Chapter 5 Vertical Offense
Vertical Offense
LOTHAIR
Sundays were for chilling. I’d forbidden Carlos from booking things on Sundays. It did happen that I had to be on set, but only rarely.
This morning I slept in, went for a swim, then treated myself to a long, lazy jerk-off session in the shower, followed by a three-course brunch.
I sat by the pool with my second cup of coffee and thought of what I could do for the rest of the day. Terrance had a day off and was supposed to be back at some ungodly hour tomorrow morning.
The guy from Cassidy and Hassel who came as a stand-in for him was a boring alpha shifter who looked to be at least sixty. He spoke barely five words to me and hid in the gatehouse with my guards, ready to stalk my ass if I were to leave the premises.
Could I go flying? I wasn’t keen to head to the mountains with the other bodyguard breathing down my neck.
I scrolled through the contacts on my phone.
Maybe I could invite some boys for a naked afternoon tea?
But then I’d have to send Terrance their details and wait for a fucking background check.
I could ignore that instruction, but after what happened with Toby, I didn’t want to give Mr. Control Freak more reasons to think I was a dumbass.
Ugh. I was supposed to be relaxing! Instead, I was bored out of my mind.
The mental lightbulb lit up when I was swimming before lunch: the construction on the Perrault Tower downtown should be finished by now.
I climbed out of the pool and wrapped myself in a bathrobe. The air was nearly still today, but the heat felt manageable. Weather-wise, the conditions seemed ideal. Why wait?
So I spent a few hours on the phone and on my laptop, tying up the last loose ends of the research I’d started almost a year ago.
The construction by the entrance to the Perrault Tower was indeed finished, and the scaffolding had been taken down.
There were no events downtown that would disrupt traffic on the surrounding streets.
After ticking off all the check boxes, I called the gatehouse.
“Yes, Mr. Courtemanche?”
“Kyle? Hi. I’m going out to the city for a cup of coffee and a stroll. The Sunday guy from Cassidy and Hassel, what’s his name…”
“Callum.”
“Yes, him. Tell him we’re leaving in forty-five minutes.”
“Will do. Do you want me to drive?”
“If you’re in the mood for a nice latte and a brownie.”
Kyle chuckled. “Sure. We’ll be ready.”
The sidewalk café I chose was just around the corner from the Perrault Tower.
I insisted on sitting outside, which Callum snootily disapproved of, mumbling something about an exposed location.
I ignored him. After ordering mineral water with a thin slice of lemon and one cube of ice like an obsessive serial killer, he sat stiffly at the table and glared at the innocent patrons around.
Kyle, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have a single worry on his mind.
He munched on his brownie and scrolled on his phone, humming in tune with the oldies hit coming from the café’s speakers.
I stood up, and Callum immediately pushed back his chair.
“Chill, man. I’m just going to piss.” I pointed at the door to the café’s toilets.
“Let me check the premises first.”
I groaned. “It’s just a restroom. Nobody has noticed me yet, and nobody knew I was going to be here. Can I go pee in peace? It’ll be three minutes.”
Callum grunted, checked his wristwatch, and folded his arms across his chest. Was he going to time my pee break? Stare at the restroom door until I emerged? I hadn’t been here before and couldn’t count on there being a window that I could escape from.
This might be harder than I’d thought.
Screw it.
Grabbing my backpack, I walked inside the café, but just before the restroom door, I turned left and strode quickly out through another exit. I heard a commotion behind me, probably Callum making his way between the tables, so I took off running.
I had to hide behind a few corners and sprint left and right to confuse and shake off the old shifter. Finally, I stood by the grand entrance to the famous Perrault Tower.
Two years ago, upon being finished, it was crowned the ugliest skyscraper in Ardaine.
With its two round atriums at the base and the pointed rooftop, it looked like a giant dildo.
One stand-up comedian called it “Bernard Perrault’s ugly fat dick that fucked up Ardaine” in a rant that had since gone viral.
The building was 1001 feet tall, and I’d memorized its facade to the last window ledge.
I dropped my backpack to the ground, opened it, and took out my climbing shoes.
TERRANCE
“What do you mean he ran off?”
Zach pointed at the door and began dragging his pants up his legs. I mouthed “sorry,” and he blew me a kiss.
“He said he was going to piss,” Callum said, panting into the phone, “but just by the restroom door, he spun around and began running. I lost him after four blocks. He’s fast.”
Zach waved from the doorway before leaving noiselessly. I sank into my sofa and rubbed my hand down my face.
“Of course he’s fast. He’s a shifter and a trained stuntman. But why would he run away? From his own people no less?”
“I have no idea. If you ask me, he’s a nutjob.” Callum sounded at his most annoyed.
It was lucky the phone call came after Zach and I were done fucking. I would have been out of my mind with rage had Lothair cockblocked me with his shenanigans.
“He must have had a reason.” And it was undoubtedly something that would give me a headache.
My phone beeped in my ear, and I checked my screen.
