Chapter Ten #2
Caleb’s eyes lit up with unholy glee as he spotted his new target.
“Well, well, well,” he called out, his voice carrying across the park.
“Look who it is! The man whose suit costs more than my mom’s car!
Tell me, Mr. Miles, do you have to be surgically removed from that outfit at night, or does it just dissolve when it comes in contact with common people? ”
A hush fell over the crowd, everyone wondering how the notoriously serious businessman would react. To my surprise, Tonio’s lips curved into a small smile as he stepped forward and handed a hundred-dollar bill to the volunteer manning the booth.
“I’ll take my chances, kid,” he said, accepting three softballs in exchange.
Caleb wasn’t deterred. “Ooh, big spender! That’s probably what you tip your shoelace dealer, right? I bet you’ve never thrown anything in your life except maybe shade, or money at problems.”
Tonio lined up his first shot, his expensive jacket stretching across broad shoulders as he wound up. The ball sailed wide, missing the target by at least a foot. The crowd let out a collective “Ooooh” as Caleb cackled.
“Wow! That was pathetic!” Caleb taunted. “Did you just throw that ball or release a wounded butterfly? Maybe you should stick to signing checks, Mr. Miles!”
Tonio’s second throw came closer but still missed, brushing the edge of the target. His normally impassive face showed a flicker of frustration as he prepared for his final throw.
“I’ll get you, you little punk.” The grin on his face as he yelled back at Caleb said Miles enjoyed the banter. Given the fact he’d just dropped a hundred dollars at the dunk tank, I guess he was having a good time.
“Last chance!” Caleb called. “Put some muscle into it! Oh wait! Do you pay people to have muscles for you too?”
The third ball missed by inches, and Caleb’s triumphant laughter rang out. “Strike three! Thanks for the donation! The children thank you for your complete lack of athletic ability!”
I moved closer, watching with fascination as Tonio stared at the target, his jaw tight even as he still smiled.
Obviously, he wasn’t as far from “caveman” as I first thought.
He didn’t like to lose. Miles turned to the volunteer, pulling out his wallet again.
“Another round,” he said, handing over two hundred dollars this time.
“Come on, men.” Miles motioned for a couple of the prospects hanging out and giving the smaller kids rides on their shoulders. “Young Caleb here says I need to hire some muscle.” The double entendre wasn’t lost on any of the guys. “Anyone want to volunteer?”
“Oh, I’ll take that action!” Riot, who was still soaked to the skin, stepped up to the table. “Payback’s a bitch, Caleb.”
“You gotta hit the mark, Riot.” Caleb lifted his chin, that cocky smirk he was really too young to have firmly in place. “I’m bettin’ you’re just as bad as Mr. Miles there.”
“Oh, it’s on.” Three more failed attempts later, Riot was visibly frustrated while Miles shook his head in bemusement.
“Christ, Riot. I really thought you’d be better than this.” Miles looked like he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.
Riot turned to give the other man a hard stare. Which didn’t seem to faze Miles in the least. “You didn’t do any better. Besides, that little asshole knows how to get under my skin.”
The crowd had grown, drawn by the spectacle and the banter of the powerful businessman being repeatedly taunted by a twelve-year-old.
I noticed several Kiss of Death members watching from the sidelines, trying not to laugh too openly at their business associate’s predicament.
Others outright guffawed. Tiny and Griffin both were wiping tears from their eyes.
“You know what,” Miles finally said, straightening his tie and reaching for his wallet again. “I’ll give you a thousand dollars to just walk up and push the lever.”
Caleb leaned forward on his perch, a calculating glint in his eye. “Oh no. You want to cheat, it’s gonna cost you ten thousand dollars. We take cash and credit or debit. But for you, Mr. Miles, we’ll take a check. Pretty sure you’re good for it.”
A collective gasp rose from the crowd. I felt my mouth drop open, stunned by Caleb’s audacity. Surely even Tonio Miles wouldn’t…
Without hesitation, Tonio pulled a black credit card from his wallet and held it out to the volunteer. “Run it,” he said, his voice calm but his eyes locked with Caleb’s in silent challenge.
The volunteer glanced at me, uncertain. I shrugged, then nodded, a little too shocked to speak.
