The City - chapter twenty-one
On his second cup of coffee of the morning, Leon chowed on a dry bagel and shook hands with the back-up caterer. He was flying on faith that the runnerup company hired to handle bar service would be able to overcome the minor setback of losing the primary caterer due to a food poisoning lawsuit. Checking that off his mental To Do List, he hailed a cab to get across town to oversee the delivery of flowers. Seeing that one of his assistants was well capable, he then turned to the task of getting the evening’s list of speakers ironed out one last time and calling the printer to approve final revisions. After that he took a breather by calling on the UN’s interpreter pool to be sure they had someone fluent in both Welsh and Swazi to escort the Zambian ambassador’s wife.
Meanwhile, stepping out of the subway Martin straightened his lapel and checked a final time that he had his resume on him before stepping into the offices of Harlem Realty for his interview. “Is that Martin?” a familiar voice called. He spun around to find himself face to face with Tyler’s friend and Frederico’s muse, Nina. “Hey!” he said, less professionally than he would have liked. “I thought I recognized your name,” she said. “I’ll be interviewing you. Come on in and have a seat.”
Back in Brooklyn, Jacob returned to the apartment from the overwhelming good news his banker told him. Just that morning he learned he was in possession of quite a chunk of change. He set about plastering the kitchen wall as his mind wandered. The events of the last year now had a new light on them. His anger towards Helmut, the lying German who instigated the affair with his cheating boyfriend that led to their breakup, swelled. True that Jacob was quite wealthier because of the guilt felt by his ex, but remorse made him fantasize about the future they could have had together. The full knowledge of what they had jointly accumulated made Jacob seethe with anger. And all of the blame he was placing on Helmut.
Tyler met Greg for lunch. Greg told him the story of the bartender who had been a reliable source of entertainment without strings. And how suddenly Greg found himself in the unexpected situation of being solicited for dates. “Why would he go and ruin a good thing by trying to get me to dinner and a movie?” Greg posed. To which Tyler responded, “Maybe it wasn’t a good thing for him anymore.” “But why me?” Greg asked. “I’m totally not the dating kind. He should be asking you.” “ME?!” Tyler leaned back in his chair. “I don’t date. Not for a full year. I’m on sabbatical.”
After lunch, Franz sat in his office going over his plans for the weekend with Leon . A knock on the door snapped him from his daydream. It was another of his employees entering to offer a letter of resignation. Disappointment crept in as he asked the employee the name of the company who had made a better offer. After shaking hands, Franz picked up the phone and called his good friend Kimmie. “So, you got another one of mine,” he said, less than polite. “I see you just spoke to Veronica,” Kimmie said. “No, that was Reggie,” Franz replied. “I should expect Veronica later today?” After a terse exchange, the two friends said their goodbyes.
And after a day of sleep and relaxation, Frederico dressed and headed down to the UN. His afternoon schedule included previews of the mural for a few board members and dignitaries before the official unveiling that evening. A specifically timed pill guaranteed that he’d be calm and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
What does the City have in store next for our heroes? Stay tuned.
Initially based on actual events and real people, the story has progressed to such a point as to render everyone and everything unrecognizable. Nonetheless, names and associations may have been altered to protect the guilty or to make things seem more interesting.
