Chronicles of a Pessimist 55 Pt 1

“Wow, you got here fast,” Anna laughed returning to her apartment from class to find Jasper readily waiting for her.

“Uh-huh,” he nodded, coming over to embrace her. “I was already in the area when you called.”

“Highly convenient.”

Neither of them wasted much more time on small talk.

A few things have changed in the weeks since Ashton and Rachel’s departure.

The first was, both were more aware that they had a propensity for jumping to conclusions and creating needless conflict because of their rashness.

The second – both became dully aware of the fact that their cigarette consumption had reached an all time high and that both of them were taking much more frequent smoke breaks than before.

Jasper was the first to do something about it – he simply went through all of his stuff and tossed out every pack he had anywhere.

Anna followed suit – she wasn’t a fan of the fact that she could barely sit through her regular class without wanting a smoke. She just hoped Jasper’s cold-turkey method was going to work.

It worked in one aspect for sure.

They were both horny 24/7.

“Is this comfortable?” he made sure, reaching for protection.

“Totally, continue,” she reassured him, starting to get her clothes off. What was the point of living without roommates if you couldn’t just do it anywhere and everywhere in your home?

Since their first irresponsible time, they were always careful, especially since they haven’t discussed things like children just yet.

Although… in moments like these, Anna’s mind was quite unopposed to the idea. Of course, she knew it was the hormones talking, but the idea of a mini-Jasper that shared her DNA was quite cute.

The thought was temporarily relegated to the back of her mind when much more pressing things were calling her attention to themselves right here on this couch.

“You always smell so good,” he whispered, feverishly kissing her neck. “How do you do it?”

“Perfume? Shower gel?” she laughed, blushing.

“No, I think it’s just you,” he continued his movements.

Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? She was already burning all over!

As they were about to remove the rest of their clothing, Anna’s phone just had to ring, making both groan in exasperation.

“Yes!” she barked into the speaker, hoping the person on the other end of the call could feel her anger at being interrupted.

“Anna? Uh, is this a bad time?” Demarcus asked, sounding sheepish.

“A bad time?” she repeated. Well, fair enough, her friend couldn’t possibly know he was going to interrupt their private time, especially in the middle of the day. “I suppose it’s fine…”

“Is it, though?” Jasper muttered, sitting up with annoyed expression. Yeah, she got it, he was in the moment too…

“I just wanted to remind you – today at 6 pm,” Demarcus continued.

“Yeah, of course, I remember,” Anna nodded. “I told you I’ll be there.”

“Yeah, sorry, I guess I’m just nervous. I’d hate to be stuck at Chandra’s event all alone, you know.”

“You won’t be, I promise. See you there, then, cool?”

“See you.”

“What was that about?” Jasper asked.

“I think Dem’s freaking out about having to bartend at his ex’s party. Don’t know why, really. They’re exes, it’s not like she’s going to make a play for him, especially with him dating Isobel now, plus there are going to be a bunch of people at the club. It’s going to be no different from our usual night at the bar,” Anna mused.

“I kind of get it,” he nodded, pulling Anna back into his lap. “I vaguely knew Chandra when she and Isobel worked together. She’s kind of meh as an individual.”

“But hardly scary, right?”

“Only if one is scared of getting scammed out of their hard-earned money. But I know you’re smart enough not to fall for anything she tries to peddle you, right?” Jasper chuckled.

“You know me, those scams aren’t for me. Can’t speak for the rest of the people who are going to be at the party, though.”

“Fair enough. But why are we still talking about them?” Jasper asked. “When do you have to be there again?”

“At 6.”

“That means we still have close to three hours to ourselves,” he winked.

“We do,” she smiled. “Where were we again before we got interrupted?”

---

As 6 pm approached, Jasper seemed to get somewhat somber.

“Do you really have to go there?” he asked.

“Of course, I promised.”

“But this is beyond your normal work hours.”

