Harold and the Angel of Death

by Gary McPherson

  Joshua looked at Maria, and she kissed his forehead. He turned back to Harold. “No, I knew the dangers in what I was doing. I just thought I was smarter than the other experts. I was young and cocky, and I played with your lives. Adam and I reviewed our decisions from that time. We both agree it was a mistake, no matter how well-intentioned. I’ve been too ashamed to admit it to you until now.”

  Joshua broke down, and Harold and Maria hugged him.

  “Is everything alright down there?”

  Harold looked up to see Darla watching from over the balcony.

  “Yes,” hollered back Harold. “We’ll talk later.”

  Darla pulled her head back, and he heard her walking across the balcony towards the main part of the house.

  He turned back to Joshua, who was wiping his face with a handkerchief.

  “Doc, let me help you find my brother.”

  “What can you do to help?” asked Joshua. “You never really knew him.”

  “He’s my brother.”

  Joshua sniffed, wiped his nose then put away his handkerchief. “Nature over nurture?”

  “Something like that. I mean, we may not know each other, but we’re bound to have something in common.”

  “I don’t see how, but I can use all the help I can get. Like many orphans, Bill has not had contact with the orphanage since he left it when he turned eighteen. After graduating from Columbia Business School, he took a job on Wall Street. He was there two short years and amassed four million dollars in investment commissions. He left and disappeared after that.”

  A knowing smile crept across Harold’s face. “Take the money and run.”

  Joshua cocked his head. “Why would you say that?”

  “That’s what I would do if I had to work on Wall Street. Come on, Doc, nobody wants to live in New York. It’s expensive, overcrowded, and dirty. The investment guys grab their commissions and move away to someplace cheaper the first chance they get. Normally they show back up at another investment house in a less expensive city after they blow through their money and do it all over again.”

  Joshua raised an eyebrow. “How do you know this? You never worked in the stock market.”

  “Stanford’s MBA program. Honestly, Doc. Do you think I didn’t have friends when I was away? I shared an apartment with this guy Carl. He had just burned through his first two million and was working on a graduate degree in hopes of moving into a management position and getting off the trading floor when he returned to work.”

  Maria took Joshua by the shoulders. “You see, I told you and Adam that Harold could help. Boys—”

  “We know, we’re stupid,” finished Joshua and Harold together.

  Epilogue

  Bill and Lori snuggled against one another on the couch. He enjoyed the intoxicating smell of her perfume as he looked out the window, admiring the Charlotte evening skyline that glowed like diamonds on a crown against black velvet.

  He let out a sigh. “This must be what heaven feels like.”

  Lori reached over to slide her fingers through his thick wavy black hair.

  He felt a shiver of pleasure at the touch of her fingernails lightly teasing his scalp as she wound her way through his hair. His smile broadened. “Have you ever seen the likes of the light show from the top of these skyscrapers? I tell you what, they never get old.”

  Lori’s soft hand grasped his face, turning his head towards her. She leaned in and gave Bill a long lingering kiss. His head felt light and dizzy. When she released his lips, he allowed his gaze to travel from her eyes, over her lips, and down her hair. She playfully put her finger up to his mouth and then turned to sit back against the couch.

  Bill flopped his head back onto the couch and spoke at the ceiling. “I don’t know what I like more, the view of Bank of America’s colored crown or the thrill of your kisses.”

  Lori gave his chest a playful slap. “How dare you make such a comparison,” she said in a pouty tone.

  Bill sat up and gazed into her dark eyes. Her silky lips sent electric shockwaves through his body. When their mouths released again, he could no longer tell if he was sitting or floating. He let a silly grin spread across his face.

  Lori sat back. Her dark hair framed her high cheekbones and smooth olive skin. To Bill, she glowed like an angel floating in heaven with the skyline behind her framing her beauty.

  The sound of his cellphone destroyed his vision. Bill scowled towards where it rang on the coffee table.

  Lori reached over, picked it up, and handed it to him.

