Chapter 40

While Missy fixed us lunch, Angus called to say he'd be late again. April and I spent the day chatting about our lives, and reminiscing about college. Missy heard about some of her daughter's activities, but it didn't seem to bother her as much as it embarrassed April. Around five, I let them have some time alone. I went back to the hotel, and when I getting out my address book to call Darcy, I ran across the name Mark Dunlap. It jumped out at me, as a memory from Angus' bachelor party and wedding.

First, I called Darcy. She was surprised to hear from me. Normally we both got depressed when we talked, so we didn't talk as much as we should. "What's up, Britt?"

"I have bad news, and worse news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"The GOOD news."

"I love you."

"I love you too, and that's good. What's the worst news?"

"Robin died of an overdose."

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry. Are you OK? Do you want me to fly back?"

"No, I'm slowly getting over it. I got the news the same day that I heard the great news about April having a baby."

"That's great news. Is it yours?"

"No, Angus is her husband, and father of her children. Michelle, on the other hand, can't say the same about Karen."

"You naughty boy."

"I am. I have one other piece of news that's almost as bad as the worst news."

"What is it?"

"I finished my job in Washington, and will be moving out of the country for a while to work on our international shipping projects."

I heard her start to cry. I didn't say anything, but gave her some time. It took a few minutes before she said, "I'm moving to New York."

"I know. When I told April I was changing jobs and locations, she was very upset, and told me your surprise."

"I miss you."

"Can I come out, and spend some time with you?"

"You can. We're in crazy practice mode between the holiday shows, and the Nutcracker ballet, so my schedule is erratic. I'd love to see you if you don't mind hanging out while I practice."

"I'll see when I can get out there, and work around your schedule."

I confirmed her address, and told her that I'd try to get to see her before I left for Puerto Rico. I told her I loved her one more time before we hung up.

I flipped a few pages in my book, and found and dialed Mark Dunlap.

"Mark, this is Britt, from Angus and April's wedding. Do you remember me?"

"Britt, you're a hard person to forget. It seems that each time someone tells a story about you and your exploits, it grows. I think you're up to a hundred women in one night with a sixteen-inch cock. Is that about right?"

"I've never had a hundred women in one night."

"I didn't think so. What's up?"

"I'm in town, and was thinking about getting in trouble."

"You thought 'who do I know that doesn't have a regular job that requires that he be at work at eight in the morning, and is willing to risk his reputation for a wild night on the town?', and you thought of me."

"Close enough. I just know that Angus is working late."

"Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I just got back from seeing the baby."

"Where are you staying?"

"The Plaza. It's central to everything."

"Give me your room number, and I'll meet you there in thirty minutes."

"I'm in room ten fourteen."

I showered, and was in a pair of boxers drying my hair when, twenty minutes later, he knocked on my door. I let him in, and he looked out the window. He said, "What are you up for tonight?"

"Anything, as long as it will take my mind off all the other crap that's going on in my life now."

"Britt, I'm what you call a trust fund baby, and I don't ever have to work if I don't want to. To tell you the truth, I spend most of my time managing investments, and fucking around. I've some friends that are into some kinky stuff, or I go to the parties sometimes. If you're up for a party, there's a great one tonight. If not, there's a ton of stuff to do here in the city."

"I'll let you set the agenda. What should I wear?"

He walked over to the closet, and flipped through my clothes. He said, "Nice suits. Did you bring any cash?"

"I have a grand or two in my wallet, and I keep ten in a compartment in my suitcase for emergencies or fun."

"I imagine that'll be enough, but if not, I'll cover you. Here are my thoughts. We could go to dinner, and then over to a card club where I'm a member. We can play poker until ten o'clock, and then go to the party. It's over in the Hamptons, but they have a helicopter running shuttles from here in the city. We can walk to the take-off spot from the card club. After the party, we crawl home in the morning, and sleep. You up for it?"

"It sounds like a perfect night for me. How safe is the card club, and the party?"

"The party is totally safe. There will be a bunch of security. The card club is a private club, but just as I'm bringing you, others bring guests. No weapons allowed, and they're good at catching cheats, so the games are fair."

