He pondered this thought as he went back up to his room and went to bed, saying the Serenity Prayer before he drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, J.T. woke up and had breakfast on the beach at the hotel before heading back to make certain the conference room he had reserved was ready. Afterwards, he went back to his room and dressed in the business suit that he had brought for the occasion. He took out the disguise kit he had brought and began the practiced routine of pasting on the fake eyebrows and mustache, inserting the temporary dental implant, and putting the colored contacts in place. He had done this so many times in preparation for this trip, it was almost as routine as brushing his teeth. One last check in the mirror confirmed that everything was in place before he went back down to the conference room to await the arrival of his first appointment.
His first two guests arrived on time. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were a black couple in their sixties. The husband had worked for one of the companies that J.T. had sold off and which was subsequently liquidated. The man had suffered a heart attack the week after learning he was going to be let go and that his pension fund was insolvent. The wife was already retired at that point, but didn't have a pension. The husband went on disability, taking social security as soon as he could in order to make the house payments which they were already behind on. When J.T.'s lawyers had tracked him down, they had been about to lose their house. Through the foundation that J.T. had set up a few years before to help his former victims, the house had been saved and they were receiving a check each month, which was worth about twenty-five percent of what his pension would have been.
They exchanged greetings and J.T. introduced himself as Jack Smith - the alias he had chosen for the occasion. They exchanged small talk for a few minutes as J.T. asked them about the cruise and whether or not they were planning on shopping while they were on the island. They were a nice couple, easy to talk to, and J.T. felt horrible for what he had done to them. He let the feelings sink in, reminding himself that his worth wasn't defined by his past actions, but that he was still responsible for the damage those actions had caused. It helped him gain perspective before he spoke.
"Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, I arranged to come here today to talk to you for a very specific reason. You see, I am one of the primary people responsible for the demise of the company that you worked for and the failure of your pension fund. I'm here today to take responsibility for those deplorable actions and let you know that I am sincerely sorry for the pain those actions have caused you."
J.T. stopped and paused before he continued. He braced himself for their reaction. The old couple looked at each other in a bit of confusion and then back at J.T. There was silence that seemed to last for a thousand years before the old man finally spoke.
"I appreciate you saying that, son," the old man began. "You know, I was pretty devastated when all of it first happened. I had a heart attack and we almost lost the house - there were some pretty rough times. I was bitter and angry and it started to eat me up inside." The man turned to his wife and looked at her with eyes full of love. He placed his hand on top of hers and they smiled at each other before he continued. "But my wife came to me one day and challenged me about my attitude. She asked me why I was letting some company take away our happiness, when all they really had the power to do was take away some things that were going to turn to dust one day anyway." He looked back at J.T. and continued. "So I decided to let it go and move on. I decided to forgive whoever did it and move on with my life."
He reached across the table and patted J.T.'s hand. "So I thank you for your apology? and I forgive you." He smiled at J.T. and tears began to form in J.T.'s eyes.
"Thank you, thank you very much. You don't know how much that means to me," J.T. replied.
They talked for a few more minutes before the couple left, and they ended up hugging each other before the man and his wife walked out of the door. J.T. went back to his chair at the conference table and sat down, totally blown away by what had just happened. He sat there in a daze for several minutes before a knock came on the door.
He answered the door and introduced himself to an attractive woman in her mid-thirties. His briefing on her had indicated that her name was Theresa Borne of Toledo, Ohio. Ten years before, her husband had committed suicide after losing his job and his health benefits at one of the doomed companies that J.T. had helped to gut. Her husband had been on anti-depressants and could no longer afford the medication once his insurance was cancelled, being unable to afford the more expensive COBRA insurance. He'd committed suicide by slitting his wrists after getting drunk out of his mind. Theresa had found his body in the bathtub when she returned home from her job.
After the introductions and polite banter, J.T. began his confession.
"Mrs. Borne, I arranged to come here today to talk to you for a very specific reason. You see, I am one of the primary people responsible for the demise of the company that your husband worked for and?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Theresa Borne threw the glass of water at J.T. and began cursing at him. The base of the glass tumbler hit him in the forehead. Blood began trickling down his forehead from the gash that had been opened. Theresa had gotten up by this time, stepped over to where J.T. was seated, and begun hitting him in the face, all the while cursing at him. J.T. managed to grab her wrists and prevent her from continuing, only to have her spit in his face and begin kicking his shins.
The racket the woman was making had reached the front desk, and a security guard made it to the room just in time to see the enraged Mrs. Borne attempting to bite J.T.'s hands in order to get him to release her so she could continue to hit him. The security guard grabbed Mrs. Borne from behind, immobilizing her arms and pulling her back out into the hall.
