1
Zander King
Nothing like a midday fuck.
Breathing hard, Zander King rolled onto his back. He closed his eyes and relaxed against the soft mattress. His taut back muscles released and the last remaining angst faded away. His companion propped up on an elbow.
“I got offered the job in Nashville,” she said.
His phone rang on her night table and he silenced it.Not yet.Work could wait five more minutes. He needed to cling to the sex high for as long as he could.
“Congrats.” He would miss her perks more than he’d miss her. “When do you leave?”
“About a week. Nothing holding me here.” The longing in her eyes didn’t jibe with her words. But he couldn’t ask her to stay.
Two weeks ago, they’d been introduced through mutual friends at a business event. He hadn’t been interested enough to pursue her, but she called. Zander explained he had zero work-life balance and didn’t have time to get involved. She persisted. They’d gone out, had sex. A week later, she called again. They’d done more of the same. When she invited him to drop by for a quickie, he decided it would be his last.
Turns out, the universe agreed.
“The company is lucky to have you.” Zander dropped a quick peck on her forehead before pushing out of bed. Drawn-out goodbyes weren’t his thing. He closed the bathroom door, removed the condom, and cleaned off. When he returned to the bedroom to get dressed, she was gone, and the bed had been made. He found her making a sandwich in her cramped kitchen.
“Once I’m settled, maybe you’ll visit me.” She shoved the sleeves of her sweatshirt up her forearms.
Not happening.“I don’t have any projects in Tennessee and I don’t see myself getting away anytime soon. I’m sorry. Good luck in your new job.” He shut the front door of her townhouse without glancing back. Though he was confident she was spewing profanities, he wouldn’t make an empty promise. His life had been filled with those. No way in hell would he pay that forward.
Outside, the afternoon humidity engulfed him. Early September in the D.C. region offered no reprieve from the sweltering, sticky heat. On the way to his car, he scrolled through his phone. Seven missed calls. No new texts. He re-read the previous day’s text from his father.
“I love you, son.”
“Love you, too, Dad,” he’d texted back, surprised to have heard from his old man at all.
Zander couldn’t recall the last time his dad had said those words. Ever since leaving for college, seventeen years ago, Zander had initiated every phone call, every text, and every visit.
Until yesterday.
After slipping inside his Porsche, he started it up and blasted the air. Before cutting into traffic, he punched up his voice messages.
“Hey, Zander, I’ve got an update on Starry Cove.” Kent Walker, Senior Vice President of King Development. “See me when you get back.”
Zander couldn’t miss the tightness in his business partner’s voice.Dammit, that can’t be good.Too many problems at work. When am I gonna get a break?
Message playback continued. “Hey, Zander baby, let’s get together sometime for dinner,” said a woman whose voice he didn’t recognize. “Text me when you’re free.”
At a red light, he continued listening.
“Mr. King, this is Sheldon Elstor. Please call me back as soon as possible. I have an urgent matter to discuss with you.” The stranger rattled off his phone number and hung up.What does he want?
The messages droned on. “Zander, it’s Stu. Great presentation. Unfortunately, we’re going with a different developer. Appreciate your efforts.”Ah, hell. We needed that deal.
Another message from Kent. “It’s me again. Esteem is thirty days overdue on their first payment toward the hundred and twenty-five mil they owe us. Without it, we might default on our loan. On top of that, the CFO isn’t returning my calls. My blood pressure is through the roof.”
In the last few months, Zander’s company had hit a rough patch. His two biggest projects, Starry Cove and Esteem University, were derailing. While he couldn’t get the Starry Cove deal off the ground because a landowner objected to his proposal, Esteem University was well underway. The successful online university boasted a global student body of nearly one hundred thousand and was eager to build a brick and mortar campus nestled in the thriving Chantilly, Virginia area. King Development had financed the project’s start by providing one hundred and twenty-five million of borrowed funds toward developing the six-building campus.
In addition to these problems, Zander hadn’t won as much new business as he’d forecasted. These setbacks meant income delays, but the loans still had to be paid monthly. He rubbed his forehead, hoping to ward off another stress headache.If things don’t improve, I might have to file for bankruptcy.
The light changed, but the pickup in front of him didn’t budge. Northern Virginia traffic gridlocked without the assistance of a stopped vehicle in the middle of the road. The driver behind him laid on his horn.
An attractive, tanned woman wearing a white tank, ripped jeans, and sandals emerged from the truck, yanked jumper cables from the bed, and marched toward the engine.