Chapter 31: New Orleans

Monday June 1

I was beginning to understand the meaning of the word entourage. I was a little embarrassed when I saw how many people were boarding the plane to New Orleans for my Range Sports photo shoot. From Ford modeling I had Tiffany, my agent, and Deb Thomas, their Vice President of Talent Development for their Chicago office. Deb arranged to join us, because she wanted to talk to Devin and Sandy Range about their corporate relationship. It had been on shaky ground ever since our shoots in the UK, when they sent what they thought were their best models from their Paris office.

Because they were on shaky ground, Adrienne was now supplying Range with their one-off models for projects like this week. She and her partner, Tyler, were also on the plane. They happened to be in Chicago because they just finished wrapping up a shoot for another client.

Then there were the people I brought with me. Kendal always went, so she was expected, Chuck was my security guy. Dad made sure that if I was going somewhere like New York or LA I had security with me. I had gotten lucky and Chuck was always available for me. Then I had my two new tag-alongs. Tami wanted to spend the summer with me so we could reconnect. The final member of the team was Cora. Her parents and mine had forced her to become my personal assistant. The theory was she would learn from Kendal. I wasn't holding my breath.

I was a little apprehensive about this photo shoot. Sandy had told me when I was in Park City, that she would be handling these shoots, because of Devin hitting on Nancy. Since then, I went through Sandy for anything I needed. Sandy, the big chicken she was, sent me a text that told me Devin would be in New Orleans. He wanted to fix things between us.

Nancy and I agreed we were better friends than lovers. She did tell me Devin followed up and was pushing for them to go out. I knew Nancy was considering it. The truth was she and Devin would make a good couple. They were both driven and she would make an outstanding partner for him.

It wasn't that the two of them might end up together that bothered me. It was how he did it, and how he handled it once he was confronted with me knowing. If he had manned up and talked to me, I think we could have worked it out. Instead he had played the whole it was a misunderstanding line. At that point I no longer trusted him.

I heard the call for first class, and Tami and I boarded. I wasn't surprised to see Adrienne and Tyler join us. I was surprised that Deb Thomas wasn't in first class. I made Tami switch seats with me, because I wanted the aisle.

The guy across from Adrienne recognized her and started to chat her up. She shot me a look when I chuckled at her predicament. She was stuck for the next couple of hours listening to him prattle on about what a great guy he was. I would guess that by the end of the flight he would be either a brain surgeon or an astronaut. I put money on astronaut.

We were off the ground and just settled in when Tami decided it was time to talk.

"Now that you can't run away, I want to tell you about my trip to the UK," she started.

Fuck me! Maybe Kendal would change seats. I would rather be stuck in a center seat in coach as to have to listen to this. By the grin on Tami's face, I think she was going to enjoy it too.

"You are such a baby sometimes," Tami said. "We need to get past this if we ever expect things to work out."

"I know, but I don't have to like it."

"I never said you did, but we are talking about it, and you are going to talk to me." I could tell I was not getting out of it, this time.

"We should start with Trevor since he was the reason we ended up taking a time out. We ended up sleeping together. It was a disaster. It was his first time, and two minutes later it was over. The poor guy then had stage fright, and left me in a lurch. He was so embarrassed he broke up with me," she said, and then punched me in the arm, because I tried not to laugh.

"It happens, but I can't say I'm sorry," I said, and then stuck my tongue out at her.

"I'm surprised you are taking this so well. A year ago you threw up on the side of the road when I told you about it."

"A year ago I thought we were getting married, someday," I shot back.

I could tell instantly I'd said the wrong thing. The color seemed to drain from her face, and she looked away from me. I gave her a moment.

"Tami, I'm sorry if I hurt you; but we need to be honest with each other. Things had to change in how I felt for you, or I was never going to be able to handle the men that came into your life."

She took a deep breath and then turned back to me.

"I know, you told me I chose him over you. I guess I never truly believed you would not be waiting for me when I was done. I just hope we can be friends again."

