HOBO – Chapter 8 & 9

CHAPTER EIGHT

By middle of the year, the office was running well, Belinda and I would meet maybe once a month or so, fucking our brains out. While the sex was good, it felt really shallow and non-committal. As much as I cared for Belinda, all this had become is raw sex.

Sometime close to the end of the month, I was sitting behind my desk late in the evening when Belinda came in, closing the door behind her.

“The floor is vacant and I’m going to suck your dick till you cum.”, she stated, dropping to her knees.

I got up from my chair and dropped my pants as she took my hardening cock into her mouth. She immediately used her lips and tongue bringing me to full attention. She was softly cupping my balls as her mouth went up and down on my erect shaft. She knew me well enough to know I was close. She pulled her mouth off me and looked up into my eyes.

“I want you to jerk off and cum in my mouth.”, she whispered.

I grabbed my cock in my right hand and began to stroke myself up and down in a steady pace. Belinda was on her knees her face several inches from my hard dick. She looked up and me and smiled, sticking her tongue out as far as she could. She looked back down at my cock placing out-stretched tongue just under the head. The first eruption shot deep into the back of her mouth catching her by surprise. She swallowed quickly then extended her tongue again catching the next several deposits on her tongue. She swallowed quickly again then took my cock into her mouth and sucked on it until I was completely drained. She stood up, kissing me softly on the lips and left the office.

The first week of June was always the time of the year when the firm announced if any litigator was going to be promoted to an associate or if there were going to be promotions or possibly a retirement. We met on the top floor when Richard Butler gave his mid-year speech on how the company was doing. He projected that we were well ahead of the previous year and possibly headed toward a record-breaking year.

There were no new promotions, retirements or named associates so the meeting ended quickly. I stayed behind on the upper floor tom talk to Richard about something I had been thinking of. Once he broke free from Carlos Reyes, I approached him.

“Do you have a minute, sir ?”, I asked.

“Sure Tim, follow me.”, he stated, heading into his office.

We sat down and I explained to him my thinking of buying a home of my own. I asked him, if perhaps he knew anyone in the real estate business that could guide me along. He actually laughed and told me his sister was the leading agent at EMR Realty, one of the largest firms in Dallas. He told me he would have her call me as soon as possible. As promised, Cindy Butler called me the next day around ten o’clock in the morning. She introduced herself and told me that her brother told her to give me the VIP treatment.

She asked me what exactly a condo or a home. I told her I was leaning more toward a home possibly twenty-five hundred square feet or larger on a decent size lot. She told me to give her a day or two to look at some options and she would get back to me. I did not hear from her for about ten days or so. But she finally called back and told me that she had found a property she felt might be perfect for me. The property was vacant and she though it was overpriced but it was completely remodeled from the studs out. Everything was new and had a whole house warranty.

I agreed to meet her that afternoon in North Dallas, not far from where Robin Woods parents lived. I pulled into a sub-division to see large houses, well kept with manicured lawns. If I had to guess, I would say this was upper middle class status. As I pulled into the driveway, an older, women got out of a black Mercedes Benz couple.

I got out of my car and she introduced herself as Cindy Butler, Richard’s sister. We walked toward the home and the front door. Cindy Butler opened the door and I followed her in. She told me that the owner of the home bought it about two years ago and had it completely remodeled. As the remodeling project was coming to an end, his employer offered him a lucrative job in Colorado paying substantially more. As Cindy admitted, the owner had gotten carried away on the remodel and spent more than he should have. The floors were porcelain tile with a gray wood plank look. The entire house was painted a pure shade of white with six- inch baseboards throughout. The master bedroom and living area both had crown molding added. The kitchen was a decent size with all wood white cabinets with gray quartz counter-tops. All appliances were professional grade with a Bosch gas stove, dishwater, refrigerator and over the stove microwave. There was also a small wine cooler built into the cabinets. The house had two extra bedrooms that were a decent size. The kitchen flowed into a living area that was quite large. The owner had a seventy five inch flat screen television mounted on the wall with surround sound installed. That would stay with the house as well. There was a small room off the kitchen for a washer dryer with several rods installed to hang clothes. It also had a large sink installed to soak clothes as well.

The master bathroom was amazing and very large. It had two sinks installed on the vanity. It also had a large soaking tub with jets as well as a huge stand-alone glass shower with dual shower heads. The guest bath had an all in one tub shower alcove and a single vanity in the hallway.

