The Willingness to Burn (4 page)

Chapter 4

Just outside of John Phillips, Jace and Maddy strolled slowly side by side down the busy street.

“So, now—”

“Now you need to get me lunch because I am starving, and I’m not so nice when I’m hungry,” Maddy instructed.

“So, before you were being nice?”

“When I locked down a sale for you and got you a promotion? Yes, that was me being nice.”

“A promotion?”

“Well, isn’t that what you were talking about? This being an important day for you?”

“Who said it was a promotion?”

“I did.”

“Well, maybe you’re wrong.”

“Yeah, but most likely I’m right.”

“You sure about that?”

Maddy stopped walking and stood still staring at Jace, a look of suspicion scowled across her face.

After a moment of quiet contempt, Jace conceded, “All right, yes, I
think
you got me a promotion.”

“See.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Hey, watch it, Mr.”

“So, Miss Just-Got-Me-a-Promotion, where can I take you for lunch?”

“What’s good around here?”

“Well, there are a lot of options, what are you in the mood for?”

“Something fun.” She flashed him a devilish grin.

“Something fun?” Jace paused and pondered a moment.

“Yeah.” Maddy put her finger to her lip, walking slowly, and thought for a moment. Then, she stopped all together, and a suddenly excited look came over her face.

“Oh my god! Can we go to Dave and Buster’s?” Maddy stopped walking and turned to face Jace, her expression riddled with anticipation.

“Seriously?” Jace asked, puzzled, having come accustomed to the higher end establishments that everyone suggests when their told that the lavish expensive account is at their disposal.

“Yes!” She slapped his arm.

“The kids place with all the games?”

“The kids place with a full bar? Yeah, that kids place.”

“Sure.” Jack chuckled. He looked over at his beaming companion, and although he never had a doubt, he realized that she truly was different then every other girl he had met since he started at Shooter & McManus.

“All right, let’s go!” she exclaimed.

A short walk later, the pair entered into the sprawling foyer of one of the most entertaining and expensive places to bring kids and adults. A place where games were played with cards and not coins. That way, you never really knew how much you were spending or how much you wasted at any one place.

The two stepped onto the large escalator and began their ascension to the top.

“So, how did you end up where you are?”

“You mean here at Dave and Buster’s?” she continued, not pausing for an answer “Well, I met this guy.”

Jace rolled his eyes. “You never give an straight answer do you?”

She leaned her face in and spoke in a teasing tone. “No, not when there’s fun to be had.”

Upon reaching the top of the escalator, both Jace and Maddy became distracted. The flashing lights and zany sounds of the game room were intoxicating from the top of the escalator. The normal gatekeeper, the hostess stand, was empty at the moment and the pair took this opportunity to stroll into the casino-like environment of the game room.

“Okay …. This was a good idea,” Jace admitted.

“Why, thank you.”

Jace looked about, seemingly distracted by all of the bright lights and flashing colors.

“So, Brent’s daughter and I are friends,” Maddy said, breaking his daydream.

Jace snapped back into the conversation. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, for like a million years now.”

“You look amazing for your age.”

“Thanks, the secret is lemon juice.”

“Lemon juice?”

“Yeah, it really tightens the pores.”

“Interesting.”

Jace strolled, letting his feet drag on the hideous carpets as they passed by the skee ball games and rounded the corner toward the bar.

“Yeah, so after college, I started working there first as a secretary, then as an assistant.”

“And what do you do now?”

“That’s where it gets weird. I
think
I’m an assistant still.”

“Why do you only
think
that?” Jace asked as the two reached the bar. A place, that in a room full of distractions, still beckoned and pulled them in like gravity.

“Well, so, my official title is special assistant.”

“You are special,” Jace said with a sarcastic tone as he flagged down the bartender.

“You too, Ed,” Maddy sassed back at him, giving Jace a wink. He shot her a look back.

“I need a Jack and Coke and whatever she—”

“Two please!” Maddy interrupted. The bartender nodded and stepped away to make their drinks.

Jace turned to face her and raised his eyebrows as though to ask her to continue.

“And I fulfill the roles of an assistant, I manage his schedule, run errands, buy gifts for his wife and daughter. But lately, Brent’s been using me as a sounding board too.”

“A sounding board?”

“Yeah, like asking me my opinion and telling me his thought process, you know, really explaining things to me. It almost feels like he’s mentoring me.”

“Really?”

“That’s the way it seems. I mean, maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but a CEO doesn’t have to explain things to his assistant.”

“That’s true,” Jace said and leaned his elbows on the bar. “So, did you know walking into my firm that you guys weren’t going to sign with us, or was that just a story?”

“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 heard. 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.