Chapter 8

• She tilted her head back and swallowed the rest of the liquor in her glass. She grimaced at the burning sensation in her throat and the airway through her nose. She gestured to the bartender to pour some more.
• “Wow … that intense, huh?” Perry commented, sitting next to her at the bar.
• They’d only been there less than 15 minutes and she was starting the night strong.
• “I don’t know what he’s playing at, if I said ‘no’ to his offer, all of the others would have withdrawn their donation … I didn’t know what else to do.”
• “You did the right thing … I mean, this is what you’ve been working for, it just so happened the opportunity came from someone you planned to ditch after a one night stand,” Perry glanced at her while sipping his Martini. He raised an eyebrow, “It’s a little complicated, but it’s worth your while, don’t you think?”
• She took a deep frustrated breath, “I guess … if you see it that way … do you think he’ll ever bring it up? I wouldn’t know what to say … he obviously knew I lied about my name,” she took a big gulp from her glass.
• “It’s a one night stand … people lied on one night stands for a reason.” Perry always said things to make her feel better, most of the time, he was right.
• “What else do you know about him? I need all I can get before our meeting on Monday … I tried to Google him … and nothing worth knowing came up, I mean there’s absolutely nothing about his personal life anywhere.”
• “And you won’t find it anywhere else either, he literally paid people to keep his personal details private, he provided them with legal permits to confiscate anything he didn’t want to be put out there … The only way you can find out about his private life is through him, given the chance that he’s telling the truth … ‘cause no one can dispute anything he says about himself at this point … not that he would say anything, judging from his character.”
• Jamie finished her glass in one go and asked for another refill. “God … is that the guy I’m going to work for? Come to think of it, he didn’t really say much about himself when we met the first time … but he seemed like a normal enough guy … reserved, but … I don’t know … he was different when we first met.”
• “You can’t blame him for that, you were different too and you … my sweet friend, lied about almost everything … while he didn’t,” Perry pointed his glass at her.
• She almost choked on her drink when she remembered something. She reached in her sling bag, the one she wore when she met Richard. The piece of paper he gave was still there.
• She took it out and showed it to Perry.
• “Do you think it’s a real number?” He was curious.
• “There’s only one way to find out,” she replied.
• “We can’t call it now? What if it’s his real number?”
• She thought about it, “He’s the most private guy on the planet … he wouldn’t give a stranger his personal phone number … probably his assistant’s or someone else, or just a bogus number, I think,” she speculated.
• Perry took the paper, and put it back in her bag, “Let’s not take any chances and just enjoy our drinks, okay? You’re in deep enough shit right now than to add to the problem.”
• She nodded, “You’re right, let’s just order some more.”
• They always spend their Friday nights out drinking at a local bar. They would drink themselves drunk and walk home a few blocks to the house they shared. It was a relatively safe neighborhood, they’ve been doing that for years. Except when one of them was seeing someone, then they would spend Tuesday nights just the two of them.
• They made a pact to always have a night out every week just the two of them, even though they lived together. And they always pick a nearby bar so they can walk home. They would drink until they were drunk but not too drunk to walk home safely.
• Half way home, Jamie reached into her sling bag again. She couldn’t let go of it. Richard had once again broken her rules, this time, he made her agree to work for him. Even though she was passionate about what she will be doing, she was too stubborn to let go that this man had led her to a direction she didn’t want to go, … not really.
• She was convinced that the number was bogus, she had to prove to herself that she wasn’t the only one who lied that night.
• She squinted her eyes to get a better vision and dialed the number on the paper.
• “What are you doing?” Perry asked, he too was wobbling down the sidewalk.
• She didn’t respond.
• “You’re not calling that number, are you?” he was asking the obvious.
• She raised her index finger to her lips, her phone glued to her ear. The number was connecting.
• It rang once. It rang twice. It’s a real number, she thought. It rang three times, she was hesitant but then the tone disappeared.
• “Hello?” a deep voice answered the call.
• She stopped cold at the pavement, Perry studied her face.
• “Hello?” the voice said again.
• She kept silent. It was him. She recognized his voice on the second ‘hello’.
• He sighed. He must’ve woken up from his sleep.
• She pressed the red button on her phone and turned it off completely. She looked at Perry with bulging eyes.
• He laughed his head off. “Did you just prank call Gabriel Love at 4 o’clock in the morning because you were too stubborn to let it go?”
• She covered her face with both hands, “Shut up!”
• He wouldn’t shut up, “You know … most of the problems you have are usually because you put yourself into it … I hope he didn’t know it was you.” Perry shook his head and laughed.
• Her head was spinning, could be from the adrenaline rush she was feeling after the phone call. The booze pushed from inside her stomach. She stepped off the pavement and held on to a tree, then she let it all go from the bottom of her insides.