Built for Pleasure

by Sarah J. Brooks

  I saw the muscle jerking in Brice’s jaw and knew I had touched a raw spot. He nodded toward David but other than that ignored him. “I see you are out on the town tonight, Mina.” It didn’t matter what he said, his words would have the same effect on me. My stomach was tumbling upside down, wanting him to put his arms around me and apologize. At the same time, I felt a deep resentment that he interrupted my life once again.

  “As a matter of fact, David was just offering me an opportunity.”

  Brice’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, is that so? What sort of opportunity?”

  “Not what you’re thinking, Brice. It seems David is quite influential in the entertainment world.” I saw David straighten oh so slightly, bolstered by my giving him credit he had yet to earn. “He has asked me to audition for a part in a play his family is sponsoring.”

  Was it my imagination or was there a flash of relief on Brice’s face? “Really? David a producer, is that right?” He didn’t look at David, not giving him the opportunity to join the conversation. Nevertheless, David’s chubby face nodded, which completely obliterated any hint of him having a chin. Again, I felt sorry for him.

  “Yes, it is. And I’ve agreed to audition. I’m sure I won’t see you there, you’re not being a fan of the arts,” I laid down the gauntlet. I didn’t like the sound of my own voice. I knew I was being bitchy, and that wasn’t like me. “Well, it was nice to see you again, Brice. I’ll let you go on with your dinner plans. David and I have some plans of our own to round out.”

  Brice nodded and looked at me hard. His brown eyes were rolling with a maelstrom of emotion, but I pretended to ignore it. He turned and walked away, apparently no longer interested in dining.

  I felt flustered and looked at my plate that had arrived in the interim. I pulled the linen napkin and spread it on my lap.

  “Is there something I should know about, Brice?” David asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I felt a definite tension between the two of you. Were you two an item that I broke up?”

  I held my tongue when it came to Brice. “You haven’t broken up anything, David. You are my friend and now you are possibly going to become my manager. Nothing more.”

  His hand paused in midair, as he prepared to tuck his napkin into his neckline. I realized he’d ordered lobster and suspected there was going to be butter everywhere. “Nothing more?”

  I laid down my fork and looked at him soberly. “David, I think you are a great guy and I’ve known you for a long time. Maybe too long because I know everything there is to know about you. I know that you’ll make some lady very happy, but I’m not interested in a long-term relationship of any kind. I’m enjoying being freewheeling if you will. I do enjoy your company, though.” I put that last-in as I remembered that he was technically my boss, and now to become my manager, should the casting call be successful. I had no desire to become an actress, but it sounded like fun and I was always up for that. “Do you understand?”

  He nodded, although I could see in his eyes that he was once again plotting. He didn’t argue, which meant that he was waiting for his opportunity to score points down the road. I wasn’t sure whether that was good for me or not, but for the time being that kept us both at peace. I could be content with that.

  Chapter 10

  Brice

  It threw me when I saw Mina having dinner with Bretherton. She was way out of his league and it killed me to see her smiling and chatting with him. He was using every shred of influence he could bring to bear, and she appeared to be lapping it up. It was my fault. I had slapped her away and her confidence had suffered. I felt pangs of guilt, anger, and desire at the same time. I wanted so badly to scoop her up out of that chair and take her back to my apartment, but I could hardly do that, especially with him sitting there. It would ruin her reputation.

  I hoped he was serious about letting her have a part in his little playhouse performance. It would be good for her to get on stage; build her confidence. She was such a beautiful and talented woman and yet the small town in her let it stay submerged. I knew if she lived anywhere else, the men would be fighting for her. Here, she was one of them and I don’t think anyone believed they had a chance at her, so they never tried. No one, except for maybe David Bretherton. In his case, it was just his money talking… hopefully.

  I’d done a stupid thing that afternoon. Knowing that I’d been an ass, I went into that flower shop and ordered that bouquet for her. At the last second, with that little white card on the counter and a pen in my hand, I wrote that silly little poem and then something wild and unexpected inside me put David’s name below it. As soon as I’ve done it and walked out of the shop, I knew I’d screwed up. I wanted to apologize to her, but any kind of encouragement from me would only lead her to more hurt. Bretherton was the last person I wanted to drive her toward, which is why I put his name. I knew that she saw right through him and she’d never go for him. She’d scoff at his fumbling attempts of romance. He was like an insurance policy for me. He would never have a chance at her, that much I could guarantee. Even so, I recognized I was trying to control her life, and that was wrong. I couldn’t seem to help myself, I wanted her so badly. But what I wanted had to come last, even if it meant losing her for the time being. There were so many people I could help; situations where I could make a difference between life and death or at the very least happiness and despair. I didn’t have any right to encourage her and then not be able to follow through. There just wasn’t enough of me to go around—I realized how arrogant that sounded. I wished I was still ten-years-old and totally selfish as boys that age were bound to be. If I were, I would scoop Mina up and kidnap her, locking her away in a mansion somewhere where only I could see her and enjoy her company. I had no business interfering in whatever she did, and I vowed to myself at that moment that I would never interfere again.

  I’d learned a helluva lot about interfering in peoples’ lives.

