An Old Flame

by Raquel Belle

  “Look who’s grinning like an idiot,” Neil said, as he leaned towards the phone. “Hey, Steph, you’ve got Mark looking like a clown out here.”

  Mark playfully shoved Neil aside as Steph laughed again.

  “Mark, you guys need to behave and focus! I’m hanging up now,” Steph said.

  “Alright, I’ll talk to you after, babe,” Mark said, and then they ended the call.

  “No, ‘I love you?’ What kind of fiancé are you, Mark?” Jimmy teased. Mark rolled his eyes. He would’ve made a retort, but they finally stepped outside of the terminal. For a second, they simply stood on the sidewalk, looking a bit lost in California’s sunny weather, until a man dressed in a white polo and black slacks walked up to them with a small white board that had their last names on it.

  “Are you all due at Mifflin and Star this morning?” the driver had a vaguely Irish accent.

  “That’s us, NMJ,” Neil said. Both Mark and Jimmy gave him a dubious look. All Neil did was shrug. “What? It’s like IBM, it’s cool,” he said.

  “Yeah, but that needs to be workshopped,” Jimmy said under his breath, while the driver introduced himself as Eric.

  “The car is right this way, if you’ll all follow me,” Eric said. They maneuvered through the fast-paced comings and goings of the airport to a car parked nearby. Eric drove a black Mercedes SUV. He quickly opened the trunk and loaded their bags inside, while Mark and the guys filed into the back and passenger’s seats.

  “This is a nice ride,” Neil said appreciatively. Though he’d definitely seen nicer cars, and Jimmy had as well. They both came from money, but their families only funded their tuition, books, and half of their expensive Seattle rent. As for Mark, well, he didn’t have an affluent upbringing. He was able to afford Seattle, and all that came with going to school there, on scholarships, grants, a part-time IT job, a prayer, and a hope. Needless to say, he really needed the meeting to go off without a hitch.

  “Hopefully we can all leave with one after this meeting,” Jimmy said, as he gave them a goofy grin from the front seat. Neil snickered. Mark started to slip into a zone of focus. He went over a lot of the points they made in their university TED Talk—especially those on Internet security and the ad space. He barely registered that the car had started to move. They were on their way to Mifflin and Star’s executive office.

  “Jimmy, you know the business plan front-to-back, right?” Mark asked out of an anal tendency more than anything else. Jimmy was the one who’d come up with the business plan in the first place.

  “I’m gonna pretend you didn’t ask me that, Mark,” he said. Jimmy’s tone was just as focused as Mark’s. He realized then, that the car was quiet. It was like the calm before the storm. Something huge was about to take place. Mark glanced out of the window and up at the clear, blue spring sky.

  ***

  Jordan Mifflin and Timothy Star were cousins, but they couldn’t look any more different. Jordan was a tall, dark-skinned guy with a serious demeanor and professional style. Timothy was a blonde guy vaguely resembling Captain America, but he wore casual clothes and kept treating the meeting as a casual cocktail discussion. It was hard for Mark to read their dynamic for the entire time they’d been inside the huge office.

  The office was shared between the two men, and it was the size of Mark’s entire apartment. It even had two bathrooms. There was a lounge area in front of their huge, presidential desks, and there was a foosball table near the office’s double doors. The entire left side of the office had a floor-to-ceiling view of the business campus’s glass and steel buildings.

  Mark and the guys sat on a long couch, while Jordan stood in front of their huge flat-screen. Timothy sat on the sofa chair next to their couch, his elbows rested on his knees, as he kept looking at Jordan expectantly.

  “Well, you guys pretty much answered all of our questions,” Jordan said. He walked towards his desk, and Neil nudged Mark with his knee, but he ignored him and glanced at Timothy.

  “Yeah, that TED Talk really put you guys on the map. People in our circles were mentioning you guys like crazy afterwards. We’re glad we could get you in for a meeting before any other investors could,” he said and leaned back, his pose relaxed.

