“Maybe we can clean… the house… tomorrow,” Jessica said slowly.
“Yeah… maybe,” Lauren agreed.
Shawn laughed as he sunk his head into a leather pillow on the sofa. He wasn’t about to kid himself. Shawn knew he had no intentions of cleaning the house and given Jessica and Lauren’s work ethic or lack thereof, he didn’t want them to perform a sloppy cleaning job either.
So Shawn solved the problem in the same manner that he solved every problem: by using the money hose. On Monday, they were all due back on campus so on Sunday, Shawn called up the local Rent-A-Maid business and placed an order for three maids to clean his house on Monday. He dressed his best in the morning and allowed the three cleaning maids into his home before going off to work. When they saw the interiors of the house, the looks upon their faces were of utter shock to say the least.
“Take all day if you need!” Shawn told them as he dashed out the door and left them to work. Of course, he took his cash strapped briefcase with him.
He began his Monday morning on campus by teaching his first auditorium class. He spun a lecture from the top of his head because adhering to a textbook was never his style. He decided to focus his latest class on ethics by presenting his students with a rhetorical statement.
“What do you consider acceptable? Should laws be based on ethics or merely what is harmful? Should individuals be able to do as they please as long as it does not cause harm to others? Or should laws regulate our own well-being as well?”
He wasn’t sure how deep the statement was; he quite literally thought up each sentence as he went along. But there was one difference that Shawn felt. His students usually paid attention to him, but in this class he felt they weren’t listening to anything he had to say. When the class was dismissed, he couldn’t help but think that perhaps the students viewed him as too much of a peer. Perhaps they thought that they could show up whenever they wanted to and not take notes because quirky Dr. Stevens was the cool professor who gave everyone A+ grades no matter what they did.
These sorts of things typically didn’t bother Shawn much and he preferred to not think much of it. His preferred to remind himself that his current set of students would be gone in less than two months. After that, he’d get a new set of students and that allowed for a fresh start and a chance to make improvements.
But there were a few students who did not attend any of Shawn’s parties. They were his research students who met with him immediately after class and discussed the progress of the research work. After giving Shawn a general update, he thanked them and told them how excellent they were doing.
Then the thoughts of inadequacy entered his head once more. The only students that showed him any respect were the ones who were doing his research work and weren’t invited to his debauched outings. He decided he would make up for it by giving them stellar recommendations and making sure that they were acknowledged during the official conference in early May.
After a second class that consisted of virtually the same juncture, Shawn considered the day smooth sailing outside of feeling less than respected. During his office hours, he was visited by Dr. Daniels. She seemed more excited than usual when she asked him for her cut of the profit. He gave her ten percent of what he made from Saturday night and she snatched it up fairly quickly.
“You seem a little anxious,” Shawn told her.
“I think it’s because I’m on the Wilmot Golf Tournament committee. Things begin revving up this week and the president here, Dr. Rodriguez, is demanding perfection from everyone. You know, this is when the big rollers arrive.”
“I almost forgot about the WGT.”
“But now that you remember, you’re going to bring the very best to the Country Club, right? Over the next two-to-three weeks, you can charge double or triple as much as before.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Shawn said solemnly as he slouched back in his chair.
Dr. Daniels was precisely on the money when she described the city’s anticipation and promotion of the Wilmot Golf Tournament. Celebrities from film and television arrived and golf players from years past to the youngest pros were making their way to the city of Ashmore. Throughout the week, the city called for additional landscaping. Every blade of grass in the county had to be shaved and sets of fresh pine trees were planted outside of the Wilmot Country Club.
The Wilmot Golf Tournament took place just a few blocks from the country club. The professional golf course covered several lush acres and was surrounded by a forest of tall trees. Unless you had tickets to the event or belonged to the Country Club, that meant you were unable to even see the action.
Television stations began broadcasting their coverage of the event. Reporters who worked for the local stations showed up with low tier equipment. Also on the scene were numerous reporters from various cable networks that covered sports. They brought with them large setups of polished state-of-the-arts equipment, vans, and cameras.
The practice rounds occupied the first week of the tournament and several of the highest ranking pros opted out. They would instead make their way to Ashmore the following week. But the golfers who were participating during the practice rounds were given complimentary access to the Wilmot Country Club.
After Monday and Tuesday, Shawn cancelled his classes for the remainder of the week. This came as good news for his restless students. They thought Dr. Stevens was being his usual liberal self and viewing cancelling class as his way to please his students. But the truth was that Shawn cancelled class in order to make his way to Carlucci Giordano- the drug dealer and friend from whom he would purchase several more kilograms of pure powder cocaine.
After resting up on Wednesday, Shawn made his way to Savannah along with his partners in crime, Lauren and Jessica. This time the trip was short on psychedelics and it made the ride seem twice as long. It was only when Lauren brought up their confrontation with the man who threatened Shawn that things became interesting.
“Should we tell him?” Lauren asked over an hour into their road trip.
“About what?” Jessica questioned.
“About what we did on Saturday night,” Lauren replied.
