the bartender, the same choice of poison as me.
“Productive,” I say with firmness. “The Vegas warehouse has been secured and should open within six months.” Raising my glass, I drain the amber liquid and tilt it across the bar for a refill.
“Splendid. I knew you’d make me proud, Lucas. Jack would be proud too.”
Hearing my dad’s name creates a pang in my stomach. There’s an emptiness there that I know won’t ever be filled. But that’s life. People die, and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it.
My only regret is that Dad never got to see me give up the playboy thing. He left this world thinking that his son was nothing but an ungrateful little shit.
Uncle Sam gives me a solid pat on the shoulder and then leaves the bar to mingle with his guests.
Taking my glass with me, I go and admire the view from one of the 360-degree terraces that encircle this floor. It truly is remarkable – a canvas of shadowed skyscrapers and Central Park, under a sunset sky streaked with orange and purples hues.
New York sure knows how to show off her beauty.
Just as I finish downing my third whiskey in less than an hour, I hear the applause ring out inside. The soon-to-be bride and groom have arrived, and if I’m not mistaken Anna too.
Depositing my glass on a table inside, I look for her in the crowd. But she’s nowhere to be seen. Surely she must have come with Mom and Frank?
“Ah, darling. There you are,” Mom says, walking up to me and planting a kiss on my cheek. “Sorry, we’re late. We had a flat tire. Can you believe it?”
Even though I’m listening, my eyes are still searching for Anna.
“Now, Frank and I are going to circulate around the guests for the next fifteen minutes and then we’ll have the first speech. Anna is doing it.”
My gaze returns to her immediately. “Anna?”
“Yes, we asked her to do one. Yours will be straight after hers, of course. You did bring it, didn’t you?”
I pat my pocket and sprout a reassuring grin. “It’s here, Mom. Don’t start panicking.”
She gives a little scoff and then squeezes my arm. “Very well. Now, I better start thanking people for coming. Fifteen minutes, remember?”
“Yes, Mom,” I say with a broad, cheesy smile and then take my leave. I have fifteen minutes to find Anna and sort things out.
After about five minutes of searching the entire floor, the one place I stupidly didn’t bother to look was the exact place I’d been the moment she arrived. The terrace.
I watch her for a minute before I go out. Talk about beauty witnessing beauty. Her flowing dark auburn haired silhouette and the backdrop of Manhattan are a perfect couple.
She looks like she belongs here, and she does.
In a few months, this penthouse will be mine. Uncle Sam has decided on a sea change, in Maine. He wants to write a book about his memoirs – The Peaks and Pitfalls of a Billionaire .
Good on him I guess. He gets some well-earned R & R and I get his company and triplex apartment.
It’s a win-win all round.
I was hoping Anna would share this all with me, but now… that’s almost a hopeless cause.
“It’s pretty spectacular, isn’t it,” I say with care, closing the door to the terrace behind me.
Anna doesn’t flinch or turn around. She just keeps staring out at the blinking lights of the city.
“I know I’m probably the last person you want to speak to right now,” I continue, “but I’m going crazy. I need you to hear me out, Anna. Please.”
She peers over her shoulder at me and sighs. “You’re right. I won’t find closure until you do. So go on then, spit it all out.”
When she returns her gaze to the city, I fill the rest of the space between us and join her by the railing. Taking a deep breath in, I tell myself to just say it straight.
No excuses. No dilly-dallying. Just say the truth. Even the stuff she doesn’t want to hear.
“Everything I said that night, before we… slept together, was true. I did plan to seduce
“Productive,” I say with firmness. “The Vegas warehouse has been secured and should open within six months.” Raising my glass, I drain the amber liquid and tilt it across the bar for a refill.
“Splendid. I knew you’d make me proud, Lucas. Jack would be proud too.”
Hearing my dad’s name creates a pang in my stomach. There’s an emptiness there that I know won’t ever be filled. But that’s life. People die, and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it.
My only regret is that Dad never got to see me give up the playboy thing. He left this world thinking that his son was nothing but an ungrateful little shit.
Uncle Sam gives me a solid pat on the shoulder and then leaves the bar to mingle with his guests.
Taking my glass with me, I go and admire the view from one of the 360-degree terraces that encircle this floor. It truly is remarkable – a canvas of shadowed skyscrapers and Central Park, under a sunset sky streaked with orange and purples hues.
New York sure knows how to show off her beauty.
Just as I finish downing my third whiskey in less than an hour, I hear the applause ring out inside. The soon-to-be bride and groom have arrived, and if I’m not mistaken Anna too.
Depositing my glass on a table inside, I look for her in the crowd. But she’s nowhere to be seen. Surely she must have come with Mom and Frank?
“Ah, darling. There you are,” Mom says, walking up to me and planting a kiss on my cheek. “Sorry, we’re late. We had a flat tire. Can you believe it?”
Even though I’m listening, my eyes are still searching for Anna.
“Now, Frank and I are going to circulate around the guests for the next fifteen minutes and then we’ll have the first speech. Anna is doing it.”
My gaze returns to her immediately. “Anna?”
“Yes, we asked her to do one. Yours will be straight after hers, of course. You did bring it, didn’t you?”
I pat my pocket and sprout a reassuring grin. “It’s here, Mom. Don’t start panicking.”
She gives a little scoff and then squeezes my arm. “Very well. Now, I better start thanking people for coming. Fifteen minutes, remember?”
“Yes, Mom,” I say with a broad, cheesy smile and then take my leave. I have fifteen minutes to find Anna and sort things out.
After about five minutes of searching the entire floor, the one place I stupidly didn’t bother to look was the exact place I’d been the moment she arrived. The terrace.
I watch her for a minute before I go out. Talk about beauty witnessing beauty. Her flowing dark auburn haired silhouette and the backdrop of Manhattan are a perfect couple.
She looks like she belongs here, and she does.
In a few months, this penthouse will be mine. Uncle Sam has decided on a sea change, in Maine. He wants to write a book about his memoirs – The Peaks and Pitfalls of a Billionaire .
Good on him I guess. He gets some well-earned R & R and I get his company and triplex apartment.
It’s a win-win all round.
I was hoping Anna would share this all with me, but now… that’s almost a hopeless cause.
“It’s pretty spectacular, isn’t it,” I say with care, closing the door to the terrace behind me.
Anna doesn’t flinch or turn around. She just keeps staring out at the blinking lights of the city.
“I know I’m probably the last person you want to speak to right now,” I continue, “but I’m going crazy. I need you to hear me out, Anna. Please.”
She peers over her shoulder at me and sighs. “You’re right. I won’t find closure until you do. So go on then, spit it all out.”
When she returns her gaze to the city, I fill the rest of the space between us and join her by the railing. Taking a deep breath in, I tell myself to just say it straight.
No excuses. No dilly-dallying. Just say the truth. Even the stuff she doesn’t want to hear.
“Everything I said that night, before we… slept together, was true. I did plan to seduce
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