David’s consulting team was working to see if they should just pull the plug, restructure the company via bankruptcy, or go in another direction. Greg said that David now owned forty percent of a money pit. The only saving grace was that he hadn’t just handed them a lump sum.
Someone on David’s team had been smart enough to put the funds in an escrow account that required sign-off for funds to be pulled out to meet expenses.
They’d also written a clause in the agreement that if something materially changed, like regulatory issues or the VR caused people to have seizures—aka bad shit—the funds could be frozen. David had done that. He wasn’t required to keep dumping money into VRS.
Greg said that David’s primary concern was the people they’d just hired who now would be looking for work. Yes, they would be eligible for unemployment, but many hadn’t been there long enough for health insurance. He’d asked his consulting team to look into how to help those let go transition to their next job since none of this was their fault.
David came back, flopped down on the couch next to Pam, and gave her a goofy smile.
“You ready to get your party on?”
She grinned back and nodded ‘yes.’
◊◊◊
“I’m starved. Let’s hit the food truck first,” David suggested.
Pam didn’t argue as they walked out of his dorm room.
They ran into Crystal and Taylor getting off the elevator.
“Pam and I were going to for food. Join us,” David said.
Crystal looked at David, then Pam, then back at David as she tried to connect the dots as to what was going on.
David slightly raised his eyebrows in amusement.
“We’d love to,” Taylor said to save her friend.
When they got onto the elevator, there was an uncomfortable silence, and David tried to think of what to say.
“So … uhm …” Taylor began as she glanced at the three of them. “This isn’t awkward at all.”
“I just broke up with my boyfriend, so David invited me to the party,” Pam said.
David knew that Pam came across as the gorgeous California blond who was all innocent and sweet. But he knew she’d lived with Tracy and Cassidy, who’d taught her to be an evil girl.
Taylor picked up on something, so she went into dirt-digging mode.
“You and David?” she said, pointing back and forth.
“Dated in high school, and I’m Coby’s mom. David has asked me to marry him in the past … three times, in fact.”
“Tell them the rest,” David prompted.
“I turned him down,” Pam said and looked dejected.
Then she brightened. “But he says that he loves me the best. I’m his favorite.”
Taylor looked at Crystal and burst out laughing. Pam seemed pleased with her meddling efforts. At least she’d managed to wind up Taylor. If David didn’t really love her, he might have had to paddle her bottom for making trouble. Luckily for him, Crystal was already aware of this, and it didn’t seem to bother her.
When the elevator opened, Pam slid her arm under Crystal’s, and the two girls went the other way as David and Taylor went to eat. He had no doubt they would be okay, or so he hoped.
◊◊◊
The food truck served Vietnamese food. David got a bowl of pho—noodles, herbs, and various types of meat (in this case, beef) in a broth—and a banh mi sandwich. The banh mi was a baguette filled with chicken and egg, cucumbers, pickled carrots, and chili with a mayonnaise-based dressing.
Taylor and David grabbed a table, and he told her about his history with Pam, how she’d become pregnant, and her dad’s interference. David explained that he offered to do the right thing and marry Pam, but she was smart enough to know they were too young. In the end, she’d given him custody of Coby but was involved in her son’s life.
“How old were you when you became a dad?” Taylor asked.
“I was a junior in high school. Not ideal at all, and I’m just glad that I had money, or I might have had to drop out and get a job,” David said.
“Crystal said you have five kids?”
David explained how that all had happened. When he thought about it, he and Crystal had never discussed it, though she was certainly aware of his family situation. In a way, that told him a lot. He and Crystal had always just been about the present, two people supporting each other after bad breakups and trying to move on with their lives.
Then it started to become more, but something told David to slow down.
“Crystal’s not ready for an instant family,” Taylor said.
“I have one, and there are days I’m not ready for it either,” David said to show he understood.
“Is that why you backed off?” Taylor asked.
“Inappropriate much?” David teased.
“Normally, I would agree, but Crystal’s my best friend.”
David waited a beat before answering.
“That’s part of it, but most of it is me. I made an arrangement with my parents to take care of my kids until I graduate from college. So, I know there’s a clock on that part of my life, and I only have so much time to experience college and all it has to offer. I woke up one day and knew I didn’t want to spend that time in a serious relationship.”
“The thought of a boyfriend makes me queasy,” Taylor said and then got a glint in her eye. “Now a boy to play with, I’m all about that.”
“I’ve tried to explain this to Crystal, but I don’t think I’ve done a very good job. She’s taking it as I’ve rejected her,”
David said.
“Let’s be honest. You kind of did,” Taylor said. “But I get it. If Crystal isn’t going to be your forever kind of girl, then you had to pull the plug.”
“I never said she might not end up being the one,” David said to defend himself.
“Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep better, but you know I’m right. Don’t get me wrong; I think you’re making a terrible mistake because you and Crystal are good together. But I get it, and I applaud you for being a man, slowing things down, and not leading my girl on,”
Taylor said.
“We are good together,” David agreed.
“Can I ask you one favor?” Taylor asked.
“You can ask.”
“End it with Emily. She’s not up for the drama that surrounds someone like you. Before you get all pissy, you know I’m right. You are pretty chill, but you are who you are, and, baby, the circus is in town.”
David knew he liked Taylor, but his respect level for her went way up with that comment.
“You didn’t warn me off on Wren,” David observed.
Taylor gave him an amused look.
“Before this is all over, that girl will eat your lunch and make you like it. Of everyone I know, except for Crystal, she’s the only one who can handle the circus and you.”
“Good to know,” David said. “And thanks for the talk.”
“Any time.”
David had just found another person willing to tell him the truth instead of what they thought he wanted to know.
Plus, Taylor amused him. It was one of the reasons why Crystal thought of her as her best friend.
◊◊◊
David had a great time at the party as he reconnected with his dorm gang. None of them were happy that the rooftop hideaway had been outed, but Squeak had pulled it off. She’d somehow scored Tommy Diablos, one of the top five DJs in the world. He just happened to be between gigs, having recently finished one in Vegas and on his way to the Atlantis resort in Dubai.
During his first break, Tommy sought David out.