11. The Man #2
“So,” he continued, “you will spend time with her again, and you are to help make sure she finds a suitable match. I want her to have the life she deserves. Once she is happily married, you and I can work to regain our happiness together. Until then, I will only see our treachery and therefore cannot pretend our marriage is fine,” he said and stood back upright.
Margaret’s lips quivered, and new tears filled her eyes. She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it just as quickly and hung her head low.
Richard made his way to leave the room. “One more thing: you are not to spend a dime of my money until Theresa is married to an acceptable prospect.” Gloating, he closed the door, but not before he was able to catch her expression of pure shock.
Richard pinched the bridge of his nose. The room was dim and quiet, except for the ceiling fan that whirred rhythmically above the table. His other hand rested as a closed fist against the cherry wood grain of the tabletop.
The other six men, who gathered last minute, kept quiet and watched as Richard processed all the news they delivered. What they didn’t know was that when he went to cross his legs, he pinched himself again, and the pain that coursed through him was debilitating.
“Sir, did you understand all that we told you? We know it is a lot of information, but most of it is time-sensitive, and we need to take action one way or another. And soon.” A man called Gregorson was the first to break the awkward silence.
His grey striped suit looked expensive and polished.
The combed-over thin hair gave away his true age, however.
“Yes, I heard you.” Richard sat up straight and pushed through the dull pain emanating from between his legs.
I don’t know if I will ever get used to them. He glanced around the room at the curious expressions, all waiting on him to give them the answers.
“So, just so I am clear, last quarter we reported a loss. We have several lucrative government military contracts that you advise I reject. And there is another business who is waiting for my response on if I want to sell, which you are also advising that I do.”
Murmurs filled the space as the men talked all at once. Richard raised his hand to silence them.
I thought squabbling women were bad. The decision was ultimately his.
He owned the company. On the one hand, he wanted to punish the old Richard, and destroying his legacy would be the ultimate way to carry out that plan.
On the other hand, being a man and having access to a fortune was something that he wanted to experience.
Maybe I can try and salvage the company—make it better. No one else would know it, but I would know that he was a failure as a businessman and that a woman in his body came along and fixed it.
“Here is what we are going to do.” Richard stood and slowly walked around the seated men.
“I’m not going to sell the company. Rather, I’m going to sign the contracts.
” He raised his hand again to squash the eruptions of protests.
“Obviously, the way things have run in the past just can’t continue unless you want to see more quarters reporting loss after loss. ”
The words flowed easily even though most of them made no sense to him.
“These contracts seem to be important, or else the government would have gone elsewhere. If anyone disagrees with these decisions, then there is the door.” He paused at Gregorson’s chair and put both hands on the back, nodding his head in the direction of the door.
The other six men looked between each other, their eyes having silent conversations. Richard mustered the energy to hide his shaking hands. I’ve no clue what I’m saying or doing. I wonder if they know I’m a fraud.
Gregorson stood first. Richard stepped back away from his chair. The mood shifted, and everyone stared at the two men. After a few moments, Gregorson held out his wrinkled hand. Richard looked down at it, then followed suit with his own hand.
The rest of the men gathered around to shake Richard’s hand. It confirmed he had won this round, but he would need to work hard to prove this was the right decision.
Left alone with his thoughts afterwards, Richard considered his next steps. Being in a man’s body was almost too much to bear, and he felt desperate to get back into a woman’s body.
He left the building and looked around for his escort. Kyle had come to the meeting with him, but now he found himself alone on the streets in a new town.
A couple of men meandered together across the street, and he gripped the fabric wrapped around his throat. A button-up with a colorful ascot met his fingers, and he was reminded that he wasn’t wearing a high collar dress and corset.
The fear glued him in place, and he watched suspiciously as the men continued on their way, giving him no attention. The difference from the looks and hungry gazes when he was a woman was worlds apart to the attention he received now.
When he spoke, people listened and respected him. There were no follow-up questions, no critiques, just immediate acceptance.
The streetlights were lit as the dark of night covered the streets. He began walking in the same direction as the men, and even though they kept their faces from him, it was he who watched them carefully.
They arrived at what looked like a townhouse. After a brisk knock, the door opened, and they were welcomed into the warm light.
As Richard drew closer to the building, a gold plaque under the wall light read, “SOUTHPORT GAMBLING CLUB.” After another glance up and down the street, he mimicked the knock from the previous gentleman, and the door swung open. A red-headed man in a green tailored suit greeted him.
“Welcome, Mr. VanHugh! Your usual table?” Richard stepped inside and allowed the man to take his overcoat off. Jazz music drifted into the narrow hallway from the back, and laughter mingled with the upbeat melody.
“That sounds good.” The man led Richard down the hallway and into a large parlor with five green felt tables. Some were full of men holding playing cards. Glasses sloshed around, full of an amber liquid, and the air was thick with cigar smoke.
The table to his immediate left erupted in playful shouts as a man in a royal blue button-up slammed his hand of cards down on the table.
They came to a stop at a playing table that had the dealer, a blond man who looked like he was in his early twenties, and two older gentlemen who sat across the table from each other. Neither smiling nor laughing. Just glares dripping with competition and disdain.
Richard pulled out the chair in the middle, directly across from the dealer. The red headed man stood behind him.
“Shall I buy you in and put it on your tab, sir?”
Richard looked awkwardly behind him and nodded. Clearly out of his element and trying to think quickly on his feet. A woman would never be allowed in this sort of establishment, and it was clear why.
The walls were decorated with dead animals that looked to still be alive. He swallowed hard and looked away from the deer head that stared down at him. A fireplace roared nearby that filled the room with too much warmth and emitted a glow that was both inviting and foreboding.
A server came by and placed a glass full of whiskey down in front of Richard and then opened a box of cigars, offering the selection to him.
Richard declined, and the two men looked at him with surprise in their eyes.
“I promised the missus I would restrain myself from the smoke tonight, but I didn’t say anything about this.” Richard raised his glass at them in mock cheers and took a healthy sip. The whiskey warmed his throat and chest, and he could feel the tension ease out of his body.
Maybe being a man for a while longer wouldn’t be so bad. It seems that they have all the fun. Why not indulge in some fun of my own?
The two men finished their hand as he waited for the valet to return with his chips. By the time his chips were handed to him, Richard had the basics down.
It was a game of luck and, more importantly, a game of bluffing. Unfortunately for the other two men at the table, lying was what Richard did best.