Billionaire Hearts Club- The Complete Series Collection

by Blake Andrews

  Since it was so late and he’d come such a long way, Sandy let her dad sleep on the spread out futon that night while she took the small air mattress she kept stowed away beneath the futon. She didn’t have a great night of sleep, but it was nice to have her dad back with her. She could hear him snoring for a while and strangely enough that helped her drift off more than it ever used to.

  When Sandy awoke in the morning, she could smell smoke. She bolted upright in her bed and looked over, finding her dad in the kitchen, hunched over the oven as he carefully pulled the newly-warmed pizza out. There wasn’t actually too much smoke, thank goodness, but there was enough that she got up and went to open a window. “This was more effective than any alarm clock I’ve ever had,” she quipped.

  He smiled at her, placing the pizza slices onto plates and then carrying them over so they could plop on the corners of the still-flat futon and munch to their early morning heart’s content. “Mmm, sometimes I think it’s even better the next day,” he said.

  She nodded in agreement, her mouth too full of cheesy goodness to respond with words. She took a few more ravenous bites before she said anything. “Do you think my life looks like a mess? Because I promise you it’s not, but whenever I look at where I live…”

  “No no,” he said with a shake of his head. “Not at all. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you. You came out here to make it, and you did. It’s obvious you enjoy what you do, too.”

  Sandy had been beginning to wonder for a while now if she ought to leave the Saturday night comedy show and pursue other avenues, but the idea was so daunting. She knew a lot of people who left the show never turned up again in anything else. Besides, she had friends on The Banana Peel and she got to do what she loved every week. She didn’t want to be too hasty to move on and end up regretting it.

  “Thanks, Dad,” she said to him with a smile, reassured he didn’t mind the clutter of her living space. It was an apartment in New York! It was way more impressive than it would’ve been anywhere else. When she tidied things up – when she found the time – the apartment didn’t look too shabby at all. She just wished she had a bit more space…

  They each took turns showering in Sandy’s tiny bathroom, and then they headed out to see the sights of the city. She’d been quite unlike her mother when she moved out there because she didn’t have a single guidebook. People were her guidebook! They asked a security guard down at the bottom of her building for recommendations of where they might want to explore that day. He knew better than she did what places were open on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. It was mostly restaurants and shops, it turned out, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t see the sights. They could look at many things without needing to go inside of them.

  At lunchtime, they even got to meet up with Annie, her friend from the show. Sandy’s dad was enthusiastic to meet her, proof he’d actually watched the show and didn’t lie about it all these years. “Hi, I’m Larry,” he introduced himself, shaking Annie’s hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Davenport. Sandy’s told me so much about you. I’m so glad you were able to make it here to visit,” Annie said to him with a sweet expression.

  “Please, call me Larry,” her dad said with a grin. “Mr. Davenport makes me sound like an old man.” He pretended to elbow Sandy in between her ribs.

  “You are an old man,” Sandy said. Then the two of them shared a knowing smile. They’d been acting like they were a Vaudeville double act for as long as she could remember. She loved that things hadn’t changed between them.

  God, she wished he lived closer or he could at least visit more often. As much as she loved living in the city and doing her comedy acting thing, she felt pulled in two different directions. What she really needed was to meet someone special, someone who made New York feel like her one true home.

  Chapter Three

  Donnie was a welcome distraction for Craig, who often brought work concerns home with him after hours when he didn’t need to. He was so glad he had time off and he could just relax. They spent all of Saturday checking out the sights together, going to a few more touristy parts of the city just for the fun of it. When evening came, it was time to introduce Donnie to his friends at The Executive. As it was a holiday weekend and they’d spent the day exploring downtown, neither of them were dressed in the stylish suits that most of the guests at the club favored, but Craig didn’t think it would be a problem. After all, he’d seen plenty of men in there wearing chinos and polo shirts when it was casual Friday.

