“Yes, we have had amazing growth,” I said in agreement.
“Awesome luck you’ve had,” she added.
Again, I cringed. The growth of my ride share company hadn’t been luck. I’d dedicated the last ten years of my life to it. I’d been working seven days a week, sometimes up to twenty hours a day. I gave up my twenties for this company. My friends were out partying and traveling to beaches, and I was in my office or in some meeting most of the last ten years; it wasn’t luck.
Sure, I’d been on social media with models and seen in the tabloids with celebrities. But those brief moments of free time were nothing compared to the days, weeks, and months that I sat alone working. When someone said I was lucky, it always took self-control for me not to lash out at them. Being a successful business did have an aspect of luck when it came to hitting the market at the right time, but by no means was luck the reason my company had become successful. It minimized all the work I did and all my staff who had been equally as dedicated over the years.
“Wow, the turn out tonight is amazing,” Ed said as he joined us breathing heavily after hurrying across the room.
“Did you run a marathon?” Barbra teased him.
“Hey, I’m not as young and fit as you are. I’ve got to take it easy at my age.”
Ed was only about ten years older than Barbra, but he had developed a bit of a stomach over the last few years. His dedication to work was all-consuming, right up until he met Barbra. There was something so powerful about meeting a woman that meshed perfectly with you. She got him on a level that even I didn’t understand. Together, I felt an energy between them that was inspiring to me, and I hoped I’d find something like that in my future.
While I was building my company, I didn’t have time for relationships. When I tried to keep a woman around, I inevitably disappointed her. Work always came first. It didn’t matter how beautiful, talented, or kind a woman was; I always had to get work done. With the sale of my company, I hoped to spend a little more effort and time on my personal life. Perhaps I’d even find a woman I could stand for more than one date and a woman who could handle my various imperfections.
It wasn’t going to be easy to find a woman, though. I had clearly developed a reputation over the years as a man who played the field and didn’t settle down. I couldn’t lie, that was who I had been, and maybe I was going to be the same even without my company. I’d learned through business that I wasn’t the type of person to settle. I would wait until that perfect creature came into my sights, and then I’d convince her that we were meant to be.
“Kevin Fox, oh, my gosh, can we take a picture with you?” a group of young women said as they approached us. They were all beautiful, and in their early twenties; I knew this wasn’t going to go over well with Miranda.
“The show is about to start,” Miranda announced as she crossed her arms. “Tell them to go away.”
Miranda clearly didn’t understand how the business of being a public figure worked. If I smiled and took the picture, I got good press. These young ladies would post about me on their social media pages, and they’d rave to their friends about how nice I was. If I scowled at them or pushed them away, I was likely to get some sort of social media backlash. That was how the world worked in today’s age of technology.
“Of course,” I said as I got up. “Ed, would you snap a photo of us?” I said as I took the young woman’s phone and handed it to Ed.
“You ladies look beautiful,” I said and shook their hands briefly and gave a couple of them hugs. “Make sure to donate as much as you can to these young men. They are pretty darn amazing.”
“We will,” the girls squealed.
“Okay Ed, take a good one,” I said and found a spot right in the middle of the group.
Ed snapped the photo, and I talked to the women for another sixty seconds or so until the lights went down and the show got started. The group of women happily scurried back to their table, and I sat down next to Miranda who was seething with anger by that point.
It was becoming rather hilarious to me how angry Miranda was that I was taking pictures and talking to people at this event. Clearly, this was the person I was, and she knew this when she met me, yet it came as some sort of surprise while we were out on a date.
The talent show was amazing. The overall talent the young men had was far superior to shows I’d actually paid for at big arenas. But the best part of the night was seeing the young men’s faces as they finished their talent and the audience applauded. I hoped to visit them all after the show was finished, and I intended to take pictures and talk with any of the kids who wanted to. They clearly had worked hard for this event, and it was important to me to show them that hard work paid off.
“Wow, that was a damn good show,” Ed said as we were all clapping and cheering the finale. “I bet a few of those boys could make professional careers out of performing. Do we have any summer acting or singing camps that we are connected with?” he asked me.
“Unbelievable talent,” I added. “I don’t think I’ve got any camps that I contribute to right now. I’ll ask my assistant to look, though.”
“I guess we should go write some checks?” Ed said and motioned toward Augustine Fresno, the leader of the event. “I bet she’s dying to see our checks.”
“Yeah, let’s go,” I said as I leaned toward Miranda. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Of course you are going again,” she huffed back at me.
For such a beautiful woman, Miranda had a dark inside. It was sad that she was so consumed by jealousy, especially when it involved young men who were trying to find their way in the world. But I wasn’t about to let Miranda get me down that evening. I had an amazing time watching the talent show and couldn’t wait to write a big fat check to ensure these young men continued on the paths they were on and had the best resources possible.
“How did you like the show?” Augustine said as she welcomed Ed and me with open arms. “Ed, thank you for everything you’ve done tonight. I really appreciate the extra helping hand in getting everyone to their seats.”