“Worth every penny,” he said as the volunteer handed him the receipt to sign.
Caleb’s smirk never wavered, even as Tonio strode around to the side of the tank, grasped the lever, and pushed it with decisive force. The platform dropped, plunging Caleb into the water with a satisfying splash. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
When Caleb surfaced, pushing his wet hair from his eyes, he was grinning. “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Miles,” he called out, climbing back onto his platform.
Tonio nodded, a hint of respect in his eyes. “The pleasure was mine,” he replied before turning to address the crowd. “I’m happy to support such a worthy cause. My family believes in giving back to the community.”
As he walked away, I caught his slight smile, suggesting he was well aware of how this public display of generosity would play with the onlookers. The businessman-slash-philanthropist image was intact, even as he’d indulged his desire to dunk the kid who’d gotten under his skin.
I watched the interaction with growing amazement. In less than ten minutes, Caleb had just secured more money for our toy drive than I’d hoped to raise all day. Halloween magic indeed.
The ripples from Tonio’s dramatic donation spread through the park faster than Caleb could dry himself off.
People clustered in small groups, whispering and pointing toward the dunk tank where the soaked twelve-year-old had already reclaimed his perch, grinning like a shark that had just discovered an all-you-can-eat buffet.
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him, his light brown hair plastered to his forehead, his clothes dripping, but his spirit clearly soaring.
“Ten thousand dollars,” Hannah whispered beside me, still stunned. “For a dunk tank? That’s more than most people’s monthly salary.”
“That kid is going places,” I replied, shaking my head in admiration. “Probably Supreme Commander of the New World Order or something.”
Knuckles joined our small group. “What’s this I hear about Tonio Miles dropping ten grand to dunk a twelve-year-old?”
“Caleb,” Chains said without further explanation.
“Ah.” Knuckles grinned.
“You missed quite the show,” I told him, leaning against Chains’ solid warmth. “Caleb played him like a fiddle.”
“Caleb plays everyone like a fuckin’ fiddle.” Knuckles shook his head with a chuckle. “But I’m willing to bet that little show was a tag team effort.”
“Why do you say that?” Hannah slipped her arm through Knuckles’, giving him a curious expression.
“You notice any other big shots around town hanging out down there?” We all looked at the dunking booth as Knuckles indicated where Caleb continued to taunt people nearby.
He also called up a little girl of about six and let her push the lever for free.
She shook her head and, instead, climbed up on the platform with Caleb.
Then the two proceeded to heckle the crowd together.
Granted, Caleb toned it down significantly and made it more fun instead of cutting.
The kid really was in line for biker of the year.
Except he wasn’t a biker. And yeah. I was laughing as much on the outside as I was on the inside because I noticed what Chains did at about the same time.
“Is that…” Chains squinted and studied the girl.
“Yep.” Knuckles put his arm around his wife’s shoulders as he gave a long-suffering sigh. “It’s the mayor’s daughter.”
“Christ, we’re all gonna get arrested.” Chains scrubbed a hand over his face. “Do we have enough bail money?”
A sleek black Mercedes pulled up to the curb near the park entrance.
The crowd parted as a woman in a designer pantsuit strode purposefully toward the dunk tank, her heels clicking against the pavement, her platinum blonde hair pulled back in a severe bun.
I recognized her as the CEO of the largest real estate development company in the region.
“Fresh meat,” Chains murmured, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “This should be good.”
Caleb spotted her immediately, straightening on his perch with renewed interest. He said something to the girl.
She turned and gave him a tight hug. Caleb hugged her back before helping her down from the perch where they’d been sitting.
No one had managed to dunk them, but I’d noticed Caleb at the ready.
Likely to hold her up as high as he could if someone managed to dunk him.
I also noticed that there were only a couple people he seemed concerned with.
The rest… I swear, the kid could read the shit out of people and knew how to get under their skin so deep they couldn’t keep cool enough to get their revenge by dunking the little punk.
Once the girl was safely on the ground, Caleb started the real show. “Well, look who’s here!” he called out. “The woman who builds luxury condos where affordable housing used to be! How many families did you displace this week? Do you make them clean your stilettos before you kick them out?”