“Yeah, but she’s paying us very well. And like I said, I’m not ditching a friend to deal with his ex and her buddies all alone,” Anna told him. “What’s this about?”

“Don’t know. I just have this funky feeling I can’t put my finger on,” he shrugged. “Or maybe I’m just being selfish and don’t want you to leave.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“I must say, I’m loving the outfit,” Jasper admitted, nuzzling her neck. “Think you can keep it after the event?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she winked. “I must say, though, I’m glad I don’t work at Pine Peak Lounge on the regular. They seem a little too posh for my liking.”

“I hear their drinks are good but quite pricey,” Jasper relayed her the information he got about the club from some of his clients. “Chandra must really be wanting to impress her guests if she’s paying for that place.”

“According to Dem, the party’s for an old friend’s birthday,” Anna shrugged. “Must be a rich friend she wants to invest in her business.”

Jasper chuckled. “Of course she does. Why am I not surprised her ‘business’ is an MLM? Some people just can’t do things the honest way.”

“Well, not everyone is willing to put in actual work into what they start, the way you did,” she turned around to kiss him. Dealing with people like Chandra made Anna appreciate Jasper and other hard-working individuals that much more. “Well, I gotta run now. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Let’s hope they don’t decide to party the whole night away.”

“Take care and don’t get dragged into anything silly.”

“Never!”

“Hey, sorry I interrupted whatever was going on earlier. I’ve been out of sorts about tonight for this whole week,” Marcus apologized. “Honestly, I can’t wait for this evening to end.”

“I feel you,” Anna understood. “Honestly, I still can’t imagine you dating someone like Chandra. She just seems so smarmy.”

“Yeah, well, I was younger and dumber back then. Definitely dodged a bullet when we broke up,” Marcus admitted. “And here she comes.”

“Hello, Marcus, Anna. Thank you both again for being available tonight,” Chandra approached them.

Despite being decked out and made up to the nines, Chandra somehow looked like she was about as enthusiastic to be here as they were. Anna wondered if this had to do with that niece who was staying with her.

Anna wondered if the young woman was going to be here as well. Marcus said she will be, which made Anna very curious to see who this problem person was.

“Of course, Chandra. You know you can count on us when we say we’ll do something,” Marcus reassured her.

“Uh-huh,” Chandra nodded.

“Would you like a drink?” Anna offered. “Something to take the edge off?”

“Oh, thank you, dear,” Chandra nodded. “I’m afraid I’m all pins and needles today. I offered to host an old family friend’s birthday party, but honestly, I wish I never did. The past few weeks have been a lot.”

“Yeah, sometimes, life’s like that.”

No sooner had she given the woman a drink, did the guests start to show up.

Chandra managed to drink the beverage quickly and be back to 100% percent as the guests started talking to her and one another.

“I take it the theme was red for tonight,” Kimberly Price, a known socialite winked at Chandra, after taking in the club’s decor and the colors most wore. “I can’t believe I forgot it was Eddie’s favorite color.”

“Come to think of it, so did I,” Chandra admitted, considering that she picked out her dress by chance. But it was a very convenient coincidence. She wanted Eddie to invest in her business and if a certain color swayed his mind, she was all for it. “Please, enjoy the drinks. They are top-notch.”

“It’s so sweet to see you here, Mrs. Morelli,” Maria smiled at the older woman. “I’ve heard your health hasn’t been so sweet to you lately.”

“Yes, dear. I’m not walking as well as I used to, that’s for sure. That’s life – enjoy your youth and good health while you have it.”

“How’s Tammie doing these days? I’m so sorry about that engagement falling through at the last moment,” Maria feigned sweetness.

“She’s quite well, thank you for asking. It’s been over two years,” Donna wondered why Maria would chose to bring up that unfortunate happenstance. But then again, this was Maria. She was just like that.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Maria smiled sweetly, remembering the fun evening she spent with Tammie’s ex just before he came to the conclusion he wasn’t quite cut out for marriage yet. “By the way, a friend of mine had tried out this amazing exercise plan a couple of months ago and she lost so much weight. If Tammie would like it, I can give her all the details.”