She then led me through the living area to the rear doors that opened into the back yard. The back yard has a decent size inground pool with an attached jacuzzi at one end. The patio was a good size and would be great for entertaining or cooking outdoors. There was also a huge shed in the left hand corner for lawn equipment and the like. The owner had done a great job on the renovation, everything was new. This was a move in ready home.

We went back to the kitchen where she laid out the paperwork for the home. She explained that the median price of homes in this subdivision was between two hundred sixty nine thousand to roughly two hundred eighty thousand dollars. The owner and his wife planned on staying in this house for a good while, but the great job opportunity came along that he could not pass up.

The owner was asking three hundred fifty-nine thousand for the home, well over the median value. It had no offers in six months and he was now paying two mortgage payment. As Cindy Butler noted, the commercial appliances by Bosch were roughly around seventy-five hundred alone. Add the landscaped back yard with the pool and spa for probably another twenty grand.

So, at the high end, the asking price should have been around three hundred twenty-five thousand or so. I explained to Cindy Butler that I basically knew nothing about real estate procedure and I would trust her with the process.

Since, the house had no offers or real interest, Cindy Butler suggested that we make a offer of three hundred and five thousand to start. They could counter offer with another price and we could negotiate from there. She asked me about finances and again, I put myself in her hands.

She told me that she felt sure if I put down one hundred thousand dollars as a down payment the loan would go through immediately since that would be a thirty three percent down payment. My note would be somewhere around thirteen hundred dollars a month including taxes and insurance.

I signed an offer sheet and Cindy Butler told me she would get back to me as soon as she could. The following Thursday, Cindy Butler called me at work and informed me that the owner had came back with an offer of three hundred fifty two thousand dollars. Cindy suggested a counter offer of three hundred fifteen thousand. I agreed and she drew up the offer.

It took almost ten days for the owner to counter offer with three hundred forty five thousand. I talked to Cindy and asked how she felt about the price. She suggested we go all in three hundred thirty-two thousand dollars as a final offer. It was risky, but technically when he declined the offer, we could start all over. He was bleeding seventeen hundred dollars a month note on the property now.

Cindy presented the offer and we had no response during the next two weeks. Cindy Butler suggested that we start looking at other homes. Generally, a delay this long meant the owner was not interested. The following Saturday, she picked me up at ten o’clock in the morning to go view three different homes.

We had just pulled into the driveway of the first home when Cindy’s cell phone rang. The pressed the button on the screen of the car, answering the call. It was the real estate agent handling the house we had made the offer on. She indicated that the owner was thinking about making another counter offer wanting to know if we would consider it. We had noted we were all in at the offer we had presented so the owner wanted to know if we would reconsider.

Cindy Butler replied that I was actually in the vehicle with her looking at other homes. She put her fingers over her lips to tell me to be careful and play along. I said hello to the woman on the phone and confirmed I was with Cindy Butler. Cindy had whispered to me that we now wanted to pursue other options and that I was anxious to get into a home. I repeated exactly that to the woman which caused a moment of silence on her end. Finally, the woman spoke.

“Cindy, the owner agreed to a price of three hundred thirty eight thousand if we sign immediately.”, the agent said.

“Molly, we both know the owner overspent on the property big time. Tim works with my brother at Butler, Land and Reyes, he’s twenty-five years old. I’m not going to hang an albatross around his neck. It will be years before the neighborhood hits the mean value. For the mid-three hundred’s, he can get a bigger home for his money. I appreciate it, but we pass on that offer.”, Cindy replied.

Molly said she understood and would call the owner back immediately with the bad news. We got out and looked at the first home, but it needed a lot of work. It was huge in square footage but had not been taken care of. We got back in the car and were pulling on the interstate when Cindy’s phone rang again, it was Molly.

“Cindy, I just got off the phone with the owner, if your client is willing, we will accept the offer of three thirty two. However, in exchange we ask that closing is before the first so my client can avoid another mortgage payment.”, Molly asked.

Cindy looked at me smiling and told Molly that I was inside looking at a property, but she would call her back shortly. Cindy reached over and closed the call quickly.

“What do you want to do, Tim.’, Cindy asked.

“What do you think ?”, I quickly, inquired.

“Personally, you’re a little heavy at three thirty two but everything is new. New appliances, new bath fixtures, the pool is less than four years old and the new television and sound system. I think for you, this might be the perfect house for now. Just move in and enjoy.”, she offered.

“That’s what I was thinking too…… let’s do it.”, I replied.