J.T. decided that going out into the hall would not be a good idea and sat down to compose himself and catalog his injuries. He went to the men's room and cleaned up a bit before the next interview, re-applying a slightly sideways fake eyebrow that had been moved during the altercation. He made it back into the conference room just minutes before the next person arrived.
All told, J.T. had ten different interviews by the end of the day. There were a variety of reactions that he experienced, but the best and the worst had been the very first two interviews of the day. He caught the plane back to the Cayman Islands that night, texting Laura when he was able that he was on-schedule with no mishaps. He was exhausted. He had experienced just a small portion of both the venom and the forgiveness to be had from all the people he had wronged in his past, and he quietly began to weep as the mixed emotions of gratitude and sorrow overwhelmed him.
Chapter Thirty-One
Over the next several months after Nick had given Mia the ruby necklace, he began asking her to accompany him to an increasing number of lunches, dinners, and walks in the park that had nothing to do with business. It was quickly obvious that he was moving their relationship towards something more, but Mia was still unsure how to take all of the attention.
In the past, when Nick had been romantically involved, it usually ended up in sex with the woman in question on the second or third date. Gifts and parties, taking the private jet to various events and exotic locations for romantic weekend getaways, all followed by the inevitable breakup about six months later, when Nick became bored with the girl or she became too demanding. Yet, none of that was happening between Nick and Mia. Apart from the ruby necklace, no other gifts had been given. He had not attempted to make sexual advances, and everywhere they had gone together, outside of business trips, had been in town, within driving distance of Nick's house. It was unusual for Nick, but Mia was enjoying herself and decided to wait it out. She knew that Nick would tell her whatever he had to say when he was ready. Nick was nothing if not goal-oriented. She trusted him, and that was all that mattered.
One evening, Nick was scheduled to attend an art gallery exhibition. It
was a black tie event. Mia always accompanied him to these events as his bodyguard and followed behind him as he moved through the crowd in his trademark style, saying his hellos to friends and making new acquaintances. Mia usually busied herself looking for signs that someone may intend bodily harm to Nick, making sure no one with a score to settle showed up close enough to pose a threat, and going over possible exit strategies in her mind to keep from getting bored.
In the past, events such as these would be where Nick would frequently find his next girlfriend. The interested female would usually wander over into his circle and at some point make it obvious that she was available and interested. One of two things would then happen. Nick might ask for her number and call her to arrange a date at a later time. If he was exceptionally taken with her and the woman was obviously willing, he would make his exit and take her back to his house, where they would usually end up having sex. Mia knew the latter because, on numerous occasions after dropping the two off at Nick's house, the women had still been there the following morning when Mia had come in to work.
The exhibition was following a predictable pattern. The champagne was flowing, Nick was working the crowd, and in between conversations, he was stopping to view the photography exhibits. This particular artist was focused on trees, specifically close-up shots of different parts of the trees, like the bark, a leaf with rain on it, and an exposed root system. Mia personally preferred performance art rather than photographs or paintings. She supposed this was most likely due to her background in martial arts.
A woman whose dress was showing entirely too much cleavage sauntered up to where Nick was standing and began talking to him about the photograph he was looking at. He responded politely and the woman stepped even closer to him, obviously flirting with him and attempting to get a response. Physically, the woman was Nick's type. Young, athletic build, blond, and busty. Mia felt her face getting hot. Her breathing rate increased and her jaw muscles started tensing up. She realized with some alarm that she was jealous.
All the dinners and walks and drives in the countryside with Nick over these past months had changed their relationship. She realized for the first time that, during this time, she had actually begun to develop romantic feelings towards him. She was falling in love and now this young woman was threatening that experience. Mia wanted to walk up and push her away from Nick, perhaps with a well-placed open-hand strike to the throat. But she kept completely still and watched, her gaze never leaving Nick and the woman.
Nick took a step back and attempted to extricate himself from the situation, telling the woman to have a nice evening and turning his back on her to move on to the next exhibit. The woman took several steps, going around Nick, positioning herself in front of him, pressing herself into him again, obviously not the type to give up easily. When it became clear that she was not going to take the hint, Nick turned to Mia and gave her the subtle but practiced sign that he wanted Mia to run interference. Mia smiled slyly as she gladly stepped forward to handle the situation.
Nick took a step back from the woman in practiced fashion just as Mia arrived at his side and slipped between him and the woman. Nick turned and walked away, leaving the two women alone.
"Mr. Bartonovich would like you to leave him alone now," Mia said to the woman, smiling as she did.
The woman, who had obviously had too much to drink, looked angrily at Mia. "Get out of the way, you slut!" she spat, and attempted to walk around Mia, in the direction Nick had walked.
As the woman attempted to walk past, Mia stepped into her, discreetly grabbed her wrist, and twisted it into a wrist lock so that the woman could not advance without causing herself considerable pain. The woman took in a gasp of air and was likely about to call out for help, but Mia had already begun to whisper in her ear.
