by J. P. London
“No, he was totally serious about that. He was thinking that a larger firm would give us more security. And he’s got a preference to Goldman Sachs. I’m not sure why, but it seemed like that was what he wanted.”
“Interesting.”
“Yup. And had I not blessed you with caffeine this morning, we’d be there now.”
Jace genuflected sarcastically.
The bartender brought their drinks. “22.50.”
Jace took out his credit card and placed it on the bar. “Keep it open.” He slid one of the glasses in front of Maddy.
“Why thank you, young man?” Maddy pursed her pouty lips together. Jace raised his glass and Maddy raised hers.
“Cheers, to all the good things that come from the homeless.”
Maddy laughed.
“And to throwing coffee all over you.”
“Well, obviously that too.”
They clinked their glasses together and both took a sip.
“Thank God it was iced coffee,” Jace said, thinking to himself.
“Oh my God, could you imagine if it was scalding hot?”
“Yeah, I’d be in the emergency room right now getting my face grafted.”
“And no face is kind of a deal breaker for me.”
Jack laughed. “I’ll bet. So, are you still close with his daughter?”
“Yeah, we’re still really close.”
“Is it weird working for someone you’ve known your whole life?”
Maddy stopped and thought for a moment. “No, it’s not too bad. I think Brent makes a conscious effort not to give me shit in front of Jenna.”
“That’s his daughter?”
“Yeah.”
Jace nodded.
“Yeah, but then he’ll get a phone call, and I’ll start jotting down notes and dates, it’s just kind of become habit.”
“I gotcha.”
“So tell me about you. You seem awfully nice for a Wall Street guy.”
Jace laughed. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.”
Over drinks and games, food and laughs, competitions, and trash talking, the lunch crowd turned to the dinner crowd. The dinner crowd turned to the after dinner crowd and before they knew it, they were drunk and it was late.
“Wow, it’s like ten o’clock already.”
“Uh oh, better get me home soon before I turn into a pumpkin,” Maddy said, draping her arms around Jace’s neck.
“All right, let’s get out of here.”
After paying the bill, they descended down the escalator and emptied out onto the sidewalk.
“So, let me ask you. If you could do anything in the world right now, what would you do?”
“You mean anything? Or for a job?”
“Anything.”
“I want to do something totally random, totally spontaneous.”
“You seem like a spontaneous girl.”
“You would think so, but I don’t buy suits and get drunk in the afternoon every Friday.”
“You should.”
Maddy laughed. “God, yes I should.”
Jace pondered for a moment. His thoughts trailing back to an earlier conversation in the day. “You really want to do something spontaneous?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
Maddy stopped walking and turned to face him. She looked up at him; her excitement was evident in her eyes. Jace grinned deviously.
“Uh oh,” Maddy said through a smile.
“How long would it take you to get your passport?”
Maddy blinked hard. That was a question that had some serious implications.
“Twenty minutes …. What in God’s name are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking I’m going to call someone’s bluff.”
Chapter 5
It was a bright Saturday morning and Mark awoke from his bed. His white linens shined with the purity of a sinful man. The sun was bright and beaming through his floor-to-ceiling windows. He inhaled deeply and was struck with the dry cardboard taste in his mouth. His throat ached and his brain was a few sizes too big from his own celebrating of a new client last night. One of which he was still entitled to a bonus for as he was the senior man on the account. He reached over and grabbed his clock, refusing to move his head at all to see the time. The red numbers looked back at him—10:23. He dropped the clock on his bed, rolled over to face the ceiling, and took a few deep breaths to gain his bearings. Glancing around the room, he realized that the drunken Mark hadn’t left any water out for the hungover Mark. Which is fine, he thought to himself. I think hungover Mark would prefer a Bloody Mary instead of a glass of water anyway.
