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Shit!“Yeah, well, you see what a lasting impression your stinginess leaves,” I deflect from my neck-risking careless talk. “What are you hoarding so much paper money for if you don’t treat yourself to a little something?”
She presses her lips together. Her face gets all pointed as she looks at me, caught. “A winter coat that expensive is not alittle something. And the money…” She turns her face away. “My inheritance was actually intended as a foundation for our home. But Kevin finds fault with all the offers Horst unearths.” After what feels like an eternity, her gaze returns to my face.
I feel as if she’s scanning every square inch. I’m starting to feel queasy.Is there still a blob of ketchup from the hamburger stuck in the corner of my mouth which I quickly stuffed in earlier? In any case, it can’t be the mention of Kevin! Absolutely not!
“It’s probably a typical man thing…” Celine continues to talk as confidentially as if I were her friend Pauline. “Fear of commitment? The opposite of female-eleventh hour panic?” She shrugs. “I probably just need to be patient with him. That’s what Aunt Mareike thinks, anyway. But in the meantime, the negative interest rate is eating up my deposit…”
“The downside of favorable lending rates…” That’s how much current economic world affairs I’ve caught on to.
“Exactly,” Celine smirks cautiously. “It would be a win-win situation for both of us: you get the loan amount you need in a hurry; I get an interest rate that at least compensates for inflation.”
“And you’re quite sure that’s what you want?” Although I fear nothing more than her changing her mind, I have to give her the opportunity to back out.Fucking idiot, me. On the other hand, without her money, my dream vanishes into thin air. What could I possibly do to convince her to put it into my baby?Desperate, I pound my hands on my head as if it were a punching bag at the gym.
“Yes.”
Got it! “The company apartment!”I can’t believe I didn’t think of that one right away!I point across the airspace to the other side of the gallery. “Beyond this door is 1700 square feet, four rooms, kitchen, three baths. You could make your own home there with Kevin.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “No.”
“No?”Fine, if I’m being honest: I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of the man at that sweetness’s side moving in here. For whatever reason. But for the fulfillment of my greatest wish, I’ll swallow any toad, no matter how big.
“No, it wouldn’t be a good idea for us to move in here.” She puckers her mouth. “I don’t think Kevin’s ever been within two miles of a tattoo parlor. And I shouldn’t change that. Besides, you’re going to need a place to live if you’re going to work here…”
“That means you really want to lend me the money?”
“Yes.” She beams at me, holding out her hand. “How many times do I have to say it: Yes, I do!”
18. To Take the Lion’sSpread
Celine
“And you’re quite sure that’s what you want?” Philipp looks at me as if he can’t believe what I’ve just offered him.
Actually, neither can I…Still, the banks are penalizing me for idle money. Even if I charged him only half the market rate, it would be a profit for me. So, “Yes.”
He doesn’t seem to have been listening to me, because it literally bubbles out of him, “The company apartment!” His eyes sparkling, he points over to the other side of the gallery. “Beyond the door is 1700 square feet, four rooms, kitchen, three baths. You could make your own home there with Kevin.”
With Kevin…Philipp’s suggestion is stabbing me right in the heart. I laugh away my pain, shaking my head. “No.”
“No?”
Oh my God! Why must he be so blunt about the fact I’m not his type? On the other hand, how would he even know his sheer presence is turning my hormones upside down?“No, it wouldn’t be a good idea for us to move in here.” I pucker my mouth. Aside from living door to door with the object of my animal desires would drive me crazy… “I don’t think Kevin’s ever been within two kilometers of a tattoo parlor. And I shouldn’t change that. Besides, you will need a place to live if you’re going to work here…”
“That means you really want to lend me the money?”
“Yes.” How pleased he is. I give him a warm smile and reach out to him. “How many times do I have to say this: yes, I do!”
The purchase almost fell through after all. Because a notary appointment scheduled at such short notice did not seem to be available in all of North Baden.
But what is the point of having connections?I smile silently to myself. But it was not quite as easy as it sounds. In the end, it was sheer luck Katja’s twins’ godmother turned out a self-employed notary. And that she still had gaps in her schedule shortly after returning from parental leave.
Full of determination, I now direct my attention to the monologue of my conversation partner on the phone. Up and down, up and down, I wind the spiral of the receiver cable around my pen.
In fact, he is enumerating for the third time the vehicles with which he would like to expand his fleet.
“Yes, exactly,” I interrupt him. I run my index finger along the list I’ve written down. “Five flatbed trucks, two of which are double cabs. Three vans, the same number of Sprinters, and two trucks with three-way dump trucks and cranes.”
My customer confirms my list before going into epic detail again about the pros and cons of different brands.
