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  “Really?” Daniel instinctively blurted out, not needing to give the response any real thought. It appeared Jordan had discovered the most effective way to relieve him of his overwhelming excitement. “How’d he do that?”

  “Well, you know how he’s been giving money to the Indianapolis public school system?” She asked, trying to navigate her way through this minefield.

  And in fact he hadn’t known about that. That was some information she had conveniently left out in their many conversations.

  “I had no idea. You never told me and I don’t really read the IPS newsletter,” he answered sarcastically.

  Jordan clearly knew he was upset, and had expected it, so she let the smarmy comment slide.

  “Well he has – quite a bit actually – and it’s been very helpful,” Jordan began explaining. “Anyway, he would occasionally stop by our school, and when he was in town we would hang out. Well one time he told me he knew some people at Fox Harmon – the school here. He said he did some business with the Dean and that he might be able to get me a job teaching third grade. I told him not to worry about it, that I was very happy where I was, but he talked to him anyway. He must have given him a glowing recommendation because they called me a couple days later, gave me the sales pitch, and won me over. So I’m in town this weekend for an interview, but Gordon assures me that the job is already mine and the interview is just a formality. While I’m here I figured I’d do the interview and find an apartment. I’d like to move in as soon as this school year is over so that I can spend the summer getting more familiar with the city. Whadd’ya think?”

  That was the question, wasn’t it? What did he think? He was completely and utterly torn to pieces. On one hand, Jordan moving to Chicago was something he had desperately wanted ever since he had moved there himself. But to have to know that the reason she was there was all thanks to Gordon Demérs – to have to compete for her time and attention with Gordon Demérs – he couldn’t think of anything worse.

  Gordon Demérs was the first man Jordan had ever dated in college. When Jordan and Daniel arrived at Ball State their freshman year, Demérs had been an alumnus of the school for three years, and had already made himself into quite a success story. He was an economics major who as the story goes had made some very wise investments straight out of college that had panned out very well and made him a very rich man. After making his quick mini-fortune, Demérs started his own company based in Chicago that did something in the way of managing economic issues for large corporations in some very complicated manner that Daniel didn’t care to understand. Lucky for Demérs, he did know what he was doing and in about a year turned his mini-fortune into a full-sized fortune. Now, approximately seven years later, Gordon Demérs was one of the wealthiest men in the Midwest.

  During their freshman year, Demérs enjoyed returning to Ball State to receive what he clearly felt was well deserved admiration for his success. As the old, worn out cliché goes, “Women wanted him, and men want to be him.” He would pop up on campus from time to time to donate money to the Miller College of Business, always making sure there was an opportunity for a photo-op when he did so. Then he would go to the popular college bars at night, buying round after round for the house, or showing up at house parties with a truck full of free kegs. He was, in every sense of the term, “The Man.”

  And Jordan had fallen for the allure of being the girlfriend of “The Man.” Who could blame her? She was a dumb, hot young freshman who was drawn to the older man who had so much life experience – not to mention so much money. He was a guy who knew how, and could afford to have fun. There were so many things a man like Demérs could show a fresh blooded girl like freshman Jordan, and so she was drawn to the shiny object and he opened her up to a world of new experiences.

  Many of those experiences Daniel did his best not to think about. Along with being her first college boyfriend, Gordon Demérs was the first man Jordan had ever gotten drunk with; was the first man she had ever seen naked; was the first man to ever see her naked; the first man she had ever fooled around with; and naturally he was also the first man she’d ever had sex with. Yes, Gordon Demérs was that man, and it had always made Daniel green with envy.

  Demérs wasn’t the most attractive man on campus, but he still had plenty to work with. While he was attending Ball State he was the third-string quarterback on the football team. It wasn’t an achievement to write home about, but it left him with an athletic build that he has been able to maintain still to this day. That, plus the money, was more than enough to make up for the receding hairline and larger than average nose, though his strong jawline also helped to balance out the lesser features of his face.

  Fortunately, once Jordan had a little life experience of her own, the thrill of dating “The Man” eventually wore off and her patience with his cocky personality wore thin. The two remained good friends, but there was no longer anything in the way of romance.

  Except of course for a few random hookups that Daniel was regrettably able to convince Jordan to describe to him the details of. He knew the fact that Demérs had opened Jordan up to so many things had always stuck with her, and she told him as much. It seemed she would always have some sort of physical draw to him, and while Daniel believed those feelings would diminish once he and Jordan were together, as long as she was still single, that sexual tension still lingered. This was why it always bothered Daniel when Jordan and Demérs spent time together.

  Let alone the fact that he had been visiting her in Indianapolis without Daniel’s knowledge, and was now setting her up with a job in Chicago. Gordon Demérs was moving the love of Daniel’s life to this city. Daniel felt as though he were going to choke on the thought of it.

  “Wow,” was all he could say. There was something else eating away at his brain. It was something he didn’t want to confront, but he knew he had to otherwise it would devour his mind completely. “What do you mean you guys ‘hung out?’ You never told me about that.”