  Don’t even worry about it, he thought. No one’s going to care what you’re wearing. He always wanted so much to fit in but he didn’t want to come off as desperate, especially considering he was wealthy in his own right and had plenty of reason to stand out as suave and impressive.

  He didn’t have to try and impress his friends either. As soon as he found them sitting at a table in the club, he led Donnie over and introduced him around to Tim, Doug, and Ashton. His friends beamed at him and gladly shook hands with his brother. “My kid brother here makes this place seem like some exclusive boys club,” Donnie said after the introductions were over and he’d taken a seat beside Craig.

  “Oh boy, here it comes,” Craig said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. “I think Donnie’s got club envy. He spends too much of his time going to bars in Atlantic City, not enough time lounging and playing pool with guys like us.”

  “I can’t say I blame him, though,” Tim said with a sly grin. “If I lived right by Atlantic City, I’d do the same thing.”

  “Lounging and pool aren’t all that exciting,” Doug said with a wink.

  “Oh you guys are no help,” Craig said, laughing. His friends joined in. Donnie watched them all interact with amusement. It was evident he really did wish he had a sort of ‘men’s club’ like Craig had. “But anyway, Don, don’t you think you could find a club like this in your neck of the woods?”

  A waiter came over and took their drink orders. His friends got refills on their beverages and then Craig ordered himself a drink called Tang & Zing that was basically a lemon-lime concoction. He looked over at his brother who was perusing the drinks menu for something that sounded the most appealing.

  “Could I get a Salty Sailor?” Donnie asked the waiter. “And I’m buying the first round of lobster croquettes.”

  Craig’s friends cheered. Ashton leaned in a little. “We like this guy,” he said mainly for comedic effect. They were going to like Craig’s brother because they liked Craig.

  “So what are you planning to do while your brother’s in town?” Tim asked.

  Before Craig could answer, Donnie took charge of the conversation in his usual charming way. “I plan to paint the town red if I have any say in it. I rented a really great car for the night, which I neglected to mention until this opportune moment in time.”

  Blinking at him, Craig was skeptical. Renting a car in NYC seemed like a pretty frivolous pursuit. “And what, drive it at two miles per hour in downtown traffic?” he asked jokingly.

  It was clear, though, Donnie wasn’t joking.

  “I thought we could take her – her being the car – for a little joyride outside the city later,” Craig’s brother said. Leave it to him to be into go-kart racing and things of that nature. The upper crust of New Jersey were apparently a lot different from the silver spoons of New York society.

  “I’ve never gone for a joyride in my life,” Craig said.

  Donnie nodded. “I know. That’s why I think it’s the perfect thing for us to do. Something special you’ll remember for a long time. And who better to do it with than me?”

  Instead of reacting the way he was, with surprise and alarm, Craig’s friends just continued to look at Donnie as if he was some kind of glitzy alien who’d been sent there purely to entertain them for an evening.

  There was evidently no use in arguing with him. Craig shrugged a shoulder and smiled at his brother. “I guess it’s a plan, then.” There wasn’t any rush, howeve
r. They continued to enjoy their tasty drinks and hor d’oeuvres until all of them were stuffed.

  “Will you be requesting an audience for this joyride?” Tim asked, leaning back in his chair and patting his slightly distended stomach.

  Craig had lost count of how many croquettes and crostinis he’d consumed, but he was feeling quite contented now. He wondered if a joyride was the best idea after eating so much. But he knew once Donnie had put his mind on something, there was no changing it.

  "I don't think we need a crowd of onlookers, as supportive as I'm sure you'd all be," Donnie replied.

  "We might need them on hand to call an ambulance," Craig said, mostly facetiously. Mostly.

  Donnie gave him a withering sort of look and then rose from their table. "Come on. Let's have some fun!"

  The two brothers made sure to pay their share of the bill, and then said their farewells to Craig's group of friends, making their way out of the club. Donnie's car was waiting for them as if by magic once again. They climbed in and his driver took off down the road. He obviously knew the plan before Donnie made Craig privy to it. They eventually came to a stop at a car dealership towards the outskirts of town.