“Hmm, I’ll be sure to ask her,” Donna tried not to roll her eyes too hard. “Oh, there’s Janis and she’s calling me over. You take care, dear.”

Walking away, she reminded herself to cease further interactions with Miss Villegas. They were bad for one’s blood pressure.

“Did Miss Villegas wear you out already?” Janis Langford, asked her knowingly.

“That girl makes my blood boil,” Donna told her quietly, glad for the loud piano. “I can’t prove it, but I just know she had something to do with what happened between Tammie and Keith.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Janis nodded. “For the life of me, I’ll never understand how people as sweet and positive as Roberto and Lupe managed to raise that little monster.”

“Sometimes, the apple does fall from the tree.” At least, thought Donna, her niece was as different from this young woman as anyone could be. She probably couldn’t take all the credit for her upbringing, but she was proud of her.

The Varners were frequent fixtures at society events lately.

Amanda saw them as an opportunity to network and and establish new connections with suppliers.

Antoine, being an artist, also saw them as an opportunity to meet people and find new markets for his artworks. And the readily available alcohol flowing around these events wasn’t so bad either.

There was one problem for him, of course – these events always seemed to be full of women he’s had flings with in the past. Sure, his wife knew he was hardly a monk before they married, but Antoine wondered if she knew just how many of her acquaintances he knew far closer than she would’ve liked him to know.

“It’s a great venue, isn’t it?” Amanda checked in with her husband. “Their live entertainer is quite something.”

“She’s good, no doubt,” Antoine agreed. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

“Of course, I thought it would be nice for us to have a night out. Maybe we should come here some time without everyone else, too.”

“I’d love that,” Antoine agreed.

As the couple kissed, two of the present women were very interested in their romantic mood: Kimberly, who herself was previously involved with Antoine and who knew just how fake that young man could be, and Maria, who also had a dalliance with him, alas one that went much more on her terms than the man knew.

“Oh, this is juicy,” Janis whispered to Donna.

“Indeed. Better than a soap opera,” Donna agreed.

“Amanda sure picked herself a winner. I wonder if she knows just how many others he’s done the horizontal tango with.”

“I don’t think Kimberly will say anything. She’s kind of embarrassed by that thing they had going on,” Donna shook her head.

“Who’s talking about Kimberly? Want to bet Maria knows this upstanding young man quite closely as well? Just look at her.”

“Ooh! You are so right. He better be careful, that one’s quite venomous,” Donna noticed.

“Indeed. But how do the young folks say it these days? ‘Fuck around and find out’? Well, looks like that young man has reached the second part.”

“It’ll be messy.”

“You know it.”

While the high society love drama went on, Chandra zeroed in on someone she’s been waiting for – Nick Squires, her accountant, who just showed up at the club.

He wasn’t someone she would normally have invited for an event like this, but he was here to serve an important function. While his higher than normal ethics told her she’ll be looking for a new accountant quite soon, Nick was young, fairly good-looking, and, most importantly, single.

In other words, a perfect decoy for Josie’s attentions!

“Nick, dear, there you are. I’m glad to see you. Did you make it here smoothly?”

“Yes, I think so. Thanks for the invitation. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about that item…”

“Yes, yes, but during work hours, Nick. Not tonight. Tonight, we’re here to relax and celebrate.”

“Oh, right!”

“But tell me Nick, you are single, right?”

“Uh…”

“You’ve met my niece, right?” she continued.

“Oh, yes, I did!” Nick did meet Josie. Very briefly, and he definitely thought she was pretty. A fact that did not go unnoticed by Chandra.

“She’ll be here in a little while. How would you like me to put in a good word for you with her?” Chandra offered. “I’ve noticed you aren’t really seeing anyone lately and neither is she…”

“Really?” Nick asked. “You’d do that?”