“Tell me what?” Shawn asked, “The party last Saturday?”
“No, I forgot to tell you but we left the party last Saturday around midnight,” Lauren confessed. “And we went to find Eric Pitts. Y’know, the guy who threatened you.”
“Yeah, what the hell did you do?” Shawn pressed on.
“Well… we, ugh…,” Lauren stammered.
“We put on masks, broke in his house, smashed up his shit, and told him we’d come to get him if he ever so much as looked at you again,” Jessica said shrewdly.
“Damn right,” Lauren agreed.
A short silence was broken by several minutes of laughter when Shawn told them Eric Pitts was an annoying misnomer. That episode was surely behind him. He simply warned Lauren and Jessica to be more careful the next time they defend him.
“Anything could have gone wrong,” Shawn told them after the admission.
Another hour and a half later, they arrived at the restaurant, “Giordano’s,” and Carlucci was quick to greet his old pal. They spoke for a few minutes on redundant topics before getting to the point. This time Shawn needed twice as much, or four kilos.
“Four bricks? That must be some clientele,” Carlucci was astounded.
They made their way down to the basement of the restaurant just as they did the first time and Papa and Mama Giordano were there to greet them. After a friendly Italian welcome, Papa Giordano began loading Shawn’s briefcase with four bricks of pure cocaine.
“Like last time, only the best for Dr. Stevens,” Papa Giordano smiled as he closed the briefcase.
“That’ll be sixty,” Carlucci told him. “And that’s quite a steal.”
“That’s why I come to you,” Shawn smirked.
Then he gestured to Lauren. She opened her backpack and pulled out piles of one hundred dollar bi
lls. She handed three large bound wads to Carlucci.
“That’s sixty thousand dollars,” she said.
Mama Giordano took the money and counted it out onto the table she sat at. Before Wednesday, Shawn had far from sixty thousand dollars in cash but he managed to max out numerous credit cards and combine it with the rest of the money he made. He hoped to double his money and make somewhere close to one hundred and twenty thousand by the end of April. He could then pay the debt on his credit cards and still walk away with a large amount of money.
Shawn was handed the briefcase once every bill of the money was counted. After saying bye to one another, they were back in the Ranger Rover and on their way.
In preparation for Friday evening at the Country Club, Shawn spent Friday morning packaging the drugs into just the right amounts for purchasing. A large kilogram brick had to be packaged into many small grams. Jessica and Lauren helped him scoop the powder out of the bundled bricks and into small impressive baggies and vials.
Friday evening arrived and Shawn made his way into the Wilmot Country Club. He wore his blue Wilmot club jacket to show off his status to visiting patrons and carried his near-priceless briefcase with him. Upon his entrance, he noticed the exclusive club was adorned with a large banner welcoming the professional golfers to the city of Ashmore. The banquet hall was filled with balloons and extravagant party favors. Truffle deserts and gelato were being served throughout the evening and anyone standing outside could see a regular array of lavish fireworks by seven o’clock.
Two things in particular stood out to Shawn. The first was the fact that Michelle was missing from the reception area. He looked forward to greeting her each weekend but this time, she was nowhere to be found. In her place was an older female in round glasses and a pink pantsuit. After looking around as if he’d spot Michelle lurking behind a corner, he asked the concierge of her whereabouts.
“Just between you and me,” the concierge told him, “She was a bit of a screw up. The Club kept her for the pretty face but they didn’t want any mishaps while the WGT is going on. Don’t worry, she’ll be back once the tournament is over.”
The second peculiarity was the assortment of new faces that filled the Wilmot Country Club. He expected to see a few professional golfers but instead, there were a great deal of them. And each of them had at least one beautiful woman by their side.
After introducing himself to them and being referred by other club members who had purchased drugs from him, Shawn was able to make transactions with a few of the golfers. Most of them were low tier players but their money was just as good as anyone else’s. One golfer in particular, who had two women by his side, purchased quite a large amount of cocaine.
“He either got a bad habit or he’s gotta share with the two girls that are following him everywhere,” Shawn thought to himself.
He didn’t recognize the man from television or from any golf sites but the fellow introduced himself as “Javier Mathias, professional golfer.” He mentioned that he arrived in Ashmore several days ago for the beginning of practice rounds. This made Shawn certain that he was a C-level golfer.
About half an hour later, Mathias ran into Shawn again, this time his eyes were wired and he gave Shawn his phone number.
“I’ll call you again soon, my friend!”
“I only do this on Fridays,” Shawn told him.
“Then I will see you again on Friday, Dr. Stevens,” the man said as they shook hands.
Shawn kept the contact specifically between himself and the golfer during their first encounter. When Shawn saw him the second time he made sure to make eye contact with the two women the golfer brought along. This was followed by a wink and a wave.
When the Friday night “Gathering of Golfer’s” event was half over, Shawn ran into Dr. Daniels. She had clearly had a few drinks but not enough to impair her completely.
“Hey, Shawn!” she said as she bumped into him.