With the promise of another drink in mind, he hopped from his king-sized bed and took inventory of the room, looking for his cell phone. He found it tossed on the floor, an impact that appeared to have luckily been hindered by the plush, white, area rug that he had around his bed. The white looked astounding in the morning light. It was one of the reasons he bought the place. Although the sun was devastating on the weekends, it made getting up so early during the week almost pleasant.
Mark grabbed his phone and walked out into the hallway. The sun was still shining but it wasn’t as strong in the hallway and his eyes had begun to adjust rather quickly. He thumbed through some emails to ensure that nothing important was going to ruin his day drunk, then saw that he had an email from Jace that was sent around six AM this morning.
“What the fuck is he doing up at six AM?” Mark muttered to himself. “It’s fucking Saturday.” For a moment, Mark entertained how he would have told him off if it was a text message or phone call instead of an email. The subject line read : Heeding your advice. Mark looked down at the phone, perplexed.
He clicked on the email and a photo uploaded to his phone. It was a selfie of Jace and the blonde girl from yesterday. The sun was still in its daily infancy and the backdrop was white sand and blue oceans. A single wave was cresting and just ready to break across the screen. Marks eyes shot open.
“Holy shit.”
I really hope he doesn’t try to expense this.
Mark typed out a message and hit send.
An hour after their message back to the real world, Jace pressed Maddy up against the door of their executive suite. She kissed him roughly, her lips pressed hard against him, and her hands wrapped around his neck. Her left leg was raised up and curled around his back. She grinded her hips into him. Jace fumbled clumsily, trying to get the hotel key out of his pocket, partly because of the drinks, but mostly because of the intense passion she was inflicting onto him.
They had arrived early, or late, depending on your time zone, but were both too alive with excitement to sleep. Jace made the silent decision as soon as they landed that an afternoon nap would be the price of admission for the sunrise. Maddy didn’t have to say anything; she was of a similar mind. The pair checked into the resort. They had no bags, no luggage. They just had one another. Two puzzle pieces recklessly thrown into a whirlwind of happenstance that collided at just the right time and speed to piece together.
They managed to find the general store on the resort. And there, Jace purchased bathing suits for both of them, sun block, and a bottle of champagne.
Eagar to see the beach, the new couple powerwalked through the resort. They gazed about in glory of the beautiful surroundings. The green grass, the palm trees, the wild peacocks that wandered the grounds—it all made the place seem magical, like a dream world that they had somehow willed into reality. They walked quickly, passing the pool. There was a sign that said it would be closed until seven AM, which was just over an hour, but the beach that laid beyond it was always open. The concrete pathway gave way to sand and palm trees and the stacked resort furniture fell back allowing the vast daunting view of the blue ocean to overtake them.
They both paused, and Maddy reached over and squeezed Jace’s hand. He smiled but did not look at her. He was entranced. The sound of the waves crashing into the water was all that was hea
rd. The water going up and then flowing over itself. The white crest foamed and dissipated. It was the heartbeat of the world, the constant rhythmic sound of life.
Jace dropped the bag in his left hand and freed his hand from Maddy’s. He turned to face her and stepped in. She threw her hands over his shoulders and he placed his hands on her hips.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“It’s amazing.” He began to unbutton his shirt, and took off the formally new white shirt she had bought for him earlier that day and blanketed it down on the sand. He knelt down on one side to keep it from flying away and Maddy joined him on his makeshift blanket.
With a few ruffles and a loud pop, the champagne had been opened and the brilliant gold rays of the sun peeked out from beneath the night and cast its light upon them. They sat in awe drinking champagne and starting the day together.
Jace was finally able to grip the key and as he pulled it out of his pocket, the thought, Maybe I shouldn’t have drank so much, came into his mind. It would be the first time they had sex, and he always felt that it was important to really nail it down the first time.
They staggered into the room and banged into the wall. His back hit so hard for a moment he considered what the cost to have it fixed would be, but quickly dismissed it. The blonde bombshell in front of him, fueled by passion and cheap booze, grabbed his bathing suit and pulled it to the floor dropping to her knees at the same time. Seconds later, Jace knew that he could have drank hemlock prior to staggering in the door and still wouldn’t have any problems.
