“Cool man. You’re dressed for the occasion.” He says as he hands me one of the company’s fancy pens.
I try to arrange the paperwork, so they don’t look so carelessly placed on the desk.
“What occasion?” I ask without looking at him. There’s so much paper.
“Today is Iris Birthday.” He says.
.............
“Really?” I ask.
“Yeah, it is.” He smiles widely.
“You know what I think?” He asks.
“No, I actually don’t, but it would nice if you could help me with this paperwork.” I suggest to him and he chuckles.
“It’s quite funny.” He chuckles a bit and then holds my shoulder.“It was like I saw you and Daniel around where I live. You two were on the bridge dumping something that looked like a body.” He says and I gape.“Right? It’s really weird.” He says and then he holds his hips.............“That’s impossible.” I force out a laugh, causing Jimmy to look at me strangely.When it comes to lying, sometimes I do it well, but when I’m beyond nervous like now, I’m crap at doing it.“Is everything here okay, boys?” Iris asks as she steps out of the office. She has a key in her hand, and now she’s closing the door.
When he finally hears Iris, he turns around and smiles brightly.That’s when I see realize that I’m seeing a ghost.Harry? That is not Harry.That is Jacob, my best friend that died!..............The young man walks closer and closer, confirming my suspicions. When he reaches Iris, he gives her a bear hug and she hugs him back.“You look lovely as always.” He says to her and she rolls her eyes playfully.“Happy birthday.” He says and then kisses her cheek.“Thank you.” She mouths without saying the actual words.I may be jealous by that peck that this
She walks close to Harry and smiles.“Harry, I thank you for service here, but you are no longer needed.” She says and I see her wipe a falling tear from her eye.“What?” He asks.“You’re fired, Harry. You’re fired.” She says as she begins to walk towards a staircase............“What do you mean I’m fried? What did I do wrong?” He follows her, as do the rest of us.She climbs the spiral staircase to the next floor in style. Her body moves like a work of art and her demeanor is distant.“Wait, Iris.” Jimmy tries to help his friend, Harry.When we a
“They found it.” He says simply, but I’m just left confused.What did they find? And who?“You’re not making any sense.” I say to him, and the line goes silent.It takes a few seconds before he speaks. “They found the body, Quincy. They found Kate’s body.” ...............“No, that’s not possible.” I say to him. “We threw her in the water.”My hands are shaking, and I may drop the phone if I don’t relax.“Quincy, get over here.” Daniel says between his teeth. “They have witnesses.”
I finally see him, but he’s being taken away by the officers.The crowd clears and makes a path for them to pass.As soon as Daniel’s eyes lands on me, he says loudly, “There he is, officer! That’s the kid!” ............“That’s him?” One of them asks him.“Yes, I told you I wasn’t lying.” He says as they walk up to me.“Excuse me, are you Quincy Daniels?” A huge dark skin officer asks me.He looks very intimidating, and he’s staring right into my eyes.“Is there a problem here, officer?” My father makes himself known.
“So back to the question.” She reminds me.“Do you happen to know anyone that goes by the name of Kate?” She stares right into my eyes as the words leaves her mouth.“Yes.” I answer truthfully.Since I came in here, I have not told a lie. I have only withheld information.But I think the time has come for the lies..............“Do you know where she is now?” The lady asks me as she studies my reaction.“I heard she’s dead.” I say plainly.“And where did you get that information from?” She asks in a high
“Yeah.” I say loosely.“I was there, I was at the bridge the night of yesterday.” My words surprises her and she looks towards the rectangular glass.I hear the door of the room open, and I smile sadly, knowing that I’m going to jail for a hell of a long time.............Fully expecting officers to come into the room, a pale white man enters instead.“Beck, may I speak with you?” He asks her politely. He looks at me and smiles. I don’t know him, nor have I seen him before; but he’s looking at me like he knows me or something.“And who are you?” She asks as she stands from the chair.
