Chapter 3
Matt
Seventeen years ago…
The day’s last bell had just rung and the only thing on Matt’s mind was the interschool science congress the next day. He had been working for ages on what he thought was the perfect project and he knew he was going to be the division champion. There was no doubt about it. He could even picture what he was going to do with the two thousand dollar grand prize. Of course he would have spent a couple of hundred bucks for that beautiful necklace he had seen on display at one of the malls. A decision he wouldn’t have told anyone because it was very obvious that his parents would have wanted him to save it all. Put it in a trust or something but who cared about a trust at this time? He was seventeen and he already had a scholarship to an Ivy League college. The only trust he would have concerned himself with was his own kids’ trust and that was a long way from happening. All he wanted to do was get something for Chloe, the girl he’d had a crush on since fifth grade. The senior prom was coming up and he couldn’t think of a better way to make a prom proposal. He was sure everything was going to go according to his plan. There was absolutely no way he was going to fail.
But unfortunately for him, a few things went horribly wrong. His ‘perfect project’ was not as perfect as he thought, at least according to the judges. Instead of the first place he coveted, he got second place and instead of two thousand dollars, he only got a hundred. But so far, nothing mattered to him. The most important part of his day was not yet done. The judges had actually commended him for being such a ‘gracious loser’ so to say. What they didn’t know was that all the while Matt was there shaking hands and posing for photos, he was actually thinking about Chloe.
He could not have gotten out of the Brentwood Community Hall fast enough. He looked like a crazed fool riding his bike to the mall as fast as he could. And he made it just in time too. By the time he got to the store, the attendant was getting ready to close the store for the day.
“A minute later and you wouldn’t have found me here,” the friendly lady said in a soft voice as she looked at a panting Matt.
“I…<gasp>….I rode here….<gasp>…as fast as I could….” Matt could barely breathe.
“Whoa, why don’t you take a minute and maybe have some water?” the lady said as she offered him a bottle of water. But Matt was way too focused on what had brought him to the store.
“The silver chain with the peridot pendant…please tell me you still have it,” he said pushing the bottle away and the lady nodded.
“Yes, it’s still here. But have a drink of water first.” She handed him the bottle again. “You look parched.”
“I am…” he opened the bottle and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water before he put the bottle down. “I just need to get to Chloe before…” he could not bring himself to finish his sentence. He was hoping that no one else had asked her to prom yet. He had been sending subtle hints to Chloe over the past weeks and to date, she had not given him any sign that she was going with anyone. And he knew he was aiming above and beyond his reach when it came to asking her out but it didn’t really matter. There had been something about Chloe that made him feel special. They might have been in two separate camps as far as the high school cliques were concerned but he felt a certain connection with Chloe.
Sure, she was the beautiful popular one and he was the geek with dark rimmed glasses. Theirs might as well have been right out of an episode of Beauty and The Geek but for him it was what he had been living for. And even though he had been working up the courage to do this for ages, she was worth it. Worth every agonizing moment. He had not seen her for a couple of days but he figured that their schedules were somehow in the crosslines.
“Here you are,” the lady said as she walked back to where he was holding a small velvet case. “Silver chain, peridot pendant. The only one of its kind in the store.”
“Do you think she will like it?” Matt asked as he looked at the chain, gently caressing the smooth velvet.
“I think this Chloe girl is a very lucky person to have someone like you spend all this money on such a beautiful and rare piece of jewelry.”
A smile played on Matt’s lips.
“You think so?” he asked and she nodded.
“Oh yeah.”
Matt dug into his pocket and pulled out the envelope with his winnings. He pulled out two crisp bills and handed them to the lady who took the money albeit a little hesitant.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t be saving this?” she asked. “I mean, I’m all for the commission but a gentleman your age coming up with this kind of money…” she shook her head. “This is a big deal.”
He nodded and smiled.
“It is a big deal but it’s all for Chloe. She is worth my entire prize money to be honest.”
“You really got it bad for this girl. Don’t you?” she asked and he nodded.
“She is perfect. Different.” He shrugged. “I know that normally people like me don't usually get the girl but…”
“Honey, you’ve got game. If all this doesn’t get you the girl, then nothing ever will,” the lady said laughing. “Now how about a ten percent discount? You have proven to be a very loyal customer.”
“That sounds good…great actually,” Matt said.
The next hour seemed longer than usual as Matt cycled back home. All he could think of doing was getting to Chloe’s and by the time he got there, he was almost breathless. He got off his bike and walked up to the door.
