Free 314 Book 2 by A.R. Wise Page A

response.
    “Come with me,” said Oliver. “I’m very excited to get the chance to speak with you. I really can’t tell you just how excited I am. You’re the very first person to display true psychometric ability.”
    “True what?” asked Mindy.
    “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you, Nia?” asked Oliver.
    She nodded as he led them back into the hallway.
    “You do?” asked Mindy, surprised. “What is it?”
    Oliver answered after Nia failed to. “Psychometry is the ability to pull information from inanimate objects.”
    “No shit?” asked Mindy.
    “No shit,” said Oliver with a smile, amused by Mindy’s enthusiasm. Then he turned to the old man that was waiting down the hall. “Leopold, could you do me a favor and grab the ledger and the pen from the room? Bring them to our office.”
    “Indeed,” said Leopold as he walked back toward them.
    “My office is down the hall here,” said Oliver as he led the girls away from the staged room.
    Nia hesitated.
    “What’s wrong?” asked Mindy as she almost bumped into the back of her friend.
    “I don’t want anything to do with this,” said Nia.
    “Let’s at least hear the guy out,” said Mindy.
    “What’s the matter?” asked Oliver as he paused at a door further down the hall.
    “I don’t want anything to do with this,” said Nia.
    “You haven’t even heard what we’re offering,” said Oliver. He was still smiling, but his tone had been infected by desperation.
    “I don’t care,” said Nia.
    “Are you crazy?” asked Mindy before she turned to Oliver. “She cares, trust me. Just give us a second.” She looked back at her friend with pursed lips and an admonishing glare. “Are you on crack, girl?”
    “You know how I feel about this,” said Nia. “I just want to go home.”
    “We owe you money already,” said Oliver, interrupting them as he called loudly from down the hall. “You might as well collect it.”
    “Seriously,” said Mindy. “I don’t know what bug crawled up your b-hole, babe, but we might as well get what’s coming to us. Don’t tell me we froze our butts off for nothing.”
    “At least let me write you a check,” said Oliver.
    Mindy took Nia’s arm and pulled her forward. “Come on, weirdo.”
    Nia relented, feeling increasingly embarrassed by her trepidation. Oliver seemed nice enough, and he was one of the only people that Nia had ever met who knew about psychometry.
    “What happened in Widowsfield?” asked Nia when she got to the door that Oliver was ushering them through. She waited for an answer before entering.
    “Well now, that’s the million…” Oliver smiled and corrected himself, “Make that ‘billion’ or ‘trillion’ dollar question.”
    “What’s Widowsfield?” asked Mindy.
    “The town where that pen came from.” Nia looked back at Leopold, who had stopped in the middle of the hallway, a few feet behind them, after retrieving the pen and ledger.
    Oliver clapped and then apologized, but couldn’t stop smiling. “This is truly spectacular. I really can’t explain how happy you just made me. I’ve been searching for years for someone like you.”
    Nia dug her hands even further into her pockets. “Well, you’re going to have to keep searching. I’m just here for a quick buck. I don’t want to have anything to do with your experiments, or whatever it is that you’re doing.”
    “No, no,” said Oliver. “Don’t say that until you hear what we have to offer. Please, just hear me out. If you came here for money, I can end all of your financial concerns just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “For both of you. For your whole family if that’s what it takes.”
    “Nia, babe,” said Mindy. “Let’s hear the dude out.”
    Oliver smiled and raised his eyebrows, feigning trustworthiness. Despite her growing discomfort, Nia needed the cash.
    “Make it quick.” Nia walked into Oliver’s office where Mindy was waiting. It was a simple room, with white walls