  It had begun that night that Todd and I were out and down on our luck. One little piece of paper that cost a buck made the difference in my life and not just mine.

  We’d blown our money on beer, so both of us were pretty far gone by the time I got down to my last buck. It wasn’t enough to buy another beer, so I just threw it on the counter and told the bartender to give me whatever it would buy. He’d tapped the counter for a moment when inspiration hit. Grabbing the single, he went to the register and rang it up. “I’m going to do you a favor. You’ve had enough beer, now it’s time for a little of our legendary good luck.”

  “Shit, it only costs a buck? Well, give me some, too,” Todd bellowed, pulling his last wrinkled single from his pocket. He wadded it up and tossed it to the bartender, who winked and rang it up.

  He walked to the colorful rolls of lottery tickets in their plexiglass dispensers hanging over the good Scotch. I won’t say it was a deliberate positioning, but it sure seemed like it. He ripped off two and slid them to us.

  Todd picked them up. “Okay, how should we do this? Pool our resources and split the winnings? Or, each of us go it alone?”

  “Aw, hell, Todd, you deserve at least a fighting chance. Take your pick and give me the loser.”

  “Mighty generous of you, ol’ man. Mighty generous, indeed.”

  I sat back to watch, and Todd made a great show of scratching his ticket. I tapped out a drum roll on the bar and others in the bar drew close.

  “Here, son, use my lucky nickel. My grandfather gave me this. It’s one of the first issued right after the Civil War. Been nothin’ but good luck for me ever since.”

  “I thank you, kind sir,” Todd nodded with a mocking chivalrous deep respect and took the treasured coin to scratch off the first spot. A groan of disappointment spattered through the crowd as he moved on to the second, third, fourth and to the fifth and final spot. “’Tis a dunce, my friends,” he announced and there’d been enough drinking to coerce the onlookers to throw arms about one another’s shoulders and drunke
nly sing a funeral ditty in sorrow. “Your nickel, sir,” Todd held it out. “I think it’s a little stingy with its luck.” People laughed. The man solemnly accepted its return and deposited in his pocket, but not before ordering the bartender to ring up another round on him. The sad song turned to cheers.

  I’d shoved my ticket in my pocket and it wasn’t until later when we’d set off on foot to go home that Todd remembered. “So, you never scraped yours. You short on nickel good luck?”

  “Ah, I never win at those things.”

  “This might be your lucky day. Do it!”

  I sorted it out from the receipts and napkins with girls’ phone numbers from my pocket and picked up a piece of a twig from the ground. I looked around for light, but it was dark because the street lamp was burned out. I scraped at it and shoved it in my pocket, saving it for later.

  I’d fallen into bed, remembering at the last minute about the ticket. I leaned off the mattress and snagged my pants, reaching inside for the cardboard. Flipping on the light with my left hand, I glanced at the ticket.

  What? No, it couldn’t be!

  An hour, a cold shower, and every bright light on in the apartment later, there it was. I was a winner of the big game, but it wouldn’t be until the next day when I found out how much I’d won. It was an insane amount of money for one person; more than I could ever spend in a lifetime.

  The only person I told, was Todd. I trusted him and offered to split it. He said, “Don’t be ridiculous! We chose tickets, fair and square.”

  “But you would have shared with me if the table as turned.”

  “Don’t be so sure of that, ol’ buddy,” he’d snickered, and we let the rest of that conversation go without further speculation. “So, what are you going to do? You need to get a lawyer, now.”

  “Someone else who wants a piece of the pie? No, thank you. I’ll handle this on my own. But you have to promise me, you’ll keep it quiet. I’m not interested in the money for myself. But that money can do a lot of good and take care of a lot of people.”

  “Is this the same Brice that I’ve known for so long? When did you become a humanitarian?”

  “Don’t be a smartass. I’m not as cold as you might think.”

  Todd looked doubtful but said nothing.

  “Look, this is one big pile of money. Give me your credit cards and I’ll pay them off and buy you a car. That’s the least I can do.”

  Todd thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “Actually, that would be great. But I don’t want a penny more. Let me help you help those people, what you say?”

  “Now that is an offer I can’t refuse.”

  I hadn’t counted on all the people in the system who had to be included. First, there were the people at the lottery commission. Then the people at the treasury bureau. There were any number of individuals who were tuned into those departments, probably by a distant cousin or brother-in-law, who then appeared at my dorm door, their hat in hand. I turned them all down, not because I am a cold son of a bitch, but because I had plans for the money and it didn’t involve them. I got a few threats. I got called an asshole more than once, and if they’d figured out the fact that I didn’t want anyone to know, I’m sure they would’ve broadcasted around the world. As it was, they didn’t want anyone to know they’d come begging any more than I did.

  I’d gone ahead and finished my education, all the while making plans for what I wanted to do. Todd brought up some suggestions from time to time and there was once or twice when he came to me with credit cards at their limits again. I didn’t say anything, I just paid them and moved on. I was hoping he would catch on to the concept of being a good steward of enormous wealth, and perhaps even someday become a philanthropist. I would’ve gladly hired him to administrate my foundation on my behalf, but there were little signs that greed could surface, even amongst the best of us. It was better to keep him as a friend than to hire him and gain an enemy.

