Chapter 5b: Confrontation

Monday 8:15 pm

“We’re here, Mr. Upton.”

“Uh, yeah.” I said, coming out of my thousand-mile stare out the window at the lights of the casino Terrence had pulled up to. “Thanks.”

I sat in the black SUV for a moment longer, thinking about the demon I was going to face. Bobbi had made my work life a living hell, and she was a large part of why I’d dreaded going to work every day, and now I had the opportunity to return the favor. I just wasn’t sure if I had the stomach for it.

“Will there be anything else, sir?”

“No,” I said, opening the door and starting to get out. I hesitated and looked back at the opening in the partition where I could see Terrence looking at me. “Do I need to tip you or something?”

He chuckled, “That won’t be necessary, sir. Mr. VanCamp pays me very well. Thank you though. You’re a good man.”

I nodded and met his smile with my own forced one and said, “Alright. Thanks. Have a good night Terrence.”

I closed the door and whispered, “That’s me. A good man.”

Right now, I wasn’t so sure.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to behold the front entrance of Solomon’s Palace. It was known as one of the most expensive casinos in New York City, catering to the very wealthy and privileged. If there were any upper middle class, they were likely there as a guest of the class with most of the money, or they were blowing savings on a once-in-a-lifetime splurge ‘just to see what it’s like’. I hadn’t really given any thought to why I told Bobbi to come to this place, but I might have just been looking for some other way of putting her on her back foot.

Gathering my resolve, I strode toward the casino. A doorman at the entrance gave me a smile and held the door open for me and said, “Welcome to the Solomon’s Palace, sir!” I nodded and gave him a smile. “Thanks. Where’s your restaurant? I’m meeting someone here.”

He pointed, “Just down the hall and to the left.”

I followed his directions, walking down the massive hall completely arrayed in gaudy red velvet and gold trim. A sign was fixed to a massive entrance to my left that displayed the name of a restaurant - Solomon’s Palace Fine Dining - and a list of featured items on the menu. A lot of the options available here cost more than half my month’s rent.

Pinching myself still made it difficult to believe I wasn’t dreaming. Here I was standing in an expensive suit in the lobby of Solomon’s Palace after being dropped off by an employee who worked for one of the most prestigious law firms in New York. The whole thing filled me with a sense of dysphoria. The fact that I was here to confront someone I hated more than just about anyone else only exacerbated the feeling.

“I’m here to meet someone,” I told the hostess, a lovely woman in her mid-twenties with white-blonde hair.

“Of course, sir. And your name?”

I hesitated, wondering whether or not I should actually give her my name, but then I remembered that Helen had arranged the reservation for me after we’d finished our ... meeting that afternoon. She hadn’t given me an alternate name to use.

“Um, Marcus Upton?”

“Oh!” She said, her eyebrows shooting up in recognition as she found my name on her list. “Right this way sir!”

She led me through one of the nicest restaurants I’d ever seen in my life, and I found myself looking around at all the gorgeous people wearing nice clothes eating expensive food. An entire world had been opened to me that I had only seen in movies.

As I followed her, my mind raced, wondering what the hell the game plan was. Obviously, we were going to eat, but why the fuck had I invited her out on a date? She clearly hadn’t wanted to come. She’d thrown my meager background and my in-state college in my face repeatedly, so was I just looking to rub my wealth in her face? Was I going to stick her with the bill? Should I call the cops after dessert and have her arrested?

Hi, police? This is Marcus Upton. I found out today that this woman is stealing from me, but I wanted to take her out to dinner and feed her a souffle before you arrest her. Yes, I’ll be pressing charges.

The entire idea sounded dumb, but the alternative just sounded dark. As with most casinos, this one had hotel rooms. I should know because Helen had booked me the most expensive one.

There was no way in hell Bobbi was going to be interested in sharing a hotel room with me.

She led me through a pair of doors that opened into a private room with its own table and a personal waiter. It even had a fireplace with a roaring blaze in it. The temperature outside wasn’t exactly cold, but the room’s temperature had been adjusted so that the warmth of the fire was comfortable.

Bobbi was absolutely stunning. Her light brown hair shone in the low flicker of the fire, her grey eyes meeting mine with a look I’d never seen; every time I’d locked eyes with her in the past, there’d been nothing but contempt. I’d expected the same now, but this time she had a look of wariness and uncertainty, which did wonders for my confidence. In fact, my entire experience since I’d walked into the casino seemed to calm my nerves. Everyone had treated me with importance bordering on reverence. It made me feel powerful. Bobbi with that deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes made me feel it even more.

“Welcome to Solomon’s Palace, sir,” the waiter said as he approached the other side of the table and pulled out a chair for me. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see the hostess close the door behind me.

“Um ... thanks,” I said as I took the seat provided. I glanced at Bobbi and mentally kicked myself at not sounding confident in front of her. Bobbi was smart and opportunistic - a predator who would pounce on any sign of weakness. I didn’t want to show her my throat.

