I thought about Cooper and Max both for the next few minutes. Did I even like either of the men? No, I told myself. You’re fine being alone for now. Concentrate on your career.
As the night wore on, I found myself becoming more than a bit jealous of Laura going on a date with Max. Why had I set up my best friend with him?
With each passing minute, I became a bit more upset with Cooper and the games he was playing too. Why should I tell him everything if he wasn’t telling me everything?
The night stretched on forever with no call from him.
I eventually went to bed, feeling more alone than ever before.
TWENTY-TWO
Jade
The next morning, waking alone, I missed Cooper. Why did he have such an effect on me? Had I made a mistake giving Laura Max’s number? Was he the better man for me? I couldn’t have both and at this rate might not even get one.
As I dragged myself out of bed and through my morning routine, I wondered whether I should call Cooper or not. I decided against it and went to visit my father instead.
I usually visited him at least one Saturday a month, and I hadn’t done so yet in June. He lived in Staten Island, which would take me a while to get to by train.
The time I spent with him was worth it. Growing up, my father had also played the role of mother after my mother died. Whenever I felt stuck in life, I went to see him.
Lately, I’d been bogged down quite a bit. Did I really need either man? Sure, Cooper could make me feel good in bed, but he kept secrets from me. And Max.
In the kitchen, eating toast and jam for breakfast, I wondered how he and Laura had gotten along. Had I made a mistake bringing those two together?
I would talk to her before the weekend was over. In the meantime, I prepared myself mentally for visiting with my father. There was no telling what mood he would be in.
Over the years, he had sacrificed so much to give me a chance to attend a decent university. My school loans were still not paid off, but I’d been sidetracked after losing my job as a freelance journalist.
The editing gig paid reasonably well, about double the national poverty rate. It wasn’t much, but it paid the bills and kept me in my general field of writing. Yet there I sat, eating toast and jam every morning instead of having brunch out with someone I loved. Fuck my life.
* * *
I found myself sitting across from my father at his round kitchen table. The leaf for the middle hadn’t been used in years. He stared at me with his disapproving eyes, never satisfied with me.
“Go on,” he said.
“That’s it. I can’t decide between two men. It’s an obvious choice, really. I don’t know why I’m telling you.”
“Well, I have my mother hat on, but let me take that off a moment.”
“Please don’t, Dad. How’s work going?”
“Fine. I’ll be traveling again soon.”
“I still don’t see how being a traveling salesman is your dream job.”
“You’ve got a lot to learn about life, young lady.”
“I’ve been places in the world, Dad. I’m not a little kid anymore.”
“Thank God for that,” he said.
I smiled, cherishing the good moments.
“Now, let’s talk about these men. They are men, right? Not boys again? Who are they?”
“I told you about Cooper and Max, Dad. Remember when I got back from Afghanistan?”
“Yeah, that’s when your career went to shit and started to work for those smut publishers!”
“They publish romance novels, Dad. It’s not even like that.”
He shook his head.
“If your mother was around…”
Both of us fell silent a few moments. I took another drink of his fresh squeezed lemonade. The bittersweet taste reminded me of childhood, back when my dreams seemed possible and nothing was capable of standing in my way.
“You haven’t even met either of them yet, but Cooper is the one for me.”
“Max sounded like a man who would keep you safe.”
“Love is about more than that, Dad.”
“If your mother were here, she would tell you that’s not true.”
A wave of sadness washed over me as I saw my father’s pain wash over his face. I put my hand on his arm. He pulled it away.
“You can’t keep using her death to beat yourself up, Dad. It’s not healthy.”
“She died because of me. I’m going to carry that the rest of my life.”
“It’s not like you were trained to be able to save her,” I said.
* * *
Later that evening, my phone rang. I grabbed it, thinking it might be Cooper, but I saw Max’s name on my screen. What the hell? Is Laura okay?
“Hello?”
“Hey, Jade. What’s going on?”
“Um, not much. Is Laura okay? Why are you calling?”
“Laura was fine when she left this morning, although it hurt a bit to walk if you know what I mean.”
He guffawed while I groaned internally.
“That’s great, I think. Why are you calling?”
“I wanted to thank you for hooking me up with her. Damn! She’s fine.”
“No problem. Just be nice to her. Don’t fuck her over.”
“I fucked her over, under, and around, if you know what I mean.”
His laughed screeched through the phone again. I scrunched up my face, thankful he couldn’t see me.
“That’s great. I’m going to go now, okay?”
“Wait,” he said. “Hold on.”
“Yeah?”
“Will you do a story on me?”
“Um, what kind of story? I don’t do journalism anymore.”
“But you know people, right? You could submit it somewhere?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m opening a new security company, and I need to launch big, you know? Kinda like me.”
“Whatever you say.”