“I’ve always wanted to be an usher,” Ed teased.
“Well, thank you very much. I know the guests really liked seeing you both here. Would you like to go backstage and say hi to the boys?”
“Yes, definitely,” I said.
“Yes, but we wanted to write some checks first,” Ed said as he handed her the two checks we had decided to give her.
It took Augustine a moment as she looked at Ed’s check and then mine. Neither of us were sure what amount was appropriate or how much the group needed to continue and expand. But we were generous with our money, and the look of shock on her face assured me that we had given her enough to accomplish the goals they had for their upcoming year.
When donating money, I preferred to give so much that I shocked people. It was purely selfish on my part, though; I just really liked seeing how happy a big donation made people. I could afford, and it truly did make me happy to know I was doing good.
“Let us know if you need anything else; either one of us would be happy to help out,” Ed said as Augustine wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.
“This is so generous. You two are our heroes. You know I would love to have you come out and talk with the boys some time. Maybe discuss following their dreams or interview techniques, anything you’d like. You are both such positive male role models.”
“Well, I am. I’m not so sure about Kevin,” Ed said with a playful nudge in my direction. “He’s got some good qualities, though.”
“Both of you are welcome anytime. The boys really need men around, and even the philandering kind like you, Kevin,” she teased.
“Yeah, I met with Derik earlier, he was quite the young man. I think I’d enjoy sitting down with a couple of the boys and talking. I’ll give you a call next week, and we can set something up.”
“Perfect. And thank you again for both of your generosity. Now I’ve go
t to go mingle. Please feel free to go say hello to the boys.”
Ed and I made our way backstage to find some of the young men and introduce ourselves. It was chaotic behind the curtain with the boys and their families sharing the excitement of the evening.
“You really should meet with these boys, Kevin. They will look up to you so much,” Ed said.
“I know, I said I would.”
“Well, we both know that you make a lot of promises that you can’t always keep. But I really hope you keep this one. These kids need men in their lives that keep their promises.”
His words cut through me like a knife. I couldn’t deny that I’d flaked on promises in the past. Work always took priority, and it was hard for me to make charity a priority when business was what paid the bills.
“Maybe I’ll have my own charity event and split the donations among my favorites. An amazing top-level party with celebrities and stars who will have to write some massive checks.”
“Kevin, if you held a charity event, you could raise millions of dollars. It’s a really good idea. I could get you in touch with someone to help you organize it. Or maybe even ask Augustine to see if she could help out.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Ed said as we moved closer to a group of boys. “It doesn’t have to be like any of these events. You could make it your own. Even have it at the Playboy Mansion or something crazy like that. But invite all those heavy hitters you know and make it a sort of going away charity event for you.”
“Do you really think I could get millions for the charities?”
“Hell, yeah you could. Think about all those big tech guys you know. Those actresses you’ve dated. Even those shmucks I’ve seen you out drinking with in the tabloids. Call in some favors and make it an epic event.”
I really loved this idea. Maybe I’d even start my own charity down the road, but the idea of going out in style and raising a ton of money for the groups that were most important to me was very appealing.
“I’d have to hurry. It would need to be like a New Year’s bash or something amazing like that. That’s only a few months away.”
“You have the means to make this happen. Do it, Kevin. Do it next month if you want to. You could make it happen.”
“I’m going to do it,” I said enthusiastically as we both separated and went to talk with the young men.
This was the passion I’d been waiting to find after leaving my job. I could make a real difference. I could help so many people by simply bringing all my friends together and sharing the charities that were important to me. I couldn’t wait to get started on the planning.
Chapter 3
Jenna
“Where are you, Elaina? We need to get you into costume for dress rehearsal,” I said on her voicemail.
This wasn’t like Elaina at all. We were only hours away from the big masquerade event, and she had gone missing. She wasn’t answering her phone, and there wasn’t enough time for me to make it all the way to her house and back again. I didn’t know what to do. Cassandra was going to flip out. Not only was Elaina going to get fired, but Cassandra wasn’t going to give any referrals, which would make it nearly impossible for Elaina to find additional dancing jobs in the area. I couldn’t let this happen.
“Where is she?” Stacy said as she came over to me in the back room of the convention center. “She’s going to get fired if her ass isn’t here before Cassandra shows up.”
“I don’t know where she is. She’s not answering.”
“Should I go over there?”
“No, we only have two hours before everyone starts to arrive. It will take you over an hour to get all the way to her place in this traffic. She’s probably not there anyways. She has to be on her way.”
San Francisco wasn’t a commuter-friendly city at all. It took me nearly ninety minutes to make it into town each day, and I knew it was nearly the same for Elaina even though she lived closer to town. Her house was straight through the city, and on a Saturday evening that meant it would be nearly impossible.
“Maybe something horrible happened to her?” Stacy said looking terrified.
“Don’t think like that. She’s probably just stuck in traffic and forgot her phone or something silly. I’ll put her costume on and go through the dress rehearsal. Don’t tell anyone it’s me.”
