Chapter 4

• MONDAY***
• The next morning Taylor woke me with an exquisite blowjob before our actual breakfast. And after our Starbucks and bagels run to start off the weekday morning, she went her way while I made my first attempt to go to work since the story broke.
• It would also be the last day I would ever go to work there.
• People were staring the moment I entered the building. Most of them were people I knew, coworkers or other familiar faces at least. Some of them said 'hello' or 'good morning' while others hung back and whispered their gossip to each other.
• Despite being packed with the morning rush, I had perhaps the quietest elevator ride of my life.
• Sherri, the receptionist, had the widest smile for me as I stepped into our offices. She actually leaned down, her shirt drooping momentarily so I could see the full curves of her breasts as she mimed doing something on her desk while simultaneously saying, "Good morning, John."
• "Er, morning Sherri." I continued on towards my office.
• The minute he saw me, my boss crossed the floor and followed me into my office before closing the door.
• We had an honest talk that lasted about ten minutes. And by the end of the conversation, I was packing up my things.
• No, I wasn't fired or anything. Nor did I quit. But as it turned out, Mr. Kendall had quite the shareholdings in the company. Not a controlling stake or anything, but a significant percentage. And now those shares were my shares, or would be soon. In a nutshell, there was no way I could continue to just do my job. Technically, I was a part owner. And owners can't be employees. Besides, I had bigger responsibilities and a much larger fortune I would have to manage than simple investing for other people.
• Management had already decided. All my duties were assigned to someone else. Another finance geek would be taking over my office. All I had to do was go home and wait for the dividend checks to arrive.
• Still half in shock, I took the time to say goodbye to everyone I'd been working with for four years. I promised I'm come back and "do lunch" with about half of them. Not that we'd taken lunch breaks that often with our high-pressure jobs.
• An hour later, I was back at home. Sitting on my ass without a clue what to do with myself. Then the building intercom buzzed.
• "Mr. Kwong? Building security here."
• "Yes?"
• "There's a limo here for you, sir. They say they're from the law firm that represented your father."
• "I'll be right down."
• ***
• Ten hours later, I was slumped in the back of the limo, half-trying to sleep on the ride back to my apartment.
• My wrist hurt from so many signatures. And my wallet was bulging. Most of the bulge was business cards from the various lawyers working on Jonathan Kendall's estate. But some of it was from new credit cards that had been issued to me this morning, the kind of credit cards that didn't have spending limits. On the seat next to me, there was also a stack of folders containing more documents than I'd ever seen in my life. And I'm an investment banker.
• The lawyers warned me that there was still a lot more to sort out, and they'd probably contact me again tomorrow. I sighed... I wondered for the hundredth time if this was all worth it. Maybe I could just close my eyes and wake up with my old life again.
• My cell phone rang... again. It had been ringing all day once people realized I'd turned my phone back on. Some had been media types, but most had been my "friends" who all seemed to be wishing me luck and trying to see if they could weasel their way into some of my money.
• And so as the damn contraption continued chiming, I hit the off button and held it until the blasted noise went away.
• After the limo stopped, I staggered into my apartment building, waving hello to the security guys who now recognized me on sight. And I leaned into the corner of the elevator, mercifully empty and quiet.
• The doors were just closing as I heard a female, "Wait up!" accompanied by the sound of heels clacking against the tiled floor outside.
• Automatically, I reached my hand out and blocked the elevator doors, which opened up obediently. And there before me was the most beautiful thing I'd seen all day.
• Nicole smiled at me as she hurried into the elevator car, still dressed from work in a stylish blouse and coat over a short black skirt. Whereas the first time I'd seen her she was dressed casually and shyly for a lazy weekend, today her appearance was sharp and what little makeup she wore made her pretty face even more stunning. "Thanks John..." she said as she relaxed and stood beside me.
• I just nodded and then slumped back against the wall, a goofy grin on my face.
• "Wow, you look like shit..." she drawled, appraising me.
• "Gee, thanks."
• "Long day?" she asked.