  “So far, all of this seems very sketchy, Don,” Craig said. He didn’t want to be accused of being a buzzkill though, so he got out of the car once they were parked.

  Donnie led him over to a choice-looking red Maserati GranTurismo. A dapper-looking, middle-aged man came out of the dealership and tossed Donnie some keys. “She’s yours for the rest of the weekend, gentlemen,” he said.

  Grinning, Donnie got into the front seat of the car. Much more hesitantly, Craig joined him, sliding into the cold leather seat beside him. They closed their doors, gave one last look to the dealership owner, and then Donnie slammed on the gas pedal and tore off down the road. He had no pretense about this car ride being anything other than fast and thrilling. Craig held on to the armrest on his door, having a difficult time relaxing into the ride until they were fully outside of the city.

  “Woo!” he shouted, lifting his arms as Donnie sped around curves like he was a professional race car driver. The traffic here was nothing compared to the traffic of the city. Craig only hoped the people who lived in the neighborhoods they whizzed through weren’t bothered by them tearing through their streets.

  Once Donnie got speeding out of his system, he found an abandoned parking lot and started doing doughnuts – Craig thought that’s what they were called. He was a novice at all of this stuff. He wanted to keep it that way, but he enjoyed spending this time with his brother.

  “What do you say? Wanna race all the way to Albany?” Donnie asked him with a boyish grin.

  Before Craig could answer, Donnie shifted gears and started weaving back and forth, then took off back onto the road. He was heading back towards the city now. “Where are we going? This isn’t the direction toward Albany.”

  “Things are more exciting if there are other cars around,” Donnie said. “But don’t worry, little bro, I’m not going to hit any of them.” He revved up the engine for emphasis.

  “Good,” Craig said. “Because I don’t want to end up in jail with you for doing something dumb.”

  Donnie laughed. “You don’t go to jail for just having an accident,” he said confidently. “I mean, sure, you’re not technically supposed to go drag racing on a public street, but it’s not like anyone’s going to catch us. Besides, this car doesn’t belong to either of us.”

  As the car sped down the street, it barely missed a few cars in other lanes. “You’re about to hit city traffic,” Craig told him. “So you should probably slow down now.”

  “At this hour?” Donnie asked. “The traffic’s not actually that bad.”

  It was the city that never slept, but it was true that later at night, the roads became less cluttered with cars. Craig was rather hoping he hadn’t noticed this fact, though.

  Donnie laid his foot on the gas, driving like he was Speed Racer or something. The storefronts and lit-up bodega signs fly by in a blur.

  “Wait- Wait!” he suddenly yelled, watching in what felt like slow-motion as Donnie plowed the front of their beautiful rented car into the back of a car in front of them. Both cars swerved and spun and for a second Craig thought he was going to die. His heart was racing and he felt a sharp pain from where the seatbelt cut into his skin.

  The car finally came to a stop after Donnie desperately slammed on the brakes and the world stopped spinning for the both of them. Craig looked over and saw the other car a few feet away, also stopped. It was a small blue sedan that looked at least a decade old. Then he realized the driver was standing outside of it, on his phone. The driver was okay!

  He turned his head, wincing slightly at the pain of whiplash setting in, and he saw Donnie was okay too. His brother was mostly sitting there looking stunned.

  “I don’t know what happened,” Donnie said to him in a monotone. “I guess my eyes were getting tired or something. I didn’t even see the car in front of us.”

  Craig nodded. “I didn’t see it either. How fast were you going?”

  “I don’t know,” Donnie replied. “Well, I might as well buy this car now. It’s going to cost so much to repair it for the guy.”

  Instead of worrying about that, Craig unbuckled his seatbelt, wishing it didn’t hurt so much. I’m going to have a bruise there, he thought. He carefully got out of the car and made his way over to the blue car. “Hey,” he said to the driver. “Sorry about that. Everything okay?”

  The back bumper was completely mangled, but the car wasn’t totaled necessarily. He supposed they’d been lucky and Donnie had swerved just enough to only smack the edge instead of straight on.