“The lady has already ordered Kobe beef carpaccio and a 1973 Château Petrus. Is there anything you’d like to start with?”

I glanced at Bobbi, and though the uncertainty was still in her bright grey eyes, she arched an eyebrow at me as if daring me to complain about the fact that she’d presumed to order before I’d arrived - it was probably the most expensive wine and appetizer on the menu. I did my best to not give her the satisfaction of reacting. I looked back up at the waiter.

“What’s your name?”

“Roderick, sir.”

“You know what, Roderick? It’s my first time here. Bring us one of everything on the appetizer menu.”

Roderick hesitated and glanced at Bobbi. What had she already told him?

“Everything, sir?”

“Everything, Roderick. And please bring four more wines. Some of the best you have, but you choose them, if you don’t mind.”

“Ah ... yes sir.” He looked at Bobbi, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

She glanced at Karl, then me. I could tell she was weighing her options. “Go ahead and bring two of everything,” she said, looking back at Roderick. I don’t like sharing.”

She smirked at me, daring me to protest. Instead, I picked up my menu and started looking it over as if it didn’t bother me. I managed to keep my eyes from popping when I realized that the menus didn’t even have prices on them, so I couldn’t do the mental math to see how much of a bill we’d already accrued. The wealthy really did like living on the edge, didn’t they? Once again, I had to remind myself that this was all inconsequential. Helen’s team had already transferred a bank account to my name that held several million dollars in it just to get me started. Any amount of money spent tonight was like breaking off a chunk of ice to cool my drink. That chunk of ice came from an iceberg the size of a small continent.

I heard the door shut a few minutes later, signifying that Roderick had left, and looked up at Bobbi, giving her a sweet smile. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a really long day, and I’m ready to eat.”

The smirk slipped from Bobbi’s lips slightly, which was one of the best things I’d experienced in weeks. That was coming from a guy who had buried his cock in Helen after inheriting over nine-hundred billion dollars. That’s how much I hated this bitch.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Bobbi dropped all pretense of having control of this situation.

“None of your fucking business,” I said, giving her my best sickly sweet smile.

“I don’t have to put up with this,” Bobbi snapped as she threw her napkin out of her lap and stood up.

“Sit down,”I said.

“No,” she said, picking up her phone and purse. “Fucking have me arrested. I’ll spend a couple years in prison and get out on good behavior. It’s better than having to put up with your shit.”

She walked out the door without looking back.

“Dammit,” I picked up my phone and pulled up Helen’s number. I hadn’t expected her to get triggered so easily.

She left. Go ahead and do it, I texted Helen.

It was immediately read, but after a few moments of not responding, I put my phone down, sure Helen would pull through for me like she’d done every other time.

I watched the fire in the fireplace, enjoying the crackling of the wood as I waited.

A few minutes later the door opened and in came Roderick along with four other people bearing trays and carts of food. They began wordlessly setting platters of escargot, crab legs, gormet guacomole, Kobe beef, and other things in a pleasing array. They left the decorative carts near the table and lifted lids to other beautiful spreads.

“There’s not enough room, so if it’s alright with you, we will leave the rest right here. Would you like me to fix both of you a plate?,” Roderick asked.

“No thank you. If you’d just give us some privacy, I’d appreciate it. I’ll pop my head out if you need anything.””

The staff retreated, as Roderick laid out the plates, wine glasses, and the five bottles of wine. He started to back away to leave as well when I stopped him.

“Hey Roderick,” I said. “Does the noise carry outside this room very much?”

“No sir,” Rodierick responded. “It’s not soundproof, but the room is designed to allow for a fair amount of privacy.”

“Okay,” I said. “Just a heads up. Things might get a little loud in here. She’s ... a passionate woman.”

He simply smiled and said, “Understood, sir.” He’d clearly had similar conversations before.

Nearly ten minutes had passed when the doors burst open. “What the fuck is this?” Bobbi stormed over to me looking as she was ready to bury the phone she held in her hand directly into my skull.

“Seriously,” Bobbi spat as she leaned extraordinarily close to me, her face inches from mine. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Keep calm, Helen’s voice said in my head as I repeated some of the advice she’d given me, You own the world. There’s no reason to get angry when you can literally buy your way in it.

I looked up at her from my seat and said, “Sit. The fuck. Down.”

Nearly an entire minute ticked by as we stared at each other. She finally huffed and took her seat once more. I sighed and then began reaching for food. “Better. Now, what’s your question?”

“You turned off my phone, motherfucker. How?”

“According to my lawyers,” I stated as I reached for some crab claws, “I’m the richest person in the world.” I finally looked back up at her as I started cracking open a crab leg, “Bobbi, I could wipe my ass with thousand dollar bills every time I take a shit from now till the day I die and my bank account wouldn’t notice. I bought Marduke. I bought the building it’s in, and I’ll probably buy this casino. I also bought First Patriot. Ever heard of it?”

Bobbi’s eyebrows knitted together and she shook her head.