“Of course. You’re a great guy. And Josie could use someone very different from her ex in her life.”

“Oh, thanks for the compliment,” Nick smiled.

“Don’t mention it, as soon as she’s here, I’ll introduce you two properly.”

And that was how you do it, thought Chandra to herself. This way, she won’t have to worry about her niece stirring up too much trouble with the other guests.

With the Josie matter out of the way, Chandra made her way over to Amanda and Kimberly, who were engrossed in a discussion about their busy lifestyles.

“I was able to take just a week off last year,” Amanda complained. “We fly out to this nice resort, just settle in, and the phone calls start and keep coming in. You’d think with all the talent I hire, they would know what to do while I’m gone for a week, but no… they needed my input on the dumbest crap.”

“I know what you mean,” Kimberly nodded in understanding. “I thought things would be easier when I hired a management company, but those idiots are professionals at constantly late invoices and delegating all the responsibilities right back at me. I thought the renters were paying late on the regular for a while, until I found out the company was mishandling their checks.”

“I trust they are no longer your management company?!” Amanda exclaimed.

“Absolutely,” Kimberly nodded. “I don’t need that kind of inefficiency in my life.”

Of course, she didn’t, thought Chandra. Kimberly preferred someone to handle all her daily responsibilities for her, leaving her free to participate in the city’s social scene. It helped that she could actually live that way, having been the sole inheritor of her late husband’s multiple properties.

“I understand you so well,” Chandra chimed in. “I was in the same boat three years ago. Stressed out, not feeling my best, needing a change. I guess I got lucky – my buddy made me sit down and really take a look at what my body was going through during the day and what I was putting in it.”

“You’re telling me I put something wrong in my body?” Kimberly huffed. “Girl, I go to the best dietician in town, pay more for a personal trainer than some make in a month, and make sure to get as much beauty sleep as anyone needs.”

“And that’s good. But sometimes, you just need a bit more to kick that routine up to the next level,” Chandra shrugged. “Trust me, I thought the same way as you, but when my friend made me start taking multivitamins for a month, for a trial, I instantly felt better.”

“You know, I didn’t believe you when you’ve talked about those vitamins of yours before, but they do seem like the real deal,” Amanda chimed in. “I’ve felt much more energetic since starting to take them. And they actually taste pretty nice, unlike many others.”

“So, you liked them?” Chandra smiled, trying not to look too gleeful. “Which ones did you prefer?”

“The multivitamin. I’m going to order more of them next month, so you can record this somewhere,” Amanda told her.

“Hmm, you know what? Put me down for an order as well,” Kimberly told her. “I’ll give that stuff a try.”

“You ladies actually believe all that bullshit about vitamins?” Maria joined the conversation. “You know, most of them are total duds, right?”

“What makes you say that?” Chandra asked, keeping her cool.

“The facts. We already get the nutrients we need from food. At least, we’re supposed to. Anything extra is just that. Extra. It doesn’t really do anything and isn’t even properly absorbed by the body. Sure, you can take all the vitamins you want, but they won’t really fix the underlying problems you have.”

“And what problems are those?” Amanda asked.

“Purely based on your own complaints, not having enough time to relax, stress, a hectic lifestyle, and if I may add, the obvious one – aging. As you get older, you simply become less able to withstand the everyday stresses of life.”

“That’s a little uncalled for,” Kimberly bristled while Amanda did her best to put on a game face.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,” Maria shrugged. “I’m just telling it like it is.”

“Miss Villegas does have a point,” Chandra agreed. “As we age, we are less equipped to deal with the everyday stress we face. And if we don’t take care of ourselves, it’ll wear us out much quicker.”

“So true,” Amanda nodded along. “So very true. In any case, I hear you Maria. But Chandra, my order for the vitamins stays put. Even if I only feel better because of the placebo effect, or whatever it is, I’m not complaining.”

“Same here, I kind of want to find out for myself what all the fuss is about,” Kimberly agreed.