  Mark was starting to feel good about the wrap-up. The meeting had been no nonsense. They answered the tough questions that Timothy and Jordan had asked and were honest, which was pretty much all they could do at that point. It was up to fate from there. Mark’s heart was beating fast in his chest as he nodded at what Timothy said. Thankfully Jimmy took up the small talk with Timothy. Jimmy was charismatic enough for the three of them.

  “One last thing, though,” Jordan said, as he walked back to the couches. Mark, Neil, and Jimmy turned towards him. He held a white envelope in his hand along with a thick contract.

  “Anything,” Neil said.

  “We’re gonna have to go over and sign the financial backing and partnership agreement before you can cash your check,” Jordan said.

  “You’re not shitting us?” Neil said, the words blurted out of his mouth in a giddy rush. Mark looked at him and just shook his head. Luckily Timothy and Jordan took it in stride, and they laughed at the outburst. Mark and Jimmy chuckled along nervously. Mark felt as if his blood had turned into gas in his veins. It was actually happening—Mifflin and Star were going to back their idea with actual money! Mark had to sit back on the couch to keep from jumping up in entirely too much excitement.

  “Not at all my friend,” Timothy said. “It was pretty much a done deal after we checked out the research from your talk,” he said.

  Mark breathed a sigh of relief.

  “So let’s get into this,” Jordan said. He sat next to Neil and put the packet on the table, but Mark’s eyes couldn’t help but flit to that envelope. He wondered how big that check was.

  ***

  They stepped out of Jordan and Timothy’s opulent office. The hallway was wide and curving, showcasing the business complex’s stone courtyard. The huge Greek-like fountain reflected the clear blue sky. Mark felt like he could sprout wings and fly.

  “Was that real?” Mark asked. He glanced behind him at Jimmy and Neil, who were staring at the check they were all just written to start up their company. It was for five million dollars. That was more than enough to start a company that would initially be just the three of them. Mark’s head swam with possibilities, as he stepped to his friends, not even yelling at them for looking at the check so soon. Even he wanted to count the zeroes just to make sure.

  “Yeah man, seven figures … It’s in black and white,” Neil said. He looked up, glancing between Jimmy and Mark. “I think we have a little spending money in here. Enough to celebrate, huh?” Neil put the check back in the folder they were given with a copy of their contract.

  “First thing’s first—let’s deposit it and make the business official with the bank,” Jimmy said wisely.

  “Exactly,” Mark said. They hurried out of the building as if Mifflin and Star would step out of their office at any second and rescind the check. Though his body was going through the motions, his mind was still on cloud nine and in a shocked state of disbelief. They were actually going to open up their business. They actually had the resources they needed to make the program and market it. He felt as if he’d been filled with helium. When they reached the courtyard, Eric was waiting with the car. The first thing they did was go to the bank, and afterwards they were dropped off at the business hotel Mifflin and Star had set them up in. It was a swanky place, and the marble lobby gleamed, and their suite—with three bedrooms and baths—was bigger than Mark’s apartment.

  After their bags were brought up, Neil and Jimmy sat down on the couch, already planning out the night they’d have.

  “Is there even anything to do in Palo Alto?” Mark asked. He stood in the kitchenette not far from the living room space. He bent to open the small fridge, but there was only some water and a few cans of soda inside. “And can we go eat? I’m star
ving.”

  “We could always drive down to LA,” Neil said.

  “Yeah, that’s the move,” Jimmy said.

  Mark’s eyebrows rose—it sounded like they were planning something big. He walked to his room and shut the door behind him to call Stephanie. She was going to freak when he told her how much money they got. When he called her cell, however, she didn’t answer. He left a brief message telling her to call him back.

  Neil knocked on the door and poked his head inside the room. “Hey, didn’t you want to go eat?”

  Mark stood up from the bed and made sure his wallet was in his pocket. They were all still dressed in business suits, but none of them cared. They’d gone from college kids to millionaires and owning a business all within the span of a two-hour meeting.

  As they left the suite and walked down the carpeted hall to the elevators, Mark overheard Neil and Jimmy talking about the dress code for the club they planned on going to later.

  “Is the place swanky?” Mark asked. They reached the elevator vestibule, and Neil pressed the call button beside one of the two elevators.