“You can do this, Matt Zimmerman. You can do this,” he thought as he gently knocked on the door. His heart was racing as he waited for the door to be opened. It took a while before he rang the doorbell again. He was still looking at the big heavy mahogany door when a moving van pulled up. He turned around and looked at the moving van wondering what was going on.
“Hey, are the Whites moving or something?” Matt asked as the driver climbed out of the van.
“White…the family that lived here?” the driver asked and Matt raised an eyebrow.
“Wait, used to?” he asked. “What the hell is going on?”
“Yeah, my guys helped the Whites move out of here just today. If you had come here a few hours ago you might have bumped into them.”
“Did they…where did they move to? Do you know?” Matt asked, feeling frantic.
“Colorado. But that is all I know. I am not sure of the specifics,” the driver said and Matt felt like a bus had run over his heart, backed up and then done it again. He was crushed. And to make matters worse, he had no way of reaching Chloe.
“Colorado,” he echoed and the driver nodded.
“We are actually moving the new family’s stuff today. They should be right behind us.”
Matt forced a smile and nodded.
“Thanks,” he muttered before he walked to where his bike was. He put the small velvet case in his pocket and sighed as he got on his bike.
“Just your luck Zimmerman,” he thought as he rode out onto the street. “Just your freaking luck.”
Present day…
The only thing on Matt’s mind as he walked into the Crime Solvers Convention was the new security software that the New Geeks On The Block were supposed to be auctioning to the highest bidder later that week. So far, he was the only American private security firm around there and that meant the odds for him getting the security software were bigger than he thought. So far, he had not noticed his biggest rival Pierre Savant and that was the best thing about the evening so far. He smiled at a few delegates as he walked by, all the while trying to sneak a peek at the private display auction that was supposed to begin in a few minutes. He couldn’t help but feel excited as he waited for the auction to begin. He knew for a fact that a top of the range security software would beef up his cyber security division and maybe, just maybe, he was going to finally have the upper hand with Pierre Savant.
He had spent years with his company playing second fiddle to Savant Security Logistics and he was done. He was tired of always seeing the magazines place Zimmerman Security right next to SSL. Growing his business had been harder than he thought, especially since he had his mind set on a certain kind of clientele but somehow SSL which was just a few years old had come right up from under him and had a bigger client list than he had ever imagined. He hated the fact that he had to scramble even with clients he thought he already had in the bag. To add insult to injury, Pierre Savant had once compared his company to a young girl fresh out of college with perky tits and Zimmerman Security to an old lady who hands out cookies and on national television no less.
Matt could remember that interview a little too well.
“I’m not trying to say that I am the complete package or anything but if you think about it, I really am. I mean, would you rather approach the old lady in the corner handing out cookies if you had a shot at the young college girl with the perfect…you know…” Pierre had said as he gestured at his chest. Of course, the anchor just laughed at the joke but to Matt, it felt like he was back in high school being sucker punched by the quarterback.
Matt must have been too engrossed in his plan to get ahead that the next thing he knew he was bumping into someone, a lady behind him. He turned around and frowned.
“I’m so sorry…” he said as the woman looked down at her dress. Fortunately for her, the glass she was holding was only half full.
“Don’t worry. It didn’t spill or anything,” she said but Matt felt terrible.
“I really should have been looking where I was going but…” he couldn’t tell her that he was actually too self-involved to pay attention to what was happening around him. “I just have a lot on my mind. But that shouldn’t be an excuse.”
“Seriously, it’s fine,” the lady said again and that was when he heard it. Something familiar in her voice. Something very familiar in her voice. She was saying something as she gently brushed the front of her dress with her hand. It was not until she looked up that he saw it. The woman right in front of him was none other than his childhood crush. It was Chloe White standing right in front of him.
“Chloe?” he said and he looked into her brown eyes. “Chloe White, right?”
She nodded.
“Well it does say so on my name tag,” she said with a smile.
“I didn’t read your name tag,” he said
Chloe raised an eyebrow.
“Do we know each other?” she asked and he nodded.
“We do…I look a little different maybe that is why you don’t recognize me but we do know each other alright.”
“I’m sorry…I’m usually so good with names and faces,” she said in a sad voice.
“Brentwood High? Matt Zimmerman?” he asked and her eyes grew wide.
“Oh wow,” he heard her say under her breath. “You look so …different.”
He smiled at her and nodded.
“Yeah I guess I do. Taller, no geek glasses and even though I never thought it possible, I finally managed to control my hair.”
