The Love Of Money - Episode 107
28-07-25 (10:39)
"I think so," she said. "I didn't plan for this, Marcus. It's
just that so much has changed for you so quickly. You
have all this money, and you bought out the company.
You made me head of the department, and then we
almost started dating. We went from really good
friends to making out in my office, and...
Again, Natalie didn't finish her thought, but she didn't
need to. I understood what she was getting at. Every
other woman in my life right now was throwing
themselves at me. I never stopped to think that most
of them were either paid to be in my life, desperate to
lock me down, or just plain crazy. Natalie was a level-
headed woman that didn't fit any of those categories. It
made sense that she shied away from whatever was
happening between us.
"I get it," I said.
"You do?" Natalie asked.
"Yeah. I don't like it, but I get it."
More silence followed. After about a minute, Natalie
sighed and pushed herself off the wall she was still
leaning against. She fidgeted with her fingers, looking
up at me with a puppy-dog expression. "Are we going
to be okay?" she asked.
I stared back at her, not knowing quite what should
say.
Would I still want to be friends with Natalie after
getting a taste of her? Could I see her every day and
be okay when I knew I almost had her if it wasn't for...
"What's his name?" I asked.
"Tyler," she said reluctantly.
Tyler. I suddenly felt an irrational hatred for the name.
Maybe I could have Tyler killed. I had the money for it.
Wait... could I actually have him killed?
I finally shrugged one non-commital shoulder at her. It
wasn't fair to either of us to lie.
"I don't know if we're going to be okay," I said, pushing
off the wall and stepping toward the door. "I need
some time."
"Okay," Natalie said. It was obvious that wasn't what
she wanted to hear but didn't protest further.
With nothing else to say, I opened the door, stepped
into the hallway, and headed back to my office without
looking back.
The first thing I noticed when I entered my office was
the faint odor of Bobbi's sex, but that was the only
evidence that she had been there. As instructed, she
had gathered all her belongings and left. That was
good. I felt so sour that I probably would have made
good on my promise of putting her out on her ass if she
had still been here.
I dropped in my seat, feeling a pang of bitterness that
was dulled by disbelief at how close I'd come to getting
what I wanted, only to have it whisked out from
underneath me. I'd been crushing on Natalle for the
better part of a year and had come so close to seeing
my long-time unrequited affection returned. All the
money in the world, and I couldn't buy a way to
reverse time.
Needing something to occupy me while I tried to
process what had Just happened, I pulled my phone out
of my pocket. I hadn't looked at it since arriving at the
Dunbar building and found myself staring at a full inbox
and over thirty unread messages - normally an
unwelcome sight, but a bunch of unanswered
messages was exactly what I needed right now.
The first one that caught my eye was a message from
my brother, Jacob. It stated that he saw me on the
news, was proud of me, and wanted to meet up since
he would be in town this week. That meant he needed
money. Jacob wasn't a bad guy, but he had never
really been able to crack the code to a normal life. He
couldn't hold down a nine-to-five job to save his life
and was always chasing some scheme promising him
six figures in a matter of months.
Starting with Jacob, I texted him back with a
noncommittal response before moving on to the next
one. The remainder of my afternoon was spent catching
up on messages, talking to friends and family, and
managing my new life in the public spotlight as one of
the wealthiest men in the world.
Monday, 10:45 pm
After catching up with my messages, I spent about half
an hour downstairs with my old co-workers. Gerald
was unusually chatty, filling me in on the latest gossip.
He told me that Bobbi had been on her best behavior,
and Natalie was already making some stellar changes
around the office. I was glad to hear some good things
had come out of decisions I'd made out of selfish
desire. I seemed popular among my old plebians, which
wasn't surprising. I'd
always been liked by most of my co-workers, but
giving them all substantial raises had apparently
generated extra goodwill.
Working through the initial shock of Natalie's news, I
found myself In need of releasing some steam and
decided to pay Bobbi a surprise visit. At some point in
the afternoon, Chloe switched out with a different
security agent, and I had him drive me to her hotel Just
down the street. After working out a lot of pent-up
aggression, I told her that she was done living in hotel
rooms. She was to take tomorrow off and move into
my apartment.
Now I was back home and starting to wonder if that
was the wisest decision. This was quickly becoming my
sanctuary, and I didn't want something to mess up the
tranquility. It was strange how peaceful the middle of
New York could feel when you lived six hundred feet
above everyone else. Despite dwelling in a city of 8.5
million people, from this height, I could barely hear
anything other than the occasional stray noise from
below.
Walking through the small garden on the roof of my
building I gazed at the cloudless sky through the
garden's canopy. Thanks to the light evening breeze,
the leaves rustled and completely drowned out any
remaining artificial sounds. I found an expensive bottle
of Mckellen in my office. Grabbing that and a glass, I
decided that after a day like today, it was a good time
to sit beside my pool, drink, and do some soul-
searching.
Most people would see my fortune and immediately
envy me. They would have rolled their eyes at my
naval gazing and scoffed at any attempt to see my
inheritance as anything other than a blessing, but aside
from Bobbi, Gina, and Jessica, I liked my life. I enjoyed
my friends, where' I lived, and even my job when left
to my own devices.
When I first inherited my money and took Helen to
bed, I assumed life would be rainbows and blowjobs
from that day on, but it hadn't. The money came with
an empire, and an empire came with responsibilities.
The money had also come with a lot of attention -
wanted and unwanted. Last but certainly not least, it
had come with a price - Natalie. One could argue that
the loss of Natalie was on me, but I couldn't help but
wonder where' we would be right now if I hadn't
received that call from Karl.
I rounded the final corner of the little garden path and
stared at the pool. I wasn't alone.
Chloe sat on one of the chairs with a small table pulled
between her legs. Pieces of something were strewn
across its surface, and
she had one piece in her hand, polishing it. In the
background, I could hear a voice drone on from what I
assumed was her phone, It sounded like some news
program or podcast. Don't forget to leave a Comment 
