12
Landon
First thing the next morning I began my search. It started easy enough. I knew her first name and, thanks to the papers she had all over the kitchen, I knew what school Cass went to. I searched the school’s website but turns out they don’t list the names or contact info of their teaching assistants or doctoral candidates.
Probably to keep guys like me from stalking girls like Cass.
I paced the length of the living room. “Okay, think. What else did she say that you can use?” I replayed every conversation until I hit pay dirt.
I’m not an actual renter, I’m a friend of the owner’s daughter.
“Jeannie! Jeannie... fuck! What was her last name?”
Kingston! Jeannie Kingston.
I searched for her friend hoping to find her social media and through that, find Cass.
All of her socials were locked down tight. Again, probably to keep guys like me from stalker status.
I leaned back in the chair and looked around my grandfather’s house. There was still a lot of work to be done. But if I wanted Cass there was only one option. I had to go get her.
I dialed my assistant’s number.
She picked up immediately. “How can I help you, Mr. Reed?”
“Serene, I need you to call the Realtor for my grandfather’s house. Let her know I won’t be able to finish the clean-up and staging of the property. She’ll need to bring her people in.
“Of course. Anything else?”
That’s what I liked about Serene. No questions. She just does her job, really, really well. “Yes. Find a map of the NYU campus and email it to me.”
“Certainly. Will that be all, sir?”
“Yes, that’s all. Thank you, Serene.”
“Of course, Mr. Reed. While I have you, what shall I do about Mr. Xiang’s assistant? She’s been calling on his behalf every day since you left for—”
“Not now, Serene. I can’t deal with the Chinese subsidiary at the moment. Tell her I’ve had a death in the family and I’ll get in touch with Mr. Xiang after a respectable amount of time.”
Serene cleared her throat. “I have, sir. She’s very insistent.”
I shook my head. Xiang was worried. He had every right to be. I’d disappeared in the middle of labor negotiations to be with my grandfather in his last few days. That was a week ago. “You’ll have to deal with it until I’m back in town.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you, Serene.” I meant it. Serene was the best assistant I’d ever had and I made sure she knew it. I paid her well above industry average, hired her a driver and gave her regular bonuses in the form of company stock. Serene would never have to worry about saving for retirement, I’d made sure of it. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I said and ended the call.
I packed up my things and took one last look at my grandfather’s house. “Well, Gramps, I finally found a girl I actually want to get to know. Problem is, I’ve gotta go find her cause I’ve already screwed it up. I’m sure you don’t mind though, do you?” I knocked on the wooden door frame. The frame my grandfather built and installed when I accidentally busted the original. “I wanted to set the house right, just how you would have liked. But I can’t risk Cass getting away.”
And with that, I walked out of my grandfather’s house for the last time.
I was at the local airstrip inside of twenty minutes and airborne five minutes after that. I studied the map of the university in the hour it took to arrive in New York at another private airstrip.
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Reed.”
“Thank you, Danny,” I said as he held open the door to the town car.
“Where can I take you, sir?”
“NYU.”
“The visitor’s entrance, sir?”
“No, the business school building, thank you, Danny.” That’s the where they kept the Economics Department and presumably, the Ph.D. students. I didn’t have a plan. I wasn’t one of those douchey types to walk into a building and demand to know where so-and-so was. It was rude and I didn’t enjoy being a bully like some of my peers.
“Shall I wait here for you, sir?” Danny asked when we pulled up in front of the building.
“No. This could take some time. Grab lunch and I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
“Of course, sir,” he said and opened the door for me. I walked around the building a few times, bleeding myself of the extra energy I’d accumulated while still and traveling, then headed inside. The building was just as I remembered when I toured it as a senior. I’d had my pick of schools and at first, my heart was set on staying in the city. But then I toured Cornell and that was it for me.
I settled into a common room/lounge area on the first floor that gave me a good view of the elevator and the main exit.
I was fucked if Cass went out another way. But I’d stay here as long as it took.
I couldn’t sit still for long. Every half hour or so I got up and circled the building again, then I was back in my spot in the lounge. The third time around the building I caught a familiar face turning the corner.
“Hey!” I called but she didn’t stop. “Jeannie! Hey! Wait up.” I ran up to meet her.
“Do I know you... Landon? What the hell are you doing here?”
“You’ve gotta help me. I royally fucked up with Cass.”
She crossed her arms. “I’ll say you did.”
“Look, it’s not what you think. I left to get coffee.” Jeannie pursed her lips at me. “Honestly, Jeannie, I wouldn’t lie to you. Cass is different.”
Jeannie wasn’t convinced. It was all over her face.
I sighed. “I know I have a bad rep.”
“A well deserved one from what I understand.”
“Fair enough. But that’s not who I am anymore. Cass was the first woman I ever wanted to get to know. The first woman I ever stayed the whole night with and my dumb ass screwed it up because I didn’t tell her I was going for coffee.”
Jeannie’s features soften. Fractionally, but it was something.
“I promise, I did not mean to hurt her. Jesus, Jeannie, would I be here if I just wanted a fling?”
“Fine. What do you want?”
“Just her number.”
“Absolutely not,” Jeannie said. “That goes against every lady code there is.”
“Well, can you tell her I’m here and ask her if it’s okay to give me her number?”
“Nope. I’m not getting in the middle of this. Plus, I’m not entirely sure she wants to hear from you.”
That hit hard. All this time I’d spent figuring out how to find her and I’d never considered the possibility that she might not want to be found. “Jeannie, please. Throw me a bone here.”
Jeannie sighed, stepping closer to me. “Fine, but if you so much as mention my name...”
“Understood, my lips are sealed.”
“There’s a Halloween party...”