Chapter One
Chance
The corporate offices were located on the forty-eighth floor. Normal hotels would have saved that floor for the high dollar suites, however my father insisted his office had a view and that he was able to watch what all of his staff were up to at any time. I made my way down the long hallway to his office. I was hoping that Mary, my assistant, would already be in. She had been with dad for nearly thirty years and then he decided he needed someone with more technical know-how. That really translated into he wanted an assistant with perky breasts and that would wear a tight skirt for him.
It was ironic how dad wanted me to settle down, yet he found that running around was keeping him young. Don’t be like me. That’s what he loved to say as he scolded me. Trust me, I had no desire to be like him, at all.
Mary had recently begun working for me. She always made life easier. I nearly made it all the way down the hall before Richard stopped me in the hall.
“Chance! Welcome back. Are you up for a drink tonight? Maybe a little escape from the women?”
I glanced at him and wondered whether it was worth the effort to tell him about Sara. We weren’t all that close, but he was one of the few people I did speak with on occasion. I decided against it. “I wish. I can’t tonight. I have a lot of work to catch up on…speaking of which, I need to catch up with Howard. I’ll catch you later, ok?”
I ducked inside my dad's office, almost blinded from the reflected glare of the mirrored glass on the adjacent hotel. It was empty and I breathed in a sigh of relief. I really did want to see him, but it was a necessarily evil. Something I had to do when I was in town.
The smell of furniture polish filled the room and burned my nose. Dad’s office was always neat and proper, unlike mine. I knew where everything was and I liked it that way. Dad saw it as unorganized, like me. I scanned the office and shook my head. Photos of my father with just about every celebrity that had ever visited the property were hung on the walls or adorned the many tables throughout the office. There wasn’t a single picture of me. I was the accident. Dad certainly didn’t plan on having me when he was in his fifties. Mom was in her mid twenties and the only thing they had in common was their love for money, spending and me. It’s no wonder they went their separate ways after I was in college. I’m surprised it lasted that long. She died a few years ago and Dad didn’t even shed a tear. He could be hard like that. He says it’s strong. For a man in his late eighties, he was holding his own. Completely grayed, he still had a head of full hair. He wasn't lacking when it came to the ladies either. He just didn’t take them seriously anymore.
I circled the office, staring at the pictures as the door swung open.
“Well, look who we have here.” He stood at the door, holding his hand along the edge. He looked stern, but he spoke with a worked up energy.
“Hi Dad. How are things?”
“Looking pretty good downstairs. I'd say the place will be packed by midnight.”
“Looks like it.”
Dad scanned the room as if I were hiding something and I knew what was coming next. “Where's Sara?”
“Sara's not here.” I cleared my throat, hoping that I'd get through the next question.
“Not here? What? Is she out shopping already?” Dad chuckled. “You’d better marry that girl Chance. It’s the only way you’re going to be able to afford her.”
“Dad, Sara’s at home. I broke up with her.”
“You what?” His voice deepened and his mouth hung open slightly. “Are you fucking kidding me?” His face reddened as he took a step closer inside of his office.
“I couldn’t deal with her anymore.”
“Deal with her? What's that supposed to mean Chance?” I could hear him mumbling under his breath all the way to his desk. He took his chair and spun it in a complete circle, tapped it a couple times and then sat down.
“You broke it off with Sara?” He twisted in his desk chair, his jaw tightened.
I could feel his tension from across the room. “Yes I did. You just don't know her Dad”
I watched as he shook his head and squinted his eyes at me. “Chance, you need to fix this.” He took a deep breath and flipped open the notepad on his desk. “I need to see progress in NYC. We seem to be spending a lot of money out there on this new project.”
“Progress? You need to see progress? It’s almost complete.”
“This should have been done last month. If you spent less time doing whatever it is you do out there…”
“That's such bullshit!” I bit my lip as I debated whether I wanted to continue the conversation or not.
Dad stood and stared directly into my eyes. His face was flushed and the vein protruded from his thin, tanned neck. I sensed the warning coming, and I waited for it. It never came. He sat back down, looking fully disgusted with me, as usual. “Go, get the hell out of here! We’ll talk later when I calm down.”
I left as I listened to him muttering under his breath.