“Hello, Lauren. Nice to see a familiar face.”
“How are sales?”
“Pretty good, I’d say. Things are looking pretty good.”
“Oh, uh, I’m glad I caught you because there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“Sure, ask away.”
“Well, Shawn…” she stammered before spitting it out, “I was wondering if instead of the usual ten percent cut, you could just pay me for this week’s earnings with several grams of blow.”
“Sure! No problem.”
“Great, my girlfriend loves that shit you bring in. She decided to postpone rehab for a little more fun. I mean, I’d prefer the cash but she wants the good quality blow. And I told you when we first had dinner that’s pretty amazing white pony. I wouldn’t have got into business with you if it weren’t.”
“Too much of it will drive you nuts,” Shawn huffed.
“Tell me about it…”
As they were getting ready to go their separate ways, Shawn stopped her one last time.
“Oh, Laura, I was wondering about the women here.”
“Yeah?”
“Some of them are with the golfers while others are just walking around. They certainly don’t look like the usual club members nor do they look like professional golfers.”
“And they’re pretty hot, aren’t they?” Laura snickered.
“Exactly.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t caught on yet, Shawn. They’re all call girls. The management here lets in the high priced escorts this time of year. They keep the golfers busy here at the club. The longer the golfers are here, the more drinks and amenities they buy, and the more money the club makes.”
“There’s the direction I was headed,” Shawn assured her.
“And don’t forget that the management also owns the biggest hotels around here. The Wilmot Golf Tournament brings in billions of dollars to this city and millions alone to the Wilmot Foundation and the college.”
“They’re all in on it,” Shawn copped.
“Absolutely. The cops know exactly what goes on, but they’re told not to do anything,” Laura balked.
“Police Chief, O’Hara, behind that?”
“You know it. Ashmore makes enough money during the Wilmot Golf Tournament to fuel the city for the remainder of the year. Eleven months of the year are dependent on this one month here.”
“It’s almost like one big Ponzi scheme,” Shawn thought aloud.
“Yeah, but as long as we get our cut, who gives a fuck?”
The night went well to say the least. He charged the golf players at a higher rate than usual and made more money than ever before. At the banquet hall, they all popped countless bottles of Dom Pérignon and partied the night away. It was the sort of inhibition you would equate to college students but this party consisted of professional well-to-do adults. Liquor, drugs, and gorgeous women allowed their guards down as they attempted to set new records for the meaning of excess.
Confetti showered them while champagne continued to spray in every direction. Dr. Daniels was downing shot after shot while others began dancing after the speakers were commandeered by contemporary music tracks. The party went on for what seemed like hours.
When midnight struck, Shawn was exhausted and the party began to slow down. The club members slowly left the building and so did the golfers. Shawn was not far behind. Once at home, he collapsed onto his bed from exhaustion.
The next day, he awoke and spotted Lauren and Jessica on his bed. He could barely open his eyes but he heard them giggling and rummaging throughout his room.
“Wake up, Shawn!” Lauren said, “Let’s go shopping!”
“Huh? What?” he yawned while looking around.
He picked himself up and after rubbing his eyes for several seconds, he saw Lauren and Jessica sitting on his bed counting the cash from his briefcase.
“What are you doing with my money!?”
“That’s what you call a payday!” Jessica’s eyes lit up.
“So are we gonna go shopping?”
Lauren asked.
“No, I’m tired!”
“Then wake up,” they both suggested.
“Alright, alright. I’m getting up now,” he told them. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and spend every penny I’ve made.”
They eventually convinced Shawn to enjoy his money by spending it. After getting cleaned up, Shawn visited Dr. Daniels and handed her a small amount of well packaged cocaine as he promised. He then agreed to take Lauren and Jessica out to purchase a few items of their liking. What he thought was going to be the acquisition of a few pieces turned into a full blown shopping spree when Lauren and Jessica went along.
He used his cash to purchase expensive jewelry for each of them. He even bought a pearl necklace for his mother. Jessica wanted new clothes while Lauren begged him for a few designer handbags. They traveled a few miles away to a larger city that held an outdoor strip mall. They visited the most expensive stores as Shawn spent large amounts of money on the newest spring season handbags and designer shoes.
Purchases weren’t only made for the two young women that accompanied him. Shawn spent lavishly on himself as well. He bought shirts and suits and glasses galore. This was topped by a platinum ring bearing his initials. But just as he thought he was done, Lauren and Jessica begged him to purchase more items for his house. He agreed, not with reluctance but with a slight whim of arrogance. Shawn viewed his overspending as a point of superiority. He could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
CHAPTER 12
Shawn’s previous Friday night at the Wilmot Country Club was a record setting weekend for him- where moneymaking was concerned. That record was quickly broken on the Friday that followed. After being recommended by the low tier golf players who arrived for practice rounds, Shawn was able to make connections to a few of the top professional players. These pros arrived at the Wilmot Country Club as honorary members to an even larger festive celebration. There was twice the champagne, twice the luxury food, and twice the elaborate confections.
The Hedonist Page 10
