by Bill Evans
“Yes, I do. I need to go down the hall and see John. I’m glad we saw each other. Please know you can call me at any time, no matter what.”
“I know.”
Lisa went back behind her desk and Stewart headed down the hall. No one in the sales area knew what had just transpired. They simply thought that the owner had come by the sales manager’s office to say hi.
22
JIM AND JACKIE Lee Houston threw the kickoff party for the Palm Springs and desert social season every year. It happened every October 31, Halloween night. Five hundred people would converge by invitation at their home in old Palm Springs. It was the “who’s who” of the desert. More than half showed up in costumes. And not just any costumes. This crowd spent some time and money on their outfits. It was all about the look for this party. The cross-dressing crowd loved Halloween because it was a “free” night for them. They didn’t have to explain their Little Bo Peep outfits or whatever. It was always a great party, and everyone looked beautiful.
Lisa finally got her invite after all these years. Actually, it wasn’t her invite. It was Walter Campbell’s. Clear Channel had six radio stations in Palm Springs and Walter donated a lot of airtime to many of the charities the Houstons supported—hence the invite to the Halloween party; tonight he would attend his third one. He had talked Lisa into wearing a bride’s dress, and he wore a tuxedo. She thought that was bizarre but agreed to do it because she wanted to please him. After all, they were his tickets.
They arrived at 6:15 and the party was already in full swing. Lisa was blown away by the costumes, the overboard decorations, and especially the food. No wonder this party was the hottest ticket in the desert every year. Walter knew a lot of the people and at one point introduced Lisa to Jackie Lee. They had met only once before, when Barbara Sinatra introduced them. Jackie Lee never missed a beat.
“Lisa, how are you? I haven’t seen you since we met at the polo grounds. Thank you for being here.”
Lisa was impressed by Jackie Lee’s memory.
“It is my pleasure. Thank you for inviting us.”
“It is our pleasure. Jim and I adore Walter. He’s one of the best.” Jackie Lee squeezed Walter’s hand.
Walter surprised Lisa by kissing Jackie Lee on the cheek. She didn’t realize that he ran in these circles. Stewart Simpson was not an outgoing person who liked crowds, so Lisa was never exposed to this kind of atmosphere. This is fun, she thought. Lisa would have been surprised to know that Stewart Simpson was invited every year but had never attended—then again, she wouldn’t be surprised.
As the couple left the receiving line, Walter surprised his date one more time. He walked with Lisa into the center of the party area—apparently on cue. Jackie Lee signaled her party planner, which put in motion several things. The crowd separated and made room for Walter and Lisa. The live band started playing Lisa’s favorite love song. How cool is that? she thought. Walter dropped to one knee and, with a couple hundred people standing around and watching every move, he asked Lisa to marry him.
Lisa hadn’t seen this coming, but her sense of humor came out in her answer.
“Hell, we’re already dressed for it. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
The photographers loved it, and Jackie Lee was proud to have orchestrated the surprise engagement at her party. That was why she was the best.
***
“I don’t have any intention of selling my station, Mr. Simpson. I appreciate you arranging for us to meet here in Las Vegas. It was fun playing golf with you today and dinner has been great, but I’m not selling my Santa Barbara station.”
“I can’t say that I blame you. It’s a great station and in a beautiful location. Promise me this—if you ever do think about selling, I’d like to have the first crack at making a deal with you.”
“Sure, Mr. Simpson, you can have first crack. Now, if you don’t mind, it’s Halloween in Las Vegas and the night is still young. I think I’m going to the tables. Would you like to join me?”
“Thanks, but I’m going to pass. I’ve got my jet waiting for me. I’ve got to get back to Dallas. You have a great time, and I’ll talk to you down the road.” The two men shook hands.
Dugan and Stewart left the suite and headed down to the limo waiting to take them to the airport.
“Everything okay, boss?”
“He’s a fool, and he will prove that one more time tonight. At some point he’ll sell Santa Barbara to me.”
Stewart’s car phone rang as they climbed into the back seat for the short ten-minute ride to the Las Vegas private jet terminal.
“Stewart, this is Lisa. Walter has asked me to marry him. I said yes. Get ready to pay for a huge wedding.”
The silence on the other end of the phone told Lisa that maybe her sense of humor wasn’t appropriate right now with the man she wished she was marrying.
“Stewart, I’m sorry. I was only making a joke about it.”
“No, no there’s no worries. I was thinking about something completely different. That’s fantastic news, about you and Walter. Let me know where you want the wedding and the date, and we’ll get it all coordinated. Lisa, I’m very happy for you. I’ll talk to you later.”
Stewart didn’t speak another word until the plane landed in Dallas. He wondered if Lisa called to torment him.
Lisa hung up feeling that she had just hurt the person she loved the most. It dawned on her that maybe she made that call to punish Stewart. She wiped the tear from her cheek and headed back to Walter Campbell, her fiancé.
***
“Stewart, it’s Lisa. We’ve decided to get married on New Year’s Eve at the Ritz Carlton in Rancho Mirage. Are you okay with that?”