He chuckled.
“Come on, now. Your friend must have told you.”
“I haven’t talked to her yet.”
“Well, she might not tell you, but it’s fucking huge.”
“What’s huge?”
“What do you think?”
“Look, Max, I should go…”
“I mean the story, you dirty woman!”
“Seriously, I need to go.”
“Fine, but consider it, okay?”
“Okay, I will.”
“Thanks again.”
“No problem. Bye.”
I ended the call, not wanting to deal with him any longer. My instincts about Cooper being the better man had been correct, but that did not necessarily mean we were meant for each other.
He still hadn’t called me. Did he find someone else already? Self-doubt and worry tried to show their ugly faces in my thoughts, so I went outside for a walk to soak up the last rays of sun.
Life would work itself out or it wouldn’t. I would keep working hard, but I had to stop sweating the small details like having a love life. As I walked around the neighborhood, Cooper kept popping up.
Why can’t I get him out of my mind?
TWENTY-THREE
Cooper
I looked across the bare, open office at Max, still not sure what to think about his proposal.
“Huh? What did I tell you? It’s fucking perfect, right?”
“It’s nice,” I said, surprised. “And the location is good, but…”
“But what?” he interrupted.
“I’m not looking for a business partner right now.”
“Bullshit, man. That money we made isn’t going to last forever.”
“Hey, have you heard from anyone in Afghanistan recently?”
“No, why?” he asked.
“No reason,” I lied, wondering why Aamir had only called me.
Was it all a setup of some sort? I shouldn’t trust Max.
“I’m telling you man, the time to strike is now. I got
a few high-end clients lined up already.”
“Like who?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“See, what kind of partnership can we have when you don’t tell me shit?”
He took a deep breath, staring into my eyes for a moment.
“You know what, man. You’re right. I have to tell you something.”
Uh oh. Here we go.
“You remember that chick from Afghanistan I liked?”
“Which one?”
I grinned.
“Fair enough. The journalist chick.”
What the fuck?
“Jade?” I asked, feigning ignorance until I figured out what was going on.
“Yeah, that’s her. I hooked up with her recently.”
“Oh yeah? How recently?”
“A few nights ago. Banged the fuck out of her, but she’s not for me. I don’t like the lip on her, if you know what I mean.”
He laughed all by himself.
“Anyway, I moved on to this friend of hers who fucks even better. I’m on a roll, I tell you. The next chick is going to be the best.”
I shook my head. Had she actually fucked him? Logan hadn’t told me anything about that, but I didn’t put it past him. She didn’t seem like the type of woman who would sleep with Max, but how well did I know her? Not very.
“She’s an uptight bitch,” Max continued. “I don’t know what you saw in her over there in the Stan. On a positive note, this friend of hers is fucking intense in the sack. She sucked my dick about ten minutes after we met.”
“Good for you,” I said.
After he came clean about going on a date with Jade, I saw myself doing business with him. Jade, on the other hand, I began to have my doubts about. Was this why she was keeping secrets from me? What other secrets was she keeping from me?
“Let’s do this,” I said. “We’re going to own high-end security in New York.”
“Hell yeah,” he said, punching his fist into his palm. “And the world.”
I never understood how he allowed his emotions to rule him.
Weak bastard. Maybe him and Jade deserved each other.
“But yeah, that Jade chick is fucking nuts, man. I think we’re both better off without her.”
“For sure,” I said, nodding my head.
“I’m not going to mess with her anymore, bro, if that makes you feel better.” He stepped forward and offered me his hand. “We’re business partners now, bro. We have to be there for each other.”
“I appreciate that,” I said, shaking his hand.
Time would tell if I should actually trust him or not, but for the moment, a new business venture would help me get Jade and her madness out of my mind and my life.
TWENTY-FOUR
Cooper
After my meeting with Max at the building where we would forge new lives for ourselves, I walked toward Jade’s apartment with a bit of a bounce in my step.
I had been too hard on her, and I overreacted a bit too. She needed someone like me in her life, and she was just the type of woman I needed in mine. Together, we would be able to take over the world.
On the way to her building, I had the strangest feeling that I wasn’t walking this path alone. Am I being followed? I fought the urge to stop and turn around. Stay calm. No need to let them know.
I need to walk away from Jade’s apartment. Whoever is following me doesn’t need to know she is connected to me in any way.
Some people had been angry with how the Afghan mineral operation had gone toward the end when it all fell apart as things tend to do. Were they the ones calling me? Were they following me now?
I picked up my pace, ready to take some evasive measures as I approached Times Square. When I reached the next intersection, I stopped and spun around.
Peeking past the corner of the building, I saw a man wearing a turban walking down the street. Mother fucker. My heart beat faster as I switched into self-defense mode.
