3 - VIP
Cade spent Friday securing and investing his money. There was no way in hell he wanted Vinnie to get at it. He no longer spent time figuring out if his mother knew the truth about Vinnie's line of work. His brain cells were better reserved for more productive activities.
On Saturday morning, he met Leigh for coffee. His sister walked in looking tired. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just working on a big case."
"Are you taking it to court?"
She sighed. "I'll be in court. If you're asking if I'll be able to question a witness or address the jury, there would have to be a horrible case of food poisoning."
Caden laughed. "It sucks. You work so hard and the fat cats get the glory."
"I've taken a few cases to court."
"Yeah. Traffic violations."
"They are still cases."
"You know I'll back you if you want to open your own practice. I can design your logo."
"I'll end up chasing ambulances trying to get clients."
"You like to defend criminals. You can hang around the police station."
"Maybe I should have taken the public defender job."
"If that's what you want I'll help pay your rent. I don't know why you defend guilty people."
"I do it for the innocent. Plus, I can pay my rent." She omitted from her alimony payments.
Caden laughed. "Have you ever worked a case when your client was innocent?"
She bit her lip. "Once."
He smirked and shook his head. "Next thing you know you'll be defending Vinnie's thugs."
"No way. I'd quit before I did that. What are you doing this weekend now you're free as a lark?"
He worked seven days a week for years. They were a pair. "We're celebrating tonight. Tomorrow I will decide where to live."
She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Don't move. Cade, I need you." She stood as she appealed to him.
After he followed her out to the sidewalk, he hugged her. "I really hate him."
"I know."
Back at his hotel room, he looked at places to rent away from the North End. Brookline wasn't even Boston, nor was Cambridge. They were suburbs, but closer to the financial district than some neighborhoods within Boston.
After he switched to look at San Francisco and on a whim, he looked up the U.S. Virgin Islands. He didn't want to deal with living in a different country. Island life might be nice for a vacation, but his friends meant too much to him.
Clicking off the realtor pages, he reached for his drawing tablet. He channeled his frustration and hate for Vinnie into comics. They were his personal therapy. He called it The Mob Boss's Wife. He worked on panels where the wife was having her nails done and her husband was ordering a hit from the salon with his thug next to him.
He tried to make Vinnie look stupid. He had no proof of Vinnie's involvement, except for his loads of money and connections. Maybe he didn't order hits, and he focused on trafficking drugs or even worse human beings. Cade really wished the FBI would have something on the jerk and arrest him.
Stretching his neck, he put down his stylus. Three hours had disappeared. Was it a waste or therapy? Maybe he should have spent his time creating a logo for Leigh. She would never leave the security of her firm. The health benefits and retirement plan made up for losing her soul.
The same could be said about him, but CEJ was his soul. He went to work every day with his best friends and created fun. Would he find a stimulating creative outlet again?
Sighing, he needed a run. Although he preferred to run outside, he changed into shorts and headed to the hotel gym. Even when things were crazy at work, he always found time to run. Track had been his sport in highschool and running kept his stress under control. As Eden said, it kept his ass tight too.
Feeling better after a long run and shower, Caden left his room to go meet his friends for dinner. Dressed in jeans and an untucked shirt, he threw on his leather jacket. The dark brown leather was stylish. He didn't look like a Hell's Angel or one of Vinnie's greasy haired thuds. Cade always kept his hair short to keep him cool when running — scissor cut, not buzz cut short. With his tall, lean body and straight nose, he could have had a modeling career.
He waited for the elevator and debated whether he had time to walk to the restaurant. Finally, the elevator car arrived, but it stopped on every other floor down to the lobby. As couple after couple entered the car until it was more crowded than a subway car at rush hour, he decided his biggest issue was lack of female companionship, Eden didn't count.
With the slow elevator, he knew he would get shit for being late. He stopped his long strides across the lobby as a woman walked right into him. He reached out to steady her. When her face tilted up to him, her youthful look surprised him. Her Jackie O-esque outfit made him think she was older. Her silky complexion had a youthful innocence especially with her hairstyle. For a moment he thought of the girls in high school. Caden always had a thing for the girl next door type.
Stunned, she mumbled she was looking for the restroom. After directing her, he hurried away because he was not a stalker and even later. With a line of cabs in front of the hotel, he jumped into the first one. As the Prius drove away, the line of town cars caught his eye. Important people were inside. Maybe the beauty was staying at the hotel and he would see her again. His deprived imagination fantasized about an encounter in the elevator.
As soon as the cab pulled up to the curb, he handed the guy a twenty for a twelve dollar fare and told him to keep the change, like in the movies, making him smile. Prior to the sale, they pulled good salaries, but Cade had never been frivolous with money. Although expensive, his condo was tiny, some dorm rooms were bigger. His hotel room was the same size, and the condo had a kitchenette.
As he entered the Asian Fusion restaurant Joe had picked, his friends already had drinks in front of them.
"And here he is late again."
Smirking, he said, "I would hate to disappoint you. What are we drinking?"
"Anything you want. We're celebrating." Eden laughed.
"How was your date?"
Renee chuckled. "Look at her smile."
Cade groaned. "I need to end my drought."
Renee bounced. "Let's go dancing and find Cade a hookup."
