Ch3A - edited

THREE
1st half

They sat in the backseat as the black sedan drove down Park Avenue. A fraction of space separated them. He handed her a glass of whiskey before pouring himself one.

“To alcohol and literature.”

“Good combination.” She clanged her glass with his and sipped, “so do you always drink and drive?”

“I drink. He drives,” Krim nodded to the dark glass wall separating them from the driver, and leaned back into the seat.

“I see,” she continued not smiling. “Care to tell me where we’re going?”

“Does it matter?”

“Only when I’m with you.” She looked ahead with a smug look as she sipped her glass.

“Harsh allegation implied in there, I’m sure.” He sat up. Then he looked out the window, “Actually, I think we’re just about here.”

The car pulled up in front of a gray steel building that seemed almost black against the darkness. Krim got out and held out a hand.

Gwen took his hand, and stepped out, “Thoughtful.”

Krim swiped a card into a slit in the side of a wall and held open a glass door for her. They stepped into the foyer and Gwen followed him to a group of elevator doors where he pressed a button and the doors of an elevator slid open. Inside, he pressed the button for the eightieth floor. The doors closed as they began their ascent. She leaned on the gray, metal rail behind him. Krim looked back at her – catching her smiling at him ever so gently and smirked back for a second before turning his attention to the crack between the elevator doors.

“The last time you looked at me like that, you took me cave diving; nearly got me killed.” She looked down at the handrail. Something in her wanted to reach out and pull him to her. But she knew better and made no advance. Instead, she adjusted her grasp on the rail.

“I remember what you wore. Should count for something,” His focus was now on the series of imbedded round buttons and the dark screen above the buttons as it counted up the floors.

“A life vest.”

“Well, It did look particularly good – clasped around your wet, firm, tanned body.”

"So how does it feel to pursue another man's fiance?” She pulled his attention with her eyes down to the thin engagement ring on her finger.

“Hmm, depends. How do you like it?” He turned his attention back to the front.

“I haven’t decided.”

They stood in silence as the elevator beeped as it stopped. The screen flashed thirty-one, and the doors opened, revealing a peach-colored hallway.

"I think we're here," Gwen said, stepping out before Krim could utter any sort of response.

“Which way, babe?” she spun around to face him and walked backward across the hall.

“To the left, darling.” Krim stepped out and she followed him down the hall, and left into a narrower hallway. Suddenly, he felf her hand in his, and her fingers knotted through his own. His eyes drifted toward her.

“This is pleasant fiction, isn’t it, honey?” she asked.

“Beats the alternatives…”

He stopped her in front of a beige door and pressed the doorbell.

“Although, I admit, I am strangely aroused by the fact you quoted Gladiator.”

“I try my best,” Gwen said with a sly smile. The door swung open and a relatively young Asian man appeared in a tricolor beach shirt. The smell of incense swept around her.

“Krim! Where you been?” He stepped outside and hugged him, “We missed you, man!”

“Nice to see you too, David.” Krim tried to match the man’s forceful hug with his own.

Gwen could hear soft music coming and peered inside a dark blue hallway. There was an open door in front of her that lead into the main room. Inside, pretty women in cocktail dresses mingled with casually dressed men - some of whom were dressed akin to David. Almost all had drinks or smokes of one sort or another in their hands. A number of them were dancing. Some hung around posing for pictures. She could see smiles widening for camera flashes.

“David, I’d like you to meet Gwen.”

David kissed Gwen’s hand as she came out of her trancelike state, “It is a wonderful pleasure to make your acquaintance, Gwen.”

“Ohh, thank you,” she replied, pleasantly surprised. She looked over at Krim for an explanation but only received a shrug as they entered and David shut the door behind them.

They walked over into the living room and Krim introduced Gwen around. David draped his arm around Krim’s neck, noticing the thin engagement ring on her finger as she spoke with the others, “When did you get engaged?” David asked.

“I’m not. Why are you so happy?”

“It’s the damn whiskey,” David said, facing him with droopy eyes, “but she is wearing a diamond ring right?”

“She’s a friend. Remind me to fire you Monday,” Krim noticed a stack of pizza boxes on the dresser next to the room’s back wall, “I want pizza.”

“I’ll try. Which Monday?” David asked, sipping his whiskey.

“Your pick.” He patted David on the shoulder and went over to the stack of pizza boxes. He tossed the empty box into a wicker basket intended to be the garbage and opened up the next box.

“Anchovies…nice,” he spoke to himself. He took a piece out and turned around to find Gwen walk toward him. He took a bite as she came over and took a slice of her own as Nickelback played on the Karaoke machine.

She leaned back on the dresser - her left elbow on top of it – and took her first bite.

“So all of them work for you?” She asked him.

“Well, you’d have to define work, but yeah.” Krim bit into his pizza.

“Huh…huh,” she swallowed, “interesting group.”

“I take it you have material for about a dozen books now.”

“Give or take.” She drank from the large red, plastic cup in her right hand. She then rested her left hand on the inside of of her right elbow. "Care to fill me in?"

He met her with a blank stare.

She sighed, "Is the shindig all for me? What's its purpose?"

"Do you want it to be for you?"

"I'd pass."

"Whenever we buy an outside company or launch some new thing, Claire," he motioned to a young, skinny girl with a short reddish bob mingling off in the distance, "has these parties partly to build company unity, but mostly to because she likes people." He stopped as Gwen nodded in understanding, then went went, "I make an appearance because, well, they work for me and I also own the apartment."

"The building," she corrected, emotionless.

Krim smiled and lowered his head for a second - caught off guard - then lifted it back. "Yes, the building."

"Knew it. Can't do small, can you?" She kept her eyes ahead, at the people chattering amongst themselves.

"I detect a hint of disapproval?"

"Hint? I'm insinuating you're the devil" Now, she turned her eyes to him.

"Oh, that's fine then."

She gave him a brisk, little smile and a quick shrug, “So tell me about David.”

“He’s our Shigeru Miyamoto.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Shigeru Miyamoto is a legendary software designer. David’s our version – and a superb dresser.”

“I can see that,” She smiled before turned a bit serious, “is he … you know?”

“Gay? The jury’s still out on that.” He said with a bit of a shrug, and continued, “but, he is happily married with two kids and a third on the way.”

“Come to think of it, he can’t be. Gay, I mean. He’d be a better dresser if he was.”

“Ouch, aren’t we judgmental tonight.”

“I’m a writer. It’s what I do.” Gwen’s eyes were level with his.

Thank you for reading!!!

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