The kitchen was no better than the messy bedroom with the messy hamper. A horrible attempt at a meatloaf the night before still rested in the sink, the dish filled with discolored water from the charred burger meat and soap. The local Chinese place had taken a liking to Jeffrey ever since his housekeeper quit to move to California with her boyfriend. He was in a band and promised her a life of luxury. Jeffrey wished her luck and didn’t think much of it when she left.

Two weeks later…

“Fuck,” he said again, shaking his head.

The coffeepot still had coffee from yesterday morning in it. He was already dressed for the day and the last thing he wanted to do was mess around making coffee. And what did he care? He owned the majority in a local coffee company. He could walk into at least a dozen small cafés in town and get free coffee.

But Jeffrey paid.

He didn’t believe in completely flaunting himself, unless it was a beautiful woman, which seemed to be a rarity anymore. Not that he was spending his free time prowling the streets for a woman but when he thought about it, it pained him. He knew he was good looking and if he wanted to use it, he could spout how in the past twelve months he’d taken himself from the land of millionaire to almost billionaire. Almost depended on how the markets went each day. Jeffrey refused to stalk his money but rather put it to work for himself, but that didn’t mean he would sit around and do nothing.

He still had much to prove.

And it wasn’t just to himself.

Getting lost in thought, Jeffrey found it welcoming when his cell phone started to ring.

“Steve, how’s the morning?”

“Jeff, where are you?”

Jeff checked his watch. He raised one lip in a defiant growling face. “Right on time, Steve.”

“Yeah. I’m at Darlings, waiting for you.”

“You’re sitting outside? Steve, the meeting isn’t for another forty-five.”

“I thought we could discuss my thoughts. Strategies.”

“No, that I won’t do.”

Steve Crepper had always been Jeff’s right hand. They met long ago in college and for as wild as Jeff wanted to be and tried to be, Steve was the complete opposite. He over thought, he over analyzed, and he was, in the simplest terms possible, a big pain in the ass. But Jeff appreciated what Steve did. More than once his over everything had kept Jeff out of a fire.

“Christ Jeff, you’re just going on gut? Again?”

“They have a track record. The market is open. You and I know that.”

“They have debt.”

“How much?”

“A little.”

“More than last year’s revenues?”

“Well… no…”

“More than what they want from me?”

“No.”

“You realize that everyone has debt these days? Companies. People. Hell, even I have debt.”

“You have a charge card with twenty grand on it from your trip to Jamaica… which you have just to piss me off each time I open the statement.”

Jeff laughed. “Got to keep you on your toes, my friend.”

“Yeah, hope the women were worth it.”

“To the last penny.”

Steve laughed and then sighed.

Truth was, Jeff went to Jamaica for a week for himself. He spent what he wanted because he could and refused to think about it. He bought dinner for newlyweds, drinks every night for anyone who would stop and chat, and most of all, he spent the week woman free. Of course, admitting that would do something to his image. Whatever image Jeff supposedly had. The ‘image’ had started six months ago after a large deal came through. He had gotten into an IPO which skyrocketed (an unexpected skyrocket for that matter) which netted Jeff over ten million. He sold half his shares and let the rest slowly grow. A few guys suggested they all go to a strip club and shut the place down. Jeff couldn’t argue the request because he wanted a break, he wanted a night out, and his team had put a lot of work into the IPO… mostly spent trying to talk him out of it. The women flocked to Jeff and that was well before they knew his wealth. His six foot three frame came equipped with thick, natural muscle that he worked on four days a week at the gym. His face always had scruff on it, his hair always had the appearance of being messy, but in reality was designed that way, and his demeanor was that of serious. The serious demeanor gave off a bad boy aura to women, and they loved it.