The Arrangement

Chapter 14

Christain Cartwright

I glare at my phone screen as a swell of rage surges through me. My wife was causing problems for me. Again. I dont need this. I shove the phone back into my pocket and try to relax. I needed a cool head to close this business deal. I will deal with my wife later.

I was at the Hitchings, a quaint bar in the financial district, where men spent all day handling business came to unwind. It wasnt my scene but Mr. Graden had suggested it, so here I was. After the dinner we'd had with our wives, I was pretty confident the deal was about to go through. He had asked to meet up for happy hour tonight and I had a feeling I would be going home a much happier man than I had been when I woke up this morning.

The dinner had put me in a good mood, sure. Nothing made me feel as good as winning at my job did and this - this one was bound to be my biggest win yet. It was almost seven p.m. and the bar was packed with men ranging from twenty five to sixty five all mingling with each other, hands full of whiskey or beer.

"Hey, there he is. Christain." I turned to find Graden making his way over to me, another msn in tow. I stood up to shake hands.

"How's it going?" I ask, smiling warmly. I was all about first impressions but I knew that the follow up was just as important.

"Good, good," Graden responds, clapping me on the back. "Thanks for meeting us. This is Martin, he is my go to guy. An advisor, shall we say."

"Hey, Martin," I say, shaking his hand.

This is what Im talking about , I thought. The man had brought his business advisor. He was defiently more than interested; he was ready to talk. I could not wait to see the look on dad's face.

"What are you gentlemen drinking?" I ask, waving the bartender over at the same time.

"I will take a scotch on the rocks," Martin says.

"Make it two." Graden adds.

"Three scotchs on the rocks then." I order smiling.

"Thanks Christain." He slaps me on the back again.

"Anytime, boss." I say.

"So lets get down to it. Martin here wants to hear your pitch, so lay it out for us."

I look at Martin. His curly hair was graying a bit at the edges and his crows feet were defiently visble but his suit was italian and his watch a limited edition rolex. So the man had clearly made a good call at one time or another.

"Okay, Martin. Here is the deal. Graden's hotel is clearly worthwhile property. The location alone sees projections upwards of double what other corners in that very same neighborhood would give us. It would be a stellar run, gentlemen."

They both let out a laugh.

"But there is a time and place to walk out. And I know your perspective on this. " I say, looking at Graden, "is you want out now. You want out, but you want to look over your shoulder and see legacy. And that is what Im offering you. The chance to see a rebranding, to see a very successful property become even more successful, but also the chance to see the years you put into it...recognized. Honored. Your footprint will always be there if its a Cartwright hotel. That much I can promise you."

I looked from man to man, trying to guage tbe reaction. I thought I had killed it, personally, but both of them were taking time to digest. Right when I was about to say something else, to fill the silence that was slowly becoming deafening, Graden clapped his hands together.

"That," He says, "was beautiful."

I looked at Martin, trying to gleam whatever his thoughts were but his eyes just had the same glazed over, deep thought look to them.

"What is the timeline?" He asks, finally looking at me.

"We would be looking to start aesthetic construction in six weeks, tops." I start. " Lobby, spa, fitness center to begin. We are aiming to have a new rooftop restaurant up and running by March. We are targeting business professionals who want the downtown edge, so we are going to need the differentiate from midtown as best we can."

Martin followed my words, nodding every couple of sentences. I thought I had him. So I continued.

"We want to have the elegance of an established five star property but we want it to feel fresh as well." I say, about to keep talking when Graden held up his hand to interrupt.

"Wait a minute." He said reading something on his phone. "Sorry to interrupt but...what a small world..." He mutters. Then he looks at me. "Guess who my wife ran into today?"

"Who?" I ask, hoping he cant hear the impatience in my voice.

"Your wife. She saw het shopping with....some man."

He said it casually enough but the tone change when he said 'a man' was evident. He was judging me, he was wondering about my wife and my realtionship. Wondering who the man was. I instantly thought of the texts his wife had sent me earlier. Damn it. I could not have him second guessing whether he could trust me, not now. I needed to be relatable. I needed to be alot more readable, understandable, and reliable.

"What a small world." I say, smiling. But when Graden looked at me, a polite smile on his lips, something had shifted in his eyes. I could see the doubt taking over. Damn. Rage flowed through my veins. I was mad. I quick like downed my scotch. My wife was out there embarrassing me, she was interfering with my business. This was down right unacceptable. I didnt care who she was with privately when eyes were not around to see her. I mean, I did what I wanted and she could do what she wanted. But in public? We were to be the picture of love and loyalty. How could she of been so stupid? I wanted to leave this bar immediately and tear into her, let her know just how idiotic she had been. Warn her about being in public agian with that guy or any other guy that wasnt me. No. Forget that. She would never see that guy again. In public or private. It was the least she could do.

One more glance at Martin and I knew the productivity of the night was over. Once I left, the men were going to talk through whether or not they could work with a man who could not keep the reins on his wife. A man who either didnt know what his wife was up to or didnt care. Hell, I thought. Let them have that talk now. I opened an email on my phone and pretended to react.

"Gentlemen, I would love to sit here with you all night," I say interupting, "But a colleague of mine needs my help. Im sorry to have to cut this short." They both stood when I did, nodding at me.

"We will be in touch." Graden says, the friendliness in his voice is now gone.

"Perfect," I say. "Good night."

I was so angry as I left that I forgot my credit card and the open tab at the bar, which only added to my anger. She had messed with my night. She had messed with my business. It was time she learned her place.