She laughed and nodded.
“Yes, you did,” she said in a soft voice. “And what have you been up to?”
“Few things here and there. Working for Uncle Sam, setting up a security firm. You know, the works.”
“Wait, you were in the military?” she asked and he nodded.
“Technically, navy.”
“Navy? You?” she sounded as surprised as she was shocked to see him.
“I know I might have been a little scrawny kid in high school but all that changed. You’d be surprised at what boot camp does to you.” She smiled at him and nodded.
“Yeah maybe I should tell that to my seven year old nephew. He is really having a hard time with bullies at school.”
“Well, you can tell him that it all gets better.”
“He would love to hear that, that’s for sure.”
“It’s great to see you,” he said in a soft voice as he stepped forward and gave her a hug. “Really great to see you,” he added in a soft voice.
“I never thought I would see you again,” Chloe said when she pulled away.
“That makes two of us,” he said. “You know when you left Brentwood, I never thought…actually it was just all too weird. One day I’m planning to ask you to prom and the next, some guy in a moving truck tells me your family moved to Colorado.”
“Yeah my dad got stationed…wait, what?” she asked when his words finally dawned on her. “You wanted to take me to prom?”
Matt nodded.
“Yes I did,” he said nodding. “Are you saying that you had no idea?” he asked and she shook her head.
“Actually I didn’t. You never gave me any reason to think that…” she sighed. “So, why didn’t you?”
“I guess I worked up the courage a little too late,” he said. “The day I worked up the courage to ask you was the day I found out you had moved out of town.”
She frowned and shrugged.
“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…and to think it was all up to me when we moved.”
“What do you mean it was all up to you?” he asked.
“The company had given my dad until the end of the month to get settled,” she started. “I had been looking forward to getting out of Brentwood for the longest time…let’s just say things were not working out very well at school.”
Matt shrugged.
“You were one of the most popular girls in school, how can you say that your time in school wasn’t great? I would have killed to have the life you had.”
“Really? Wear a cheerleading uniform so you could get tossed up and down a pyramid?” she asked.
“Well, cheerleaders looked like fun, so yeah,” Matt said nodding. “I wouldn’t have minded.”
“Try being kicked out of the squad because you are too voluptuous,” she said in a soft voice.
“Wait, what?” Matt asked looking at her. “Is this why you are just having champagne and fruit?”
She looked at the fruit on the stick and shrugged.
“No, I just don’t eat white meat at parties,” she said. “I had some bad fish sticks at a party once and let’s just say that the hotel got a little tired of sending extra tissues to my room.”
Matt laughed and frowned.
“Too much information, Pictographic mind, remember?”
“Oh yeah…that.” She bit off the last piece of fruit from the stick. “I used to hate the fact that you aced every science test and don’t tell me it is just because you liked it either. I know that magic brain had a lot to do with it.”
Matt shrugged and took a sip of his champagne.
“No comment,” he said.
“You know that I work in PR right? I can turn that no comment into one long sentence when I make you sing like a canary.”
“That’s right. The leading lady at Pittman and Associates.”
“Someone’s been checking up on me.”
“And it hasn’t been easy either…you are not an easy woman to find.”
“Well, my name is my brand so I guess I have to.”
“But wait, before we get to how hard I have been trying to find you,” he said in a soft voice. “The cheerleading squad.”
“That’s old news,” she said shrugging.
“Yes it is but I didn’t think they could do something like that to one of their own,” he said.
“Well it happened.” She took a sip of her champagne. “But like I said, old news.”
“But you were always so nice to me…to everyone unlike the rest of the squad...Marcia Gray and Evangeline Johnson.”
“Yeah…they were actually the perpetrators of that whole charade. Funny thing is, if they had asked me to quit the squad so they would be the head cheerleaders, I would have gladly stepped down. I mean, all I ever wanted was to get some credits to get into a good college…it just…I hated how Marcia and Evangeline acted so I asked my dad if we could move up the move to Colorado and he agreed. Probably the best thing that happened to my life.”
“Yeah, it sure did pay off,” he said as he looked at her. “You look great.”
“Thanks. You look…really good too. Totally different from the guy I knew back then.”
Matt was about to answer her when he saw a familiar face, a face that he did not expect to see at the convention. A face that he wished not to see that week.
“What the hell…” he started as Chloe looked over her shoulder, a little confused.
“Everything okay?” she asked but he never heard her. He was too engrossed in his own thoughts as he stared at his nemesis, Pierre Savant.