Maria couldn’t help but roll her eyes. They were such sheep.

She failed to understand one simple thing: sometimes, criticism was a good advertisement. Especially in a crowd such as this one.

While Chandra was busy schmoozing with the crowd, Josie finally made it to the lounge, where she almost collided with a young man coming in.

He gave her what he probably thought was a seductive once-over, but once Josie saw that hair, it was an absolute nope from her. A high maintenance man was the very last thing she wanted in her life.

Chandra quickly spotted her from across the room and quickly hurried to do damage control before Josie could interact with anyone.

“There you are!”

Putting her arm around Nick, Chandra firmly led him over towards Josie.

“Josie, this is Nick Squires, a very bright young man who will most certainly go far in life with that brain of his. Nick, this is my niece Josie, I believe you’ve met briefly before.”

“Hello, Miss Henning, right?” Nick grinned, trying not to let on that he felt Josie was far more attractive than most women he knew. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Josie smiled. Auntie came through with this one, for sure.

She was a bit surprised by how young he was – from the way her aunt previously talked, she thought Nick would’ve been older.

Not that she was complaining at all.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to chat. I believe Donna wants to finish our conversation.”

“She’s a busy one, your aunt…” Nick shuffled his feel a little awkwardly.

“Yeah, that’s her. She’s always doing something. So, Nick. Tell me a little about yourself,” Josie asked.

“Well, I’m an accountant. I work the firm handling the accounting for your Aunt’s company. That’s how we met. I’m a little surprised she invited me, though,” he admitted. “We don’t always see eye to eye on things.”

“She must think well of you anyways,” Josie shrugged. “Why else would she introduce you to me?”

“Oh, yes, I suppose you’re right,” Nick chuckled. “Well, what about you? What do you do?”

“Me? I’m an actress. And a darned good one at that,” Josie grinned.

“Oh? What have you been in? Maybe I’ve seen you? You do look pretty familiar, now that I think of it,” Nick asked.

“Oh, you know me. I’ve been in a bunch of things. It’s hard to keep track sometimes.”

“Wow, that sounds really busy,” Nick whistled. “I guess you don’t get much time to relax then?”

“It can be quite hectic, true,” Josie nodded. “Those studios are constantly buzzing and, like, half the people working there haven’t got a clue what they’re supposed to be doing. It sucks when, on top of you own job, you have to show others how to do theirs. So tiring!”

“That sucks. But yeah, I feel you. Half the time, our newbies are also really clueless and we have to show them the ropes, but that’s life, you know. If no one shows them the ropes, they’ll never learn, right?”

“Oh yeah, sure. I guess we all have to suffer from inept workers, huh?” Josie nodded along.

“I wouldn’t say inept,” Nick shrugged. “Everyone starts somewhere. Besides, accounting is a tough profession, with all those rules and statutes. It takes a while to really get the hang of things. I don’t judge them.”

“You must be a very helpful person, I take it,” Josie smiled sweetly. “Are you any good with taxes?”

“Am I? That’s kind of my specialization,” Nick nodded.

“How convenient! I actually am looking for someone to do my tax returns!” Josie told him.

“Sure, just let me know how you’re paid, what your expenses are, and so on, and I’ll be able to estimate how much you owe or get back.”

“Antoine, dear,” Janis addressed the young man. “Did I ever tell you how much of a resemblance you have to my dear Brandon when he was young?”

“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Langford,” Antoine beamed at her. It was no secret her late husband was a major looker in his young days. “I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“Hmm. But young man, if you want your looks to last longer, you should go easy on those drinks. How many have you had just this evening?”

“I haven’t had that many, ma’am,” he answered somewhat brusquely.

“Are you trying to kid me or yourself?” Janis shook her head.

Oh well. One could give advice. One couldn’t take the advice for the other person.

“He has been drinking a bit much tonight,” Amanda agreed with her once Antoine walked off. “Don’t know what got into him. He’s not usually like that.”