"You have always been my friend. I can't imagine you not being my friend for any reason in the future. I just don't necessarily see us as more than that, right now. I hope you understand where I'm coming from," I said.

"I do understand, but like you said, I don't have to like it. I realize we needed to reset things, or we were doomed to losing our friendship. I was too controlling, and you couldn't allow me the freedom to grow into a woman. I think we are both in a better place. I see your independence and inner strength. I also see you are not totally freaked out about my past boyfriends."

"If they all performed like Trevor I'll be okay with it," I said getting a smile from her.

"We need our ego stroked do we?" she teased me.

"If Simon was better, then don't tell me. Let me live in my fantasy world."

I heard Adrienne burst out laughing. Someone had big ears. Tami blushed, which brought a smile to my face.

"I guess double D stands for Deity of Dalliance," she teased me.

"I might have to get t-shirts made for all my worshipers."

She didn't seem to be impressed with my impending Godhood.

"Anyway, let's talk about Simon. He was in a couple of my classes. At first I didn't like him, because he was an arrogant ass."

"I think that was what Alan called him," I said with a grin.

"Things changed when we ended up having to do a project together in biology. Away from everyone else he was quite nice. I think he put on an act to make himself look better in public. We ended up finding out we liked each other and started dating.

"I'm ashamed to say I fell hard. Everyone tried to warn me off. I didn't really see what the big deal was, because he treated me like a princess. We were with each other constantly. So when you offered to fly me home I guess wasn't really surprised when he insisted he come with me. The way he did it though was a little creepy. That should have been my second clue something was wrong. I mean all my friends over there had already warned me.

"When I got home he treated my mom horribly. He basically told her she would be waiting on him hand and foot. Mom kicked him out, and told him he had to stay at a hotel. Simon explained his mother waited on him and his father, and he couldn't understand American women," Tami said.

"When we talked at Christmas it sounded like you were defending him."

"I was. I wasn't listening to anyone. Well, that's not completely true. After we talked I thought about what you said about supporting my mother. I was mad at myself for letting him push me to have to choose between mom and him. I had a long talk with him and what his ideas were concerning family. He didn't believe in allowing his wife to work. I explained my goals, and we both decided we would never work out.

"When I went back to the UK I had another rude awakening. All my friends wanted nothing to do with me, because I had dated Simon. I didn't know they disliked him so much. If it hadn't been for my host family, who were fantastic, I might have come home. I was also learning a lot of things I would never have learned if I had come back to Wesleyan."

"I'm sorry to hear they treated you like that."

"Don't be. I went to the UK to learn. I had amazing teachers, and I would do it all over again if I got the chance."

I could tell she meant it.

We spent the rest of the flight with her telling me about everything she did. It sounded like a great adventure. On the weekends, her host family would take her to different places, to explore the rich history and the variety of cultures the UK had to offer. I would like to travel back with her and vacation there, sometime.

We were booked in the Ritz-Carlton. Today was geared to let us settle in and explore the area. I had a message from Sandy Range to meet her at one o'clock. Tami, Chuck and I decided to go for a walk and find some lunch since it was eleven, now. Cora was asked by Kendal to spend some time with her, so she could start learning what she needed to do. We were only a few blocks from the famous French Quarter. You could almost feel the history as you walked the streets. It was still a little early for the notorious party area, but people were up and about.

"I want to go there," I said pointing and bouncing up and down.

The sign said Déjà Vu Voodoo Burlesque; open Tuesday thru Saturday 7p.m. till you are partied out. They advertised Zombies, Vampires, BDSM and other occult oddities. There was a disclaimer which said they were not liable if you fell under possession or turned into a Zombie or Vampire Slave.

Then Chuck ruined it for me when he said, "You have to be eighteen to get in."

I wouldn't give up that easily.

"Dude, we get Adrienne to go with us. She can get me into anything."

I was amazed when we would walk up to a bouncer with her on your arm. They never checked my ID. She had some kind of mystical power which turned me invisible.