  So, it worked out that the only people who knew were those with access to my bank account or my income tax filing. I’d done away with a landline phone and only used my cell. Hell, my parents didn’t even know, or Marcy. Greed was an ugly part of the human soul and I wanted the people I cared about to never show that side of themselves. So, I kept things quiet.

  Now, here I was, unable to think of anyone but Mina, but bound by my own set of commitments never to tell anyone about the winnings. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her, it was more that I didn’t want to put her to the test. In my own way, I was being intensely selfish, and I knew it. But it was my decision to help people anonymously, or at least to help anonymous people. I wasn’t sure I was a realist when it came to figuring out just how I was going to remain anonymous; that was likely to prove a little harder than I’d hoped.

  So, I made no changes in my normal life. I didn’t buy a fancy car or designer clothes. I didn’t go on an exotic vacation or suddenly pay off my student loans, although I could have, many times over. I didn’t even change my habits enough to send my sister a birthday card. I told myself she would understand someday and would agree with my tactics.

  I just hoped that someday wouldn’t come too late.

  Chapter 11

  Mina

  I was in town, picking up my favorite gourmet coffee when he called.

  “Mina, it’s David. Everything is set. We took over the old Haney Auditorium and renamed it the Bretherton Playhouse. That play I mentioned? I know it’s short notice, but we plan to have our first performance the same night as the re-grand opening. The play will be free of charge, first come, first serve to the local residents and afterward there will be a wine and cheese get together in the lobby. We’re hoping to interest some corporate sponsors, not because we can’t afford it, naturally, but because it’s always good to have the notables in society be involved in the arts.”

  I wondered if he really heard what he was saying? Was he that arrogant? Apparently, he was. “So, when are the tryouts?”

  “You don’t need to worry about a thing. I have it all set up and you will have the lead. The character’s name is Eliza and I’ll have someone drop the script by your cottage. We plan to have the grand opening just before the fall season begins, with the first performance on Labor Day weekend. Of course, this doesn’t leave us much time and the director has asked that the cast be assembled by August 1st and they should plan on rehearsals twice a week for the first two weeks, followed by nightly for the second two weeks.”

  “Oh, David, I couldn’t possibly. You forget I have two jobs already. I’ll be spending that time getting ready for the next semester to begin. There’s so much to do and then during the day, I’ll still be lifeguarding. I can’t fit that in.”

  “Oh now, Mina, I’ve gone out on a limb here for you. I used my reputation in the community to get you that role, and I don’t think I need to tell you that my seat on the school board also keeps you employed as a teacher.”

  I froze as I realized David was threatening me. I wondered why he cared whether I did the play not. I asked him outright. “David, why is this play so important to you?”

  “It’s not just important to me, Mina, it’s important to you and to your career. I don’t think I’ve made any secret that I enjoy spending time with you and would like to see you get involved in the film industry. Naturally, I would be your manager and hopefully, someday, more than that. So, you see, it’s very important that you not be socializing with any, shall we say, undesirables? I need you available to me, exclusively. I’ll have to introduce you to the right people, get you a proper wardrobe and be sure that there’s film of the performance and that it gets to the right hands. You might say, you’re a bit of an investment for me.”

  “But, David, I’m a teacher. It’s why I went to school and it’s the degree I hold. Lifeguarding is just a summer part-time fill-in job. I never had any aspirations toward the film industry, as you call it. I’m quite happy teaching.”

  “Mina, am I hearing some resistance in your voic
e? Do I need to remind you how important it is for you to keep yourself in my good graces?”

  The man was egomaniacal and intended to suck dry my independent thoughts and actions. I felt a sense of alarm, but I had no idea where to turn. David or his father held something over the heads of everyone in the community. It was the price we paid for their sponsorships. Indeed, I owed my job to David Bretherton. I felt trapped.

  “David, I’ve known you since you were a little boy. I know that your parents forbid you to play with me because my parents didn’t have the social position your father wanted. I also know that he kept you from having many friends at all, for the same reason. I’m not judging your dad, don’t get me wrong, but isn’t it about time that you accept the fact that Bretherton Bay is a small town on Lake Michigan that’s filled with very ordinary people? None of us, with the exception of your family, have much money or fame. We are working class and in the very admirable situation of being able to live in one of the prettiest communities around. I count my blessings every day. Now, you asked me to be in your play and I know the logic you’re giving me could mean a film career for me, but you have to understand that I’m really happy being a teacher. I’ve always liked children and I like contributing to their goals in life. I can’t do that from the West Coast or while making movies. I’m not one of those kinds of people. So, yes, you can fire me from the school if you want to, if you feel like I deserve it. If you do, I’ll just move and find a job teaching somewhere else. As for the rest of that, you can be my friend, and I would be happy for that. But we aren’t dating and, as I told you before, I’m not looking for any long-term commitment. I like my life just as it is. Now I don’t have the time to be in your play. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.”

  I could hear him breathing harder. Common sense told me he was just going to have to be frustrated, but I admit there was a little fear in me that didn’t want him to become angry and fire me.