***
I crossed the border into New York State a little while later and my foot instinctively pressed harder on the gas pedal. “I love this city.”
And it loved me too.
I smiled and gripped the smooth steering wheel of the Maserati, quickly switching over to the left lane. There was something about being so close to home that made the blood pump faster through my veins. Nothing compared to the hustle and bustle of Manhattan and I could feel its energy from miles away. The slick surface of the road was no match for the luxury car. The tires hugged each curve as if the ground was bone dry. The cars in front of me moved out of the way as if they sensed my urgency to get home.
Lisa and the blond, and every other woman I spent time with in Bar Harbor were in the rearview mirror. I was headed back to my life, back to the throne where I ruled as king.
Overcast clouds hung heavy in the air, and I hoped I’d missed the brunt of the rain. I didn’t want traffic to slow down when I was so close. This highway was known for the insufferable rubber-neckers.
I still had a ways to go before I arrived home, which didn’t bother me much at all. I forcefully relaxed my shoulders. The trademark tenseness that all New Yorkers experienced had started to creep into my muscles. Normally, I didn’t give much notice to the feeling. The relaxation from my mini-vacation fought the tension, wanting to linger in the experience a bit longer.
I wasn’t ready to let go of the past few days just yet. Spending Thanksgiving at my summer house in Bar Harbor, Maine signaled the start of the holiday season for me. I’d started the event only two years ago but this year had surpassed the rest.
It gave me a place to be a different guy, allowing another part of my personality to push forward. It was the part of me that Cynthia loved best. The softer side she would say.
I’d sponsored a community event far away from the Manhattan spotlight had been good for my soul. I admired the genuine nature and kindness of the people in Bar Harbor, and I was happy to give back. Meeting my old friend, Drake Demarco’s new wife, Sicily had been a bit of a blessing too. The pretty Sicilian baker had helped with the event, allowing me a chance to get to know her a little better. The fact that she was Lisa’s best friend should have caused awkwardness, but Lisa and I had been short lived. I wanted a relationship, surprising myself, and she wanted freedom, or so she said. Funny how freedom came in the body of a twenty-something year old man. It was a loss on my part, but one I’d eventually be thankful for. I didn’t need commitment, though a part of me yearned for it. I forced my thoughts back to the warmth I felt when I gave back, like I had recently in Bar Harbor. It was feeling I enjoyed. Maybe a little too much. I knew that same feeling would continue when I started planning the charity Christmas event that Cynthia had started years ago.
I winced, as I did every time Cynthia crept into my thoughts. It happened a lot lately, and I knew it would as the upcoming holiday season always reminded me of her. It was her favorite time of year, and she made each year even more special than the last. It was the one time of year she didn’t comment on how much I worked since she was equally busy with shopping and decorating our apartment.
At least until the cancer diagnosis. She’d started the Christmas charity for kids with cancer two years before she started treatment. And even though it was something that reminded me of her every year, I had to keep her legacy going. It was something I’d keep going for as long as I possibly could. My backing the event gave hope to these families.
A ringing sound through the speakers in the car broke through my thoughts. I pressed the button on the steering wheel after reading the caller ID on the dashboard.
“Hello Sam,” I said to my head of staff and security. I managed to leave him in Manhattan this year, and it was a hard-fought argument to do so. I played to his ego and had told him I wanted no one else to keep my affairs in order while I was away.
“Good afternoon, Michael,” Sam said. “After not hearing from you since yesterday, I wanted to check in.”
Sam wasn’t much older than me, but he was a fatherly-type of man. Overbearing as hell sometimes but I’d rather he be really good at his job than being a slacker.
“How’s everything there?” I reached up to brush my hair back.
“Just peachy. Where are you?”
I glanced at the nearest exit sign. “I’m about forty-five minutes out. I could make that thirty if you need something.”
“No, no, Sir,” Sam said quickly. “Take your time.”
I laughed. Sam hated driving with me. Which I think is another reason he decided to stay in Manhattan. I would have given him time off for the holiday, but he insisted on working through it. He didn’t talk much about his family, but I was under the impression they weren’t close.
“I wanted to see if you were going out or staying in for dinner tonight,” Sam asked.
I weighed my options. I really needed to get back to work after being “off” for the past few days. Granted, I was on the phone for much of the time. I needed to sit in my office and pound the keyboard for a few hours.
“I’ll be staying in tonight. I need to get work done.” My mind flipped to work-mode, and I started mentally organizing my priorities. I had a lot of catching up to do before Monday.
“Very good, Sir. I can call Fiona in to make you something.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I gave her the holiday off since I was going to be away. You can order something in.”
“Do you have a preference? Italian? Chinese?” When my personal chef, Fiona, was working, she tended to keep my meals clean and healthy. Sam knew when we ordered, I went all out, not caring about carbs or salt content. We only lived once, right?
“Surprise me,” I said. I made enough decisions on a daily basis, even on vacation, and I was never picky about food.
“I will see you in a short while, Sir,” Sam said, ending the conversation. “Focus on the road now.”
“Bye, Sam.” I chuckled and ended the call.
A heavy sigh left me as my thought ran rampage through my mind. While being away from the city was relaxing, I felt more at ease when I was home. My staff was top-notch and I expected nothing less. If only I had an assistant as good as the rest of them. I made a mental note to get in touch with Sandra first thing in the morning about the interviews on Monday. There were a lot of menial tasks that I wanted to pass off to an assistant so I could focus on the new year to come and the upcoming projects. I hadn’t needed an assistant in the past.
My secretary had always been enough. But with the growth of my company over the past few years, I needed to shift my focus to the bigger projects and pass along the smaller ones to someone who was competent. The qualifications for the role involved business degrees. I didn’t need an assistant to get my coffee. I needed someone to be my right-hand man. I already knew I probably wouldn’t like most of the candidates, but I needed to weed through the interviews to narrow down the scope of the position.
As much as I didn’t bring personal life into my work, I’d be spending a lot of time with this person and would need to get along in a positive way. I hated distractions, and I’d expect the same attitude from my assistant.
After mulling over the traits I wanted in an assistant, I shifted that a few positions down on my priority list. I couldn’t do anything about that until Monday. Though something I could work on tonight was reviewing the numbers for next year.
“Text Sandra,” I said aloud. Then I heard a dinging sound, and an automated voice spoke to me through the car speakers.
“What would you like to say to Sandra?” it responded.
“Email me the next quarters figures as soon as possible.”
The message sent and I settled into my seat. Knowing Sandra, she would already have them and projections for the next year. She was an asset I was grateful to have… most of the time.
There was a peace surrounding me after coming back from Maine that I enjoyed tremendously, but it would soon fade into oblivion. I had some business goals to hit, and once I had a goal, I rarely took my focus away. I had an insatiable itch to work now, and I couldn’t do much from sitting behind the wheel. So I decided to use technology in my favor and continue to make my way down my mental to-do list for today.