Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
He takes my hand and helps me from the car, then ducks back inside to talk to Daniel. “Wait here. I’ll need you again after this.”
“What is this place?” I ask as he wraps an arm over my shoulders, ushering me along toward an iron door that leads into the building.
“It’s easier if you see.”
Part of me is apprehensive. What if I’m about to walk into a drugs factory? What if this is a test of my loyalty, how much I can see of his operation and still say nothing?
What would I do if I saw something inside here that I shouldn’t? Would I report it, or would I keep quiet for Apollo’s sake?
He knocks hard on the door, and a few moments later it opens and there’s a young woman standing there. She can’t be more than in her early twenties, with green streaks in her hair and a ring through her bottom lip, but she grins when she sees Apollo, then nods to me.
“Didn’t know you’d be coming in today. You wanna talk to one of the groups?”
Apollo shakes his head. “I’m not here officially, Serena. This is Rose, she’s a florist, I thought I’d show her—”
“The roof garden!” Serena nods enthusiastically, then turns her attention to me. “If you have any suggestions, the kids will be thrilled. Don’t get me wrong, the place looks great but George was talking to me about planting…delphiniums? I have no fucking clue.” She snorts a laugh. “But my girlfriend says they’re difficult to grow. Come on, I’ll show you what we’ve got.”
She turns, and we both follow her into a long corridor. I can hear music from somewhere, and the sound of feet pounding rhythmically, like there’s dancing going on. There’s a shout, and a young girl goes running past us, nearly knocking into Apollo, who laughs and addresses her by name.
“Chloe, you never told me that math grade.”
She stops and turns, grinning. “B minus, Mr. Volos.”
“Good girl, keep it up. I want the next one to be an A.”
“Yes, sir,” Chloe says seriously, then turns away, shouting I’m coming as she disappears around a corner.
We follow Serena up a flight of stairs, then past a room where some older boys and girls are being given boxing lessons, then through a door and up another flight of stairs. When we go through a door at the top, we emerge onto the roof of the building, where planters and beds and frames for climbing plants are everywhere. There’s a section covered with a tarp on poles, where it looks like they’re growing some more temperamental vegetables, and a wall around the edge with “UNSTABLE WALL – NO LEANING” printed on it in red lettering.
“Unstable wall?” I ask, and both Apollo and Serena start laughing.
“Not really,” Serena says. “I just panic if any of the kids go too close, so I put that there to keep them in the middle when they’re up here. And they’re always supervised.”
I nod, grinning. I like Serena, she seems laid back and relaxed, but with a sensible head on her shoulders. I’m still not sure what Apollo’s involvement here is, but I’m getting the impression there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Which is both reassuring and terrifying, because what do I do if I find myself falling for him? I mean, falling for him, falling for him. What do I do if I can’t do my job?
“I should get back downstairs before they notice I’m gone,” Serena says. “Nice to meet you, Rose, take a look around and let me know if you have any bright ideas.”
She waves, and I wave back, then watch her disappear down the stairs.
“So…” Apollo says, meeting my eyes. “I’m guessing you have questions?”
“What is this place?”
He nods, suddenly serious. “I set it up twenty-five years ago, soon after I took over the family business after my father died. I care about my community, Rose. This isn’t the only thing I do, but it’s the one I can bring you to and show you around. A lot of the people in these neighborhoods are poor, there’s a high incidence of drug use. Low-level crimes are rife because of the poverty and lack of education. This place is my way of trying to improve things for each generation.”
“So it’s a community center?”
“In a way.” He frowns. “It’s…I try to make it more than that. I’m a realist, Rose, I know things won’t change overnight, but you just have to look at Serena to know what can be done.” He takes my hands in his, and I let him, but don’t fall into his arms. I can’t. I can’t risk it. “She came from a broken home, dad in prison, mom on progressively harder drugs. She’s seen more than her fair share of tragedy. This place gave her somewhere to go, funded her place at college and provided her with a job when she came back.”