Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(4)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Joker came up behind me and told me a shot I needed to take, but the idea of him making that decision pissed me off. I’d played the whole match without his help and I wanted to finish it that way too.

I went against his advice and tried a kick shot that was impossible to make. The cue ball missed the object ball within inches and the guy I was shooting ran out the rest of his balls like he could have done it with his eyes closed. The crowd of people cheered for the man that won, but all I could hear and see was Joker shaking his head and cussing at me.

I knew I should have listened, but I was too damn stubborn to do it.

When we got back home he screamed at me for having an attitude and blowing my chances of ever doing good. I was so pissed that I grabbed my things and left. I should have gone back, but never had the balls to admit that I was wrong.

I started traveling around, playing at bars for money and getting better with each game. The lifestyle took over and with only maybe three people that I called friends, I found myself thinking back to the man that helped me get where I was.

After five years, I was standing in front of the little bar owned by the guy that taught me everything I knew. I was ready to apologize to the man; to maybe have a clean slate with our friendship. It was something that I knew I needed to do.

Chapter 3

Charlie

My day was going great. Zach and I had met in the morning and gone for a long run. I’d just climbed out of the shower when someone knocked on my door. I opened it while being wrapped in a towel, thinking it was just Zach or one of the girls from the building. Instead there was a guy with a tan messenger bag standing there, looking me up and down.

I looked down and made sure the towel was covering all of the important parts before shooting him a rude look. "Can I help you, or are you just going to stand there staring?"

He cleared his throat and finally brought his attention from my breast to my face. "Sorry, I have a certified package for a Charlene …ugh…"

Just hearing my full name ticked me off enough to interrupt him. "That’s me. Where do I sign?"

"Right on the x." He pointed to the spot.

I grabbed the package and didn’t wait for him to turn around before I closed the door and walked back into my room. I wasn’t used to getting mail so I sat down on my bed and slowly opened the envelope.

Dear Charlene Rose,

We are trying to reach you regarding the last will and testament of Joseph J. McNally. Please contact the law offices of Ridgely and Denton to set up an appointment regarding this matter. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, eight to five.

Sincerely,

John P Lachey

Attorney at Law

It wasn’t the letter that had me flabbergasted, it was the name that the letter was referring to. For as long as I could remember I had been having nightmares of a man named Joe. Before my mother died, she had insisted that there had never been a Joe in my life. Now I was receiving a legal document stating that I was a part of a will that happened to belong to a man named Joseph.

Elle came in and saw the look on my face.

She gave me a curious look. "What’s up, bitch?"

I rolled my eyes. I just wasn’t in the mood for her sarcasm. This was too unreal for me to laugh about anything. The room started to spin and I could feel the bile making its way back up my throat. "I think I’m going to be sick." I dropped the letter on my bed as I ran to the bathroom and threw up my breakfast. All throughout my life I’d read and heard of secrets that people took to their grave and suddenly it was like all of the air had left my body when I read that name Joseph. As I sat on the cold bathroom floor, hovered over the toilet, I thought about that name. Who was this man and how did he know me enough to have left me something in his will? Was he the evil man who had haunted my dreams for my whole life? If I’d had any inclination of not seeing this through, it left me the moment I realized I had to know more.

My heart was still racing as Elle walked into the bathroom. "Are you pregnant?"

My eyes flew open. "Of course not! I just…it’s just…I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m not pregnant! I think I’m just in shock." I put my hands through my hair and tried to grasp exactly what was happening. How could this man really exist? My mother and even my therapist had said he was a figment of my overactive imagination. Now there was this piece of paper showing me that there was possibly a real-life Joe.

"Charlie, what are you being so dramatic about? Did Zach start dating someone? Is your friends with benefits arrangement over?"

There were sometimes where I wanted to smack my roommate and this was one of those times. She wouldn’t have even known about my arrangement with Zach, had it not been for her walking in on us. She wasn’t even supposed to come home that night. How was I supposed to know that her and her boyfriend were going to get into a fight?

"It has nothing to do with Zach."

She put her hands on her hips and stood over me. "Spill it. You look like hell, so obviously it’s something big. If you’re not prego, then it must be something else huge and you know I love juicy gossip."

I got up and started washing my face off. "You know I haven’t exactly had the best of lives. I mean, all my life I’ve had problems with trusting people."

She grabbed my arm. "If it’s that serious, you know you can trust me, Charlie. Girl, I would never betray that."

I believed her. She’d been nothing but a friend to me. Maybe a little prissy at times, but always a friend. "I know. It’s just hard for me to talk about when I don’t exactly know what’s going on myself. You see, ever since I was a little girl, I had these horrible dreams about this terrible man that hurt my mother and was coming after me. My mother used to tell me it was my imagination and he didn’t exist. I always believed that, until this came today." I walked over and showed her the letter. She sat down on the bed and read it.

"Okay, I’m kind of lost here. What does Joseph McNally have to do with anything? I mean, the guy’s dead right?"

I grabbed the paper and played with the corners. "Yeah, but this could mean that the man I dreamed about was real and that I’ve been lied to by everyone I trusted. Why would my mother do that? Where was my father when this guy was around? It makes no sense. My parents were happily married. They never talked about a guy named Joe, not ever."

Elle wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "Maybe you should just call the lawyer and see what it’s about before you go all lunatic up in here. I mean, it could be a coincidence or something right?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Cool, well put something of mine on. I’m taking you out tonight." I hated when she forced me to go out. I never had a good time.