  Jordan took a deep breath. She knew Daniel well enough to know this line of questioning was inevitable, and Daniel knew Jordan well enough to know she was hiding something.

  “Over the last…year-and-a-half I guess, he would come to Indianapolis about once a month and we would have drinks, maybe dinner, and talk about life and work. He would ask how the school was doing, just stuff like that.”

  Once a month? Daniel was lucky if he saw her three times in a year, and she told him about everything.

  Daniel knew what he wanted to ask next, and Jordan was really hoping that he wouldn’t. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, and on a night where he had been wrong about a lot of things, he was deathly afraid that he would be right about this.

  He leaned back in his chair, and looked down at his lap, prepping himself to ask his next question, and worse, to receive the answer. After a few loud heartbeats, he looked up at Jordan…

  She didn’t give him a chance to get the question out. “He would come into town, we would go get drinks, then go back to his hotel and have sex.”

  Daniel closed his eyes and scrunched his face up. It was as if someone had punched him in the gut. When he opened his eyes back up again he could feel the moisture that had built up around the outside of them.

  Just then, at possibly the most awkward moment possible, the waiter brought the check. Daniel looked down at the plate the cheesecake had once been sitting on. He hadn’t even realized that during the uncomfortable discussion they had eaten the entire slice. He didn’t even remember whether it was good or not.

  “Look Daniel, it was just sex. He was my first, and that has always made me feel so comfortable being with him.”

  Daniel was still shaking off the initial gut punch Jordan had solidly connected on, and decided to take a look at the check.

  She leaned in closer so that she could continue her thought on this personal subject in a more hushed tone. “I don’t have feelings for him or anything, we just have fun together. He would get
a room with a hot tub…It wasn’t even romantic, just fun.”

  Daniel winced a little, then looked up from the bill and gave her a deep, dark stare.

  “You probably don’t want to hear anymore. I don’t know why I told you all that.”

  He slid his credit card into the pouch and set the book on the end of the table so the waiter could come pick it up. “No, I’m glad you did.”

  He meant that. Through it all, even if she had kept it from him in the past, he was glad he could still eventually get her to tell him anything. “But yeah, I get the gist. I’m not mad, how could I be? We’re not the least bit committed to each other. It just stings a little. Especially considering we’ve never even had sex, ya know?”

  She was reaching into her purse, and pulled out some money to pay for her share of the meal. “Here. For mine,” she said as she handed it to him. He was more than happy to accept it now.

  “And please don’t take it personally. I’m here now and all that’s over,” she said in an attempt to be reassuring. “As long as he and I are living in the same city I won’t be sleeping with him because I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.”

  “It’s fine, I don’t,” he said somberly. “Just stings a little.”

  And it most certainly did sting, for more than just the obvious reason. Not only had she regularly had sex with this guy while Daniel was perfectly available and rip-roaring to go, but she was willing to accept his help, and accept the job he set her up with, and to move to Chicago for that job.

  But she was moving to Chicago. That was the positive to come out of all of this. Maybe her sleeping with Demérs was a necessary evil that had to be done in order for Jordan and him to be together. If that was the case, he’d be able to accept her indiscretion easily.

  As much as it hurt that she had in a way chosen Demérs over him, he understood why. She had already been with Demérs, and she had never slept with Daniel before. Besides that, she had real feelings for Daniel that she did not have for Demérs. Casual sex was an impossibility for Jordan and Daniel, and therefore it meant a lot more to her, and he knew how much she wanted that moment to be special. She had always told him that she didn’t want to do it until they were officially together, and he had to respect that.

  “Besides,” she said as the waiter set the bill back down on the table and wished them a pleasant evening, “I know this other guy in the city that I’m kind of hoping to get involved with.”

  He couldn’t prevent the smirk that followed. She always seemed to know how to say exactly what he needed to hear. She was already beginning to apply aloe to his stinging heart, and he knew that a couple more hours with her would alleviate the pain completely.

  And who knows? Now that she was moving to Chicago and they were probably on the horizon of a new relationship, maybe she and Daniel could have their own sex-adventure tonight.

  He filled in the tip and total on the bill and signed it before throwing it back down on the table.

  He wiped the stress from his eyes and smiled. “So what do you want to do now?” He asked eagerly. “I’m thinking we get some real good beer and take it back to my place and hang out for the night.”

  Jordan stood up and grabbed her things, preparing to walk out of the restaurant.

  “Ugh, that sounds so great,” she started, preparing to kick Daniel while he was down, “but I can’t. I told Gordon I would go over to his place so that he could prep me for the interview tomorrow.”

  As Daniel stood up out of his seat his heart sank into his stomach. I thought we were done with this dude, he thought to himself. Now she was going to ditch him for the rest of the night to prepare with Demérs for an interview for a job she already had? OUCH!

  “Well how about I meet you over by his place after and we can go back to my place?” It was already after nine, but Daniel had nothing else to do that night because he had planned on spending it with her. Normally such occasions would result in him being passed out by eleven, Friday night or not, but for Jordan he would be willing to stay up all night if it meant getting to spend a few more hours with her. Especially if those hours were spent alone.

