Damn Good Reasons **DISCONTINUED - SEE NEW VER!**

Chapter 12 - The Whole Package (Part 2)

The slap of a firm hand whacking my jean covered backside woke me with a start. I groaned at the deep throbbing sensation left by the sharp sting and tiredly sent my hand there to rub it.

"How'd it go?" Ace asked from the driver's seat, next to where I lay.

I wearily pushed myself up to sit and saw Vince's house in the faint light of early morning.

"Fine." I drew the zip down on my jacket and grabbed the wad of bills to hand to him. "What took you so long?"

"Got caught up." He thumbed through the money, counted out a few bills and handed them to me.

"This is two hundred and sixty bucks..." It wasn't quite the sizable chunk I'd been expecting.

"The amount you get depends on how much Keith orders. He usually gets a quarter kilo twice a week."

"So, I'll get roughly five hundred bucks a week? Ace... that's amazing, but I need thirteen grand by the 22nd of next month. Six deliveries in three weeks that's... 15-16 hundred bucks? I'm betting you're not gonna lend me 12 grand every month."

Ace laughed to himself and pulled a cigarette from a pack on the dashboard. He shook his head as he lit up. "Not even if I had it."

"So... what then?"

Ace took a puff and then coolly blew a stream of smoke out the open window. "I've got something else for you. Something bigger. Something I'll really need to trust you with."

"OK... so how much are we talking?"

"That depends on how hard you're willing to work."

"The hardest."

He smirked with that rough grin that I secretly admired. "In that case, you could be pulling in two and a half grand a week."

"Fucking hell, Ace – are you serious?" I blurted out. "I mean... sorry. Are you serious?"

Ace nodded. "And, if this next deal works out, maybe more."

I did the sums in my head and worked out that, all up, I could get close to $2800 per week. "And you'll lend me the rest?"

"But don't forget-"

"You want interest," I said, rolling my eyes. "I know."

I may have seemed contemptuous about the whole interest thing, but really, I wanted to reach over and hug him. The money was within my reach, and that's all that mattered at that moment – not even details mattered right then. I decided I didn't want to know what I was committing myself to anyway, not until it came down to it. It wasn't like I had a choice in whatever it was, and I thought knowing would be unnecessary pressure. Because, surely, a phenomenal amount of cash did not come without a phenomenal amount of risk.

---

Sleeping in Ace's one-star accommodation left me feeling too tired to work, but I slogged through it anyway. Every penny counted. The whole day, Keith was on my mind, but not in a good way, unfortunately. I regretted agreeing to go out with him. Now that Ace had given me figures, the deal with him finally felt real; this was happening, and I could not afford to screw it up.

Work finished and the evening drew near. If I had had Keith's phone number, I would have called him and cancelled. That would have been the easy thing to do. And Ace didn't want me to be seen going in there, so I couldn't break it off in person either. Instead, I would have to wait for him to show up, all ready and organized and expectant... and then cancel on him. What a cruel thing to do, I thought. And with no explanation, he'd either think I was a bitch... or he'd ask questions. I couldn't have him asking questions.