they were charging you for half the rent and each paying only twenty-five percent. They’ve taken advantage of you since you moved in, sweet boy. People reap what they sow.

“So, we’ll go to the office and work today, and then we’ll go to my apartment and order in some dinner later?” We were at a stoplight, so I lifted his hand to my lips, giving the top a soft kiss.

“I don’t have to stay with you. I can stay at the youth hostel where I stayed when I first came here. There are a few in DC. One’s not far from the metro. I lived there until I found the ad for a roommate on the bulletin board at the hostel on U Street.

“You’ve worked at the building for a year. How long did you live at the hostel?”

Perry took a deep breath. “Not too long. I lived at a week-to-week motel in Ballston for two years while I did odd jobs.”

His answer came out really fast which made me suspicious. I glanced at him when I stopped at the next stoplight, seeing him chewing on his bottom lip while his left leg bounced like a sewing machine needle. Clearly, he was uncomfortable with my questions, but why ?

“We have about ten days before our camping trip. Will you be disappointed if I move us to a cabin instead of sleeping in a tent? They have nice cabins with indoor plumbing and a kitchenette. That way we wouldn’t have to use the public showers.

” No way did I want to use public showers, even though they did look clean.

Having our own bathroom sounded like a much better option to me.

“Uh, yeah. That’s fine with me. My tickets only cover us for a tent, but I’ll look into upgrading us.”

Perry didn’t look my way, so when I pulled into the parking garage and pulled into my spot, I turned off the truck and leveled my gaze at him. “If you want to stay in a tent, that’s fine. I’m not much of an outdoorsman, but I can rough it for you, sweet boy. Now, what else is going on?”

“I worry that me staying with you at your apartment will be crowding. I’ll stay at the hostel for the weekend and then… Uh, I’ll have to wait until next payday to put down the security deposit, but then I’ll move in. Yeah, it’s best if I stay at the hostel until then.”

Now, I had a dilemma on my hands. If I told him the terms of the deal and that I was paying the costs for him to keep the apartment, would he get upset and protest ?

He already seemed spooked about something, so what was that about? How far could I push him to let me help before I pushed him too far and lost him?

There were things I could do to help him without him knowing I had anything to do with it, so when I got to my office, I called Victoria Wintz in Human Resources.

“Hi, Wex. How are you today?” She sounded pleasant and easy going on the phone, but I’d seen her lose her shit a time or two.

“I’ve been better. Did we run a background check on Perry Castle? Anything there to worry about?” I was sure there wasn’t, but I wanted to double-check before I made my next call.

She typed for a minute before she spoke. “Nope. I don’t see anything questionable, why?”

This was a little trickier. “Miss Daphne mentioned that he was a good helper in the center, so I thought maybe we could offer him a job working there in the afternoons. She has one aide who’s still in college and takes night classes, so she leaves at three.

If we split Perry’s time between his janitorial responsibilities and helping Daphne in the afternoons from two until six when the kids are required to be picked up, we might help him explore his career options.

We cover career development and training, right? ”

“Yes, we do. Has Mr. Castle expressed an interest in pursuing education as a career?”

Tread lightly! “Not that I’m aware, but it seemed as if he enjoyed helping out. If we can assist one of our own with upgrading their options, I think we owe it to them.”

Okay, I sounded like a pompous asshole, but as far as I was concerned, he was my boy, and as his Daddy, I had to see that he got the best life had to offer without making him feel as if he were a charity case.

We spoke for a few more minutes about her little sister’s interest in working for the company, and I vowed I’d put in a good word with Nance to get Leslie a job on the export side after she graduated from George Washington University at the end of the month.

Now, with that under my belt, I called Daphne.

“You said so yourself that Perry’s a great guy and the Jenkins twins really liked him.

Oh, and Jenkins won’t be a problem anymore.

He’s being terminated. So, why don’t you approach Perry and let him help out in the center while you keep looking for another teacher?

Let’s say, we split his time. Mornings working for building services and afternoons helping you in the Center. What do you say?”

“I’d love that. Does Perry want to be a teacher?” Daphne asked.

“I think he’s exploring his options, and I know he enjoyed helping you. Let’s see how it goes. Victoria will be calling you to firm it up. I’ll cover it with Hugh Warrick. I’ll have him reach out with his permission. We’ll work out the details if all goes well, okay?”

“Sounds great to me. Thank you, Mr. Grassley.”

“Call me Wex, please.”

After we concluded that call, I called Hugh Warrick and squared it with him. He had great things to say about Perry, which touched my heart. Now I just had to get the young man to agree.