"What makes you think Adrienne would want to go to a topless bar where they acted like they're vampires and other creepy things?" Tami complained.

Tami had a point. I would need to convince Tyler. She was into kinkier things. I bet she could talk Adrienne into it. I took a picture of the place, so I would remember the address.

We ended up in a nice place for bar food called The Grill. I tried their shrimp po' boy sandwich. Chuck and Tami were wimps and just had hamburgers. I figured if you were somewhere new you should try the food.

We met Sandy in the lobby. By we I meant my entourage. I was surprised when Deb Thomas joined us. We all loaded onto a minibus. Sandy saved me a seat, and as the bus driver played tour guide pointing out points of interest, she talked to me.

"Devin is going to meet us at our destination. I know you didn't want to deal with him, but he wants to try and make things right. He and I have talked and I believe he truly understands what a mistake he made with you. Will you at least talk to him?"

"Of course. I can be cordial. Devin is my employer after all."

I think Sandy saw through me.

"Fuck. I knew this was a bad idea. I told my brother you wouldn't just forgive and forget something like what he did."

"So are he and Nancy dating now?"

"See that is part of the problem. She won't even talk to him until he makes things right with you. He has this idea if he makes a grand gesture you and he can get past this. I have a feeling this is going to turn out really badly. Please have an open mind today and realize my brother is not really a terrible guy. He just needs to grow up."

I could tell Sandy was worried. I looked around the bus and came to a quick decision. Every one of these people was dependent on me making nice with Devin. Making nice didn't mean I would ever trust him again though.

Misunderstanding, my ass.

Then an evil thought came to my mind. Let's test Devin and see if he really had changed or not. Cora was the prefect bait. She might even be willing to rock his world. Sandy saw me get an evil look on my face.

"Oh, shit," was her response.

I should have figured if Devin was involved in the surprise it would at least be something fun. We pulled into the Nola Motorsports Park. The bus stopped at a two story building, and I could see a track behind it. I saw Devin, Lou and Caryn waiting on us. Lou was Devin's friend and product development guy. Caryn, also known as Candy, was Devin's stripper friend. Or was that his personal assistant? I kept getting her roles confused.

Sandy had gone along with the plan. I think she was still pissed at Devin, or I don't think she would have allowed my little charade. She suggested everyone, but Cora and I, get off the bus first. She wanted Devin's full attention on the happy couple when we made our entrance. It had taken about two seconds for Cora to get on board when she found out Devin was twenty-three and owned Range Sports. She agreed to play my girlfriend, and to tell me if Devin approached her.

The only other person in the know was Tami. Part of our getting to know each other again had been a discussion of my relationship with Nancy. I found it interesting that Tami delved deeply into why I liked her, and what it was about her that had initially attracted me. She seemed to understand why it hadn't worked out. She also felt much like I did about Devin. Character, once lost, was hard to restore in her eyes. She was very much a small town Midwestern girl where your word was your bond. I found that was not the case, everywhere. So many people were just in it for themselves, and would do or say anything to get ahead.

When Devin was done greeting everyone as they exited the bus I turned to Cora.

"You ready for this?" I asked.

She nodded, but I could tell she was nervous. I let her go before me, and I reached out and tickled her ribs. She squealed, getting everyone's attention, as she skipped off the bus and quickly turned on me when I joined her.

"I'll get even with you," she threatened, and then slid under my arm.

It wasn't just Devin who looked surprised. I smiled at Devin as he came to us, and I shook his hand.

"Devin, I would like you to meet Cora, my personal assistant."

Cora was your dream California surfer girl. I would've been surprised if Devin didn't have some reaction to her. Sandy took one look at his reaction, which was stunned silence, and hooked her arm under his. She marched him off to have what I assumed was an unpleasant conversation.

I went up to Lou.

"I think they may be awhile. Can we go have some fun?" I asked.

"Yeah, come on. I think you're going to like this."

My eyes lit up when I saw they planned for us to kart race. The staff took us to get dressed. We got dressed into racing suits and helmets. Lou and I were the first ones out, and we went and picked out our karts. I chose #11, the same as my football jersey. They gave us five minutes of instruction and then let us loose on the track.

