Thursday
Late Thursday afternoon, Cooper calls King to inform him the contract negotiation went well, and they have a new contract for a mega-sized housing project on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. The expected start date is later this summer. Cooper asks King to meet him at home later this evening and he will explain all the details and discuss the next steps. They agree to meet at 7:00 pm. Everything is working out nicely, thinks King.
King arrives at the Cooper home at 7:10 pm. He has never been a stickler for timeliness. When Cooper hears him at the door, he simply yells “Come on in.”
King walks into the open great room carrying his black leather briefcase and sees Cooper sitting in one of his high back recliners reading some paperwork. An open Coors Light sits on the small round table next to his chair. King looks through to the kitchen and sees Naomi cleaning up the dishes from dinner. She looks at him, “Hi Justin, how are you doing?”
“Fine Naomi, thanks for asking,” he responds.
“Justin,” says Cooper, “would you like a beer?”
“That sounds good. A little celebration.”
“Hey Naomi,” shouts Cooper, “would you mind bringing Justin a Coors Light?”
Naomi pulls a beer from the fridge and carries it to King, handing it to him with a smile, but not saying anything.
“Thank you, Naomi,” nods King with a wink.
“Let’s go into my study to review the contract and talk,” suggests Cooper. Both men then retreat through the double French doors into Cooper’s large office. Cooper shows King the contract and explains some of the details. He then discusses the need to hire more people over the summer in preparation for the work ahead.
“Are you ready for another beer?” asks Cooper.
“Yes, I am.”
“Okay, wait here and I’ll go get us one,” Cooper tells him as he leaves the office.
King quickly gets up out of his chair and goes to the bookshelf behind Cooper’s desk. He knows where Cooper usually keeps his handgun, hidden behind the second row of books. King reaches behind the books sweeping his hand side to side until he finds it. A silver snub nose Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver. King grabs it and quickly puts it in his briefcase, then sits back down in his chair. Moments later, Cooper walks back into the room with two opened cans of Coors Light. “Here you go,” he says as he hands King another beer.
The two men remain in the office for another hour discussing the next steps in fulfilling the new contract, and the future of the company. Cooper then addresses what has been bothering him.
“Justin, you do know that I’m going to need you to be at the top of your game for this project,” advises Cooper.
“What do you mean?” says King with a look of surprise.
“We need to keep projects on schedule, this contractor is very cost-conscious.”
“I know that,” says King with indignation.
“Maybe, but your effort has not been the same the last couple of years. With this new contract, you will need to step it up.”
“I’ve done as much for this company as you have,” insists King.
“I know you have. I’m just saying we need to bring our best to this project. It will mean you will probably be working more hours and not taking so many afternoons off.”
“Don’t worry Ryan, I’ll pull my weight,” says King with a bit of an angry tone. “Believe me, getting this contract was very important to me.”
“Okay then, I’ll see you in the office tomorrow. Have a good night Justin.”
It is after 9:00 by the time they finish. Cooper walks King to the door telling him to drive safe.
“This company has a bright future,” says King as he turns and walks away. A very bright future for me that is.
Once King returns to his condo in Lone Tree, he removes Cooper’s .38 caliber revolver from his briefcase and opens the five bullet cylinder. It is empty. Typical Ryan, he has a gun for protection and doesn’t even keep it loaded. Guess I’ll have to load it myself.
Friday
The next day at noon, Naomi meets her sister, Serena Mills, for lunch at the Creamy Spoon Bistro in downtown Castle Rock. Five weeks ago Naomi had shared with Serena tales about her affair. Serena herself is happily married and not thrilled over Naomi’s cheating. However, she loves her sister, so she tries to be as supportive as possible, without approving of the affair. Naomi has not told her sister who the other man is. After talking for a short time, the topic of Naomi’s affair comes up.
“Are you still seeing this other guy?” asks Serena.
“Yes, and I spent the night with him on Tuesday.”
“Seriously?” a surprised Serena asks.
“Yes. Now, I know you don’t approve, but I haven’t felt this good about myself in several years. I feel alive again.”
“Have you told Ryan how you feel?”
“No, I haven’t been able to do that yet.”
“Naomi, if you are so unhappy with him, you need to be honest. Sneaking around with another man can only make things worse.”
“Yes, I know. I will tell him soon. But I had to be sure first. I also needed a plan for life after Ryan.”
“Who is this mystery guy? I’m dying to know. Will I know him?”
“Sorry Serena, I don’t want to say anything until after I tell Ryan. It’s only fair to him.”
“Well okay. If you need anything from me, you know I am here to support you.”
“I appreciate it. Thank you Serena.”
On her drive home, Naomi receives a call from King. She presses the answer button on her steering wheel to talk hands-free.
“Hey Naomi, you doing okay?”
“Yes, just had lunch with my sister.”
“Great. Hey, when is your next book club meeting?”
“Uh, next Wednesday evening at seven. We are meeting at my friend Debbie’s house.”
“That’s perfect,” exclaims King. “Next Wednesday night will be the night.”
“The night?”
“Yes, the night you become a free woman, and then we can get married. We’ll
