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Me: Not a surprise. Another all-night hotel opening party?
Sean: Nah,. just enjoying life. Took a day off and went sky diving. You ever skydive?
Me: We all went once, remember? Five or six years ago? Leo almost puked in the plane.
Sean: I forgot about that. Anyway, you going to be in the office today? I thought a little Boston Billionaire Lunch was in order.
Me: I’m in the office today.What time?
Sean: I’ll be there at twelve. Skip one of your protein shakes, will you?
I laughed. Sean was also a naturally athletic person, but he didn’t work nearly as hard on his body as I did. He didn’t have to. His father had been a competitive bodybuilder in his youth. The muscles seemed to just be passed down from father to son. While he wasn’t as big as I was, he was built like a slab of granite.
Me: Deal.
With that, I put the phone down and sat up in my bed, rubbing my eyes.
What was I going to do?
Getting out of bed, my leg buckled and I remembered I had overdone it with the sparring the other day. It was my luck that a boxing match was ended with a leg injury, but that was just the way it was. Now, I was hobbling to the dresser to find some clothes.
The staff in the mansion were busy already, the sun being just another marker in the window for what needed to be done for the day. I would be replaced in my bedroom by two housekeepers who would make quick work of my bed, clothes on the floor near the hamper that I somehow always missed, and would replace the little things like the fresh water bottle by my bed and opening the blinds.
It was a life I was accustomed to, but never really felt was necessary. I could handle all that stuff. Any time I traveled, I did so without a problem. But it was nice to not have to think about any of it as I got my day going. I could focus on what I wanted to accomplish from the second I opened my eyes.
Too bad the only thing I wanted to accomplish right now was finding Julia, bringing her back here, ripping off her clothes, and making as many mistakes as I possibly could before someone stopped me.
I turned on the shower, getting the water hot while I did a quick morning workout. It was only about three minutes long, but it got the blood pumping early, even avoiding using my leg much. It meant I didn’t stand around in the water trying to shake the cobwebs away. By the time I got in the shower, I had actually worked up a tiny sweat, and the hot water on my now really achy leg was delightful.
I heard the door open and shut as I showered, and as expected, one of the staff had hung three suits in the room for me to choose from. I picked one and got dressed, letting the steam out of the room by propping the door open. As usual, the smell of coffee wafted up to me, being prepared by one of the housekeeperss downstairs. I made sure they had all the coffee they could want, in whatever flavors, and drank from the pot they made. As much as they might work for me, I didn’t like the idea of treating them separately as much as I could.
When I got downstairs, there was bacon and eggs prepared, and I took a small plate with me as I walked around the house, gathering my things and checking emails from my phone. I liked to walk and eat breakfast, preferring not to sit down at the start of my day unless I had to.
“Veronica, do you want me to stay in one room?” I asked, not looking up from my phone.
“It’s your house, sir.” She laughed.
“What if I just folded the plate like a funnel and shoved it all down my throat in one go? No mess then.”
“It’s not a paper plate, sir,” she said. “Rather hard to do.”
I hadn’t even noticed. Normally, they gave me a paper one to wander around with since I tossed them in the garbage before I walked out.
“Why do I have a real plate, Veronica?” I asked.
“The recycling mission you gave us, sir,” she said. “Last week, remember? You said we were to stop using paper and plastic plates and go back to ceramic?”
“Right,” I said, remembering the edict I had announced right after I got hit with an emissions fine in France for one of the factories I had bought a month earlier. I was so mad that I didn’t see that coming that I went full-tilt on green initiatives for three days.
“I can take your plate when you are done, though,” Veronica said.
I turned to face her, picking up the last of my bacon and shoving them into my mouth. She put her fingers over her lips to laugh demurely. She must have been a very fine-looking woman when she was younger. Now, nearly sixty, she was a fireball of work ethic and cleanliness, running the whole house crew like a drill sergeant. I was extremely lucky to have her in my life.
“Here you go,” I said, my mouth still somewhat full.
“Thank you, sir,” she said, taking it.
“Hey, Veronica? Can I ask you a question?”