“Of course, of course.”

Another one who was kidding herself, thought Janis. Oh well. Oh well.

“Are you still selling that building over by the docks?” Maria asked Kimberly.

“Most likely, once I figure out the best time to do it to avoid being robbed clean by Uncle Sam,” Kimberly nodded.

“Ugh, taxes. Yeah, fuck us, right?” Maria agreed with the sentiment. “Say, how much does that building cost? A million, right?”

“Probably a little more, but around that amount.”

“Great! My father wants to sell of a building right by the movie theater. It’s smaller, but the cost would be in the same bracket. How about we do an exchange? I recall you saying you wanted to invest in an office building,” Maria offered.

“Right by the movie theater? That does sound quite convenient. When can I see it?” Kimberly was intrigued.

“As soon as next week.”

“Great!”

“Drinks, ladies?” Anna walked up to them with a fresh batch.

“Oh, no thank you,” Kimberly shook her head. “I’ve had more than enough.”

“Likewise,” Maria agreed. She preferred to keep her head clear during such events, unlike certain blond individuals, who were currently busy shooting her worried looks.

Antoine was looking at Maria quite a bit tonight.

He didn’t know her officially until tonight. But he did know her.

Unfortunately.

As soon as he spotted her here tonight he instantly recalled an evening out at the bar, when after a few drinks, he ended up enjoying a very hot night with a good-looking young woman.

As it happened, that woman was Maria. And the night happened after he became Amanda’s husband.

From the sardonic smiles she shot him tonight, he knew she quite enjoyed having this information on him.

He needed another drink.

And there was the waitress. And she was quite cute too.

“Well, hello,” he half-slurred, shooting Anna what was likely supposed to pass for a seductive smile.

“What the fuck?” thought Anna. Dude was here with his wife and flirting with her? Yikes, big yikes.

As soon as he took the drink, she made sure not to go around him for the rest of the evening.

When Nick asked Josie for an estimate of her income for tax purposes, he expected the usual – he had a few clients in the entertainment business and knew their pay could be irregular.

This, however…

“I had a few gigs where they paid me in money orders and a couple where they did direct transfers to my account. And a couple of them paid me in stock, which I’m going to sell in a little bit, so I don’t really worry about it yet.”

“Don’t worry about it yet because it’s already accounted for by your employer, yeah?” Nick nodded along.

“No, why would they worry about it?” Josie asked. “Who cares about these stocks before they’re sold?”

“A lot of places,” Nick chuckled. “And those money orders and transfers. They’re all like miscellaneous income, which you’re taxed on as an independent contractor, correct?”

“Yup! It works perfectly, I haven’t had to pay a cent in taxes in years,” Josie smiled smugly.

“Uh…because you’ve had a lot of work-related expenses to offset your income, right?”

“Sure…” Josie smiled sweetly. “Whatever shows me to be in the negative. I mean, I don’t even report most of the direct transfers and money orders. So, it all works out.”

Upon hearing about Josie’s payment schedules, Nick started to break out in a sweat.

“Look, Josie, I don’t know who advised you on how to report taxes in the past, but what you’re describing doesn’t sound completely legal. And if I become your tax preparer, I legally could not condone it,” he warned her.

“You don’t have to condone it, you just have to sign off on it, man,” Josie laughed. “It’s not difficult, is it?”

“Not difficult?” Nick started to wonder if this was some sort of a test by Chandra to figure out how much he was willing to bend the rules. Come to think of it, it seemed the aunt and niece had quite a lot in common in that aspect. “I mean, I’ve studied for years to become a CPA. I’m not signing off on a tax return I know to be fraudulent.”

“How do you know it’s fraudulent?” Josie huffed.

“Because you have literally just told me,” he explained slowly, deciding he was going to need a stiff drink in a few moments.

“So? Just pretend I didn’t. What about that client-accountant confidentiality?”

“Client-attorney confidentiality, you mean?” he asked. “Because accountants don’t get the same privilege – and also, I’m not your accountant yet!”