"Do I need more cash? If so, I can write you a check or pay you back in the morning."

"Don't be concerned, since the amount you and I have should be OK. If it isn't, I have a line at the club."

I wanted to feel sharp for the card game, so I drank only a beer with dinner instead of mixed drinks. We had steaks at a local place, and then went over to the card room. They took my ID, and then made a call before letting me in. I guess I passed the test. They put me at a different table from Mark to make sure we weren't working together. I didn't mind since it was just a good all around practice. When I sat down at the table, I said hello, and bought in for five grand, which was about the average stack size at the table. I started slow to get a feel for the table.

It was only fifteen minutes later in the game, when I was in a hand where some guy went all in. I had a king high flush, but didn't get there until the river. The guy had to have two spades in his hand, and there was only one card, the Ace of spades, that could beat me. I could beat all other hands. I thought the odds were good, and pushed all my chips in. He had the nuts, (the best possible hand), and took my stack. I reached for another five grand and purchased more chips.

I knew that I only had a few hours to get it back, and I hate to lose, so I changed to a more aggressive style of play. It seemed as if I was playing every hand, and raising the stakes every hand. I was taking many small pots, and making people fold before they saw the flop (the cards turned over to create your hand). My style of play seemed to irritate some of the other players, but I was pushing them, and wanted them to get to the point where they would start to play hands that they wouldn't normally play.

I had won back almost half of my losses by being a bully with my betting. It was all a set up. The dealer finally dealt me the hand I wanted, and still bet, but not as much as before. I had two guys follow me into the pot, and I was happy to see the ace come up on the flop, even though I didn't have one. If they did however, then they'd bet to see if they could win some of their money back, from the pots I'd been stealing.

I had the six and four of hearts in my hand. When the dealer placed the flop down, it came up with the ace of spades, and the three and five of hearts. I could get a heart for a flush, a two or a seven for a straight, or a two or seven of hearts for a straight flush. I let the aces bet, and then I put up a small raise. They came along, and the seven of clubs came. They bet, and I called with my straight. There were no pairs on the board, so two pairs, or three of a kind was the best possible hand, unless they caught a low straight as I had. The way I was betting, I didn't think that they'd come in with a hand like that. The two of hearts came off on the river. There was a possible flush for everyone, but I knew that I had it.

The guy to my right bet three grand. There was maybe three already in the pot. I had a grand in the pot, he had bet three, and that would leave me with thirty-five hundred. I didn't want to scare off the third guy, so I thought for a second or ten, and then called. The guy to my left saw it as a sign of weakness, so he raised the bet to sixty-five hundred. He picked the number to put me all in. The guy to my right was the one that cleaned me out earlier, and he had the big stack at the table, so he called. It was my turn, so I called. The guy to my left turned over two pairs, aces, and sevens. He had the seven of hearts. The guy with the big stack showed another flush ace high. I turned over the straight flush, two through six, and ended up winning the pot. The dealer pushed twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars in chips over to me. I tossed the dealer a five hundred dollar chip, as a tip.

There was still an hour to play, and I was up twelve grand. At that point, I mentally put ten grand to the side, and used the remaining twelve to continue my aggressive play. During play, I talked to the others, and continued my nice and friendly approach, but used the chips to my advantage. In the last hour, I added another five grand or so to my total. As I got up to leave the table, I tipped the dealer another five hundred dollar chip. In total, I made a profit of seventeen grand for the three hours of playing cards.

I met Mark at the window, and he asked how I did. "I was up a bit, how about you?"

"I'm up three for the night. I got lucky early, and then pissed it away slowly the rest of the night."

"I did just the opposite, losing five grand at the beginning, and was reaching for my wallet to get out a second five-thousand, before I had the chance to put away my wallet. I played hard, and ended up seventeen for the night."

