PART 11: World-Beaters

Chapter 60: Off-Piste

? Ding-da-ding! Ding-da-ding! ?

That and the buzzing of my smartphone on the workbench pulled my attention away from the Windows box I was working on. Turns out, cigarette smoke is about as unhealthy for computer air intake fans as it is for human lungs. There’s your PSA for the day.

? Ding-da-ding! Ding-da-ding! ?

‘All right, all right!’ I groused internally.

I poked the notification from the video doorbell app on my smartphone, causing some stranger’s face to fill the screen shortly after. The low angle on the camera gave me a fine view up his nostrils. Sigh.

Chances were highest that this guy was a drop-in client rather than any other sort of visitor — that being the very reason we’d gotten the video doorbell in the first place — so I said, “Magic Hands Massage, this is Davie. How may I help you?”

The volume of random calls from prospective clients wanting to set up a session with us had gone up to the point that I’d even started answering that way without looking sometimes. I’d had to set up a secondary VoIP app on the phone for personal calls, giving it a distinct ringtone just to keep things straight.

The man answered, “Hi, I’m here for a massage?”

“Certainly. We’re not at home at the moment, but we can schedule one for later today. Were you wanting me, my wife, or four-handed?”

“I…ah…yes, I really think I’d rather a woman. Alone.”

“Of course, no problem. Your name?”

“Martin.”

I held the silence long enough for him to fill it with a surname, but he passively declined, so I continued, “Okay, Martin, were you wanting something during the day or after office hours?”

“Can I get it tonight?”

“Six okay?” I countered.

“Perfect.”

Guessing by the fact that he’d driven out to the house, I asked, “You’ll be coming back out to our house for this, rather than have us come to you, sir?”

“Yes, I think that’ll be best.”

“As you like.”

Then without giving me a chance to add anything else, he said, “See you then,” and just walked down off the porch.

‘Well!’ I thought to myself as I watched him climb back into an upscale sedan. I swiped the doorbell app away when nothing else of interest happened within the camera’s field of view, then poked the appointment into the calendar I shared with Kaitlyn and got back to work.