  “Yep and very welcoming to women. We’ll have to pay a bit of an entrance fee to get in, but at least I got us on the list for tonight,” Neil said.

  Mark scratched his jaw, a bit unsure. “If you guys are trying to hook up tonight, you know that’s not my scene.”

  Neil rolled his eyes. “Oh come on! We’re millionaires.” The elevator doors opened. “In the blink of an eye we’ve become wealthy, eligible bachelors, Jimmy and me. Of course we’re looking to hook up. Anyway, you can always bail early if you want …or—” Jimmy waved his hand in front of Neil, as they all stepped into the huge elevator alone.

  “Come on Neil, we’re not gonna convince him to cheat or anything,” Jimmy said. “Look, Mark, if you feel you’ve had enough fun for the night, then it’s like Neil said, you can bail early.” The doors glided shut.

  “Or, you could have a little fun and live a bit. What happens in LA, stays in LA, right?” Neil asked.

  “Stephanie is my fiancée. I’d have to be three sheets to the wind to even be in a position to cheat on her,” Mark said. He felt sleazy and uncomfortable just talking about it. “Anyway, change the subject.”

  Chapter Three

  Stephanie

  Stephanie’s best friend, Leena, was over at the apartment. They sat on the couch, Chinese takeout on the coffee table, old re-runs of Friends playing on the big screen, and a glass of wine in Leena’s hands. Her jaw seemed to be unhinged, as she stared at Stephanie. “Pregnant?” she asked, though it came out as a surprised shout.

  Stephanie nodded and pressed her lips together. She tried to keep from laughing at Leena’s face which was the picture of shock. Her dirty-blonde curls had been pulled up into a haphazard bun, and she was wearing her giant square-framed glasses, which she only wore in private, and her honey-brown eyes were wide, like a deer in headlights.

  “Yes, Leena. I must be six weeks, at least. I haven’t gone to the doctor yet.”

  Leena put her wine glass down and faced Stephanie head on. “Have you told Mark? Where the hell is he, by the way?” Leena glanced around the apartment, as if she expected him to come out of the walls.

  “No, I haven’t told him yet because he’s in Silicon Valley with Neil and Jimmy,” Stephanie said, a smile spread across her face. Mark had left a message telling her that they were millionaires. She’d missed his call earlier because she’d been taking the last of her final exams. Mark had already finished his exams, and graduation was a week away. When Stephanie tried calling him back, his phone went to voicemail, so all she could do was congratulate him that way.

  “Wait, what? Why don’t you tell me all of this as it happened, play-by-play!” Leena wiped her eyes and then pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can you start from the pregnancy test please?”

  Stephanie put her bottle of seltzer water down on the coffee table and took a deep breath. “So, a few days ago, I realized that my period was late … like a week late. At first I thought it was finals’ stress, but then I thought about it some more and realized that my finals weren’t that stressful. On a whim, I bought the test, peed on it, and it actually turned out positive.” Leena was much like Stephanie’s crazy older sister, she wasn’t afraid to judge and let Stephanie know her opinions.

  “Why do you sound so blasé about this?” Leena asked. “You weren’t planning on having a baby right now. You had a plan—you wanted to have a steady teaching job first.”

  Stephanie shrugged. Leena was having the freak-out moment that she should’ve had. Stephanie found it interesting to watch from a detached perspective.

  Leena sat up straight. “Not to mention you planned on marrying Mark first.”

  “Leena, relax. It’s not like I’m on my own. Mark and I are engaged. Everything is set in stone with us. Plus, he and the guys got flown out to Silicon Valley to pitch some venture capitalists their idea. It went well because Mark left a message on my phone earlier saying that he was a millionaire.”

  Leena picked up her wine glass and took a fortifying drink. “That’s incredible.” Her tone was wooden with even more shock. “A … millionaire?” Her expression mystified.

  Stephanie nodded sagely. “Yep, and I plan on telling him about the baby after graduation, or at least when he gets back from California.” She wanted the baby news to be a good surprise for Mark, just as it had been for her. Her chest filled with warmth at the thought of his excitement over the baby news. Sure, he would’ve wanted to wait like she had, initially. But Mark had always liked the idea of having kids.

