Chapter 24
Gatsby
I knocked three times on the plain-looking door and waited. When there wasn’t an immediate answer, I looked at my watch. It was nine am on the dot. I knocked again, louder.
“Who the fuck—” The door swung open as Neal greeted me with a groan. They blinked and shook the sleep from their eyes. “Oh shit, uh—this is... what is this?” They looked me up and down.
“What?”
“You’re... in a full suit. Was I supposed to be doing something with you?” They looked down at themselves, still in boxer briefs and an undershirt. “I need time to shower?—”
“I want to meet Daisy,” I blurted. “I’m ready.” I stood a little straighter. My hands had gone clammy, and I felt entirely undignified, but I was determined to do this.
“Today?”
“Today.” I said firmly.
Neal’s eyebrows rose high, and their mouth dropped open. “Oh? Okay, I-I’ll give her a call. I’m not sure if she’s busy or not. She’ll probably want to get out of the house after last night.” They rubbed the back of their neck nervously and looked back at me. “Max was a dick about us interrupting his dinner party. She made Tuth and I leave once they started going at it.”
“Is she alright?” I demanded, enraged. “How could you just leave her like that?” Horrific imaginings of her being beaten and berated by that asshat she called fiancé came to mind. While I hadn’t heard of any abuse with Daisy, he’d been in trouble in the past with abusing women, and the punch I’d seen him land on his mistress was telling.
I made a mental note to ask Neal about that night at the hotel. Why had they been so chummy with Max then, but was willing to help me now?
“She’s fine, calm down.” They waved me off. “I called her a few hours later. She cried a lot, but she’s fine. Let me go shower and clean up a bit and I’ll call her.”
“Clean up?” I shook my head. Neal huffed and stood back, offering for me to come inside. Cautiously, I stepped through and stopped short. Their living room looked like they’d been having ragers every night.
“Was there a party?” I asked, staring in mild disgust at the takeout containers, liquor bottles, various ashtrays, and clothes everywhere.
“No, I’m just a slob. Give me a few hours, actually. I’ll light a candle and open some windows,” they muttered. “The rain from last night will make it smell better.”
“It’s supposed to rain today too,” I commented, my mind elsewhere. I walked deeper into the house, shaking my head at each new room. All were various degrees of filth. A few hours of Neal’s cleaning would do nothing.
“You go shower and call Daisy. I’m going to send some of my staff over here.” I stepped on something that squished under my shoe. I swallowed, praying Neal didn’t have pets. I lifted my foot to examine and was relieved to find it wasn’t animal shit but a pizza bagel.
“Sorry, I was really high last night. I can pay to get that cleaned.” They cringed.
“It’s fine. My staff will be over in a bit. Just do what I asked and let me know what time she’ll be here.” I started for the door.
“Why not invite her over to your place?”
I turned. I’d thought of that. It made the most sense. Show her my newfound wealth right off the bat. Explode her mind with all that I have to offer her now, but...
There was a guest currently in my private dining quarters that I didn’t want her to meet.
One big revelation at a time, Gatsby.
“No. Your home is just fine. A nice... middle ground. Thank you for this, Chief.”
“Chief?”
I winked. “Well, Old Sport feels a bit outdated.”
I left Neal standing in their messy house, scratching their head, not catching the reference. I made another mental note to gift them a copy of Fitzgerald’s most famous work after this was all said and done.
Once I had my green light.
I looked up at the sky. It was definitely going to rain today. It wasn’t ideal, but if I didn’t do this now, I would have less control over things. Eventually, she’ll discover my ruse and she’d resent me for not coming forward. No, today was the day, rain be damned.
I strode back to my estate and promptly ordered a crew to head over to Neal’s to clean. Then I went to find Dewayne and Jules.
“Jules, can you prepare some desserts?”
“Of course. What are you thinking?” He reached for his notepad .
I grinned. “Everything.”
All day, I watched from my office overlooking Neal’s home as my staff went in and out—cleaning, bringing in new furniture, flowers, and every dessert Jules could think of. I laughed to myself as Dewayne carried in a large bouquet of roses. It felt like being pulled right into a book, and just like the story, Daisy would be mine. She’d see all the grand gestures, how perfectly I orchestrated everything, and fall back in love. By nightfall, she’d be convinced to run away with me.
That was where our story would deviate, I told myself.
Jay Gatsby never got his happy ever after.
But I would.
My Daisy was different. My future was different.
I stopped by after my staff was finished to inspect and give my final approval. As I stepped inside, my pulse began to race. My body grew warm, and I found myself breathing heavily. I looked at Neal.
“When will she get here?” On paper, it was perfect. I couldn’t have created a more impressive place to bring my Daisy. Well, other than her dressing room. That’s where we should have officially met, if I hadn’t been such a coward.
I spun around.
“I’m calling this off.” I waved my arm. “I fucked up. This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen.”
“Sir, what’s going on?” Dewayne came over to me. “We spent all day making this just as you wanted. Is there something we can run and get? Or maybe dial back?”
I shook my head, pacing. “No, no, no. It’s all wrong. I’m being too literal. This is how I fuck it up. I can’t repeat what happened with the original. I’ll just—” I stopped short and turned to Neal. “Call her and tell her not to come. I’ll try another day. ”
“Gatsby—” they protested, but I was already out the door.
Jesus Christ. What the fuck was wrong with me? I had a guy tied up in my house right now, waiting for me to carve his crimes into his face with a needle and ink before he was served for dinner, and somehow, I couldn’t talk to a girl.
How old was I?
The rain began as I was walking back to my property. It started slow but darkened the sky quick. My shoulders fell. My suit, the one I’d bought and had tailored specifically for the day Daisy saw me for the first time, was ruined. I was turning into my house when a light flickering to life caught my attention.
Daisy’s green light.
I turned, and as my name called for, I went to my dock to stare at it.
My own matching light flicked on moments after I stepped onto it. Did she look across the lake and admire it? Did she yearn for the green light as she had when we were teens?
The rain came harder and thicker. I ignored it all, staring off into the distance at that green light. Memories flashed in my mind of those late-night instant messages, the phone calls, the constant yearning. I recalled the first time I sent her a photo of myself. I’d been so nervous. I’d refused for a long time, afraid that once she saw my face, she’d only see what others saw. No longer would she want to know my dreams, my desires, my favorite things. I’d had nightmares that she’d only want me for sex, like all my mother’s friends.
But our relationship didn’t change once she saw my portrait. She loved me just as she had before. Which only made me love her more.
“What do you think?”
“Of what? ”
“The picture I sent just now?”
“Of you? You’re... you’re really cute, Gatsby.”
“Cute?”
“Cute. Now, you were telling me about the snake you’ve been drawing?”
The rain soaked through to my bones, but I was so lost in time I didn’t notice just how icy cold it was.
“Neal?” a voice called out. I blinked, the sound pulling me from the deep roots of my memories.
“Neal, is that you?”
I turned slowly, slightly disoriented, and as my vision came back into focus, I froze.
I was finally face-to-face with my greatest fear, my greatest love, my green light.
My Daisy.
“Gatsby?”