cheapened her essence with his own insufficient craft.
“You need to tell me everything.”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely everything.”
“I will.”
“If you skip anything, I’ll know it. I will, I’ll know, Johnny. No matter how hard it is to tell me, you have to do it. If you’re going to save this, you have to say it all, down to the smallest detail.”
“I’m ready.”
“So do it right now. Look me in the eye and tell me everything.”
He could feel the truth rising into his throat. Not scared of it. No longer alone in the basement with the secret woman, her unbearable perfection.
“I’ve been away, Candace. I’ve been off somewhere for a long time.”
She nodded. Yes, she knew. Maybe she’d always known.
“So that’s the first thing,” he said. “I’m here, I’m finally here. And now I want to get this right. You and me. I’m going to give it everything I have.”
“Well, that’s a start,” she said. “That’s at least a start.”
REVENGE OF THE EMERGING MARKET
BY JAMES O. BORN
“He’s just another New Yorker, not the damn Queen of England,” Dale said, shaking his head at his partner’s frantic effort to bring out a shine on the brass banister that separated the five stairs up to the landing.
“Dale, haven’t you learned anything through our association? All New Yorkers
think
they’re royalty. What he sees is what he’ll think of us. If we look rich he’ll think we’re rich.” Randy Hubbard directed his attention to a smudge on the bay window that looked across the Intracoastal then out over the Atlantic Ocean. He smiled thinking that the exorbitant rent he’d paid the stuck-up Philadelphia-based landlord was worth it. For Fort Lauderdale it probably wasn’t even that bad. It didn’t matter, he’d move out after two months and declare bankruptcy. No one would collect a dime. Not the landlord, not the investors, not even the Goddamn phone company. This would be sweet, just like the last time. Then, next time, maybe he could do it for real. If there was enough money in it.
Dale followed along like a shadow as Randy shined and polished every surface in the office. It made him nervous the way Dale was sticking closer than he normally did, and sometimes the squat little man could be a close talker.
Dale finally said, “How much you gonna ask for?”
Randy turned, his eyes scanning for something to step around and put some distance between him and his chubby little business partner. He wondered if Dale would be worth the trouble without his securities license. Randy finally said, “We’ll get five, six hundred K today then hit him for another six hundred on the real estate end.”
“You really think he’ll go for both?”
Randy was back polishing the window. “You think he’ll be satisfied with just one fortune when we offer him two? I’m tellin’ you Dale, this fish is easy. It’s that tall Mick from Boston who’s coming in on Friday that’ll be a challenge. We’ll have a few drinks with lunch, that’ll soften him up. If it weren’t for the liquor, them Irish would rule the business world. They’re a fierce bunch.” He backed away from the window to survey his efforts. It looked like a clear force field from a
Star Wars
movie. Randy could even see a person on the deck of an open fishermen not far offshore from the public beach.
He bumped into his partner. “Goddamn, Dale, why are you underfoot today? Give me some space.”
“Sorry,” mumbled the shorter man as he opened the gap between them but kept pace as Randy hustled through the quiet office. Their first business venture had been a bust-out computer parts firm. Randy had opened the company and convinced a dumbass construction worker with some cash from pot sales to invest eight grand in the start-up. He even told the idiot that he could be president of the company. They got paid to set up a patsy in case anything went wrong. What a great country. Dale lined up credit using a shaky Dunn and
“You need to tell me everything.”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely everything.”
“I will.”
“If you skip anything, I’ll know it. I will, I’ll know, Johnny. No matter how hard it is to tell me, you have to do it. If you’re going to save this, you have to say it all, down to the smallest detail.”
“I’m ready.”
“So do it right now. Look me in the eye and tell me everything.”
He could feel the truth rising into his throat. Not scared of it. No longer alone in the basement with the secret woman, her unbearable perfection.
“I’ve been away, Candace. I’ve been off somewhere for a long time.”
She nodded. Yes, she knew. Maybe she’d always known.
“So that’s the first thing,” he said. “I’m here, I’m finally here. And now I want to get this right. You and me. I’m going to give it everything I have.”
“Well, that’s a start,” she said. “That’s at least a start.”
REVENGE OF THE EMERGING MARKET
BY JAMES O. BORN
“He’s just another New Yorker, not the damn Queen of England,” Dale said, shaking his head at his partner’s frantic effort to bring out a shine on the brass banister that separated the five stairs up to the landing.
“Dale, haven’t you learned anything through our association? All New Yorkers
think
they’re royalty. What he sees is what he’ll think of us. If we look rich he’ll think we’re rich.” Randy Hubbard directed his attention to a smudge on the bay window that looked across the Intracoastal then out over the Atlantic Ocean. He smiled thinking that the exorbitant rent he’d paid the stuck-up Philadelphia-based landlord was worth it. For Fort Lauderdale it probably wasn’t even that bad. It didn’t matter, he’d move out after two months and declare bankruptcy. No one would collect a dime. Not the landlord, not the investors, not even the Goddamn phone company. This would be sweet, just like the last time. Then, next time, maybe he could do it for real. If there was enough money in it.
Dale followed along like a shadow as Randy shined and polished every surface in the office. It made him nervous the way Dale was sticking closer than he normally did, and sometimes the squat little man could be a close talker.
Dale finally said, “How much you gonna ask for?”
Randy turned, his eyes scanning for something to step around and put some distance between him and his chubby little business partner. He wondered if Dale would be worth the trouble without his securities license. Randy finally said, “We’ll get five, six hundred K today then hit him for another six hundred on the real estate end.”
“You really think he’ll go for both?”
Randy was back polishing the window. “You think he’ll be satisfied with just one fortune when we offer him two? I’m tellin’ you Dale, this fish is easy. It’s that tall Mick from Boston who’s coming in on Friday that’ll be a challenge. We’ll have a few drinks with lunch, that’ll soften him up. If it weren’t for the liquor, them Irish would rule the business world. They’re a fierce bunch.” He backed away from the window to survey his efforts. It looked like a clear force field from a
Star Wars
movie. Randy could even see a person on the deck of an open fishermen not far offshore from the public beach.
He bumped into his partner. “Goddamn, Dale, why are you underfoot today? Give me some space.”
“Sorry,” mumbled the shorter man as he opened the gap between them but kept pace as Randy hustled through the quiet office. Their first business venture had been a bust-out computer parts firm. Randy had opened the company and convinced a dumbass construction worker with some cash from pot sales to invest eight grand in the start-up. He even told the idiot that he could be president of the company. They got paid to set up a patsy in case anything went wrong. What a great country. Dale lined up credit using a shaky Dunn and
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