• "You could say that. Lost my job, sort of. Then spent the entire day with a bunch of Mr. Kendall's lawyers. Now I just want to sink into a couch and shut the world away." Just as I was finishing the sentence, my stomach growled rather loudly.
• Nicole giggled. Oh, how angelic the sound of her laughing. "Hungry?"
• "Oh, man. I haven't eaten all day."
• "Still having your food delivered?"
• I laughed. "No, no. Not anymore. Ah, crap. I probably should. I have like NO food in my apartment."
• The elevator dinged, and the doors opened on Nicole's floor. She stepped halfway out and then turned, holding the door. "Look, I don't want you to read anything into this. But I already have my dinner all planned out and I ALWAYS make way more food than I can eat. Do you-"
• "Yes," I cut her off. "I would love to."
• Nicole blushed fiercely and then looked at the floor. Then she quickly looked up at me as I stepped off the elevator, brushing by her as I crossed into the hallway.
• Without another word I followed her until we came to her apartment, but Nicole paused before unlocking the door. She spun in place and looked at me with her now trademark nervous expression. "Would you... mind... uh, giving me just, uh, 2 minutes?" She held up a hand with two fingers.
• I smiled and offered a calm "Of course."
• Then Nicole flipped the lock and slid her way into the apartment with the door cracked as small as possible.
• Her words had said don't read anything into it. But I was being reassured with every moment that Nicole had at least some interest in me. Maybe I wasn't the only one to feel the warm chemistry between us.
• She actually took three minutes, but I didn't mind the wait. It just built up the anticipation in my mind. And when she opened the door, I followed her into a well-appointed apartment. No fancy artwork or expensive furniture, but with enough sense of style to show Nicole had decent taste on a limited budget. There were a few odds and ends piled into corners that showed Nicole had been frantically trying to tidy up with the three minutes she'd been given, but after a cursory glance around all my attention was on the young woman herself.
• "Would you like anything to drink?" she asked me. "Uh, I'd offer you a beer but I don't have any."
• "No problem. Water, please." I made my way forwards into the living room at Nicole's direction while she headed into the kitchen. I called out, "I can't believe in four years that was my first time sharing an elevator with you."
• Nicole soon came back with two tall glasses of ice water. "Really? How would you know? It's a busy building."
• I looked her right in the eyes, basking in the honey warmth of her hazel irises. "Trust me, I would have noticed you if we had." They way she leaned towards me made me want to reach out and kiss her right then and there.
• But Nicole blushed again and looked at the floor. Despite her attractiveness, this girl clearly wasn't totally comfortable with such compliments. At least not from me.
• But then my stomach gurgled again, saving her from having to come up with a witty response. She pointed out the remote to the television. "You just relax and find something to watch. I'll go start dinner."
• So attempting to relax as much as I could in a strange girl's apartment, I picked up the remote and flicked on the TV. The first thing that came on was the Celebrity Sightings program, filling us in on the latest famous-people gossip.
• "Oh, they did NOT," I blurted rather loudly before I could contain myself.
• Nicole came scurrying out of the kitchen quickly, "What? What is it?"
• I just stared mutely at the screen, looking at a photograph of myself. More accurately, it was a photo of me and Taylor exiting our little café. The breathy young reporter girl went on and on about how New York's latest billionaire was seen yesterday sharing an intimate lunch with fashion model Taylor Brynn. And as she spoke another still photograph came up with Taylor following me into my apartment building, this time holding my hand. The reported continued by saying that Taylor did not leave the building until the following morning.
• I heard a quiet voice behind me. "So, is that... your girlfriend?" Nicole sounded positively heart-broken, as if she'd put all of herself out on the line in inviting me only to find that I was just playing her.
• I turned quickly and without thinking, grabbed both of Nicole's hands in my own, holding her close and looking right into her eyes as Nicole sank onto the couch next to me. "No. No, she's not."
• Of course, immediately after I said that, the reporter announced, "Our sources say that Jonathan and Taylor have been seeing each other off and on for several years, dating back to their days together at University."