It was a rush being only inches off the ground in the little race car. It was really no more than a toy with an engine jammed in behind your seat. The little kart would get up to 50 mph. Lou and I took it easy the first lap. The course had a lot of twists and turns that made it interesting. I saw Tami and Cora get into their karts when we came screaming along the start/finish straight-a-way.

Tami, my former friend, cut us off at the first turn. I was determined to get around her. I got frustrated because her kart was just a little quicker. It might have had something to do with her weighing a hundred pounds less than I did. Tami had always been as, if not more, competitive than I was. She was holding me off at every opportunity.

I think we were both so focused on each other that we were surprised when we ran into traffic. The others were testing out their driving skills. Tami jammed on her brakes to avoid hitting Kendal. I saw what was happening and used the distraction to pass Tami. We were soon weaving through traffic with her hot on my tail. When we finally made it through the congestion we went full out. I couldn't shake her and I was taking every chance I could because I knew she had more car than I did. She finally passed me when I put the front wheel into the grass cutting a turn too close. It slowed me down just enough for her to sling shot around me as she came out of the turn.

When we came around again they waved us off the track. Tami and I were all smiles and I fist bumped her to congratulate her on beating me. I saw Devin and Sandy in their race suits waiting for us. I think our excitement was infectious, because they were both smiling.

"You two were really going at it," Devin said.

"I will never hear the end of it either. She will be bragging about beating me to all my friends. I think we need a rematch," I suggested.

"They are letting everyone get some laps under their belts and then we're going to have a race," Devin confirmed.

They had a place where we could watch the action, and get drinks while we waited. Tami and I were deep in conversation as she explained how she beat me so easily. Funny how things changed. Cora came sauntering up and plopped herself on my lap. I saw Devin watching us out of the corner of my eye. What was it with him wanting my women? I was glad I hadn't asked Tami to play my girlfriend, or this really would have gotten ugly.

People started joining us as they finished. I was a gentleman and got all the women drinks. When I was making a trip Devin tagged along.

"Where do you find them?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem to find the perfect women. Your assistant is something special."

"Want to trade? I'll take Candy, I mean Caryn, and you can have Cora. I just want to warn you she is a gold digger," I told him.

I was a little surprised I still liked him enough to not just feed him to the wolves. Cora was very much about her guy's status and wallet. If she ever found a rich guy who could keep up with her in bed, he would never get rid of her. I had no doubt she was working on her MRS degree at State.

"I know Caryn likes you, but I would have to see if she was willing to move to the Midwest," Devin said, taking the bait, and giving me the proof I needed.

I had five months to work out my feeling about Devin. This confirmation really didn't change how I felt about him. I put him in the same boat as Deb Thomas. I knew she was first and foremost all about Ford Modeling. Now I knew Devin was all about himself. If I knew what to expect I could deal with it. Devin had blindsided me over Christmas. I had thought we were friends. I think Devin still considered me a friend, but we clearly had different definitions of the word.

The weather played a factor in how many people decided to participate in the race. It was close to ninety degrees and ninety percent humidity, or so it felt, so only about half of us wanted to continue.

I decided to not let Devin ruin my day. I let Tami's excitement bring my mood back around. I was going to have to talk to Cora, and let her decide what to do about Devin, later.

I chuckled when I saw Devin and Sandy Range were put at the front at the beginning of the race. They lined up two abreast at the start. Tami and I were placed in the last two spots. We strategized on how to work together, to get to the front. As a team I thought we could win this thing.

On the start, Sandy cut her brother off on the first turn, and almost caused him to wreck. Devin slowing down caused the field to bunch up and Sandy jumped out to a lead. Tami had the quicker kart. Our strategy was for her to be aggressive and pass the other drivers. She would then block them and let me pass. I would then allow her around me to go pick on the next kart.