Jace grabbed her by her shoulders and picked her up off the floor, spinning her around and pressing her back up against the wall. There in the early hours of the morning, they consummated their love in an emotional bliss. An emotion enhanced by new romance yet somehow also accompanied by the loving warmth of a deeper relationship. Their love making was much as their relationship had been: intense, unexpected, and spontaneous.
Chapter 6
Afterward, they lay in bed naked. The crisp cool comforter fell disheveled upon them barely covering any of their bare bodies. Jace rested in an almost sitting position, propped up on pillows, running his fingers through Maddy’s hair and gently scratching her scalp.
“This is so amazing,” Maddy said.
“Yeah, it is. Not quite the way you expected this Saturday morning to go, huh?”
“Not if you asked me yesterday morning,” Maddy said and giggled slightly.
“I aim to surprise.” Jace smirked.
Maddy laughed slightly. “Well, then I think you’ve succeeded,” Maddy said as she leaned up to kiss him before returning her head to his chest.
The brilliant morning sun came in through the windows accenting the tropical luxury feel of the entire room.
“You know what I really want?” Jace asked, gazing out the window.
“Breakfast?”
Jace laughed. “Yes, but what else I want—”
“What’s that?” Maddy reached her arm across Jace and caressed her finger over his hip bone.
“I want to own a house down here.”
The breeze came through the open window and the thin veil that was the white curtain danced before falling. The warm breeze was a welcome change from icy cool air conditioning.
“Oh my God, that would be amazing.” Maddy propped up on his chest. “I’ll come visit all the time.” She smiled innocently.
“You’d better.”
Jace leaned forward and planted his lips on her forehead.
“I imagine it wouldn’t be too expensive, either,” he continued.
“What are you thinking? Hut by the water?”
“Well, maybe at first, but what I really want is a mansion on the water.”
“A mansion, huh?” Maddy waggled her eyebrows in excitement.
“Yeah, a mansion in paradise. Who doesn’t want that?”
“Everyone wants that,” Maddy pointed out.
“Exactly, and why settle for a hut, it’s not like you’re paying New York prices down here.”
“A hut on the water would cost like five million in the city,” Maddy stated.
“Yeah, right?” Jace pushed himself up to accommodate Maddy’s new position. “But down here, the land is practically free so might as well go big, right?”
“I like it.” Maddy smiled.
“Almost like our own private resort.”
“Our own private resort?”
“Well, you said you’d come and visit.”
“Oh, yes I would.” Maddy nuzzled her head into his neck.
Jace smiled. “So just imagine, a resort that you never have to wear clothes at.”
“Ooo, I like that. No more tan lines.”
Jace smirked. “Yeah, that too.”
Chapter 7
The day was grim and Jace sat in his new office and stared out the window staring into the fog that overlaid the city. It was weird for that time of year. It was as though a large gray cloud just descended upon them blotting out the view. The fog seemed to trap the humidity down on the street and under the hot August sun, and the word sweltering came to life in the city. But Jace couldn’t feel any of that from his office. All he could see was the gray sky, the sun fighting to shine through and failing miserably. It is what people thought about when they thought of the city—smog.
As Jace gazed out and daydreamed for a brief moment, Dexter boomed into his office. The door swung and slammed against the back wall.
“Jesus Christ!” Jace shouted snapping to attention.
“You can still call me Dex,” a drunken Dexter tried to say in a sly tone.
“How did it go?”
“You Sir, are looking at your newest competition.” Dexter opened his suit jacket and took a half spin.
“No shit?” Jace leaped to his feet and walked toward Dexter
“Yeah, man. Signed, locked, and loaded!”
Dexter extended his hand and Jace grabbed it to pull him in for a one-armed hug.
