The Man in 3B Read Online Free

entourage?” Daryl asked.
    “You mean to tell me that you didn’t notice you have an audience?” Pop clarified.
    Daryl glanced in their direction and shook his head. “Man, I’m not even paying attention to them. Only thing I’m worried about is unloading this truck.”
    “Well, their lazy asses ain’t gonna help you. I can tell you that. I got a week’s salary that says not one of them offered to lift a finger to help you out.”
    My father looked to the women on the stoop. Their ears were deaf to anything he had to say, but their eyes were still clearly focused on Daryl. Lucky for Pop that his snide remark had gotten by them. The women in our building really knew how to stick together when they weren’t stabbing each other in the back.
    “Now that you mention it, no, they haven’t offered,” Daryl said.
    “Take my advice when it comes to the women in this building. Hit it and quit and don’t get too attached ’cause all of ’em ain’t nothing but a bunch of gold diggers and whores.”
    Daryl had nothing to say but nodded his understanding. I couldn’t read his expression, but somehow I got the feeling Pop had gone a little too far calling them whores.
    “Anyway, let’s get this stuff upstairs,” I suggested to change the subject.
    “You look like a strong young man so why don’t you start with this?” Daryl transferred a heavy box from his hands to mine. “I’ll grab something off the truck.”
    As Pop and Daryl went into the truck to unload more boxes, I looked down and realized what I was carrying.
    “Oh, wow! Is this the new system Bose just put out?” I called out.
    “What do you know about that?” Daryl asked, exiting the truck. My dad followed behind him, his arms full.
    “My boy’s a bit of a tech nut,” Pop answered for me. “If it’s got circuits and wires, he knows about it.”
    “Well, that’s all right,” Daryl said. If I hadn’t just met the guy, I’d say he sounded almost like he was proud of me. At the moment, both Daryl and my father wore the same smiles on their faces. “And that’s good to know because I’m not. Maybe if I throw you a few ends, you can help me out with setting up some of my equipment. I’m sure a college kid like yourself can use a little money from a side hustle.”
    “No doubt,” I answered as Daryl led the way into the apartment building.
    The elevator arrived and we all piled on. I was the last one in, closest to the buttons, so I pressed three and we headed up.
    I looked over into the box Daryl was carrying and couldn’t believe what I saw on top of it. “No way. Please tell me that is not the new iPad.”
    “Oh, that?” Daryl said nonchalantly. “Yeah, a friend hooked me up. I haven’t had time to figure that thing out yet.”
    “I told you my son’s a mechanical genius. I bet he’ll have you operating that thing like a champ in no time,” my father said, putting in a good word on my skills.
    “I don’t know about a genius,” I said, looking over my shoulder at Pop, who still had a proud grin on his face.
    As the elevator doors opened, Daryl said, “I have a friend who hooks me up with all that stuff.”
    He said it so casually, but it didn’t come across as bragging. I liked that about him. There was nothing worse than a man who tried to make another man feel inferior by flaunting his worldly possessions. And then he said something that made me like him even more.
    “You’re free to come mess around with my stuff whenever you have time. I’m sure you could teach me a thing or two.”
    Pop put his hand on Daryl’s shoulder. “Oh, I’m quite sure he could. Benny is a techie, a mechanical genius, a gadget geek… you name it.I hope you meant it when you said he could come over, because I have no doubt he will.”
    Daryl stopped in front of his apartment door and turned to face us. “One thing you’ll learn about me is that I mean everything I say.” He looked at me. “I mean it, son. Feel free to come over