The cashier was handing me a bag when the guy to my right walked up to cash out. He was also a young guy around thirty. As he was handing the cashier his chips, he turned and said, "Hi. My name is Maxim Louski. You played well tonight. I saw what you were doing, and saw how you were setting everyone up with your aggressive play. I was laughing inside at the suckers, until you took seventy-five hundred from me, and the other fish. You didn't slow down after that, and kept taking their money. I was glad that I showed up early, because I was still up two grand for the night. If I hadn't taken five from you, I'd have been a loser..."

"I'm glad that I could help."

He looked at Mark, and said, "Hey Mark, are you flying out to the Hamptons tonight?"

"Britt and I have a spot on the ten-fifteen flight."

"That's interesting, so do I. It looks like great minds think alike."

"You missed an excellent steak dinner, but it sounds like you needed the extra time playing cards."

"Fuck you. A steak sounds good."

"I'm sure they'll have something to eat at the party."

Maxim was a nice guy, and a good sport. He lost to me, but appreciated the skill at cards. He asked why I had lost earlier to him.

"I just wanted to make it challenging. No, I threw down my cards when you beat me, but I had the king high flush, and there was only the ace high flush that could beat me. So, I took a shot and lost."

"It was just the luck of the cards. I thought you had something, but you mucked your hand."

"Tell me about this party."

Mark said, "It's on a huge estate out in the Hamptons. I understand that there will be a few hundred people, there, mostly young, good-looking, and rich, or at least two of the three. The owner of the place is a real estate mogul who owns a bunch of buildings in the city. He feels like a schmuck if he just hires a bunch of hookers for himself, so he invites a bunch of open-minded people for a big party, and then invites a few hookers for the party."

"Is there a cover charge or is this chump change for the guy?"

"It may be chump change, but because of the helicopter rides, the food, and the open bar, he charges a grand a head to get in for the guys. The girls get in for free."

"Do I pay you, or pay at the door?"

"He does it a different way. He sells raffle tickets, and has door prizes. Five hundred for a ticket and you have to buy two tickets. There will be a hundred guys there, so a hundred grand in tickets. He gives twenty-five to charity, and uses fifty to cover the costs. Twenty-five goes back toward the door prizes or whatever he feels like."

"Since I was the big winner tonight, I'll buy your tickets for you."

Maxim said, "I'm fine with that. Thanks, Britt."

"Thanks," said Mark.

We landed about a hundred yards from the ten thousand square foot estate on the ocean, and made our way to the front door, where security greeted us. We all had on coats, but no ties. The security guards told us that the theme for the night was a pajama party, so we could change in the other room, and then check our stuff for the night.

Mark said, "It sucks at three in the morning when you're drunk off your ass, and can't find your pants. This way you can just come get your clothes in here."

They had all kinds of pajamas. I don't know what they wore in New York, but I had slept in a pair of boxers since I lived in Florida as a kid.

There were a couple of ladies there to help us out. A cute blonde in a see-through red teddy came over, and asked what I wore to bed. I said, "Little to nothing, usually."

"Let's get your suit hung up, and we can figure something out."

When I was down to my boxers I asked, "Are you ready for bed?"

"Definitely, but we have another hour of flights landing every ten minutes, so you'll have to wait a bit. If you come looking for me, my name is Judy."

She asked if I was cold, and I said that I was comfortable inside.

"I think you should go topless. I can give you some silk boxers or a pair of lounge pants if you want something longer."

"Will I be the only person in boxers, and no shirt?"

"No, but you'll be the only one that should be."

"Well, with an endorsement like that, just give me what you want me to wear."

She passed me a pair of white silk boxers with little red hearts on them. Maxim and Mark both had on tank top undershirts, and silk boxers.

I paid for all the raffle tickets; Mark and Maxim told me to keep theirs since I paid for them. I tossed them in my pants pocket, checked all of my clothes, and got a receipt for my cash, wallet, and watch. It all went in one box, and then, since I wouldn't have a place to keep it, they placed my receipt in another locked box. It was a good plan. If anyone claimed that something was missing, then the owner would unlock the receipt box, and match up what was in the box, against what was on the receipt.