“He goes down.” She adds.And that’s the thing. They don’t know Daniel Sims.If he goes down, it’s inevitable; then he would make it his life’s mission to take me down with him.............A few hours later, I’m in my office dressed in a formal business suit that makes me look regal.I didn’t have a lot of them, so I ordered for about a dozen using a credit card Iris assigned to me. “Why do you look so brooding?” Iris asks me as she sits across from me. Jimmy isn’t here, considering the fact that he’s always with Iris.“Nothing.” I mumble
“No, I wear Gucci cologne.” I say and he looks at me with mild disgust.He must really not like Gucci.He takes a step closer to me and then he does something that takes me by complete surprise.............What is this man doing?He puts his nose to my arm and sniffs loudly. Then he says to himself, “You’re not wearing FANTASY’s deodorant either.” I take a few steps back, and I look at him, feeling the awkwardness.“I’m not.” I say slowly as I eye him.“Interesting...I will be downstairs, it was nice meeting you, Quincy.” He says with a small smil
“Whoa...you have got to be kidding me.” Iris says and I ask her, “What? What?”“Look over there.” She points to a white round middle aged man on the check-in line.“Yeah, who am I looking at?” I ask her and she says, “That’s Benjamin, Davina’s father.”...............What? “I thought he should be in France already.” I say and Iris replies, “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”“I’m going to go talk to him.” She says as she stands, but I hold her hand.“Not now.” I say and she stares at me for a second, and s
“No.” I say, and he says, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”“Don’t make me wipe that smirk from that face of yours.” I say, at the verge of snapping.“Please do.” He says, and I do something that I never thought I would do again in my entire life. ..............I simply do nothing, knowing that I don’t need to hit this guy. Hitting him won’t change a thing, so why do it?“I’m waiting, Quincy.” He says as he stares at my fist.“You’re not worth it.” I say and then I walk up to the little girl.“Hey, hey.” I say to her an
“What are you doing?” I ask her lowly. Davina’s father laughs deeply. “I’m sorry, but I won’t allow that.” He says confidently. “You see, Iris...I own you.” .......... Iris scoffs, and the call ends. “Iris...you don’t have to quit for my sake.” I say to her. “Oh, I’m not. I’m quitting because if they were comfortable with using you like a toy, then they obviously must have strings on me like a puppet already.” She responds to me. “I’m not going to live my life for these people.” “So are you still going to France, the city of love?” I ask
“No, sir.” I say respectfully.“But I’m confused here, what do you mean?” I ask.“Truly, I thought you weren’t this dumb...Quincy, you’re fired. You’re no longer the CEO for FANTASY.” ............“But..but..” I stutter and Davina’s father laughs.“But..but..what?” He asks rudely.“You actually thought I would have allowed my daughter to make someone as incompetent as you the CEO of FANTASY?”“Do you know how much money that company pulls in? You honestly thought I would let you mess it all up?” His voice is full of venom.
I pick up my speed as I drive on the small narrow road that is lighted by light poles and surrounded by thick trees.This road is a shortcut, and I took it because I want to get home as soon as possible.“Boo!” I suddenly hear the voice yell in my ear and I lose control of the steering wheel, causing the car to make a sharp turn that leads me straight into a tree...............The impact is loud and it causes the airbag to fly out. The car starts beeping loudly and I groan in pain.The front of the car is smashed into the tree. Scared, I frantically try to exit the vehicle.For a second, the door seems jammed, but I continue to struggle to open it. It finally gives way and the door opens.
When we are alone, Davina stands and walks close to me.“So what do you want to talk about?” I ask her and she replies in a low tone, “Who said anything about talking?”She closes the distance between us and she kisses me...............For a fraction of a second, I get lost in the kiss, and I return it. But then my senses return.I pull away and I watch her the lust stir in her eyes.“What are you doing?” I ask, my own tone a little bit huskier.She runs her hand through her hair and I watch her keenly as a tear escapes her eye.“Are you okay?” I ask her and she replies loudly
What or rather who I see causes my head to spin.I see Kate, she’s watching me keenly. Her eyes are cold and her skin looks wrinkled.She’s smiling widely, but her lips are without color. They’re purple and dead..............I can feel my blood rushing through my body. It’s like an out of body experience.I blink a few times to see whether she disappears, but it doesn’t work. She’s still in the backseat, staring at me via the rear view mirror.A loud truck horn snaps me out my trance and I press on the gas instinctively. The red light on the traffic light is already green, and all the cars that were in-front of me has driven away.
I pick it up and I see that I have a new text message. It’s from Jimmy, I remember saving his number when we were at The Lounge.I open the text and it only has three words.It reads:“Quincy, she’s gone.” ............My heart races as my mind conjures explanations for me. Who is he talking about?Is his wife dead?Oh gosh, no. I click on his number and it begins to ring. Expecting him to answer, I begin to find something to wear so I can go over to him; but he doesn’t.I try about three more times, but to no avail. The only person I could call right now and get information from would be Iris