Chapter 10
Jackson
I countto ten and then head back into the bedroom. I wonder if Zara is going to complain again about having to cook for me. Or ask me some sly questions about my family.
I”ve calmed down, and I’m willing to fuck one more time. After I make her come again, I will rationally ask her if she works for the New York Times or a tabloid and if hooking up with me was part of a story she was working on. The room is quiet as I look around and I wonder if she”s fallen asleep again. Only as I look at her side of the bed, I see that she”s gone.
”Good,” I mumble to myself as I stand there, annoyed. ”I didn”t want to fuck an exploitive journalist anyway,” I say to myself as I look at the used condoms on the side table and crumpled sheets strewn on the floor. I”m annoyed and frustrated and feel slightly desolate. I don”t really know anything about Zara. I have no way of getting in contact with her and will almost probably never see her again.
The thought displeases me, and I”m not sure why. It”s not like this was going anywhere. It”s not like I was going to ask her for her number later in the morning. But the fact that she just left displeases me.
”Don”t even think about it,” I grumble as I sit on the side of the bed.
I take a deep breath and then grab my phone. I suppose it”s time to face the music. I might as well listen to my father”s messages now, see what he has to say, what issues he”s got with me, and how he”s going to try and talk me into working for him. I grab my phone, press Play, and listen to all the voicemails that he”s left.
I sit there for an hour, staring at the phone after listening to his messages. They hadn”t been what I was expecting. He hadn”t told me that I needed to come work for the family company so I could learn how to run it. He hadn”t told me how disappointed he was in me. He hadn”t even mentioned that I was working for my best friend or asked how I liked playing second fiddle to someone else.
He said that he misses me. The thought makes me slightly sick. My father has never said that he misses me. In fact, he has never even said that he loves me. I’ve never even heard him tell my mother that he loves her. And yet he left several messages saying he wants to take me to dinner. He wants to chat. That there are things he”s realized too late in life and he doesn’t want to continue the rest of his life focused solely on business. For a few moments, I wonder if my dad is dying and if he doesn’t want to tell me. Why else would he have this abrupt change?
I stand up and pace back and forth in the room. Something on the floor catches my eye. It’s a lipstick case that Zara must have dropped out of her handbag as she hurried out. I pick it up and put it next to my phone. I don”t know why I”m keeping it. Maybe a memento, a token of this night, this very weird night. I sigh, and I”m about to pack up my stuff and leave when there”s a knock on the door.
”Zara?” I call out, wondering if she”s back and if she wants seconds of what I offered earlier.
”Room service,” a young voice sounds on the other side of the door, and I frown. I head over, and when I open the door, there”s a woman and a man holding two giant trays full of food and champagne.
”Can I help you?” I ask.
”Room service,” they say. ”Can we bring it in?”
”I didn”t order room service,” I say.
”We had a call, and it was definitely from this room and…” She looks nervously at her compatriot and then back at me. ”Well, it”s room service, and someone ordered it. Maybe your wife or…?”
After a couple of seconds, I burst out laughing. I know exactly what”s happened.
”You can bring it in,” I say, stepping to the side. ”Touché, Zara,” I say to myself. ”Well played.”
”Sorry. What, sir?” The lady looks back at me, and I shake my head.
”I asked my friend to make me breakfast this morning. I guess this is her way of ensuring I don”t go hungry for the rest of the day.”
”Oh, that’s very nice of your friend, sir,” she says, and they hover near the door. I reach into my pocket, grab another hundred dollars, and hand it to them.
”Oh, thank you very much, sir,” she says, smiling widely. ”Is there anything else I can do for you? Is there?—”
”It”s fine, thank you,” I say. I watch as they exit the room, then close the door behind them and look back at the mountains of food and drink that Zara has ordered. I didn”t even realize she”d been on the phone, but then I had been in the bathroom for a good ten or fifteen minutes.
I wonder where she is now. I wonder if she is wondering if the food has been delivered yet. I think of her big brown eyes, her long curly hair, the way her mouth parted every time she was about to orgasm, and the little squeaks that she made as she was coming. I think of the way her fingernails dug into my back. Delicious. It’s the best sex I”ve had in a really long time, but I need to move on from that. I need to think about what I’m going to do about my dad.
I look at the time and realize that while it”s still early in the morning, it”s not so early that I can”t call my grandparents. I pick up my phone and make a call. My nana answers on the second ring.