“Fuck yeah, bro! How much was it?“
“Eighty million.”
“This motherfucker,” Jace exclaimed, slapping Dexter on the chest.
“I know, right?”
“Why aren’t you slurring yet?” Jace looked down at his watch. “It’s almost four!”
“A problem I was hoping to remedy.”
“And I have just the remedy.”
Jace walked over to the bar in his office and selected a bottle of McAllen 25 and two glasses.
“Drinking all fancy,” Dexter remarked.
“It’s a celebration.” Jace poured each of them a drink.
They clinked glasses and downed the five-hundred-dollar-a-glass scotch.
“What else you got for today?” Dexter asked.
“I have a meeting with a doctor at six.”
“Yeah? Personal account or business?”
“Personal, but he’s one of the top oncologists in the country.”
“Oh, very nice.”
“Yeah, so that personal account might be worth somewhere around ten million.”
“Hey man, every bit helps.”
Jace jabbed Dexter’s arm.
“Hey man, they can’t all be homeruns. Base hits still keep you in the game.”
“Hell yeah they do. Two hundred grand will still keep the lights on.”
Jace laughed.
“Prior to today, I bet that’s more than your net worth.”
“Keyword is prior.”
“Now that is the important part. What are you doing to celebrate?”
“Well, I’m afraid I can’t wait until six.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Jace noticed Mark standing at the door.
“With Mark? That guy’s an asshole!” Jace grinned.
“Hey, fuck you Taster’s Choice,” Mark said, walking into the office.
“Hey, it was Dunkin Donuts.”
Mark grabbed a glass and the bottle.
“You know, that’s a good nickname
for you,” Mark teased.
“Yeah I like it too; I’m going to tell people you came up with it after blowing me,” Jace jabbed.
Mark laughed and poured himself a drink then approached the two men and refilled their glasses.
“All right, let’s toast this bitch,” Mark said, raising his glass. “To Dex, finally nailing down a client, and finally getting his balls.”
Jace snapped his hand at Dexter pretending to hit him in the groin and Dexter flinched accordingly. The glasses clinked and the men drank.
“All right, you ready?”
“Fuck yeah,” Dexter exclaimed.
“Jace, you coming?”
“I’m gonna meet you, I’ve got another client today.”
“Yeah? You got it?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, I got it, It’s a lay-up from another client.”
“Those are always the best.”
Jace nodded.
“Alright Folgers, call me when you’re done.”
“Will do.”
Dexter and Mark left the office, and Jace went back to his desk to go over his presentation.
*
Hours later, Jace arrived at Club 517. The club had only been open for a few months and was at the top of the hot spot list that summer. And oddly enough, he thought as he fished in his pocket for money to bribe the bouncer, would most likely be closed by next summer. Most of those kinds of clubs were open for a year, maybe two, before they fell from fame. Then the same people would open similar clubs in different or sometimes even the same location, rename it, and popularity would soar again. And they were in the mist of the address naming phase. 212, 517, 306. All clubs booming right now on the simple idea that names were overrated. It was the experience. And also easy to find.
The music blared, and the crowded establishment was nearing its capacity as was evident by the line to get in. The bass vibrated everything. Jace made a B-line to the VIP section which was the only place for two men who just took down eight-hundred grand each.
The bouncer stopped Jace at the VIP, and before he could explain that he was with a group that was without a doubt buying the place out, he saw Dexter with his face in a short brunette’s chest. Oh god, already? Jace looked down at his watch and saw that it was only nine o’clock, and he knew just what Dexter was doing. Dexter then turned, looking out with a big smile on his face and saw Jace. His expression immediately changed to one of pleasant surprise, like a kid discovering an unopened gift that had been hidden deep in a Christmas tree. Dexter screamed something at the top of his lungs, which was muted by the music, then rushed over to the bouncer. Jace gave up on explaining himself and just pointed to the incoming drunkard.
