“Nah, man, my pops can’t know about all this. I need to keep it on the down low.”
“You’re a little too preppy to be causing trouble with Jose. I feel like you’re going to end up getting your legs broken soon.”
Marco was right. There was only so much longer that I could stretch out my payments. Sooner or later, I would run out of money and not even be able to make the payment. It was going to be necessary for me to move quickly and really start showing my father how much I could settle down. I needed Jordan to say yes to getting married.
“I know, man. I’m working on it.”
“Tonight, Jose wants to talk to you if you aren’t making a full payment. I’ll have to go see if he has time to talk right away or if you’ll need to come back later.”
“I’ll wait.”
As Marco left me in the entry room of Jose’s house, I felt like I was being watched. There most certainly were cameras all around, and I knew they were on me right then.
A young guy about my age came out of Jose’s office and walked toward me and then out the front door. He was sweating and looked extremely scared. I could only imagine that he owed Jose some money and had been given his last warning. I also imagined that Jose and I were about to have a similar conversation, I hoped that I would be able to convince him to give me some more time.
Jose Escabar was more than just a local businessman. His connections with the Mexican drug cartel made him a very dangerous man. If anyone was going to try and break into his home or steal anything from him, they would have to be crazy. Security cameras and other monitoring devices were everywhere. They were so well hidden that I couldn’t see them, and I had been to the house several times. But I knew the cameras were there; I could feel them watching me.
The waiting was always the hard part when I had to meet with Jose. Although our relationship had started out as friends, the second I borrowed money from him, it all changed. Our friendship had turned to him being in charge of the money and me always wanting it.
When I was around him, I felt useless and without power at all. He had the ability to knock down even the biggest amount of confidence by just looking at a man. I admired him on one level; he did know how to demand respect. I couldn’t seem to get even the smallest amount of respect from my co-workers.
“Okay, Chase, he’s ready for you,” Marco said as he stood in the doorway.
I stood up and followed him into the large study area. It was a very pretty house, and in any different circumstances, I figured that I would love a tour, but not under the circumstances that we were in at the moment. In that moment, all I could think about was getting things settled and getting out of there as soon as possible.
“Hello, Jose,” I said as I reached my hand out to shake his.
For the first time since I had known Jose, he didn’t shake my hand back. It sent fear throughout my body. As much as I wanted to believe that he thought of me differently than his other clients, that move proved that he just saw me as some guy who owed him money. I didn’t want to be that guy. I didn’t like that feeling at all.
“Chase, you’re disappointing me, boy.”
“Sorry, Jose. Money has gotten tight.”
“Do I look stupid?”
“No.”
“You live in a million dollar home and have a billionaire for a father. Money is not tight. You don’t know what that even means.”
I understood his point. It was difficult to explain how I could have such a nice home and yet not feel like I had enough money for the things I needed to pay for. But I didn’t have the money, that was all there was to it. I didn’t have cash, and cash was the only way to pay Jose back.
“I understand where you’re coming from. My father has cut me off, though; that is why I don’t have money.”
I watched as Jose appeared to be contemplating our conversation. He wanted his money, and I understood that. But I wasn’t purposely keeping his money from him. If I had it, I would have already handed it over and avoided the thousands of dollars in fees each month. My life was worth giving him his money – so were my fingernails.
Jose stood up and moved toward me and fear filled me faster than I could stop it. Marco was right; I was just a little preppy guy without the ability to fit in with their world. I couldn’t even throw a punch and make contact. If Jose wanted to hurt me, it was going to be really easy for him. To protect myself, I needed a gun or something. Which, of course, I didn’t have.
His hand reached up and wrapped around my throat, and he pushed me back up against the wall. He was serious about his threat as he clamped down and made it almost impossible to breathe.
I tried not to panic or show too much fear. I knew Jose would relish in the thought of provoking fear in me. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to relax as much as I could. I held onto the breath I already had in my lungs and then opened my eyes to look at Jose as he talked to me.
“I’m tired of carrying your loan. Either you pay me or I’ll go to your father for the money. And, I’m sure you can imagine how much pain your father would be in if I had to go to him for the money. You’re taking up too much of my time. You have two weeks.”
Two weeks!
It wasn’t possible for me to get a hold of the whole $200,000 in just two weeks. I had to convince Jose to give me a little more time. It was going to take me at least two months to get control of my father’s company, and that was still not a sure thing. The gravity of the situation weighed on me, but I shook my head up and down in affirmation of his request.
He released my neck and took a couple steps back.