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Dad believed there should be a car for each occasion, location, and purpose, and he’d bought so many of them. He also thought you should dress a certain way when you wanted to visit certain locations. Christopher had those same beliefs. The only thing prohibiting Chris from being as serious as my father was that they were born in different eras, and Chris was born rich while Dad was not.
“Yes, Chris, I'm wearing a suit. That's formal enough. What do you want me to drive, a Cullinan?” I asked as I climbed into the car.
I drove off, watching my eldest brother grow smaller in my rearview mirror.
The wind was a joy to feel as I drove down the streets of LosAngeles. The house was far from the office. Dad had wanted it that way. His reason? “What's the purpose of having so many cars if you can't drive them far enough?” Yeah—the man was strange.
“Good morning, Mr. Rodericks,” Nathaniel Johnson, the doorman at the company, said in his thick British accent as he opened the door for me. The man had lived in the United States for twenty years, yet the silver-haired bloke always sounded as if he had just left Heathrow.
“Good morning, Nathaniel.” I always told Nathaniel not to open the door for me when I arrived at the office, but the man never listened. I’ve worked here since I was twenty-two, and I’ve told him the same thing every day, but the man just didn’t listen. “I told you, Nathaniel, the door isn’t that heavy. I can handle it myself.”
“Ah, yes, you have said so more times than there are stars in the sky. However, sir, my response is always the same: if everyone opened the door for themselves, I wouldn’t get a paycheck at the end of the month.” Nathaniel flashed his charming smile. It was always evident why Dad had hired him for the position whenever I saw him smile.
“And you know how it ends, Nathaniel,” I said, pausing. “Yes, Mr. Rodericks. Have a great day at the office.” Nathaniellet go of the door and allowed me to open it for myself.
“Thank you,” I said.
I entered to the usual sounds of sporadic “Good morning, Mr. Rodericks” from my father's staff members.
I went up to my office, which had a beautiful view of Los Angeles. Well, every top executive had an office with a view, and it was heavenly. I arrived thirty minutes early for the meeting, so I had to wait. I decided to make a WhatsApp video call to my brothers to pass the time. Liam and Teddy were in the United Kingdom for their second master’s degrees. They both had the same exact thirst for knowledge, so it was no surprise to anyone when they decided to go to the United Kingdom to further their studies while the rest of us had settled for one degree each.
Liam and Teddy were the third and fourth Rodericks boys. I was older than them, but you would think it was the other way around. As a matter of fact, everyone thought I was the youngest Rodericks because I was the most playful.
“Looking sharp there, B,” Liam said in his usual hyped tone. He was the most athletic of the five of us, so he was always active and had a high level of energy that I loved. This was especially true when I wanted to make scary decisions. I could always count onhim for an encouraging “Just do it, B!”
“Thanks, Liam. Not looking bad yourself. You both look good,” I responded.
“Thanks, bro. Met with Tim yet?” Teddy asked.
I rolled my eyes. Everyone had asked me about the meeting at that point. If Mom suddenly called me, I wouldn’t have been surprised.
“He's not here yet. We’ll get to it when he arrives,” I responded. My brothers and I continued to exchange pleasantries until the call was interrupted by my secretary, who informed me that Mr. Cook had arrived.
***
The meeting with Mr. Cook was a success. He’d said that my methods were unorthodox, and my suggestedmodus operandiwas unique, and he loved it. He said his company would email ours to proceed with the dealings.
“Woo-hoo!” I exclaimed after Tim had left. Oh, my goodness. Everyone had made such a fuss about how big of a deal “the meeting” was that I’d started to doubt my unmatched abilities.
The time was 12:45 PM. It was the afternoon, and I was done with the major work for the day. Of course, I was supposed to stay in the office until 4 PM, but I’d never really done that before, and Iwasn’t going to start after such a successful deal had been sealed. Almost sealed.
I needed to get out, so I called Katrina, my favorite cover model. I had many of them on my speed dial, but she was my favorite. There was just something about her. Before I met her, I’d never slept with any model more than once, but Katrina had some of the sexiest moves I’d ever seen. Oh, and trust me, I’ve seen a lot of moves in the bedroom.
It was a Friday, and I was going to make the most of it. I usually started my weekends pretty early. I couldn't decide whether to go to a bar with Katrina first and then go back to her place for the night or have a hot session with her first before going out since the day was still young. I finally decided on having the hot session first. It had been four days since I’d last had sex. Excited and ready to make Katrina scream those high notes like the bedroom maestro I was, I hurried to my car and drove off.
Chapter Two
The Straw that Broke
the Camel's Back
Ariana
“Sorry! In a hurry!” a man yelled at me as his Ferrari nearly ran me over. It was hard enough to deal with the demeaning tasks that my job required. Now, I had to deal with one of Los Angeles's rich kids and the luxury items that boosted their inflated egos.
“S—” I paused when I realized there was no point saying anything back to someone who wouldn’t hear me; he was already too far away.
“Argh!” I grunted. It was the only way to express my frustration. Eight months ago, I’d graduated from nursing school at the Brockton Hospital School of Nursing in Massachusetts at the top of my class, certain that getting a nursing job wouldn’t be difficult for me. It wouldn't have been either, if I had stayed in Massachusetts, but I had decided to move because I had lived there virtually my whole life, and I needed something different. So, when I graduated, I decided to move to a big city, and it was everything I hadn’t expected.