  “I think the sooner you tell him, the better,” Leena said. Stephanie’s eyes widened when she saw Leena had already finished her glass of wine and was pouring herself another. “I’m not ready to be a godmother,” she said, fanning herself.

  Stephanie laughed. “Well at least you can drink!”

  Leena giggled and almost choked on her wine. Stephanie snorted, and then they both gave into laughter. Stephanie’s phone chimed, and she got up to take it from the charger on the kitchen counter. She glanced at the lock screen, as she walked back to the couch. Mark had sent her pictures. For a second, she wondered why he’d send her pictures at one in the morning, but then she figured they must be sexy photos. She checked them before sitting down so Leena wouldn’t see. Stephanie froze, as she swiped through the photos.

  “Who is it?” Leena asked, her voice was starting to get lethargic from the wine. Stephanie couldn’t even answer her though. Her heart was beating too fast in her chest and the room started to spin around her. What she was staring at were sexy photos, but it wasn’t of Mark, not of him alone anyway.

  “Steph, you okay? Are you having morning sickness or something?” Leena asked. She stood up and quickly walked to Stephanie’s side, then gasped. “No fucking way! Who is that?” she yelled. Leena took the phone out of Stephanie’s frozen fingers. She studied the picture of some ho in a gold sequined dress sitting on Mark’s lap in a booth. He wore a nice blue suit, that made him look sexy. The first few buttons of his shirt were opened, and her fingers were splayed on his chest. What’s worse, is that Mark was looking at her with the same look he’d given Stephanie the night before he left.

  Leena groaned. “Oh my god … Oh god, there’s more.” Her tone was truly horrified.

  Stephanie’s body hardened even more, and she felt as if all the blood had leeched out of her and she’d turned to ice. “I …”

  “What the hell?” Leena said, completely floored, voicing everything Stephanie would’ve said, but not quite. Stephanie’s mind was blank, and all she could see was that third picture, of Mark with his arm around the woman, and his hand squeezing her ass, while their lips were locked.

  Leena pointed at the phone. “How would you get these? Did he send these to you? What the hell?” she exclaimed again. Stephanie took a shaky breath and pressed her cold fingers to her forehead. Then her stomach rolled. She ran to the hallway bathroom to
throw up the dinner she’d just eaten.

  Stephanie’s heart felt like a rock in her chest. Leena rushed into the bathroom and smoothed Steph’s hair back. Then she wet a clean cloth and handed it to her so she could wipe her mouth. The tears flooded her eyes at the same time her body started to tremble. She was in shock, and there was no other way to put it.

  “Just take deep breaths, babe,” Leena said while rubbing her back.

  Stephanie flushed the toilet and stood up slowly to rinse her mouth. She felt like she should say something, but she was in shock. She didn’t know what to think, what to do next. Then it vaguely and weirdly occurred to her, that the reaction she was having then, should’ve been the reaction she had to being pregnant. But the pregnancy felt like the least of her worries all of a sudden. “I don’t feel well,” she said faintly, as she turned off the faucet.

  “What do you need? How can I help?” Leena asked. Stephanie looked at her friend’s concern and leaned heavily against the sink’s marble counter top.

  “I think … I think I need a place to stay for a few days?” she said, her voice wobbly. Leena hugged her tight.

  “You didn’t even have to ask. Don’t worry,” Leena whispered. Stephanie’s belly cramped, and for a second she thought she’d throw up again, but the cramping passed as quickly as it started. Leena led her into the room she shared with Mark. It was crazy how quickly she was separating herself from him mentally. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Stephanie looked down at the simple silver band and solitary diamond on her engagement finger. When they stepped into the room, she flipped on the light and walked straight to the bed to put the ring on his pillow. Leena was quiet, as she helped Stephanie pack a small suitcase with clothes for a few days. Stephanie planned on staying with Leena up until her dad came into town, then she’d stay with him at his hotel for graduation and go back home, to Portland, with him. She didn’t want to see Mark, she didn’t want to hear his voice or even smell his scent. He’d broken his promise to her—he’d broken her trust.