”Darling Jackson, how are you?”
”Good morning, Nana.”
”Good morning to you. Is everything okay?”
”I”m fine.”
”Are you sure?” she asks.
”Yes, Nana. I was just calling because?—”
”You”re coming to the Hamptons this summer? Oh, I”m so excited. I can”t, well, wait to tell Maisy.”
”No, Nana. That”s not what I”m calling about, but please give Maisy my love.”
”Well, Maisy already knows that you love her,” Nana says, and I try not to groan. Maisy has been her best friend since they were kids, and Maisy thinks herself to be somewhat of a clairvoyant, even though none of her predictions have ever come to pass.
”So Nana, I was calling because?—”
”You were calling to see what”s gotten into your father,” she says, and I pause.
”Um, how did you…” I trail off in question. ”Maisy told you I was going to call?” I say finally, and she giggles like a young schoolgirl.
”No, of course not. I just know your father”s been acting very weird ever since?—”
”Ever since what?” I say quickly.
”Ever since the stroke.”
”What?” I say. ”What stroke?”
”Oh, I forgot. You weren”t told.”
”Nana, what”s going on? Is Dad okay? Is?—”
”He”s fine, he”s fine. It didn”t even last very long. The doctor said he was very lucky. Your mom caught it right away. She took him to the hospital, and they were able to treat it before any damage, so he”s fine. But I guess your father had a slight brush with death, and now he just wants to live a better life.”
”Why did no one tell me?”
”Because he didn”t want you to know, Jackson.”
”But why didn”t he want me to know? I thought he would”ve been on the phone with me first thing, telling me that I need to get my ass out of Rosser International and back to the family company because he”s on death”s door and I”m going to need to take over one day and?—”
”That”s exactly why he didn”t tell you,” she says softly.
”What do you mean, Nana?”
”He feels like he”s put too much pressure on you and that”s why you”ve been so distant.”
”Nana, you know the reason I”ve been distant with Dad is because he is distant himself.”
”Well, he”s changing and spending the summer in the Hamptons with us.”
”Really?” I say. ”But what about work?”
”He will take off a couple of weeks.”
”Wow. Dad”s taking off for a couple of weeks? He doesn”t even like to take off the weekends,” I say softly.
”I know, dear, but he”s a changed man, and your mother is so grateful. And I thought this was you calling to tell me that you, too, would be here this summer with your wonderful wife.”
”What wife, Nana? What are you talking about?”
”Oh, I hoped that your father wasn”t the only one keeping secrets,” she says softly. ”I would love some grandchildren.”
There”s a long silence on the phone. I”m not even going to answer that. I love my nana, so I”m not going to say anything rude, but I”m not going to answer that.
”But alas, you don”t want to see me happy, do you, Jackson?”
”Nana, you will be the first person to know if I”m married.”
”Well, I hope I”ll be the first person to know when you have a girlfriend and when you”re going to propose to her, and I”ll be at the wedding,” she says sternly. ”If you surprise me with a wife, I will not be happy.”
”Okay, Nana. Well, trust me, you will be the first person I send an invitation to when I get engaged.” Under my breath, I say, “Which is not likely to be ever.”
”I heard that, Jackson.” She sighs, and I chuckle.
”How”s Granddad? How are you?” I change the subject.
”We”re both fine. Granddad is also hoping for some?—”
”If you say he”s hoping for grandkids, I will hang up right now.”
”Okay. Well, he”s not waiting for grandkids,” she says. ”He”s waiting for a grandson.”
”Nana.”
”I”m just being honest. You asked how we were doing. What are you doing up so early?”
”I am getting ready for work,” I say as I look around the room.
”Oh, you do work too hard, Jackson. I know you”re a workaholic, but?—”
”Don”t worry, Nana. I”m not overworking, and I have a huge breakfast this morning, so I know that will make you happy.”
”You know what will make me very happy?”
”No, what?”
”If you come over this weekend.”
”This weekend I?—”
”Oh, Jackson. I don”t have many years left.”
”Fine, Nana. I”ll come over.”
”Okay, darling. Sunday lunch?”
”Yes, Nana, I”ll be there.”
”And feel free to bring that Ethan Rosser. I do like him.”
”Well, he is dating someone now.”
I stifle a groan. I know that”s going to get Nana”s hopes up. Because she knows that Ethan Rosser was a confirmed bachelor like me, and she”s going to think that now that Ethan”s engaged, I possibly could end up engaged. But that is not going to happen. Just because my dad had a stroke doesn”t mean that my personality is also going to change.