Eden smiled. "It's been forever since we went to a club."
Joe frowned. "Because we've outgrown it."
Renee whispered in her husband's ear, and his eyes turned dark. Eden whispered. "She's telling him they can grind on the dance floor."
Caden laughed. "Where's Kevin?"
"With his kids. I'll see him after they go back to his ex."
"But you like him?"
She smiled. "We had fun. What have you been doing with your free time?"
"Nothing." He didn't want to mention his mother. No one knew about his comic art. His friends only knew he hated his mother's sketchy husband. "I ran and looked for a place to live."
"Don't move," she pleaded.
The server came by and he ordered a Tsingtao beer.
Food arrived filling the table. "We ordered, but add anything we missed."
Caden wasn't picky. There were various small plates for them to share. He took some squid and Thai chicken. After eating only a muffin with his coffee and a PowerBar before he worked out, his gut rumbled.
Eden elbowed him. "Did you eat today?"
"Not really. I forgot."
Joe shook his head. "Same old Cade."
Cade had a reputation for being late and working through meals. His friends teased him, but he knew their faults. Joe had the smelliest feet on earth. How did Renee stand it? Meanwhile, Eden ate slower than anyone he had ever met. Not healthy slow, but excruciatingly slow. None of it mattered because they were his family.
No one was hurrying as they laughed and ordered another round. Cade's cheeks hurt from smiling. Eventually, the plates emptied, and he felt comfortably full. Renee had her phone out tapping.
When she looked up, she said, "I got us VIP passes."
Joe's bachelor party was the last time Cade went to a club in the VIP lounge. He really was pathetic, because he hadn't kissed a girl since. Visualizing kissing the sweet plump pink lips from the lobby had him looking out at the busy dining room without focusing.
"Hey, Cade, are you okay?"
He smiled. "Yeah, I'm great. We're celebrating!"
When they entered the VIP area, Cade tried to act like he belonged. As a multimillionaire, he should, but the wealth was new to him. Renee swayed her hips to the music as the group moved to the bar. He wrote his ticket to a night of beer because 'beer before liquor, never been sicker'. Cade didn't enjoy getting drunk and hated getting sick more.
Eden and Renee sipped colorful drinks. Joe held up his beer glass. "To CEJ."
Eden added, "May our games continue to entertain."
Cade added, "To friendship."
"Here, here." They clinked their glasses.
Joe bumped his shoulder. "You're in luck, a bachelorette party."
The last thing he needed was to hook up with a drunk bridesmaid and the bride was off limits. As he turned to look, he froze. A pair of green eyes stared at him. She looked different in a short dress and red lipstick. He might think it was her twin, if she hadn't been looking at him.
He smiled and lifted his glass. Eden broke his gaze. "Who are you flirting with?"
Was that flirting? "Just greeting someone I ran into earlier."
Renee joined in. "Which one?"
She stood next to a pretty girl. "The one with lighter hair." It was a dark blond.
Renee shrugged. "Huh. she looks familiar."
Cade shook his head. "I never saw her before today."
"Where?" Eden asked.
"The hotel lobby."
Joe smiled. "She's probably from out of town."
The thought disappointed Cade. One-night stands were for his twenties. At thirty-one, shouldn't he want more? He watched as her group of five moved towards the dance floor in the club.
"Did we come to dance?" He looked at his friends.
Joe slapped him on the back. "Eden is usually pulling you to dance."
It was true it wasn't his favorite thing. He felt awkward, but he wanted to get close enough to talk to her.
Luck was on his side because her group hadn't moved too far from the VIP entrance. He watched her move her hips. His body didn't move like that. Eden pushed his back, and he took a step towards her. She smiled at him and met him halfway.
"Hey. This is a coincidence."
He nodded. "You changed."
She laughed. "My mother wanted her clothes back."
"My mother doesn't dress like that."
"Most don't. I make her happy and then change when she's not looking."
He chuckled. "How old are you?"
She leaned in so she didn't have to yell over the music. "Thirty, today."
He put his lips by her ear. "Happy birthday." Going for it he brushed his lips on her cheek. Her fragrance made him heady. The beers had no effect compared to her scent.
"Dance?" He nodded, and she looped her arms around his neck. The music was fast, but she just swayed her hips. Unsure of where to put his hands, he finally put them on her hips and they swayed together.
She smiled at him. "Your eyes are my birthstone."
He laughed. "They aren't available for rings."
She laughed. "Funny and gross."
"Sorry. I'm not really a player.'
"I don't like players. I'm Meg."
"Cade. Are you staying at the hotel?"
"No, birthday dinner with my parents. Where are you from?"
"Here. I'm homeless."
She laughed. "At the Copley?"
He smiled. "Temporarily. I sold my condo, but was too busy to find something else."
"Busy doing what?"
He needed to be cautious. No matter how good she felt against him, she was a stranger. "I'm a graphic designer."
"Talented."
He shrugged. "I enjoy it. What about you?"
"I'm an editor."
"Impressive." He didn't know much about the position, but it sounded important.
She smiled at him, and the temptation of her red lips was too much to control. He tugged her hips, so she was against him. She responded by moving her hips and he couldn't stop himself from getting hard. Pleasure and torture were two sides of the same coin.
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