All my thousands of hours of practice were about to be put to the test. I took a deep breath then stepped forward, running into the suspicious man.
“Watch it,” he yelled in broken English.
“You watch it,” I said as I walked away.
A few steps away, I stopped and turned.
“What are you doing following me?” I asked. “You’re obviously in a costume.”
“What are you meaning?”
“Your fake accent isn’t very convincing either.”
The man frowned then yanked his fake facial hair down.
“It’s the fucking fake beard, isn’t it?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Something like that. What’s up?”
“People want to talk to you.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Too bad,” I said then turned and bolted down the block.
“Hey, wait!” he called out.
My military training took over as I dodged traffic and crossed the street, disappearing into an alley. Five minutes later, I had climbed the fire escape to the top of the building, all unseen.
I took a moment to catch my breath, occasionally peering over the edge of the building at the street below. After fifteen minutes, I convinced myself I had lost them.
Fuck the bad guys, I thought with a smile as I climbed down to the alley. The feelings of joy I’d had before came rushing back, even more intense than before.
All of that changed when I got to the building where Jade lived. As I approached the entrance on the opposite side of the street, I saw Max standing outside talking to her.”
She laughed. Her fucking face would be forever etched in my mind. I kept walking, my blood boiling. How dare she accuse me of hiding something when she’s obviously the one sneaking around.
And Max! My thoughts about Max ran the gamut from swindler to asshole to mother fucker and everything in between. Fuck both of them!
TWENTY-FIVE
Jade
As I reached my building, I felt someone approach. The moment I turned around, a frown fell over my face. Max walked over wearing a cocky smile.
“Are you stalking me?” I asked in a half-joking voice.
“Nah, not really,” he said, his bulky body shaking a bit as he laughed. “I was in the neighborhood and I thought we could talk about the story on me.”
“I’m a bit busy right now.”
“Come on. It will only take a bit. The story is gonna be a hit.”
“We’ll see, but you have to promise me no stories with lurid details of you and Laura, okay?”
He smiled.
“She got a bit too drunk last night and sang something she called Karachi.”
I laughed and put my hand on his arm for a quick second.
“Yeah, that’s her word for karaoke when she’s too drunk. You didn’t take advantage of her, did you?”
“Me? Hell no,” he said. “Give me half-an-hour to blow your mind with my story?”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ve got company coming over later, so we have to hurry.”
“I’ll be quick.”
The look on his face made me uneasy, but I unlocked the door. We walked across the lobby to the elevators in middle of the building. I punched the button.
He looked around, shaking his head.
“I hope you’re not paying too much to live here.”
“That’s none of your business.”
Why am I bringing him upstairs? This is a huge mistake!
The elevator door slid open. He stepped in before me. I considered asking him to leave.
“Come on,” he said. “What floor?”
“The eleventh,” I said.
“Ooh, nice views. You got a balcony?”
“No, not really. There’s some railing and about half-an-inch of space so they can advertise a balcony, but it’s not functional.”
“Damn, that’s messed up. We’re gonna have to get you out of here, aren’t we?”
I smiled and nodded nervou
sly as the elevator door closed and we ascended.
Ask him a few questions then send him on his way. Easy as cake. Wait, cake isn’t easy at all. The last two I made came out flat as pancakes. Why the hell am I inviting him to my apartment?
“You okay?” he asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah.”
I nodded my head to reassure him and myself.
“Thanks again for this story. It will give the business some legitimacy.”
Legitimacy? That’s an odd thing to want for a new business. Or maybe it’s not.
The elevator dinged right before the door slid open. He stepped out in front of me once again. I should be with Cooper right now, not him!
“Where you at?” he asked. “I never made it up to your apartment when we were dating.”
“This way. And we went on one date,” I reminded him as I walked toward my door.
“Still dating in my book.”
We reached my apartment. I unlocked the door and slipped inside before him. He followed close behind, looking around and whistling.
“Not as shabby as I thought.”
“Glad you approve,” I said sarcastically, not sure if he got it or not.
“Not really, but it’s okay for you, I guess.”
I shook my head and walked across the living room. At the couch, I sat down and opened the lid of my laptop. He wandered over and sat down next to me, a little too close for comfort.
When I scooted over, he did the same. I turned, ready to yell at him. Before I had a chance, he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips, roughly sticking his tongue in my mouth.
“Ew,” I said, pulling back and showing him my disgusted face.
“Ew? Really?”
“What the hell are you thinking?” I asked.
“I thought you and Laura were down to share me. That’s why you introduced me to her, right? I fuck her. Then I fuck you. Then we three get together.”
“What? No!” I stood up and pointed to the door. “You need to go.”
“You know what? I don’t need this shit from you.”
He got to his feet, towering over me.
“You’re fucking nuts,” he said.
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