Sweet Sensations

Chapter Twenty-Six

Dominick

Zachary pushed his empty bourbon glass across the bar. The lights were dim, and some old jazz standard was humming through the jukebox. We were in one of those basement bars with no sign outside to announce its location, just overpriced drinks and a bartender who barely made eye contact.

Sometimes, you have to pay extra for discretion.

"Fuck, man," he said, "I'd try to change your mind, except I know how useless that is. You know the board is going to lose their shit over this, though."

"Don't act so shocked," I said. "I already told you I was looking outside of New York."

"Berlin? Tokyo? That I could understand. Hell, business would drag me there sometimes anyway. But Denver?"

I laughed, then held up two fingers for the bartender, signaling another round. Zachary rarely let his feelings show, but I knew he was going to need a night on the town to swallow the pill I was feeding him. "Maybe you'll come check it out," I said. "A little mountain air would do you good."

"Walk me through it, though," he said. "Your contract in Colorado only has six months left, and your fortune is tied up in a bunch of buildings across the East River. You've got no real plan to speak of, either. So tell me again this isn't about the guy you're dating?"

I took the bourbons from the bartender, nodding slightly to show my thanks. Against the back wall, a few men in dark suits conducted what looked like some shady business. A year ago, I'd have perked up my ears, trying to get the scoop. Now, they seemed far away and totally disconnected from anything that could matter to me.

"It doesn't hurt to have a guy like him waiting," I acknowledged, "but if you think for a second that I would base my future on someone else, you've forgotten who I am." I took a sip of the bourbon and felt the burn against the back of my throat. "Anyway, who said I don't have a plan?"

Zachary threw his hands up. "Well fuck, man, tell me about it. Tell me what's so good you're willing to leave your business partner in the dust. Does it have something to do with that opposition research I did for you? Because if you called in a favor to have me investigate my replacement, I swear to god, I'll move to Denver just to drive you out of business."

I laughed, then reached down into my bag, pulling out some papers. "It's not like that," I said. "Although the research did help clarify a few things for me. For starters, the crooks running their game in Colorado are even more inept than the guys we butt heads with here. More than that, though, I started to see the city clearly for the first time."

"And you liked what you saw?"

"A lot of it, yeah. Diverse industries. Solid research and technology base. Growing population." I tapped the papers on the bar, trying to think of how I could explain it to a guy like Zachary. "The limits on what I can build don't have to do with how much competition there is or how many sharks are in the pool. The only real limits are on my imagination, and in Denver, I was suddenly able to imagine the future I want to build."

"Is that what those papers are about?" he asked, tilting his drink at my hand. "You got your whole plan worked out already?"

"First steps," I said, setting them on the bar. "After all, my money's still in New York, and I would never leave my copilot behind."

Zachary nodded, smiling to himself. He knew me well enough to know a good deal was about to come his way.

"I'm keeping the residential highrise in Long Island City," I said. "It will give me a solid cash flow while I get set up in Colorado. But I want to part ways with these other buildings and the company that's managing them."