Due Date

Alexis slowed her stride when he didn’t open the door, and had reached for it when the bouncer realized she wanted to go in. As the door swung, the bouncer half-smiled, wondering if Alexis knew where she was going.

Ground-shaking bass greeted her, and she passed through a pair of dark curtains. The show played out before her. Women twined around poles, their clothes somewhere between minimal lingerie and nothing at all. One man held a bill in his teeth while attempting to slide it into the garter of a woman who knelt at the edge of the stage.

One man looked from the show to Alexis, returned to the naked girl twirling before him, then looked back at Alexis like she was an alien who’d somehow gotten out of her cage.

Alexis looked for Rook. The three bartenders on duty weren’t him. She went to the curtain which led to the private room the firm had used. A bouncer stepped out of a nook and blocked the path.

“Private party,” he shouted over the noise.

Alexis leaned towards him. “I’m looking for Evan Rook.”

The bouncer shrugged. “Can you keep the domestic stuff outside?”

Alexis blinked, then shook her head. “Not my boyfriend. He’s a bartender.”

The bouncer cupped his ear. “What’s the name?”

“Evan Rook,” Alexis shouted.

The bartender shook his head. “Wrong club, lady.”

“You’re sure?”

“Larry, Jeff, Steve,” he said, pointing to the bartenders working the vampire-red neon bar, then he jerked a thumb to the curtain. “Roy is handling the party.”

“Maybe Evan quit?”

He shook his head. “Been here six months. They were here when I started.”

Alexis retreated to the bar. The bartender slid a cocktail napkin before her.

“Steve?” Alexis asked.

“Larry,” he smiled. “What can I get you?”

She ordered a daiquiri and turned back to the show. She touched the necklace. She could climb onto one of those stages. Another man glanced towards the bar, found her, and did a double-take. She met his eyes and blew a kiss.

The man forgot the show and watched, the naked bodies forgotten. The edge of Alexis’ lip curled, and she looked away. Easy.

Larry the bartender, slid the drink across the bar, smiled, and started mixing another drink. As he turned away, his eyes flicked to the stool next to her. Alexis slipped her fingers around the stem of the glass.

Turning back, Evan Rook sat on the stool, his elbow on the bar. He surveyed the club with an unreadable smile. Alexis sipped the drink and set it down.

“Mr. Rook.”

He continued to watch the club like a painter might inventory their brushes and oil.

“Evan, please.”

His voice carried without shouting.

“They say you don’t work here,” Alexis said.

“I work everywhere.”

Alexis lifted her drink and took another sip. He looked her over. Returning to her eyes, he raised his eyebrows.

“You look dangerous.”

Despite herself, Alexis flushed. “Thank you.”

Rook glanced at the club, then back to her. “How long would it take for you to empty every pocket in here?”

“What?”

“Don’t be coy. You wondered yourself. How long?”

The aftertaste of the drink lingered on her tongue, and as he said it, the cheapness of the rum and the metallic aftertaste of the canned lime became all she could taste.

“I’ll bet,” he said. “Clean these men out, and the necklace is yours forever. You never see me again.”

“And if I can’t?”

He tilted his head side-to-side, considering. “You know what? Nothing. Just seeing you do it would be worth it.”

She saw it, climbing up onto the stage and gripping the chrome pole. She still hadn’t bought new clothes for work, partially because she liked the binding sensation of the skirt along her hips. Peeling it off would reveal that her expensive wool hid something that would freeze them in place, but in her week, she learned the shape of her body wasn’t the trick. She knew how to demand attention. Pockets would empty in no time.

And when it was over, she would stand on the stage with piles of cash as they wandered out. Then, she remembered Theo’s devoted, puppy-dog eyes, which looked at her, not an assembly of alluring pieces.

One Theo was worth a million of whatever this would be.

Before Alexis began to shake her head, Rook looked disappointed. “Would have been fun to see.”

“Me or them?”

He laughed. “You.”

“So, is that it? Did I fail?”

He laughed. “Hell no. This is good news. Come on.”

Alexis turned to pay for the drink, but a folded twenty had already been slid under the glass. Rook didn’t look back as he headed for the exit.

Taking a last glance at the club, Alexis followed. Rook led her out and stopped beside the valet stand.

“Would you mind? I don’t drive.”

Alexis furrowed her brow and handed her ticket to the valet. He trotted away.

“Don’t drive?”

He shook his head. “Never got the hang of it.”

“What about the necklace?”

“We’ll get to it. I need to show you something first.”

Her car appeared, and before she was able to tip, Rook stuffed a stack of bills in the valet’s jacket and got into the passenger seat. The valet held the driver’s door open. Alexis got in, and the valet shut them inside.

“West 55th, just east of 5th,” Rook said.

“You could get a taxi, you know.”