I remove one of the silver covers from one of the plates, grab one of the fried potatoes, pop it into my mouth, and chew.
”Anyway, Nana, I really should be going now. I?—”
”I love you, Jackson.”
”I love you, too, Nana.”
”And you have a very good day at work, okay?”
”Yes, Nana.”
”Good, good. And by the way, Jackson?”
”Yes, Nana?”
”There might be a couple of eligible women there on Sunday. I”m only letting you know that in advance so you don”t get angry like last time.”
”Nana,” I chastise her. ”I thought this lunch was just going to be for family members. I would not have agreed to come if?—”
”You”re not going to break my heart again, are you, Jackson? Please don”t renege.”
”I”ll still be there, but please do not try to set me up.”
”Have a good day, Jackson,” she says, and we hang up.
I groan as I realize what I”ve done. Nana is going to have every single woman she can think of there on Sunday. I know her, and that”s why she told me she wasn”t going to. There”s one thing my nana doesn”t do, and that”s lie, no matter what the situation or occasion.
I”ll have to think of a good reason to get out of the lunch early because the last thing I want to do is break ten different women”s hearts who were set on getting a date with me in hopes of marrying me.
I pick up my phone again and call Ethan.
”Hey, what”s up?” he asks.
”Don”t tell me you”re still in bed,” I say when I hear him yawning.
”Who is it?” I hear Sarah in the background, and I roll my eyes.
”What is it?” Ethan asks. ”Everything okay?”
”My dad had a stroke,” I say.
Ethan”s silent for a second. ”Is he okay?”
”He”s fine,” I say. ”But I guess that flash of mortality hit his brain, and now he is trying to have some sort of relationship with me or something.”
”Ha,” he says, ”and how do you feel about that?”
”Are you my therapist?” I say in response, and he laughs.
”Sorry. Sarah”s got me listening to some self-help books, and one of the questions that they recommend when speaking to people is, ‘How do you feel about that?””
”I had a feeling it had to come from her,” I say. ”You and I never talk about feelings.”
”I know we don”t, and maybe that”s?—”
”Ethan,” I say, ”I”m not Sarah. I don”t need any kumbaya moments with you.”
”Okay,” he says. ”What do you need from me? You are the one that”s calling me at six o”clock in the morning.”
”I just… I don”t know,” I say. ”It was just a weird thing to happen.”
”I”m surprised you”re up,” he says.
”What do you mean?”
”I saw you leaving with that cute brunette. What happened? Couldn”t close the deal?”
”Oh, I closed it.” I smirk. ”I closed it like five times.”
”And yet it”s six o”clock in the morning, and you”re calling me.”
”You know me. I don”t let them spend the night.”
”You did not send that girl packing,” he asks, shocked.
”A man doesn”t kiss and tell,” I say. ”Anyway, I have to leave the hotel room now. I”ll see you in the office?”
”I”ll be in a little later today,” he says. ”Sarah wants to take me to some furniture store to look at?—”
”I don”t even want to hear it,” I say, cutting him off. ”What happened to you, dude? You used to be a man I could respect. Now?—”
”Now I”m a man you”re jealous of.”
”I”m totally not jealous,” I say and hang up to his laughter.
I stand up, grab my shirt, and pull on the rest of my clothes and shoes. I have work to do, and I also need to make a couple of calls to make sure that the story that my nana told me is correct and true. She certainly isn”t one for lying, but I know there’s a first time for everything.
I need to find out whether or not my dad really is a changed man and if he really had a stroke or not. Or if this is some ploy to get me back to the family company. I don’t think it’s a lie, which makes me nervous. I grab Zara’s lipstick case and stare at it for a few moments as I look around the room. The city is waking up, and I can see people running in the park. I wonder where Zara is at this moment. I wonder if she is like me and thinking about the multiple orgasms we had last night.
“Get over it, Pruitt,” I lecture myself as I drop the lipstick case on the bed, gather myself, and get ready to start my workday. “She’s yesterday”s news.” I head to the door, open it, and step into the hallway. The door swings shut, but I stick my foot inside and sigh as I head back into the room, grab the case, and put it into my back pocket. “You never know when it’ll come in handy,” I mumble to myself as I make my way to the elevator and attempt to put her out of my mind.