“It sounds wonderful. I will call the Ritz and open an account there for you. You just put everything on my account. I trust everything is still great for the two of you?”
“Never better, Stewart. Thank you for asking.”
“You know that I am always here for you?”
“I appreciate that. I just wish you could have been there like I needed.” Lisa was surprised at her anger.
“Lisa, I’ve always loved you and still love you, but I am a realist when it comes to relationships. What we had worked until you needed more than what I am capable of giving someone. I will always be here for you.”
Lisa fought back tears. “I know.” And with that she hung up the phone. It seemed like every time she talked to Stewart she ended up crying. She was an emotional wreck around him. She knew she was marrying safe. Right now, that was okay with her. Walter Campbell would never know.
***
Lisa busily grew the local sales numbers at TV3 while planning her wedding. New Year’s Eve was less than a month away. Stewart held true to his word and was throwing Lisa a fantasy wedding. Then he was sending them on a honeymoon to Paris on his private jet.
Walter never questioned the relationship between Stewart and Lisa. There was a twenty-seven-year difference between the employee and her boss, and Walter was old enough to know that it was too much work to be jealous. He knew that Lisa saw Stewart as a mentor, and it appeared that Stewart had almost adopted Lisa. Beyond that, Walter really didn’t want to know more. He couldn’t get his head around the idea that there was something more between them. Or why would she be marrying me?
***
Lisa scheduled two weeks of vacation between Christmas and the first week of January. This would give her time to put the finishing touches on her wedding and then time off for the honeymoon. December 27 she was at the Ritz in Rancho Mirage meeting with the wedding coordinator when her pager went off. She thought it must be the florist or the dress designer calling. It wasn’t.
“Hello,” she said.
“Lisa, when you are done with your meeting, come up to room 402.” She couldn’t believe the voice she was hearing. Why? Why is he calling now? She didn’t even have time to respond because the caller was gone. Lisa quickly finished up the meeting with the planner. Her heart was racing,
and deep down she knew why. She almost left the hotel. That would have been the right thing to do. She couldn’t.
She knocked on the room door and without hesitation jumped into Stewart’s arms. Even Stewart was surprised by the greeting. Maybe it was the pressure of the wedding—of knowing she was marrying the wrong man. Or maybe it was the idea of being lost in the arms of the man she truly loved one more time. Stewart lifted Lisa up and carried her inside his suite. It reminded him of the first time the two of them made love, when no words were spoken and they just made love for hours. She wanted that again.
She got it.
Later, Stewart moved the table closer to the bed. The table had the lunch he ordered before Lisa arrived. He fed Lisa grapes from the fruit bowl. All the pressures and anxiety had drained from her face and body. The orgasms certainly helped. No one did that better for Lisa than Stewart.
“I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much.” Lisa couldn’t believe she was confessing her true feelings only days before she was to marry someone else.
“Lisa, I’ve missed you more than you will ever know or understand.” Stewart took his time with his words. He wanted to make sure he got this right. “I have a business deal to propose to you. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. You and I are a lot alike, so I think you’ll understand what I want to propose.”
“Is this along the line of how you wanted to pimp me out before?” Lisa remembered the hurt she felt when Stewart asked her to sleep with David Stenner.
“I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I felt about that. I only said those things to help make leaving me easier on you. There was no way I would have let you do what I was asking. I was simply trying to let you go the only way I knew how to.”
Lisa had never considered his motivation. Now, it totally made sense. If nothing else, it certainly made her feel better. Her love had only grown stronger for the man she could never fully have.
“I’m listening,” she said as she sipped her chardonnay.
“I don’t ever want to be without you. You know I can’t marry you. That just isn’t me, and it would never be fair to you. But you and I are survivors and we are realists when it comes to our hearts. I love you and I will promise to always take care of you and watch over you financially and in your career. Even though you are marrying Walter—and I understand why—I still want to keep what we have. No one ever needs to know, and I won’t ever do anything to screw things up between you and Walter.”
“Oh my God,” Lisa gasped. “Are you suggesting that we continue to see each other after I get married?”
She had to admit Stewart’s proposal made sense. A win-win. I mean, why not? Why can’t I be in love with two people at the same time, and why shouldn’t I be allowed to enjoy both of them, on my terms? If this is how Stewart Simpson lives his life, then why can’t I?
“Lisa, you and I could have the best of both worlds. You can have your marriage, which you need to fulfill your daily needs, and we could have each other, the fantasy part of your life. And just because of who we are, we could make this work.”
Lisa reacted quickly. “I would love that. Yes, yes. No strings, though. If it becomes a problem for either one of us, we have to be able to walk away at any time.”
“I agree. No strings.”
“On one condition, though.” Lisa surprised herself.
“What condition is that?”
“I want to be a general manager. I want to run my own station. Promise me that and we have a deal.”
Stewart Simpson thought and then smiled. “Like I said, Lisa, you and I are more alike than either one of us cares to admit.” Stewart took Lisa in his arms and kissed her passionately.
Her pager went off and snapped her back into her real world. “Oh crap. What time is it?” Lisa reached for her pager in her coat lying on the floor and then the phone on the bedside table.