“I have a message from Devon,” I told Callum. “Wait a second.”
The boss never bothered me on days off unless it was urgent. The message was a link and a simple “Seen this?” I clicked on the link, which led me to a live stream on some influencer’s page.
The video showed a zoomed-in view of a glass-and-steel structure, where a small figure was making its way up the facade like a spider. Some crazy person was climbing a skyscraper without any safety harness.
Was that…?
I put the phone back to my ear. “Callum, are you by any chance close to the Perrault Tower?”
“That skyscraper that looks like a dick? It’s right here, around the corner.”
“Then you should be able to see Lothair.”
“What? Where?”
“Go where you can see the tower and look up.”
Several seconds later, Callum gasped. “Holy father of…”
“I’ll be there in ten.”
I ended the call and shrugged into a shirt.
Lothair was un-fucking-believable. I left him alone for twelve hours…
Taking a cab would only delay me. Instead, I jogged the fifteen blocks to the Perrault Tower.
I kept checking my phone, and the news was spreading like wildfire.
Lothair’s free climb was now plastered on every news platform and all over social media, with people counting the floors and betting on how fast he could scale the entire building. He was more than halfway up there.
By the time I reached the tower, the cavalry had arrived. A few annoyed police officers were trying to manage the crowd around two parked fire trucks and an ambulance. That would be one costly fine.
I overheard the police talking to the fire chief.
“At least with where he’s climbing, he won’t fall on anyone’s head.”
But Lothair, even with his reckless stupidity, never put anyone in danger aside from himself. Thank fuck.
There was nothing I could do but wait.
A mere twenty minutes later, Lothair made it all the way to the antenna tower at the top of the roof. The local cable news showed footage of him waving at a passing helicopter and slithering down to the nearest balcony.
He exited the elevator downstairs with a shit-eating grin on his face. A few reporters had managed to get behind the half-assed barrier the police had been setting up. I saw the interview on my phone.
“Mr. Courtemanche, how are you feeling?”
“Excellent. The air is fresh up there.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Seemed like a good day to get on top of the biggest dick in town.”
A wave of laughter rippled through the small crowd.
Two officers flanked Lothair, leading him to their car, while he blew kisses to the onlookers, his mood unspoiled by the fact that he was being arrested.
I called Devon.
“My client is going to jail.”
“It’s under control. I’ve spoken to his lawyers. Apparently, they were informed beforehand.”
“But we weren’t.”
“No. The police are taking him to the station on Thirteenth, but they shouldn’t hold him for more than a few hours. He’ll get a fat fine, and that should be it. Could you and Callum pick him up there? We can expect some fans gathering outside.”
A throng of people blocked the road when the police car began inching away. I gazed at Lothair’s silhouette in the backseat. The fucker had ruined my lazy Sunday evening plans, but seeing him in handcuffs was almost worth it.
“Do you seriously think that I’m still working for him after this?” I asked Devon.
“Don’t tell me you’re not having fun. The climb was impressive. He scaled the building in forty minutes.”
“On my day off.”
“Take it as a compliment. He needed to do it when you weren’t paying attention, or you would have put a stop to it.”
I snorted. “Nice try.”
“He’s a nightmare, I give you that, but an entertaining one. We agreed on a month, remember?”
The funny thing was, I found myself smiling as I walked through the city toward the police station on Thirteenth Avenue.
An entertaining nightmare, indeed.
They did let Lothair go. Bernard Perrault was threatening to sue, but it would be stupid of him, considering Lothair’s growing popularity. Even Ansel, Perrault’s son and only heir, had shared the stunt on his profile, with laughing emojis and a thumbs-up.
When we got into the car in front of the station, it was already dark. I’d sent Callum home and climbed into the backseat next to Lothair. Kyle was driving. With a human in the car with us, I couldn’t really tear Lothair a new one, so we sat in silence.
My client scrolled on his phone, watching the various videos of the climb. When I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, he was grinning like a kid after pulling a prank.
“So sorry for interrupting your day, Terrance,” he said, his tone annoyingly cheerful. “You didn’t have to come.”
“Callum called me.”
“He’s slow. I bet if it had been you, I wouldn’t have been able to get away.” Lothair eyed me up and down suggestively.
“I should have plucked you from the building with my claws,” I hissed under my breath.
He chuckled. “That would bring the spectacle to another level. Next time.”
He looked way too satisfied with himself. I’d better watch the passing traffic.
“How much was the fine?” I asked after a while.
“I don’t know yet. I’m guessing up to 25k plus some legal fees.” He didn’t sound bothered by it at all.
“Worth it?”
“You bet. Besides, the money goes into the city’s general fund that pays for the fire department, parks, playgrounds, and shit like that. I’m just making my yearly contribution.”
What did one say to that? I almost laughed, but I didn’t want to give Lothair the satisfaction.
It must have been the highly enjoyable session with Zach, but my good mood persisted.
I wouldn’t quit just yet. Maybe if I adjusted my attitude, Lothair could become an interesting challenge.