We wandered into the house, and I think we were on one of the later flights, because there were many people already there. Most were still clothed, and were talking and drinking. Maxim went to find something to eat. Mark ran into a girl he knew, and after asking, I told him that I could take care of myself. It was a nice house. I ran into the owner, and introduced myself. I won't say his name, but he was nice, although a little arrogant. He said, "I've heard of you. You're the silent guy behind the Freedom Corporation."

I was not ready for that, and he saw the look of surprise on my face.

He said, "I hear that you put things together, and figure out trends. It appears that you and I do the same thing, and one day someone compared me to you, so I started to ask around, and soon found out that you're involved in many different areas. I also know Fred White at the bank. He has financed some of my deals in the past, and one that I'm working on now. When I asked about you, he gave me the same look you did. That was as good as a confirmation as I needed or expected."

"I heard about your project at a board meeting, and I voted to approve it. A word of advice, though, is that you need to keep an ear open in Washington. I've been down there for the last couple of years, and there's been some talk about real estate tax write-offs. No one, including me, thinks it will happen soon, but they're looking at limiting the write-offs on passive investments. It could either burst the real estate bubble, or create an opportunity for buyers after the sell off."

"When do you think this will happen?"

"You manage your own investments, and that's the reason I voted for your project. The value of real estate will be hurt overall if it passes. If I were to guess, that it will either be '85 or '86. The proponents are making slow progress in bringing more congressmen on board for the vote. I'd guess after the next election. You may want to wait, so that you have cash after it passes."

"Britt, who do you use in Washington to keep up with everything?"

"Timmons is the lobbyist firm I use."

"Thanks. I need to think that all the way through, so I'm ready if it happens. By the way, good job on the ad campaign to stop the push for the monopoly status."

"That's what I was there to do."

"What brings you to the Hamptons?"

"I've been too busy lately. My assistant told me to get laid, and my friend Mark invited me over to your party."

"Mark has partial ownership in some of my buildings."

"He better get into the management side also, or it could hurt him in a few years."

"I'll have it figured out before that happens. Have fun, and thanks again for the advice."

"You're welcome."

I walked out to the patio, first to see how cold it was, and second, I wanted to look at the building from the outside. When I stopped to look at the building, I didn't even see the two girls making out on the lounge chair in the dark.

The first girl said, "What are you doing out here? I thought that all guys stayed inside on cold nights, due to shrinkage issues."

"I thought that the ladies stayed inside, so they didn't poke any eyes out with their sharp and pointy bits."

"We have to rub them to keep them warm."

"I think that's a smart plan. I usually find a warm place to put things, and it eliminates shrinkage."

"Oh, we found a smart one. Would you like to join us here on the lounge chair? I'll try not to poke you in the eye. I'll see if we can find a warm spot for you as well."

I climbed on the chair and the two brunettes, Peggy and Lisa made a space for me in between them, and then we started to kiss. With an arm around each of them, I came to realize they were some very sexy girls. I asked, "Why are you out here in the cold, and not in a nice warm bed?"

"We like the privacy out here. There aren't as many voyeurs watching you." Peggy rolled on top of me, and started to line me up. When I asked about a condom, she said that she was on the pill. When I told her that 'I didn't do it that way, because I'd made a promise that I'd always use one', I got off the chair.

I said, "I saw some inside, so let me go get one."

"Don't bother. Find another girl while you're inside."

With that type of response, I pulled on my boxers, and left them on the chair by themselves. I made it back inside, looked around, and actually recognized some people. As I was looking, I saw a girl that looked too familiar, grabbed three condoms from the bowl, and tucked them in my waistband. When I walked up to her, she was getting a drink, and I said, "Do I know you? Have I ever seen you before?"

She laughed, and said, "You better be careful about who hears you say that."

"Why is that?"

"I'm an actress; I play Jackie Templeton on 'General Hospital'. You don't want people to think that someone like you, a big strong guy, sits around all day watching soap operas."

I didn't know she was in soap operas, but I wasn't going to pass on an opportunity to score with Demi Moore. I didn't want three women in a row to turn me down at an orgy. I said, "I don't. If I did, then I'd have known who you were. I had on a lot of daytime TV a couple of weeks ago when my company was running a new ad campaign. I must've seen your pretty face when I was flipping channels."