out of the way of Ned’s rage. Ned was still shaking when the door closed behind them.
“Candace!” He screamed. His assistant rushed into the office with a nervous look on her face. She’d seen the mass exodus of partners and must’ve known there was a problem.
“Yes Mr. Demilla?” Her voice was trembling.
“I’m leaving the office for the weekend. Please forward all of my calls to voicemail. I’ll be at the Standard for the rest of the afternoon.”
“Yes, sir,” said Candace. Ned was already getting up to leave.
Chapter 6
“Hey Babe,” David called to Marisa as she opened the door. He sounded excited. “I have a surprise for you.” His voice was sing-song as Marisa walked into the kitchen and put down her purse and briefcase. “Close your eyes,” David commanded. Marisa did as she was told and put her hands over her eyes. She could feel David close to her as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach.
“What is it?” she asked him as he slid his hands upwards until they were cupping her full breasts.
“Well, you’ve been working so hard, and I thought we could maybe get away for a night. Say, to your favorite poolside bar in Miami?”
“The Standard?” she squealed. Marisa and David had frequented the bar before the baby was born, and she was aching to return for a nice Friday night of relaxation and fun.
“Open your eyes!” David called, and as Marisa opened her eyes she saw a small white box wrapped up in an orange ribbon. “Go ahead,” David said as she began to pull apart the ribbon. Inside the box was a small orange card. Marisa picked it up—room 402, it said on the back.
“You got us a room at the Standard?” she asked.
“Yup,” said David, looking proud of himself. “And don’t worry, Michael is with your sister for the night I got a really good deal. Marisa was delighted.
“Well,” she said, looking at David, “let’s go!” She rushed into the bedroom and packed a bag. David threw his bathing suit and toiletries in the bag, and as Marisa was zipping it up he pitched in the purple container of baby formula.
“Don’t want to forget my secret weapon,” he said, smiling. Marisa leaned up and gave him a kiss.
“No we don’t,” she said, smiling.
Chapter 7
Ned had already been sitting at the pool bar for a few hours when the couple came in and sat down next to him. It was still pretty early for a Friday and Ned had been by himself, drowning his sorrows in strong margaritas and baking in the sun. He was getting a bit bored of reading the newspaper on his iPad, so when the man and woman sat down, laughing and flirting, it caught his attention. The bartender came up and the woman ordered a raspberry mojito, a drink that Ned knew as one of the best and strongest mojitos in town, so Ned was surprised when the man ordered only a glass of water with no ice. What seemed even stranger is that when the man got his water, he reached in the woman’s purse and pulled out a large round purple container. Ned watched him as he took off the plastic lid and scooped out some white powder from the container and mixed it in his water. The look on the man’s face as he drank down the now cloudy water was agonizing. It must have tasted like shit, Ned thought. But when he had drained the cup, the man looked up at the woman and they gave each other knowing smiles. When the bartender came back over, the man ordered himself a mojito as well. Within a few minutes, they were both drinking mojitos and talking and laughing. Ned noticed the wedding rings on their fingers, but they were acting like a new couple. After the first round was drained and they got their second mojitos the woman kept reaching down into the man’s crotch with her foot and rubbing it, teasing him, asking about his ‘magical drink.’ Finally, Ned’s curiosity got the best of him.
“Excuse me,” Ned said to the couple. Marisa and David looked up from their mojitos and turned and looked