“Ok, this is going to move quickly. I have your loan all set up with the bank that you use. We need to get a quick inspection, I know a guy that’s really good. My suggestion to you is get out and buy some furniture. Set the delivery date for the first day after we sign the papers.”, she advised.

That weekend, I left the apartment at around nine o’clock and went to a furniture store that was highly recommended by several people. I was waited on by a very attractive young women named Ashley. I explained to her my situation and her faced beamed. Since the salesmen all worked on commission and she was brand new to the store, this would help her out tremendously.

I explained that I need a sofa set for the living area and bedroom set for the master bedroom and at least three barstools for the kitchen bar. The rest I could get as I went along. We looked at the living room furniture first and I was sold immediately on a very large gray section sofa in four pieces with two large ottomans. I added two modern end tables to the package and we moved on.

Next, she showed me the bedroom sets which present a challenge. Most bedroom sets at least to me appeared feminine. I finally found a gray oak platform bedroom set. It had a platform bed, two nightstands, a large upright chest and a regular chest of drawer with a matching mirror. Thankfully, it was available in king size, so I agreed to it.

I bought three all white high-backed stool for the kitchen counter which would serve as my table for now. I then ***********ed a really, nice mattress and box spring for the bedroom set. I wrote a check and paid cash for everything which came to a little over eighty-five hundred dollars.

On Monday, I went up to Richard Butler’s office and thank him for getting Cindy to work with me on the house purchase. He was glad everything had gone well and made me promised to show him the house when I was done. I went back to my office and got back to work. Since the new changes had been put into place my floor was extremely busy.

We have picked up seven more clients in the financial section which put me at eleven, total. In addition, we reviewed the financials on every divorce case the firm handled. Stacy was doing a great job on handling the finances and every week I had an updated spreadsheet on my desktop via email.

In the first seven months with the new system in place we were spending less money. Credit card expenses alone were down twenty-eight percent. Office supplies had dropped by twenty one percent and not a single phone had been replaced in the new year.

Secondly, billing was up about twelve percent, but I was hoping for more. But all total, we were saving a little over thirty percent at this time. I met with Richard Butler and he was extremely please with the number but mentioned he would meet with the attorneys and see if perhaps we could increase the billing to about twenty percent.

I signed the papers and moved into my house on a Thursday evening. I took off Friday so the furniture could be delivered. Everything was fine and the delivery guys set everything up for me. Now I needed to go shopping again. I needed towels for the bathroom and kitchen, linens for the bed, pillows and a comforter of some kind. I also needed dishes, pot and pans and groceries. Friday night, I sat on the sofa and watched the large screen television which was awesome. I had put all of my clothes away in the master and decided to go shopping the following morning. I was just about to go to bed when my cell phone rang, it was Robin Woods.

“Hey Tim. Are you in the house yet ?”, she asked.

“Yes, I am. Had some furniture delivered today but I have to go out tomorrow for a load of things. I have no idea where to even go but I figure it out.”, I replied.

“I can help you with the shopping if you would like. I have nothing to do tomorrow.”, Robin said, softly.

“That would be great.”, I replied, knowing I needed the help.

Robin asked for my new address which I gave her and promised to meet me at my house around eight thirty in the morning. I promised to take her to breakfast and then we could start shopping. I had to sleep on a bare mattress that night, but I had taken one pillow from the apartment. The air conditioner was oversized for the home and kept the inside very cool. I was looking forward to having something to cover up with the next night.

My alarm on my phone went off at seven o’clock and I got right up. I took a shower and dressed then sat down to wait for Robin. About eighty-twenty that morning the doorbell rang. I walked to the front and opened the door letting Robin in.

Robin was wearing a pair of skin tight jeans with a black sleeveless pullover top. She had on a pair of black and gray snakeskin boots on. She looked amazing, I had never saw her outside of a work setting.

“Wow Tim, this is nice. Everything looks brand new.”, she remarked, as she walked in.

“It is…. The owner remodeled the whole house before I moved in.”, I replied.

I took her around so she could see all the rooms then out to the back so she could see the pool. She loved the pool area and warned me that I had to let her swim at least once in repayment for her helping me today. I agreed at once, having Robin around was never really a problem.

We went to a local restaurant and had breakfast then drove to the linen store as Robin suggested. Since different shades of gray were the central colors for the floor, furniture and cabinets, Robin suggested we use maroon towels, washroom and dish towels. She then suggested my bedding be pure ultra white with accent pillows in gray and maroon. We went with darker gray curtains on the three bedroom windows and the French doors leading to the back yard.

After finishing there, we drove to a store that specialized in kitchenware.