He shook his head. “Please?”

Alexis began to drive. “I need to know about the necklace. Do I give it back, or am I going to regret keeping it?”

“You’ll always be able to give it back,” Rook said, his eyes scanning the people on the sidewalks. “Most people don’t want to.”

“And what do I have to do?”

“Return the favor from time to time.”

“Doing what?”

His smile became sly. “I heard you met Takamori.”

Alexis blushed. Rook had stopped watching the sidewalks; he was watching her.

“Had fun?”

“Yes,” she heard her voice reply, hoarse and low.

“Do it again?”

She remembered looking out the window and imagining the entire city watching her orgasm.

“Yes.”

“You’ll be fine.”

He guided her to a luxurious hotel and again tipped the valet before she was able to, then walked ahead of her into the hotel lobby. Crossing it, they entered a quiet bar with rich wood paneling and intimate booths. Rook weaved through the tables and found an empty booth in a back corner.

Alexis slid in across from him. A waiter appeared.

“Daiquiri,” Rook said and pointed to Alexis.

“For you, sir?” the bartender asked.

Rook shook his head.

The waiter departed.

“It’s getting late,” Alexis said.

“Nope. Just in time.”

Rook gestured towards the entrance. A man in a custom suit appeared, flanked by two security guards. As the guards moved, the sharp outline of guns appeared beneath their coats.

“That’s what I want you to do,” Rook said.

“Like with Ren?”

Rook shook his head, putting a finger to his lip and nodding towards the man.

He found a quiet booth and sat alone as one of the guards went to the bar. The other guard retreated out of the bar, lingering near the door.

A waiter appeared, and the man nodded to him without speaking, then departed.

Rook placed his palm flat on the table and slid it across towards Alexis. A scraping sound came from beneath. When he lifted his hand away, a silver ring remained.

“I want you to give this to him,” Rook said.

The ring was a plain band and looked like a wedding ring. Alexis shrugged.

“You got a necklace. He got a ring,” Rook said. “But, he violated the one rule. You can keep the necklace. You can give it back. Never try to throw it away.”

“Don’t throw it away?” Alexis asked.

“Never.”

“And he tried to?”

Rook smiled. “He’s a bad boy.”

“What happens if I get him to take it?”

“Then, you’ve done your favor, and you keep the necklace until the next time I need you.”

“And when would that be?”

“A week. A month. Maybe years.”

“But, if you show up, I have to help you?”

“Give it back the instant it feels unfair.”

“And what if I decide to give it back when I haven’t seen you?”

“I’ll know.”

Alexis looked at the ring and at the man sitting alone in the booth. A waiter had already brought his drink and what looked like a shrimp cocktail.

A glimmer of recognition sparked in Alexis’ mind. She looked at Rook. “Is that Martin Caldwell?”

He nodded. “That’s him.”

“Westbridge Financial. That Martin Caldwell.”

Rook laughed. “I forgot where you worked. Yes, that’s him.”

The whiz kind. Started in bonds. Joined Westbridge and became a billionaire, riding crypto volatility like a Hawaiian big-wave surfer. But all the while he’d skimmed. Small percentages at first, then enough that someone noticed and back-traced his trades. He’d skimmed all along, but the money had been hidden with the same skill used to execute the trades. No one found a cent.

Then it got weird. Three criminal cases fell apart on technicalities. Odd rulings on impermissible evidence, key witnesses breaking down and going into mental institutions. The last cost the U.S. Attorney his career; boxes of financial evidence were lost. Not stolen, not misplaced. The office lost it, and the backup copies with it, and the press conference afterward was infamous when the U.S. attorney had to tell the press over and over that, yes, they’d forgotten where the evidence was. Traders called it immaculate amnesia.

Civil cases, and it continued. Depositions deteriorated into shouting matches, which led to sanctions and eventual dismissals. The CEO of Westbridge announced the end of one case by saying he’d found religion and that forgiveness showed grace; the shareholders ran him out of town, and the last anyone heard, the CEO hunted truffles in Northern California.

“Did you do all that?”

Rook looked at the ring. “Get him to take it back. He owes me. Big.”

“How?”

“Be Alexis Winters. Pretend he’s Theo.”

“Don’t talk about Theo.”

He held his palms up. “Ok, ok.”

“Right now?”

“He has reservations at La Bernadin tomorrow night. You like fish?”

The ring sat on the table. Unlike the necklace she wore, it had no flourishes. No gem, no script. Just a silver band.

A daiquiri was set before her. She sipped, and unlike the strip club, its flavor invited her to let it linger in her mouth. Rook was watching.

“You deserved better than that strip club.”

Alexis returned to Caldwell.

No one had approached or spoken since he sat. He didn’t watch the room and kept his gaze on the drink and food. It was like someone had told him that important people went to fancy places and had security, and he’d followed the advice like a formula.