  “I’m okay, but I’m a Lyft driver and my passenger’s bleeding,” the guy told Craig.

  Eyes widening, Craig went to check out the car more closely and saw a woman in the front passenger seat. She was sitting back in the seat and holding her bloody nose in her hands. That’s why the driver was on the phone; he was calling for medical help.

  Craig did his best not to stare at her, but it was difficult. She had long, blonde slightly curled hair, especially near her bangs, almost like a Farrah Fawcett hairstyle. She was perhaps the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, though it was hard to tell when his mind was racing and her face was all bloody. He thought she must’ve broken her nose.

  “Hey,” Donnie suddenly said. He was standing beside him after curiosity had gotten the better of him as well. “What are you doing? We should get this car back to the dealership and see what can be done about it. Come on.”

  “But we hurt someone,” Craig said. “This poor woman has a broken nose.”

  He could also see she was crying and afraid. Before he could try to talk to her, Donnie pulled him away. “We should go,” his brother said. “Doctors are on their way. They’ll take care of it.”

  Sure enough, an ambulance appeared. The driver assisted the paramedics with helping his passenger, meanwhile Craig and Donnie got out of their way. They got back into their Maserati, which thankfully still started.

  “I think we should go to the hospital with her and see if she’s okay. I could help with her nose,” Craig said.

  “Are you nuts?” Donnie asked as he peeled away instead of sticking around to oversee things. “If we show up, they might start asking questions about what was going on. As it is, I’m sure the driver will be in touch about insurance costs.”

  It was a mess. But Craig didn’t feel right just leaving the girl to deal with the consequences of their – Donnie’s – actions. “Well, but I could help repair her nose…”

  “So can the ear, nose, and throat doctor, Craigie,” his brother told him. “It’s in their name, after all. Don’t worry about her. She’ll be fine.”

  Craig looked out the window as they drove, now careful to stick to the speeding limit. When they got to the dealer, he was more than happy to accept a bunch of money in order for Donnie to buy the Maserati. “
Now I can soup it up as much as I want. No need to just fix the front fender,” he told the less enthusiastic Craig.

  Rather than drive the busted up car back to the penthouse apartment, Donnie called for a car and they rode back into the city in style. He may have been unaffected by what happened to the poor woman, but Craig sure wasn’t. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way she touched her hands to her nose, the fear in her eyes…

  Once they got back to his apartment, Craig changed into his pajamas and got into bed.Donnie chose a room for himself in Craig’s place; Craig didn’t really feel like talking to him right now. His brother was going to leave the following day, though, so he’d have to give him some kind of a nice send-off.

  Why was she riding around late at night by herself? Craig wondered as he tried and failed to drift off to sleep. A pretty girl like that shouldn’t be alone on a holiday weekend. He thought maybe she was on her way home from a party; that would explain the Lyft. Well now she’s spending the rest of the holiday weekend in a hospital bed.

  He wished he could have taken control of the car somehow, but he hadn’t fully been paying attention. They’d been driving so fast and Donnie had been so cocky about it. Thankfully, the accident had happened before they were really in the thick of the city or the whole thing could have been a lot worse. But it was bad enough for that woman…

  The following morning, Craig tried to think of what he could do with Donnie to keep him entertained for the rest of the holiday weekend. He supposed they could hang out with his friends at The Executive again, but who knew if any of them would actually be there? It was a holiday meant for hanging out around a grill, which wasn’t the sort of thing Craig had at his apartment.

  “I think maybe we should go back to Mom and Dad’s and bother them,” he suggested to Donnie when he found him in the dining room, eating a stack of pancakes Craig’s chef had cooked up for him. “See if we can use their grill for the afternoon.”

  “You think Dad still has a grill?” Donnie asked him with a crooked smile. “I haven’t seen him use a grill in years. Besides, it doesn’t make sense to fly all the way back there just to grill some food. They’re probably going out and so should we.”