From The Trash Man To The Cash Man Novels & Stories

I accompany my pregnant wife, Noelle Sutton, to meet her biological family. At the celebration banquet, Maeve Sutton, the adopted daughter of the Suttons, splashes half a glass of red wine in my face. Then, with tears in her eyes, she says to Noelle, "Noelle, I know you hate me for taking your place, but you can't just bring some broke nobody home just to disgust Mom and Dad!" My mother-in-law, Penny Miller, points at Noelle and snaps, "Get rid of that thing in your stomach, or don't expect us to acknowledge you as our daughter!" Kenneth Wright steps up and openly leers at my wife. "What future do you have with a loser like him? You should come with me instead." The entire hall watches

After over two decades of living, I finally met someone who dared to act cocky before me. Amused, I tilted my head and asked calmly, "What did you want me to say? I didn't hear you the first time." "Great. You're deaf, too. Listen carefully, alright? 'I'm a useless bitch!' See? It's not that hard." I burst into laughter. "Okay. I heard you loud and clear now. Since you're a useless bitch, why don't you just step aside and be where you need to be? You're in my way."

Emma twisted around from the passenger seat, blowing perfect smoke rings right at my face, grinning like trouble. “Where the hell are we headed?” I asked, voice still rough from all the polite bullshit I’d swallowed earlier. “Home first, girl,” Sophia said, eyes flicking to the rearview, catching mine. “Go wash that job-hunt stink and desperation off you. Then we’ll sit down and talk real business. I’ll break it all the way down to how the pussy-and-cash machine really runs. No fairy tales, no soft shit. Just how you turn this body into money that bites back.”

I clutch a manila folder and a thick envelope of cash. The men I’ve arranged to meet are already waiting, leaning against a black van. Their faces are covered with baseball caps. One of them straightens as I reach them. “You have what we need?” he asks. I hand over the folder first. “Her picture and everything you need to know. I want this done clean. No loose ends.” The man flips through the folder, nodding slightly before tucking it under his arm. “And the payment?” I hold out the envelope. He takes it, counts the cash quickly, then slides it into his jacket. “Consider it done.”

I felt like I was floating on a cloud of gold and magic. The introduction with the Businessmen in the room went smoothly. I got lots of deals from a few people. This stirred more happiness in me. It turned out that the masquerade ball was not a bad idea after all. We just finished speaking to Rowan, the richest man who deals with online businesses, when another man approached us, and Alexander's face immediately darkened as his grip on my waist tightened. “Long time no see Alexander. I see you got yourself yet another toy to play with. You never seem to change”, the man said with a chuckle.

Rather than feeling happy, Lionny felt deep sympathy watching her husband push himself to earn that much money, especially working from morning until late at night. The next morning, as he was preparing to leave for work, Stefan saw a scavenger passing by the house, eyeing the trash bin closely. “Hey man, this is my spot,” said the middle-aged man, whose appearance was thoroughly disheveled. He assumed Stefan was a fellow scavenger. “The past few days I’ve found mutton satay, Jakarta soup, martabak, toasted bread, and pizza here. I’m a regular here, so back off!” The scavenger gestured for Stefan to step away from the trash bin.

Ruth said and the man thanked her and sat down "I understand you have something I need," Ruth began "Straight to the point. I like women like that," he said making faces but Ruth was not amused "You got money?" he asked "Yes, in cash," Ruth replied and pulled the briefcase from under her seat and placed it on the table. She opened and it showed the man the dollar bills and closed it. "How sure are you that I will just shoot you and run away with this money," the man asked and pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up

“This is it.” Cash takes his hand and pushes against it, popping the door completely from it's hinges. He catches it and tosses it down the abandoned hallway. Looking through the opening, rickety stairs lead down into a creepy dark room. I straighten my back and steel my resolve before I walk carefully down the stairs. Despite how narrow the stairs are, Mason and Cash manage to flank me, one on each side. As I get closer to the bottom, I begin to smell the smell. Blood, rot and death are overpowering.

The old butler just looked at us, balancing a tray with two hands. “My..my apologies, I will return later.” He suddenly turned back towards the door. I wanted to dig a hole in the woods outside and bury myself in dirt. I can only imagine how we looked. “You are fine, just set them down and you may go.” Cash said coolly as he scooted back and up a step away from me. Bracing myself on the shelf next to me I stood and straightened my hoodie casually. I couldn’t see the old man glancing at me.

The clean hallway outside our home had turned into a disgusting garbage dump covered in buzzing flies. There was a designated trash area in the neighborhood, and everyone here had lived together for over a decade. There was no way people didn’t know where garbage was supposed to go. Anthony immediately exploded in anger. “Who did this? Throwing trash in front of someone else’s door like this, do you people have no shame?” Someone nearby muttered under their breath, “It’s still nothing compared to being the other man.” Anthony immediately lost it, grabbing the speaker by the collar. “What did you just say? I’m telling you right now, Anthony is not an adulterer! The real adulterer is that fake