It was a tad disappointing to wake up alone, but at least, he knew that he was going to be wrapped around the man again tonight, and the certainty of that thought was making him feel something, between a chuckle and something ticklish, right in the middle of his chest. His phone chimed from the nightstand, and he smiled as he read the message.
"Time to start cashing in your hard earned money from the construction site. The foreman has your paycheck, pick it up from him. Use your lunch break to go to the branch bank two blocks over from the site and open a bank account."
A bank account. In his name. Jake Lopez. Klaus had clearly listened. He pushed his face into the pillow to stifle a laugh. And it was honest money, not whatever shady deal Diaz chose to get Jake involved in. Neither was it the "charity" that Klaus provided him to buy clothes and the other costs of daily living. This was money he had earned, worked hard for and he could not help it as his chest filled with pride.
He got up, dressed and was out the door in record time, barely touching breakfast, at the risk of facing Agnes's disapproving looks. He could barely wait for the lunch break.
***
When he went to the trailer, Mr. Harrison, the foreman, had his paycheck as Klaus had said.
"Jake, this is your first month's pay since you started here. It came in while Mr. Metzger was in Germany, and in all the activity since his return, I forgot to give it to you. He reminded me this morning. Since this is your first check, you should look at the stub to make sure all of your time is there. You can choose to keep getting paid monthly or every two weeks from now on. Most guys choose every two weeks."
"Yes, two weeks sounds good, like the rest of the guys," said Jake.
He went out of the trailer, heading towards the gate while opening the envelope. He studied the pay stub carefully, sure enough, every day he had worked since the first day was included. Klaus had paid him from the very start.
His words to Diaz about him working for free, Jake now understood, were to distract Diaz from becoming too suspicious and it fit with his brother's opinion that Jake's worth was not that much. He took a deep breath, held his head up and nearly marched towards the bank.
He had been excited all right to get here, but now he felt like the bull in a china shop, except actually, no, he felt more like a mouse, seeing that he seemed so little and everything so big around him. The bank employees, busy working behind their desks, seemed too preoccupied to ask him what he wanted. The guard, though, was eyeing him warily.
He frowned. Yes, maybe this place was too fancy-schmancy for the likes of him. But it was not like he could just walk away, tail between his legs, and tell Klaus that he hadn't had the guts to do such a simple thing as opening a bank account. Well, simple for someone like Klaus. Not for someone like Jake, though, he had never been allowed one; Diaz had always controlled any money they had.
He pushed himself forward from where he had stood for what seemed like several minutes, and approached a clerk who didn't look busy at the moment.
"Hi, I am here to open up a bank account," Jake blurted out. The clerk looked him quickly up and down, but before he could speak, Jake swiftly added, "Mr. Metzger sent me ..."
The clerk's eyes widened, but he quickly tapped something on his keyboard.
"Right this way, Mr. Lopez," the man stood up and invited him to follow.
Mr. Lopez? That sounded weird as fuck. But anyway, it was not like he could run out the door. So he followed the clerk.
He read a name on the door in passing, and ... branch manager? Why was he seeing the branch manager? Was he in trouble already? He surreptitiously smelled himself. He had washed his hands and face before he went to get his paycheck, and his clothes did have some dirt on them from the work of the morning, but he didn't smell or anything.
"Mr. Lopez, welcome, please, take a seat," the branch manager, a man in his late 50s, pointed to an empty chair, after a short moment of hesitation. "Mr. Metzger informed us that you would be coming in to open an account with us. It is our pleasure to do business with Mr. Metzger's associates."
No matter how much they look like street trash, Jake completed that phrase in his mind. He knew what that purse of lips and quick looks in his direction meant. He felt almost tempted to grab a pen or something from the man's desk, just to see him jump. But that was not him. Not anymore. So he just waited for the man to do whatever he had to do.
"The message I have here says you have a paycheck to deposit; you need to open a savings account, with debit card access and set up an electronic deposit of your future paychecks, ... does that sound correct?" the man asked.
"Yes, yes, that's what I want," Jake responded quickly. Damn, he thought, Klaus had this covered A to Z.
He supplied answers to the perfunctory questions, as the man began to talk and enter the information into the computer.
"Home address? Same address as the driver's license you gave me here?" asked the manager.
Jake opened his mouth and then chose to shut it. He was going to leave with Klaus, and never to return home. Diaz's home. So it was much better to tell him Klaus's address instead. Yeah, much better.
Only he had no idea about what the address was.
"No, could you, please, give me a second?" he asked politely and fished out his phone.
The man threw him an odd look but said nothing. Should he call Klaus and ask him? No, maybe the guy was busy right now. As he browsed through the contact list, Jake was happy to see that all the important numbers had already been saved by Klaus, including one that said 'Home'.
Agnes's voice came through, as he turned slightly away from the manager.
"Metzger residence."
"Hi, Agnes. It's Jake, sorry to bother you," he mumbled. "Agnes, I am at the bank, depositing my paycheck, could you, please, tell me our home address?"
The small pause on the other side made him feel stupid for a second. But Agnes began jabbering, and Jake could swear the old lady was suddenly extremely happy for some reason. Oh shit, what did he just say? He wanted to add something, to cover that fuck-up, but Agnes began enunciating the address in a very loud voice, so he chose to just shut up for a change.
After telling him the address, Agnes asked, "What would you like to have for dinner Jake?"
"Uhm, what? I mean, sorry. Whatever you want."
"You must have a favorite food," Agnes insisted.
The banker was looking at him, but showing no sign of impatience. Probably the guy was still trying to wrap his head around what someone like Jake Lopez could have in common with someone like Klaus Metzger.
"Everything you cook is my favorite food," Jake replied quickly, and he thought honestly. "So, whatever you like."
He had to move the phone away from his ear. Agnes was either having a weird seizure, or was ... expressing her happiness?! Was she laughing?!
"See you tonight," he added quickly and smiled a bit after listening for a few seconds to a shower of unintelligible words, probably all German.
He told the branch manager the full address. If the guy recognized Klaus's home address, he was professional and gave no indication. Jake signed the paperwork and his check. The manager summoned a clerk with a crook of his finger to take the documents, then turned back to Jake.
"It will be three days before we can have a debit card sent by courier to your home, Mr. Lopez. Do you need some cash to use before your card arrives?"
Jake thought for a few seconds.
"Yes, how about a $100.00, in twenties?"
Minutes later, with money in his pocket, his money, the manager was escorting him through the bank towards the door. With a strong handshake, the manager wished him a good day and thanked him again for his business. Jake turned towards the entrance and began to hurry to get back to work. But, just as he was focused on the door, he saw the security guard move towards the front door as well.
What was going on now? It felt like something was amiss.
