TWENTY-SIX
Jade
By the next morning Cooper still hadn’t called me, and there was no way I would break down and call him first. I didn’t even remember why we had gotten into an argument, but that didn’t matter. He’s the one that came in with the vendetta.
He would have to call me first or we would never talk again. End of story. My mind went back to the prank on Max to teach him a lesson.
Laura and I had our plan all worked out. Last night after Laura came over I called Max up and apologized for my rash behavior. I continued with a small phone interview and promised to meet him and then I would finish it up in person. Laura would follow behind me as I talked with Max. I’d finalize the piece and turn the screen for him to give it a read. He was going to lose it!
During all of this Laura would be filming his reaction. Near the end, she would pop out and surprise him from behind. We would both laugh our asses off at him.
We planned to use the recording against him. He’d have to either leave us alone or we’d share it with the world. It was his call, really. We’d be having some fun while teaching him a valuable lesson - don’t fuck with women.
I arrived at the address he had given me. The neighborhood was nice. How the hell was he going to afford an office in this part of the city? Did he have secret money or something?
Laura walked up, out of breath, and put her hand on my shoulder.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I had to run the last few blocks because I left so late.”
“I’m going inside, so I’m not late. You can follow me in a few minutes after you catch your breath. Remember, stay back until the end. I’ll give you the sign.”
“Yeah, yeah, you call him a small-penis-mother-fucker, and I jump out at him hoping he shits himself. Then I’ll show him the video.”
“This is the best plan ever,” I said, giggling.
“I feel like we’re in college again.”
“Right?” I smiled. “I’ll see you in a few.”
As she waited outside, still breathing heavily, I went into the ten-story building. The top floor was supposedly where he was opening up his security company.
None of his story made sense to me. That was one of the reasons I didn’t feel too bad about pranking him with Laura. He had to be taught a lesson.
When I reached the top floor, I stepped out of the elevator and glanced to the left and right, looking for him. He was straight ahead, standing near the floor to ceiling windows at the other end of a big, open area.
I took a deep breath then walked over, putting a smile on my face. Laura is coming soon. Just keep it cool. What if he gets angry and hits me? Would he do that? Fuck. Maybe this is a bad idea.
He spun around and smiled, stretching out his arms as if he wanted a hug. I stopped a good twenty-feet away from him, keeping the smile on at full intensity.
“Damn, you’re looking good,” he said, checking out my body.
The little black dress I had on was always a favorite with men.
“You’re looking fit too,” I said.
“About yesterday…”
“Don’t worry about it,” I interrupted, waving my hand through the air. “Water under the bridge. You ready to do this?”
I walked over to the only desk and set my laptop on it.
“Yeah,” he said. “Sorry I don’t have it furnished yet, but I thought it would help you finish the story.”
“Okay,” I said, pulling up the already prepped Word file. “Just a few final questions.”
“Hold on. Can I say something first?”
I glanced over at the elevators then to him.
“Sure. Yeah. Go ahead.”
“Why are you doing this story? Is this some type of trick? You seemed pretty confident you would have nothing to do with me after yesterday.”
Damn, is he smarter than I thought?
“Trick? Not at all. A story on a military vet doing good in the big city will get my journalism career back in gear. I want to do this story. Trust me.”
“Alright, I’ll trust you.”
He stared at me warily.
“Okay,” I said, my fingers on the keyboard. “I still need the name of your business.”
“We haven’t decided yet, right Max?” Cooper asked from behind me.
What the hell?
I spun around and saw him staring at me with his massive arms crossed over his chest.
“Cooper? What are you doing here?”
“I’d like to ask you the same question.”
“Now, now,” Max said.
Cooper and I both turned to him and said, “Shut up!” at the same time before looking back at each other.
“Why don’t you tell him the truth, Jade?” Max asked. “We’re here to fuck.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, whipping my head around toward him.
“You know, baby. My cock.”
He grabbed his nuts and lifted them. Cooper rushed forward, ready to punch him. I stepped in between the two of them.
“Hold on,” I said.
“She wanted to put her hands all over me, bro, but I said no.”
“What the hell are you smoking, Max?” I turned to Cooper. “You don’t believe this asshole, do you?”
“Who served with you in the Stan, man? It was fucking me.”
Cooper turned his attention from Max back to me.
I pleaded to him with my eyes – please understand and believe me.
“I’m leaving,” he said, taking a step back.
“Wait, bro.” Max stepped forward. “Fuck her. Let’s do this business deal. Once you’re in, you can’t get out. Remember?”
“I’m leaving,” Cooper said, spinning around and walking toward the elevator.
Laura spilled out, pointing at Max, “She show you the article, mother fucker?”
Cooper walked around her and into the elevator. I rushed over, but the door closed just as I arrived.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked, as clueless as ever.
“Ugh,” I sighed, stomping my foot as if that would help.
“You two crazy bitches need to get out of here,” Max said, walking toward us.
“Come on.”
I grabbed her hand and hurried for the stairwell. We went down two flights before getting out and hopping on another elevator. He stopped in the hallway just as the doors closed.
“You bitches!” he yelled, his voice cut-off as we descended.
“What the hell was that all about?” Laura asked. “What happened?”
“Cooper showed up.”
“The other guy from Afghanistan?”
“Yeah,” I said, staring straight ahead.
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Why did he…?”
“I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. We don’t need either of them.”
“Cooper didn’t seem so bad,” she said, still staring at me.
I took a deep breath.
“Yeah, I guess. He doesn’t seem crazy about me, and we keep getting caught up in these stupid games.”
“Well, he doesn’t know you as well as I do. You’re worth the chase.”
Laura put her arm around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder a moment. We returned to my apartment to enjoy the last of the weekend before we had to return to work.