“Hello, this is Lisa.”
“It’s Walter. Where are you? We’re supposed to be at the courthouse to pick up our license.”
“I just got done with the planner. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Stewart grabbed Lisa from behind before she could get out of the bed. She didn’t resist. She was ecstatic with the thought of her double life. This was the excitement she thought she was giving up.
“You will be at the wedding, right?” Lisa said as she finally slipped back into her pantsuit.
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
23
DAVID STENNER LOVED coming to Vegas and especially for New Year’s Eve. It was the next best thing to being in New York City. His wife and three kids never traveled with him. That was probably a good thing. It was amazing how he had been able to stay married all this time.
He was back at the Bellagio, playing craps and high-stakes blackjack, which were his two favorite games when he wasn’t chasing skirt. He never really had to chase skirt because it was usually provided for him. All he had to do was ask. For whatever reason, this New Year’s Eve he was traveling without any company.
The craps table was crowded, but there was always room for a player like David Stenner, and the pit boss made sure he had a place to play. The fact that it was next to a beautiful girl was a bonus. She was rolling numbers and playing with what appeared to be lots of her own money. Stenner wanted in on the action on both sides of the table.
Stenner didn’t place any bets at first. He just took his place next to the prettiest shooter he had ever seen at the tables and watched. She had great form, and her short dress hiked way up her thigh as she threw the dice. It was a pleasure to watch her.
“Can I get you a drink?” he shouted over the noise.
“I’m rolling. Do you mind? Don’t do anything to kill the dice.”
And with that she rolled a seven and crapped out. Her deep blue eyes shot darts at the new stranger standing next to her as he burst out laughing.
“Really? You just cost me a thousand dollars. I’m not laughing.”
Stenner reached into his stack of chips and pulled three purples. “Here’s fifteen hundred. That should cover your loss. I’m David Stenner,” he said, reaching out his hand.
“That’s nice, but I’d rather have kept the dice for a little longer.” She placed her stack of chips on the table’s green slate, signaling that she wanted to cash in.
“Don’t leave. Stay here and be my good luck charm. That is, unless you have someplace better to be.” Stenner was at least thirty years her senior, but that never stopped him from trying, especially in Vegas. The stickman placed the dice in front of him, but he politely waved the dice to the next player.
“I’ve got nowhere to be”—and then, after a short pause—”but can’t think of any reason to stay here either.”
Stenner slid over two more purple chips.
“Now you’re insulting me. I don’t know who you are, David Stenner, but I am not a hooker.” She not only slid the two purple chips back to him but also added the three purple chips he had first given her. She turned and left the table, heading for the cashier’s cage.
“No, no. You misunderstood me. Let’s start over. I’m David Stenner and I think you are one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen. Have dinner with me?” he blurted.
“I don’t know you. Why would I have dinner with you?”
She was good. The harder she resisted his advances, the harder he pursued her.
“Go be with your wife.”
“I can’t. I left her at home.” Stenner smiled, thinking his honesty might be enough to surprise his new friend. “I’m here alone and I don’t want to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Vegas by myself.”
“You’re married? Then why are you here by yourself?”
Stenner took the pregnant pause. “Yes, I’m married but my wife and I have an understanding.”
There was sincerity in his voice that made someone want to believe him.
“I may be a lot of things, but I won’t lie to you. Have dinner with me. And I know you’re not a
hooker, but please keep the twenty-five hundred dollars to punish me.” Stenner took the five purple chips and placed them with the girl’s other chips at the cashier’s cage.
“Here you are miss: $10,250.” The cashier counted out the cash in hundred-dollar bills.
“That is quite a nice roll you had back there,” he said as she placed the wad of cash in her large Chanel purse. “Let me at least buy you dinner. Or maybe you should buy me dinner.”
Stenner might be an ass, but he had a charming side and he was persistent.
“I’ll tell you what. I will have a drink with you and we’ll see how that goes. One drink, that’s all.”
The two walked over to the lobby court where there was a large piano bar area and found seats at a small cocktail table in the back corner.
“What would you like?”
“I’ll have a vodka martini, dry, with two olives, please.”
“I’ll have the same.”
The cocktail waitress walked away smiling after Stenner put a hundred-dollar black chip on her tray.
“Do you always tip so carelessly? You seem to be giving away money tonight.”
“I’ve had a good run this trip, so it’s really not my money at all. Besides, tipping up front like that guarantees us great service for as long as we sit here. So, I never got your name.”
“Kristen. Kristen Nesbitt.”
“Well, Kristen, what brings you to Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve by yourself?” He was hoping his assumption that she was alone was correct.
“I love Vegas, and in Vegas I don’t ever feel alone.” There was something sad in the way she answered.
“I totally understand. I feel the same way. So, what do you do, Kristen?”
Kristen sipped on the martini, which had arrived in record time. “I’m retired.”
“Retired? You’re too young to be retired. Retired from what?”
“I was in broadcasting, and let’s just say I had a fortunate mishap that allowed me to retire.”
“I’m in broadcasting too. Where did you work?”
