Wednesday, September 19
O.E. left the hospital and moved into Dan Avery's place.
Now that Rebecca had this address, he had to start using it.
What if she showed up unannounced, ready to tear off her
clothes and jump him?
I can dream, can't I? What was more likely, but still
wishful thinking on his part, was that she would come over
for a visit and then stay a while. The place needed to look
like he really did live there.
Dan had a decent home, convenient to many upscale
restaurants and clubs, and in one of the best parts of the
city. But his three story brownstone sat right at street level,
too close to the chaotic city life. O.E. vastly preferred to be
forty stories higher.
And Dan had very little help, just an occasional
cleaning service. O.E. had Emeline to manage his place,
which made everything much easier to handle. He should
have asked her to deal with this place, but instead he had
given her the month off. He laughed at the lifestyle that
he'd grown accustomed to. Nobody cleaned up after him
when he was young.
O.E. got settled and was finishing lunch when Warren
Benson, his financial advisor, came for a meeting. Warren
was a good advisor and had made some very profitable
decisions. He wanted to review some accounts and get O.E.'s
opinion. This could have been done by e-mail, but Warren
liked to meet in person, so O.E. invited him over.
Warren entered tentatively, looking around as if he
expected to be thrown out at any moment. At a height of
6'7", he was usually the tallest man in any room and
towered over O.E. by a full six inches. In addition to being
tall, he had a solid girth that was hard to ignore. The man
had a seriously imposing presence, especially when he wore
a nice suit. Unfortunately, he sometimes seemed a little
awkward. Like right now.
Warren fidgeted and turned to his boss with one
eyebrow arched. "Why aren't you at home?"
Certainly not because I like this place better. O.E. waved
Warren in and pointed to the sofa in the living room. They
sat down, and O.E. explained his situation through a
clamped mouth. "Broke my jaw. Wired shut."
Warren's mouth dropped. "You're kidding! Are you all
right?" He got up and reached out toward O.E.'s jaw.
O.E. snapped his head back and brought his hands up
to defend against the big man's touch. Warren was a fine
businessman, but there was no telling how much damage