  “Let it go to voicemail,” Bill said, and he pushed the side button to silence the ringing.

  “What if it’s work?”

  “It’s 11 p.m.,” he protested.

  “Not in Asia.” Lori reached over and hit the green button.

  Bill quickly brought the phone to his ear and said, “Go away.” He hung up and tossed the phone back onto the coffee table.

  Lori’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy?”

  Bill winked. “Worried? It’s Friday night. All the markets I care about are closed. If it’s work, they’ll wait until tomorrow.”

  “What if it was your boss?”

  “It’s what? Four a.m. in the UK?”

  Lori sat back on the couch. “You know what I mean. You’re my boss. What if it was work and then it leaks out that we had a date?”

  Bill leaned in to kiss her, but Lori turned away. He kissed her cheek instead.

  “Look, don’t worry.”

  Bill stood and walked over to the outside wall. Bank of America’s corporate center rose up over the other towers. He watched a large group of people mingle with each other on a nearby rooftop club and then stared at the crowned corporate tower. To Bill, it symbolized the stranglehold massive banks held on the world. Still, it held options.

  Lori walked up behind him and put her arms around him. “I thought you said you would never work for a major bank.” She nestled her lips against his neck, and Bill felt a thrill travel down his spine.

  “For me, no. But for someone I love, I’ll do anything.”

  “But what if I don’t want to live in New York? That’s where Merrill Lynch is.”

  “Oh, I’m not thinking about working for them. I’m just thinking about the options I’ll have when I leave Clark and Company so we can be together.”

  Lori spun him around, and Bill lost all sense of where he was as she wrapped him up in her arms and kissed him passionately.

  The cell phone went off again, and the two of them ignored it. The ringing finally stopped. Bill pulled back and came up for air. “If that thing rings again, I swear I’ll throw it off the balcony.”

  Lori playfully tapped the end of his nose. “If you do, you’ll hit someone on the ground and go to jail, and then who will I end up with?”

  The phone rang again.

  Bill turned. “I swear…”

  Lori stopped him mid-sentence by grabbing his arm. She turned him and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Just answer it so they’ll go away.”

  Bill hurried over and snatched up the phone.

  An unfamiliar voice came through the receiver, “Is this Bill Johnson?”

  “Speaking, who’s this?” grumbled Bill.

  “Did you grow up at the Carolina’s Chidren’s Home?”

  “Who’s asking?”

  The man on the other end sounded relieved, “Oh good. This is Chuck. I’m a friend of your brother.”

  “Chuck who? I don’t have a brother,” Bill responded in a clearly annoyed tone.

  “Excuse me. Yes, you do. Harold Brown, your brother. You don’t know your own half-brother?”

  “No,” Bill responded emphatically. “If you don’t mind, it’s very late here, and I’m busy.”

  “Come on, Billy, your brother who got adopted. Do you care if I call you Billy?”

  “It’s Bill.” He began to pace about the kitchen, impatient for the phone call to end.

  “Fine, Bill. I’m telling you that y
ou do have an older brother, but maybe you don’t remember him. Perhaps Joshua never told you about him.”

  Joshua…why do I know that name? He looked over at Lori who was staring in his direction and tracing her partially exposed thigh with her fingernail. He was growing more impatient with each passing moment. He needed to end the phone call now.

  “I don’t know who you’re looking for, but it’s not me. I have no family. There are lots of Bills from lots of orphanages. You have the wrong number. Please, don’t call back. Good night.”

  Bill disconnected the call and strolled back to Lori. He tossed the phone towards the table, and it slid off the end of the furniture before plopping onto the hardwood floor.

  “Where were we?” he asked with his best sly smile.

  Lori stuck out her bottom lip. “That ruined our moment.”

  He sat down next to her, leaned over, and gently pushed her towards the armrest. She pulled him down with her as she let her body give in to his advance.

  He hovered over her face and whispered, “I believe I can fix that.”

  Lori giggled as Bill went in for a kiss.

  Coming Soon

  Bill and the Sting of Death