“Who’s going to lead the rehearsal then?”
“I will. As Elaina. No one will notice. We have to wear these ridiculous masks anyways. It will be fine. Help me get into her costume,” I said as I grabbed Elaina’s outfit off the hanger and pulled Stacy with me into the office behind us. There was no time to waste.
I was much larger in the chest than Elaina, and I could hardly squeeze my boobs into her costume. It was hilarious how my cleavage appeared so heavily, and both Stacy and I couldn’t stop laughing once it was zipped up. The costume felt like it was barely holding me in. I couldn’t even take a deep breath without feeling the pressure of the fabric tug against my chest.
“People are going to know you aren’t a ballerina. None of us have tits or an ass like that.”
“It’s fine; no one will notice. Get me the mask,” I said unconvincingly. “It will be dark out there, and I’m only doing it for dress rehearsal. Elaina will be here before the show.”
People were going to notice; I just felt it. Because I wasn’t dancing all day like these girls were, I had curves. I had hips and breasts that were accentuated in this costume because it was already designed to accentuate those aspects of the dancers. I felt so uncomfortable. The corset was tied as loosely as we could do it, but it still made it hard for me to move. I wasn’t fat by any means, but I definitely had more to work with than Elaina.
As I slid the masquerade mask on, I felt a power come over me, though. I didn’t have to be me with the mask on; I could pretend to be Elaina. Elaina was beautiful and confident, and she didn’t care what others thought of her. It was her confidence and my lack of confidence that would surely be my undoing, though. I was going to have to try really hard to look people in the eyes and hope they didn’t see the uncertainty in my gaze.
“You look amazing. Do you know the …” Stacy laughed. “Yeah, you know the dance.”
“I’ll just do the rehearsal and then Elaina will be here and can take over for the show. Let’s just make it short, and I’ll talk as little as possible. Can you do most of the talking?”
“Sounds like a deal, just motion to me if you want me to take over at any time. And you’re probably right. She always forgets how bad traffic can be on the weekends. I’m sure she is on her way and just stuck in it.”
I nodded in agreement and then opened the door to head out into the main room so we could practice. As myself, I had a lot of things I was going to remind the dancers of, but as Elaina, I decided not to bring anything else up. It was a charity event; there was no right or wrong, and the people watching weren’t going to know if we did anything that wasn’t originally choreographed. The most important thing was to make sure the guests had a great time.
“Okay ladies, I know this is a little more risqué than we are used to, but this is going to be a fun night. Remember to make the guests feel involved with lots of eye contact and even reach out and touch them or pull them in to dance with you. Okay, let’s practice,” I said as I stood with my small group, or rather Elaina’s small group. “One and two …”
We hammered out the last few details of the dance, and everything was going perfectly. The dancers looked amazing, and it only took me a few minutes to get the hang of dancing in the group. I didn’t stand out nearly as much as I thought I would. The girls in my group were so focused on their own costumes and the dance that they had hardly looked up at me. Stacy continued to check in with me, but I just smiled and shook her off.
“What the hell is going on? You guys look like a high school talent contest gone wrong,” Cassandra yelled from the back of the room. “Where is what’s her face? Come on, didn’t she teach you
anything. I swear to God she is worthless.”
Stacy looked wide-eyed at me, and I returned the favor. Even our masquerade masks couldn’t hide the panic in our eyes. By trying to save Elaina from getting fired, I might have just put myself in the middle of possibly losing my own job. I had not prepared for what to do if Cassandra realized I was missing.
“Jenna just went over things with us,” Stacy said. “Would you like us to show you the whole routine?”
“No, why would I want that? You’re horrible, but it’s too late to change anything. So I guess I’ll have to let you dance horribly and hope everyone is too drunk to notice.”
“Okay,” Stacy said as she turned to the dancers. “Let’s rest and prepare for the show. Remember, only a light snack, though, we don’t want any puking.”
“God, wouldn’t that just make tonight perfect? Ballerinas puking on big donors. I hate my job,” Cassandra groaned.
I did my best not to make eye contact with Cassandra because I was afraid she’d realize I wasn’t Elaina. But Cassandra didn’t care about any of us, and she likely didn’t really care if I was there or not. I looked at the ground as Cassandra stood in the doorway overlooking the group of us and then finally left.
It was as if the whole room breathed a collective sigh of relief when the door closed behind Cassandra. Me and Stacy were relieved she hadn’t figured out our secret, and the rest of the group was just happy that the wicked witch of the west had left us all alone until the show.
As much as Cassandra made noise about the dance being horrible, I really thought it was amazing and couldn’t wait to see the reaction from the people attending the fundraiser. As we stretched and relaxed while we waited for the fundraiser to start, I felt myself getting more and more concerned for Elaina. It wasn’t like her to not show up. She was always on time, and this was getting serious. She would have at least called or text us if something had come up; unless it was so serious that she couldn’t reach out to us.
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