Chapter 20

Marcus

Unclothed and unsupervised children are running everywhere.

People walk by wearing dirty clothes.

There are women shouting at each other amidst a slew of hanging clothes and dirt and grime.

I feel like vomiting because of the unpleasant smell of the place. This is the kind of scene I never would go to in my wildest dreams.

I wish I could back out, but I'm already here. And I need to be here to earn Katy's trust. Somehow I just have to suck it up and get through this day.

I try to look good to Katy. I don't want her thinking that I can't handle this. I can handle anything that I put my mind to.

She walks around the place like she's completely comfortable here. She introduces me to some of the other volunteers, and I have to admit, they seem like nice people.

I enjoy stepping back though and watching her interact with everyone. She looks so alive and happy while playing with the children. I can't help but wonder how she can be this motivated to be here.

She doesn't have to come here every month, and if I were her, I wouldn't do it. It's absolutely the filthiest place on earth.

It's notable that she wants to come here to help, but I honestly can't imagine doing this on my own.

She pulls me over to me to meet a volunteer named Sylvia.

"Sylvia is our outreach coordinator," Katie says with pride. "She's responsible for a lot of the good things that have been done around here."

I shake Sylvia's hand. "Nice to meet you. I can tell there's a lot of work to be done here, and it's commendable that you've found this place and thought to help it."

"Thank you, Marcus. The more community involvement we can have going on here, the better it will be for the people. None of this squalor is their fault. It's the position they were put in, and it's hard to rise from the ashes when there's virtually no ladder or escape plan. We intend to change all that with our program."

This woman really is competent, and so are all the volunteers. It seems like there's kind of a sense of family going on down here between the people and the outreach coordinators. I guess I can see, based on that, why Katie would want to be involved.

She leads me to the children where I get on my knees, and I soon find them crawling all over me. As much as I want to hate it, I warm to the sight of the children. Who wouldn't?

By the end of the day, we have a game of soccer going on, and I've forgotten the smell and the filth. I immerse myself in the surroundings and find that I'm meeting genuine people.

My humanity comes forth, and I realize these are people who deserve help. No matter what, they should have access to basic human rights and dignity.

The fact that Katy brought me here reveals a different side of her—a compassionate side I never knew about.

It's a happy change from the women I usually date who are so superficial. Most of them are obsessed with makeup and fashion, getting their nails done, and reading magazines. Not Katy. Even though she's a hacker, she has many layers going on.

I want to unpeel her like an onion to get to the very core of who she is. And yet the elephant in the room stands between us—the fact that she's planning to rob me.

As long as this untruth exists, no real connection can be sought.

At the end of the day, as the sun edges down over the old and cracked buildings, we get back in my car and drive to her apartment. I'm planning to just drop her off.

"Thank you for getting me out of my element," I say as we're driving.

"You're welcome," she says. "I think everybody should see what we witnessed today. Helping people is not the same until you see the absolute sadness that they're living in. Don't you think?"

"Yes, I definitely agree, Katy. Thank you for showing me that place. It forever opened my eyes,” I say. And she looks satisfied, if not elated, with my answer.

We arrive at her apartment building, and I'm surprised when she asks me to come in. I think it's a big step for Katy and that she's already starting to trust me, which is good.

I park my Mercedes in front of her building and secretly hope that it doesn't get stolen. We're not the worst part of town, but we're not the best either. I guess volunteering hasn't changed me completely.

I follow her beautiful ass up to her apartment. She looks good in jeans...she looks good everything.

She fumbles with some keys and lets me in. It might be old and she might be a hacker, but her place is clean and tidy. It's not at all what I envisioned. There are no clothes on the floor or any takeout food lying about.

She has just the basic amount of furniture. In one corner, her laptop and other expensive computer equipment are displayed, but that's the only thing of consequence she has in here. That and the painting I gave her. It's virtually the only decor or color she has in this place.

"Nice place," I say rather dishonestly.

"You don't have to say that," she says to me. "I've seen your posh apartment. I know this is a lot different from the space that you live in. But I don't need a lot of things."

"I can see that," I say, wondering where to sit in the absence of barstools.

"Can I cook you dinner?" she says. "I have some trout in the refrigerator that I can cook up, and I do have some beer."

I laugh and agree.

"Trout and beer? Feels like we're camping."

"Hey," she says, "it's simple but good."

There's virtually nowhere to sit except for the bed. So I go there and watch her cook in her tiny kitchen. The duvet is soft, and the sheets seem like they are of good quality. She doesn't have much, but the things she does have are pretty nice.

Today has been a startling day. I've been shown so many things that I didn't know existed. She took me to the slums of the city and now to her apartment. It's been all I can do to hold back my judgment.

Her life is so different from my own that I wonder how she'll react if I ever show her who I really am. Will she be as uncomfortable in my penthouse as I am here? Will she think me selfish and vain?

She will think that I'm entirely into money, which I kind of have been until I met her.

She cracks open a cold beer and brings it to me.

"Tell me about the place we went to today," I say.

She's frying the fish over her little stove and cooking up some rice and vegetables. It's a simple dish, but I like the fact that she's exerting effort for me.

"The place we went to today used to be a much better place. A certain bank bought the land and forced the people there to go. They tore the place apart. It's been empty and like that for a long time. Outreach programs help the people, and they're really the only chance they have for hope."

She's pulling at my heartstrings a little bit, mentioning the bank and how they took over the land. This is virtually all my company does all day every day. We've taken over so many spaces that it's hard to count.

At this moment, I'm very glad that Katie doesn't know the truth about me. And yet I do know the truth about her, and there's a treachery that lies between us still. It will never go away...unless, of course, somehow it comes out.

Will it ever come out? What will happen then?

Instead of torturing myself by thinking of the day when she will learn the truth, that I've been spying on her this entire time, I bury those thoughts.

I pull Katie away from her cooking and onto the bed. I start to kiss her and to undress her, doing the things I've been dying to make good on all day.