"Find another man, honey, or I will break your pretty little hand."
No sooner had Mia finished her sentence than she had released the woman and stepped backwards, standing between her and the path that Nick had taken. The woman was obviously angry and was rubbing her wrist, but not drunk enough to miss the point. She turned away in a huff and walked in the opposite direction.
Mia caught up with Nick, who had just said hello to an old friend of his and was engaged in conversation. He caught Mia's eye as she took up her familiar position not too far from him, and he nodded his approval.
After the party was over, Mia escorted Nick home in the rented limo. Once she saw Nick had closed the door to his house, she had the driver drop her off at her own apartment. She thought back over the evening with some satisfaction, pleased that Nick had not taken anyone home with him. In fact, she'd noticed he hadn't even taken a phone number from any of the many available women he had talked with during the evening.
The next day, Mia arrived at work as usual and went to Nick's office, ready to work on the day's business. The morning progressed as it normally did, with Nick working on the laptop, talking on the phone, and frequently giving Mia items to put on her task list to be taken care of later in the day. It was a beautiful day, and when they stopped for lunch, Nick suggested that they take a walk down to the sandwich shop just down the street and eat in the park.
As they passed the park on the way to the sandwich shop, Nick stopped in front of the park's water fountain and began staring into the fountain, as if he was lost in thought. Mia stood beside him as she often did, waiting.
"Mia, have you enjoyed the changes in our relationship these past several months?" he said without looking away from the fountain.
Mia felt her face getting warm. "Yes, I have," she replied.
"Me, too," Nick replied. He suddenly turned towards Mia and took her hand. "Mia, since I had cancer, I've changed. What I want has changed. I see things differently than I ever have before. I see you differently than I ever have before."
Mia's face was practically on fire. She could feel a burning sensation in her chest. She didn't move.
"Mia, I haven't loved anyone for a very long time; you know that. But I love someone now. And I want to be with that someone. Mia, I love you, and I want to be with you. Not like all those other girls, not a one night stand, not a six month fling. I want to be with you for the rest of my life."
Mia felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. She had never loved a man since her father had betrayed her all those years before. She had never trusted any man besides Nick. Now, as he spoke to her, she knew in her soul that she loved him, too.
Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out black box, holding it out to her. "Mia, will you marry me?"
Mia reached out her hands and cradled Nick's face, looking up into his eyes in a way she had never looked into them before. Then she answered with all of her heart, "Yes. Yes, I will."
They embraced in front of the fountain.
Nick and Mia were married a week later in a private ceremony with a few of their closest friends in attendance. A few days after that, they took a private jet to Charleston, South Carolina, where they stayed at the Wentworth Mansion for a week. Nick had booked the Grand Mansion Suite for their stay, a beautiful one-thousand square foot luxury suite complete with chandeliers and two floor-to-ceiling marble fireplaces. It was quintessential southern charm at its finest.
They toured Charleston and Fort Sumter, rode bicycles through the historic district, and ate at the finest restaurants. Mia had never been so happy in all her life. She got up each morning in the bed next to Nick and pinched herself to be sure she wasn't dreaming.
Nick was a changed man. It was as if he had been reborn. He was no longer solely focused on making money and achieving his business goals. He was actually enjoying life and was finding that Mia was so much more interesting and beautiful than he had ever imagined. He couldn't believe he had been so blind to the fact all these years.
On the jet back to New York, they viewed a slide-show of all the pictures they had taken and reminisced about the wonderful t
ime they'd had in Charleston. Once they were back in town, Mia and Nick moved her things into the brownstone. That night, they sat on the couch and watched one of Mia's favorite movies - Casa Blanca. Mia was curled up next to Nick, who had his arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. For them, time had stopped. They had each other and they were in love. Nothing could have been better.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Silas stared at the dashboard of his police sedan in shock. All he had wanted since he was a kid was to be a cop. He had joined the Army at 18 and gone straight in to the NYPD Police Academy when he was honorably discharged at the age of 21. He eventually worked his way up to detective. He had been a good cop. Emphasis on the word had.
Somewhere along the way, Silas had discovered online gambling and gotten hooked. What started as an innocent pastime slowly grew to dominate more and more of his income. He started picking up extra shifts and side jobs as a security guard as his habit grew and his losses started getting larger. One night, he thought he was about to win big, enough to pay off the house. He was on a roll, working up a one thousand dollar stake into over 100K. One more good hand and he promised himself he was going to cash in and log off for the night. Then he started losing. Before it was over, he was 10K in debt to the house, and the house belonged to Nick Bartonovich.
That was when things had started going downhill fast. He had compromised his integrity to get rid of that debt, which eventually led him to where he was sitting right now. He had hoped that somewhere along the way he would find the path to redemption, to turn back the hands of time and somehow set things right, but it hadn't turned out that way.