“Wife left him two years ago. Took the kids,” Rook said.

“What about the money?”

“Still safe and sound. He lives on the interest. He’s tried to spend it, but he’s way better at making than spending.”

“What’s he do then?”

“Day trades? Comes here. Gets his usual once a week, feels like a big shot.”

Caldwell sipped his drink and chased it with a bit of shrimp.

“Should at least ask him about the markets. He’s to markets what you’ll be to allure in a year or so,” Rook said.

“Took a year to get to this?”

“No, you’re smarter than him. Took him way longer to get the feel for what he was capable of.”

“Couple years,” Alexis whispered. “Then what?”

“Depends on how creative you are. He could own anything. I suggested buying a football team before he threw the ring away and tried to forget his debt.”

“What would you suggest for me?”

“Movies? Social media? Model? You thought Takamori was twisted. Wait until you get into those worlds.”

“He looks bored,” Alexis said.

“Ran out of ideas. Happens sometimes. People think they want something until they get it.”

“Like what being noticed would feel like.”

Rook broke from his observation of Caldwell. “It can give you more than that. Just have to ask for it.”

“And pay for that too.”

“Well… yes.”

The waiter came to Caldwell’s table. He took the remnant of the shrimp cocktail away. Caldwell closed both hands around his drink and lifted his head. His eyes found Alexis. He smiled, and he sat straight. Alexis imagined he stood and looked up at her as he searched for sunlight.

Her hand moved. She didn’t remember thinking.

Rook’s smile faltered when he heard the scraping.

Alexis’ hand reached across the table, and she met Rook’s eyes before lifting the hand away.

He looked down. The ring and the necklace lay before him.

“Thanks for the lesson. And the daiquiris,” Alexis said.

She slid out of the booth.

“Alexis, you realize all this can be negotiated,” Rook said.

“I know.”

“I could show you. It doesn’t have to be like him.”

She left the bar, feeling Caldwell’s eyes follow her.

The bellhops in the lobby loitered, and the desk clerks bent over reservation screens. One of the bellhops found Alexis, his eyes hesitated, then passed over her without reacting.

She started to turn back. Rook still had the necklace.

It could be negotiated. Then, she remembered Caldwell and his eyes.

She drove home, feeling tiny beneath the skyscrapers and flow of traffic. The doorman in her building smiled and returned to his phone as she passed through the lobby.

After undressing, she lay down and listened to the distant noise of millions of people who would not notice her the next day.

When she woke the next morning, she didn’t feel anything. She’d slept, but her body made no demands.

Looking at the clock, she had time to work out. She wanted to turn over and go back to sleep, but she reminded herself that she needed to go. Lifting herself out of bed, she dressed and went to the gym.

Red shirt had returned, and while she pulled on the rowing machine, he saw her and looked past her. Then, a flicker of memory returned. He looked at her. Alexis smiled. He smiled back.

Then, he finished his exercise and toweled off.

Hidden behind overcast, the sunrise didn’t add color to the city, just turned the lights up to a flat haze. Alexis stopped and got coffee, and when she entered the office, the receptionist smiled and did nothing else.

She found her desk and started working, relieved at how much easier it was to concentrate. The morning staff meeting would begin in half an hour. She wrote a few notes for it and returned to the spreadsheets.

“Ms. Winters.”

Alexis looked up. Theo stood in the doorway, his hand gripping a coffee cup in both hands. He looked like he stood before a firing squad. His eyes found the empty coffee cup on Alexis’ desk. She could have slapped him and not hurt him more.

“It’s ok-“ Alexis began.

He met her eyes, nervous, needy, and glowing with adoration.

Alexis pulled her shoulders back and straightened in the chair. “You’re late, Theo.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.”

“Come in. Close the door.”

He stepped in and pushed the door closed behind him.

“Have I ceased to matter, Theo?”

“No-“

“Am I no longer a priority?”

“It’s just that-“

“You had more important things to do this morning than fulfill your promises. Is that it?”

He looked at the ground, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Set the coffee down,” Alexis demanded.

He did.

Alexis gestured around her desk and pointed to the floor.

Uncertain, Theo began to move.

“Stop.”

He stopped.

“Crawl.”

His face bloomed red. “Crawl?”

She raised an eyebrow. He went to all fours, and a moment later, his head appeared at the edge of her desk.

“Now, we’re going to discuss whether I’m a priority, whether I matter in your world.”

“You matter, Ms. Winters. You’re my top priority.”

“Say that again.”

His eyes wide, he spoke. “You’re beautiful, Ms. Winters. You matter. You are my top priority.”

She wanted to believe it, and she would try. As Theo’s adoration poured out of him, she decided that Theo’s belief would be something she could borrow for a while and learn to do for herself.