By the fifth lap we were sitting in third and fifth place with Sandy and Devin ahead of us and Lou in-between. We had worked our block-and-go strategy to perfection up to this point. Tami went into a turn and slowed down causing Lou to do the same. I shot around both of them. On the next turn I was letting Tami pass me when Lou followed her. I edged him out and our tires touched. Bad move!

Next thing I knew we were both spinning out in the grass. We were effectively out of the race as the field all passed us. We drove the karts to the pits to have them checked out.

I watched Tami battle Devin for three laps before he made a mistake and she got by him. Once she was ahead, he had no chance. Her kart was simply faster. Sandy's lead evaporated when she started to catch the slower karts. Tami had already navigated through the field so she had a decided advantage. At the finish of the ten lap race, she was the winner.

Devin wasn't happy when both Cora and Caryn also beat him. It didn't help he was out numbered and the women all let him know they were better drivers. Lou and I were smart enough to stay out of it.

Nola Motorsports Park also had tracks for real cars. Devin was excited about something when he brought Lou and me over to take a look. The track had two classes of cars. They had Ford Mustangs which had been modified to race, for you to pick from. They also had exotics. You could drive any of the following cars; Lamborghini Huracan LP610, Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560, Audi R8 V10, McLaren MP4-12C, or Nissan GT-R.

Lou and I debates as to which car would be the most fun to drive. He knew all the stats. The Mustang was a 325 horsepower monster muscle car. The Lamborghini Huracan LP610 was super quick and could go from 0 – 60 in just under 3.2 seconds. It also had all wheel drive. Ferrari 458 Italia had the engine in the back and Lou said it would do 0 – 60 in 3.4 seconds. Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 was a sharp looking car, but in my limited opinion did a disappointing 0 – 60 in 3.7 seconds. Audi R8 V10 fell out of consideration when I found out the 525 horsepower engine took 4.7 seconds to get to 60 miles an hour. I fell in love with the McLaren MP4-12C. Not only did it look cool; it blew the others away. Its 0 – 60 time was 2.8 seconds. The final car was the Nissan GT-R. Lou popped the hood and there was a little tag on the engine which said it had been hand built and then gave the name of the mechanic who put it together.

I was drooling over driving the McLaren until I heard a soft rumble and looked up to see Devin driving a Dodge Charger. What caught my eye was it was bright orange with blue hood stripe. On the hood was the #11. When I looked closer, it had Range Sports stenciled near the gas cap.

"That my friend is the Dodge Charger Hellcat, which makes an amazing 707 horsepower from its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, making it the most powerful production sedan on earth. This beast will do 0 – 60 in 3.4 seconds and tops out at about 200 mph," Lou told me as Devin parked it in front of us.

Devin walked around and tossed me the keys. I looked at him confused.

"It's yours. Range Sports has partnered with Dodge to make a Dodge Charger that is kick ass," Devin said.

I suddenly realized what Sandy meant by grand gesture. Devin had just given me this car. I raced around and jumped into the driver's seat. As I was adjusting the driver's seat and steering wheel Devin was pointing out the features they had added to the car. Devin and Lou quickly got in.

"Instead of the standard navigation and radio we installed a tablet. There are two more installed in the back of the seats for your passengers. It has its own Wi-Fi hotspot setup to link you to the web. The tablet has built in webcams, so you can video chat while driving. Everything is voice activated, also, allowing you to operate everything without having to touch the screen," Devin said, and then demonstrated by calling out a station number and told it to raise the volume.

I put my seatbelt on as did Devin and Lou. I fired it up and felt the rumble of the motor as it came to life. I was a little scared at how powerful this car was. One of the track staff motioned me out and when I put the slightest pressure on the accelerator the car responded instantly. As we came out of the first corner I looked down and we were doing 80 mph. I punched it and felt the tires break loose for a second and then grab. When I came to the end of the straight-a-way, we were doing close to 130 mph. I could see me losing my license quickly if I drove this too much.