  “No, don’t do that. It will probably really late by the time we’re done. I’ll probably just stay at his place.”

  Daniel imagined the look on his face was similar to that of a person watching the scene in Top Gun where the beloved character Goose dies for the first time.

  “Don’t worry,” Jordan said assuring him, reading the expression on his face, “there will definitely not be any sex. I promise. He has a guest room so we won’t even be sleeping in the same bed.”

  As they walked out the door Daniel managed to let out half a sigh. That was a bit of relief, but he knew as well as anyone that plans change, and he didn’t trust Demérs and Jordan alone together. Especially after the information that had just been brought to light at dinner. And it didn’t change the fact that she was ditching him for the man who he now considered to be his mortal enemy. Although if you were to put the life of Daniel up against that of Gordon Demérs, it was absolutely no contest.

  But alas, he knew he had no right to try and stop her. They weren’t an item yet, and until she was officially a resident of the city of Chicago and they had gone out on an official date she was free to do as she pleased.

  He also realized that she couldn’t just blow off Demérs at this stage of the game. She owed him too much, and that was what Daniel hated most of all.

  “Where does he live?” Daniel asked, shaking off the immense frustration. “Need me to go with you?”

  “Oh no, that’s ok,” she assured him. “I’ll just take a cab.”

  Sure, now she’s ok taking a cab.

  So he hailed her a cab and opened the door as she threw her bag into the back seat next to hers.

  “Goodbye Daniel,” she said as she turned around and squeezed him tight. He did all he could to not let his disappointment show through the hug. “I had fun.”

  And with that she hopped in the cab. Daniel closed the door behind her and with one last wave she was sailing down Michigan Avenue in a big yellow taxi.

  He let out a big sigh as he watched her go. The last fifteen minutes had been a blur…or had it been twenty? He wasn’t even sure. He hadn’t even thought to ask her whether he’d see her at all the rest of the weekend. The fact that she hadn’t brought it up culminated with the fact that she would probably be with Sir Gordon Demérs made him think the chances were slim.

  At least he had the opportunity to see her at all. It had been too long. And better yet, in a couple months she would be moving and he would be able to see her almost every day. He decided that would be the thought he would hold onto as he made his way home.

  As he turned back to the curb there was a man in a blue pin-striped suit and a matching fedora standing just a few paces in front of him, staring right at him. The dude looked straight out of a black-and-white gangster film. The scene was incredibly bizarre.

  “I’m sorry, did I steal your cab or something?” It was the most reasonable explanation Daniel could think of at the moment.

  The man continued to stare right into his eyes. Then he broke eye contact and looked Daniel up and down.

  “You look beat,” the man finally spoke. “Beat and a little broken.”

  “I’m sorry?” Daniel asked, surprised by the man’s gumption to say such a thing to a stranger.

  “What if I told you I had something that could completely change your life around? Make you a whole new person.” The man countered, apparently ignoring Daniel’s concerns.

  “Who the hell are you?” Daniel shot back. This guy was seriously starting to freak him out.

  “Here’s my card,” the man said as he walked up to Daniel and handed him a business card. “If it gets to be too much to bear, give me a call. I think I can help you kid.”

  Daniel took the card and looked down to read it. As he did so the man in the fedora walked past him and hailed a cab of his own.

 
; “It doesn’t hurt to call kid. Who knows? You just might like what we have to offer.”

  And just like that the man hopped in a cab and was gone.

  Daniel watched in utter confusion as the man drove away. He looked back down at the card and read:

  Mr. Blank

  Elite Personal Security Force

  13 W Adams Street

  Chicago, IL 60607

  Phone: (312) 555-2498

  Elite Security Force? What could they possibly want with him? Daniel was far from a little guy, but he was no personal security guard. He had never even been in a real fight, what could he possibly have to offer?

  Still, the man in the fedora intrigued him, as did his offer. Wouldn’t hurt to keep the card handy, he thought.

  Then he turned, feeling tired, defeated, and alone, and started the long walk back to his studio apartment.

  Chapter 3

  March had ended abruptly, and most of April had blown by as well. The wound created by Jordan’s visit had now healed over, leaving an annoying scar that, while ugly to look at, would cause no permanent damage to the relationship.

  Daniel did not get to see her the rest of that weekend, but she had texted him as soon as she got on the train back to Indianapolis. She explained everything that had happened while she was with Gordon, highlighting the absence of any sexual activity. She added that she would not be having sex with him again anytime soon because she did not want it to appear as if she only had her job because she was sleeping with Gordon.

  Whether or not that was true, Daniel decided it really didn’t matter. As long as that affair was behind her, all that mattered now was that she would soon be in Chicago, and he would be able to claim her as his own.

  As long as they were together, he could care less about the past.

  Work had even seemed to suck less recently. It could have been the start of baseball season and change in the weather, but Daniel’s money was on the fact that the future was beginning to look much brighter. The grass on the horizon was beginning to look much greener, and things didn’t seem quite so hopeless.