And he won’t be! Josie may have been hot, but there was no way he was losing his license for that harebrained scheme of hers. And to think that she was just talking about it so calmly in a room full of others!

“Whatever, bozo. I’ll just find someone else to do it.”

And suddenly, Nick remembered why Josie seemed familiar to him – a friend of his loved to watch trashy reality TV – and Josie was on one of the episodes. Having a full on fight with another busty blonde.

Nope, he was not getting involved with this.

“Sorry, I gotta go now.” And with that, Nick headed to the bar for that stiff drink that certainly had his name on it by now.

What a strange guy, thought Josie, as Nick trounced off away from her. Why did her aunt introduce them? Sure, he was cute, but he seemed a little off.

Before she could ponder this further, Josie’s gaze fell upon the very last person she wanted to see in this city – Maria Villegas.

Maria… that girl had a way of ruining her day whenever they ran into one another. That’s how it was in Starlight Shores. At first, she was the director’s darling on the set. And then Maria showed up! And then, slowly, her role on the show started to shrink, with her getting fewer and fewer speaking lines.

Sure, Josie couldn’t actually prove anything. But it all started after she and Maria had a row. Next thing she knew, her career was taking a hit.

“Josie? Never thought I’d see you here,” Maria smiled in a way that would’ve come across as genuine to anyone else, but Josie knew better. “What brings you to Brooklyn Heights?”

“Long story. I had to settle things with my ex, but that’s finished now.”

“Oh yes, those things can be a drag. What are you up to now?” Maria asked.

“Not much. I’m just here with my aunt,” Josie nodded towards Chandra, who was busy talking to Donna and Janis.

“You two are related? No way.”

“Yeah, well, we are.”

Meanwhile, Tammie, who’s been alternating between annoyed and bored for the length of this evening, finally smiled when a welcome face appeared in the lounge.

“Kareem! Finally!” she hugged her friend, whispering, “Dude, where have you been? You’ve been missing out on some majorly juicy stuff here.”

“Sorry, Tams, I was stuck with my publisher. Long story, I’ll fill you in later. But what’s been happening?”

“It’s a right circus in here, man. This was supposed to be a birthday party, but the birthday guy isn’t even here, and MLM stuff is heavily being pushed on the guests. Also, I feel like there’s something weird going on between all those women and that blond guy, who’s been getting drunk all evening.”

“Man, I have been missing out,” Kareem chuckled.

“Right? Come on, let’s get you a drink. The bartenders are nice at least,” Tammie dragged him to the bar.

At the same time, the birthday boy finally arrived to his birthday celebration.

“Eddie! Goodness, there you are!” Janis have him a hug, appreciating how, despite his years, Eddie Gritton never gained too much weight. If only she had been blessed with such a metabolism. “We almost thought you’ve decided on a more interesting company for the evening.”

“Janis, my dear, I would never. Unfortunately, business kept me busy. Yes, yes, even today,” the man laughed.

“Well, you should take it easy, once in a while, you know. I know you like to push yourself, but these days, we have to mind our limits,” Janis cautioned him.

“I know, but it’s hard to remember that sometimes,” Eddie brushed off her concern.

“Uncle Eddie! There you are!” Chandra spotted him across the room and made a beeline for the man.

Eddie was not actually related to her, but as he has known her family longer than she had been alive, it seemed fitting to call him “Uncle”.

“Chandra, my my, you are getting more beautiful each time I see you. Life’s been treating you well, I take it?”

“Very well, indeed. Did you find this place well? I know I should have driven you here myself,” Chandra fussed.

“Hey, now, I’m still quite able to get around,” he winked. “Now, I hear drinks are available?”

“Of course! What would you prefer?”

So this was the guy her aunt was going crazy about, thought Josie. What a dinosaur. And all these women were so crazy about him?

Well, the next time her aunt talked about her taste in men, Josie would bring this up.