?


    Thirty secondster, with a ding, the notification sound chimed.


    Mamie swiped back to her phone''s home screen, nced at it, and sure enough, it was a deposit alert.


    On the other end, Duke messaged, "Sweetheart, did you get it?"


    "Yep, got it, got it."


    Not a million, but one and a half million.


    Wowza- Duke had tossed in an extra half a million!


    "Don''t skimp on the good stuff, eat well, drink well, and if you ever run short, you just holler at Duke, got it?!"


    "Yep! Got it, Duke!"


    Call ended, she pocketed her phone.


    Turning around, she caught Scales and Roseanne staring at her.


    Blinking in confusion, Mamie asked, "...What? Just because I got money, you''re giving me the eye?"


    Scales narrowed his eyes slightly, arms crossed, "Mamie, you''re not being straight with us."


    Mamie was puzzled.This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.


    "Living in a small town?"


    Mamie replied, "Yeah, we''re smack dab in a vibrant area, surrounded by business districts and upscale residences. It''s lively, to say the least!" Scales just sighed.


    Roseanne questioned, "Your folks are out of work, managing a building?"


    "Yep, that whole area, over eighty buildings, they''re all Duke''s. He''s all about that rent life. Tenants have any issues, like a burst pipe or a tripped fuse, they call him. He''s basically property management."


    She was, in essence, working for herself.


    Roseanne was speechless.


    Scales asked, "And this fishing out at sea?"


    Mamie chuckled, "Ah, my mom loves throwing parties on the yacht, and my dad''s all about deep-sea fishing. They''re always heading out."


    Yacht...What an exotic word!


    Scales concluded, "So... your family isn''t poor?"


    Mamie was genuinely surprised, "Why would you think we''re poor?"


    Scales gave her a once-over, finding it hard to put into words.


    T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops...


    Indeed, she was rocking flip-flops like they were going out of style.


    "You don''t really look... rich."


    Mamie was incredulous. Where was the politeness?


    "Let me tell you, Caley! That''s summer attire where I''m from. My dad wears flip-flops all year round! And he still goes about collecting rent


    in them."


    Roseanne and Scales exchanged looks, opting for silence.


    Turns out, a pair of flip-flops had set their imaginations wild...


    set


    "Now that we''ve got the money, when are we going shopping for the measuring device?" Mamie''s eyes


    sarkled.


    Roseanne thought for a moment, "This is a group project, we can''t let you foot the bill alone."


    "Right, let''s split it three ways." Scales had been eager to suggest, "That would be... $420,000 each."


    Roseanne nodded, "Sounds fair."


    Mamie blinked, then suddenly said


    Sere was, thinking I was the


    sneaky one. Turns out you two are even sneakier!"


    It seemed they had their own secrets, not as upfront as they appeared.


    Scales coughed, "Ah, savings from when I was younger."


    Roseanne exined, "I earned it on my own merit."


    Securing a hefty breakup settlement is an achievement in itself.


    Exactly, no issues there.


    Funds were pooled, but a new issue emerged.


    Equipment like the CPRT,rge and expensive, wasn''t readily avable due to its niche market.


    "So, where do we buy it?"


    Scales suggested, "I saw a sales number online, let''s give them a call..."


    But after dialing twice, they hit a dead end with disconnected numbers.


    Scales pondered for a moment, "I''ll head home and ask the elders if they know any suppliers."