I slowed down, not being confident driving so fast. As I rounded the track I constantly had to back off because this monster wanted to run. When we pulled into the pits Tami and Cora where waiting on us. I tossed the keys to Tami and let her take Cora for a ride. She on the other hand was not the least bit nervous about opening it up. I grinned as I watched her put it through its paces.

"So, what do you think?" Devin asked.

"Devin, this is too much. I'm not sure I can accept this."

"Nonsense. I wanted to share this with you, and plus, it will give us all kinds of advertising with you driving it."

Devin seemed pleased with himself. I decided to take the high road and graciously accept his gift. When Tami came back in, I noticed she didn't give me back the keys.

Tuesday June 2

I met Caryn, Cora, Sandy and Tami for breakfast. I needed to talk to them about my conversation with Devin, yesterday.

"Devin agreed to trade personal assistants, yesterday. Candy, that means you work for me now."

All four of them looked at me like I had lost my mind. I think the news shocked them so much none of them caught I called Caryn, Candy. I knew if I cracked a smile they would be all over me.

"I think you better explain this to me," Caryn said.

"I personally think this is a good trade. Devin gets Cora, who I think secretly hates me, and I get Caryn who has her MBA from Berkley. Plus, according to her, she has mad stripper skills."

This was some of my best stuff, and they ignored me.

"Dear Lord, my brother is brain damaged. There is no way Range Sports is allowing Caryn to leave. We don't allow our employees to be traded," Sandy said, being way too serious about this. "I'm sorry, unless you want to."

"As of this moment I might consider it," Caryn grumbled.

"Before we do anything drastic, like you move in with me, I need to explain. Devin hit on Nancy, last Christmas. I was testing a theory to see if it was a onetime thing, or if he would try it again. I asked Cora to pose as my girlfriend to see how he would react. Sandy, what was the verdict?"

"I advised David to never bring another girl anywhere near my brother. He has a real blind spot with women. Cora, don't worry, I'll have a talk with him," Sandy said.

"What if I'm okay with it?" Cora said tentatively.

I snorted and then smiled. Cora needed to know what she was getting herself into.

"Cora, you're a big girl. If you want to date Devin, talk to me later, and I'll help you," I offered, and then I turned to Sandy. "So, does this mean I get to keep the car?"

"If you can get the keys back from Tami," she teased me.

After breakfast, I invited Cora and Tami back to my room. When the door was closed I sat Cora down to make sure she was okay with Devin hitting on her.

"Yes, David, I can handle Devin," she assured me.

"I know you can, but this is all mixed up in a work environment. I want it made clear I am not trying to get you to do anything."

"No, I don't think that at all. I think you actually are worried about me, and you are sweet for being like that. I'm curious about your advice."

"Let me clarify something. Your sister and I are close. We talk about a wide range of topics. Sometimes we share things that might not normally be shared with casual friends," I stumbled through.

"It's okay. I think I know what you are getting at," she said as she let me off the hook.

Tami gave me a look, which told her we would be talk about it later.

"Now let me tell you about Devin. He grew up on a ranch that is twenty miles from the nearest town. He lives in a valley, which is beautiful, but isolated. He was never very active with the ladies, so he doesn't have a lot of experience," I explained.

"So if I try my normal approach he is going to have a stroke," Cora said.

"I would ask you to take it slow, and see if there really is a connection there, before you take it any further. Please don't play with him, because he was hurt last summer by a gal who was not serious about him. I like his sister too much to have her pick up the pieces again. He's not like the frat guys you have been dating."

"Is that so bad?" she asked.

"If you're looking for a guy who would love you with all his heart, and treat you like a princess, Devin is your guy. If you're looking for a bad boy please don't even bother. Finally, if you're not ready to settle down, don't date him. Devin is looking for a wife and not a week in New Orleans."

Cora got up and kissed my cheek and then left to get ready for today. She planned to shadow Kendal all day. I was thought she would finally find out how boring it was to sit through a ten hour studio shoot. Today was catalog and internet work.

Tami had been quiet the whole time today. This was not like her. Like a dumbass I decided to ask her.

"I know you have an opinion, so spit it out," I told her.