The lead story was about the G-7 conference that was being held at Camp David in a few days. It would include Russian attendance for the first time in a few years. The Russian president was attempting to mend relations in the West. The bloc of nations would become the G-8 again in a special ceremony.
The rest of the coverage was about the motorcycle chase.
The talking heads were going crazy about the car chase in D.C. But surprisingly, Max wasn’t mentioned. Now why was that?
He could think of only one reason. Someone in the government didn’t want Max Fend’s name put out there.
That was a good thing for Max. If he just had to avoid law enforcement, he could do it. But if he had to avoid going out in public… that was another thing entirely.
Max wondered how long this gift of anonymity would last. With the right spin on it, this could really be a big news story. Rich playboy son escapes from FBI in high-speed motorcycle chase through the streets of D.C. That was the way he would write it up, if he were trying to make headlines. The news would plaster his face on every TV and electronic device in America.
Max was already known to a lot of people who read the gossip columns, thanks to his father — and maybe his own extravagant lifestyle. That had been a necessary evil. But being involved in this motorcycle chase would skyrocket his reputation into the stratosphere.
He sighed as he thought about his father. What must he be thinking? What was the FBI telling him? Max doubted his father would believe that he would sabotage Fend Aerospace. But the fact that he had run away from law enforcement — that would likely plant a seed of doubt in his mind. And the nature of the escape would raise even more questions.
There was nothing Max could do about it now. He did a quick calisthenic workout, took a shower, and went to sleep.
The night had been a disaster for Renee. She had gone out to dinner with a client. He was older. Late forties, but not bad looking.
They were barely halfway through dinner when he had crossed the line. Suggesting that he could come back to her place for drinks. Maybe Renee was smiling too much? Maybe she had dressed too provocatively? She hated herself for thinking like that. And the worst part was that Renee had actually considered it. He wasn’t anything special, but it wouldn’t have been that bad to have male companionship once in a while. It had been too long.
But there was something about him that didn’t sit well with her. He was too pushy. She excused herself and went into the bathroom, taking out her phone. One thing a married cheater should never do is try to date a hacker.
Renee found out everything about the man within a few minutes. The disgusting pig had been lying to her about his personal life. He must have taken the ring off before they had dinner.
Renee should have known. Clients didn’t normally come to see her. But he’d said he was going to be in the area for business. And her contract was up for renewal soon.
When Renee had gone back to the table, she said, “May I see your hand?”
“Excuse me?”
“Your hand. Please let me see it.”
The man frowned. He started to, and then thought better of it.
“What’s wrong, Renee? Did I say something? Look, if you don’t want to have drinks, that’s fine—”
“You’ve been married for fourteen years. And you have four kids.”
His face went white… and then red. Eyes narrowing. “You checked up on me while you were in the bathroom? Who the hell do you think you are? Look, I don’t think we can do business. I can’t work with someone I don’t trust.”
“Neither can I.”
She stood, glaring at him. Then she walked away, not bothering to let him say any more.
For a moment, she had thought of threatening him. She could demand that he switch her account to a different buyer, or she would… what? Ruin his marriage? Hurt his children? Better to walk away. Hopefully, he wouldn’t spread nasty rumors about her to other potential clients. She sighed. She didn’t need the money that bad.
What was it about that type of man? It was like they were drawn to her.
She kept telling herself she didn’t need anyone else in her life. But it was hard doing everything alone. And she worried about growing old and not finding anyone. And she wanted to have kids, before it was too late.
After college she’d had one serious relationship that lasted for six years. He had been in pharmaceutical sales. She had moved to follow him to Charlottesville for his work. They’d married after a year of dating.
When she thought about it now, she didn’t know why she had said yes. She didn’t really love him. It had just seemed like the thing everyone was doing at the time. All of her girlfriends were getting married. It was like musical chairs, and no one wanted to get left out.
She had wanted to travel. To compete in road races. To meet new and interesting people. To get drunk at concerts. To hike the Appalachian Trail. She wanted to live life. To have the adventure.
All her ex wanted to do when he was home was sleep and watch TV. He had wanted her to be his housewife. To stay at home and make meals, and to take care of the kids they were going to have.
Thank God she hadn’t gotten pregnant with him. If she had, she probably would have stuck with him, even after she’d found out he was cheating on her. Bored out of her mind and faking it for the sake of the kids.
Kids. The word made her want to cry. She was almost forty. And while she would admit it to no one, she desperately wanted to have children.
But he had taken her for granted. It wasn’t just the cheating. She could forgive that, if it were an honest mistake. It was the lack of passion in him. She was a romantic, and he was…a mistake. She’d felt guilty for feeling that, until he’d cheated on her. Then, truth be told, she’d felt relief. She had an excuse. It had been time to fish or cut bait, as the expression went.
He wanted to keep fishing. She cut bait.
The sad part now was that her life hadn’t gotten much more adventurous. She ran road races, and had done a few mini-triathlons. She tried to schedule one big vacation to somewhere fun every year. But her love life had been pretty nonexistent. She usually worked from home. The only places she really went were the gym, church, and the grocery store. None presented her with great opportunities for meeting people.
Work was at once an escape and a worry. It took her mind off the worry that her life wasn’t progressing as planned. But the work itself wasn’t exactly curing cancer. Still, the job paid well, and it gave her freedom and control. Renee’s clients didn’t care when the work got done. Most of the time, they didn’t even understand what it was that she was doing. Corporate IT security. She was an anti-hacker. She liked to joke with her niece, who adored Harry Potter books, that she was like a witch who specialized in the Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Renee had started off after college in one of the big multimillion-dollar corporations. Now they were her competition. They didn’t see it that way. They didn’t know she existed. But she had a book of business. About six figures a year. Nothing to scoff at, but it could dry up in a heartbeat. And she always felt the pressure.
And loneliness. And guilt. She was thinking about seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist — whichever one didn’t give you medicine. She didn’t want medicine. Just someone to tell her how to get her life back on track. Maybe a life coach? No. She had read that many of them were people who’d been laid off.
Renee kept telling herself that in another year or so, things would finally change for the better. She would get a new big contract and would have more time to get things done. It would be easier then. She would then read more, work out more, and travel more. She would call up her best friends from college and demand that they go hike the Appalachian Trail with her. She had so many adventures that she wanted to have, before she grew too old, and before her life began to fade away into memories.