The Ice Man's Revenge

The Ice Man's Revenge 

Betty's lip quivered and her shoulders sagged, "you're breaking up with me?" John could sense the tears. Why must there always be waterworks? He could also sense the prying eyes of the nosy cafe customers and staff alike. John spotted a chubby bearded man craning his neck, greedily eavesdropping while he slurped an iced coffee. 

John clears his throat and simply says, "yes." 

Water streams down her face so powerfully that John thought she must have a sprinkler behind her eyes. He couldn't stand crying, and always took it as his cue to leave. He waited for a beat, and gently placed one hand on her pulsating shoulder, while the other slipped a $20 onto the table. He patted her on the back and stood in one motion, before she could look up, he was gone. 

Later that day, John is telling his coworker, Aaron about the breakup. Aaron shakes his balding head disapprovingly, it amazed him how many women John managed to break up with, "Man you're cold as ice." This isn't the first time John has heard him say that. 

A smack on his shoulder makes John flinch. The knobby paw belongs to the head of the agency, Ralph Redding. Ralph is grinning wildly, and holding a copy of the post, "Hey Jonny boy! Congrats on landing Palmer! Huge news! Look here!" He pointed to a small blurb in the bottom corner of the paper, 

Projected NBA Lottery pick, Randle Palmer, inks deal with R.R agent, Johnathan Ryan. 

The blurb is dwarfed by a photo of Palmer dunking a basketball so hard that the hoop nearly broke. John nodded in a quasi-humble way, but he knew landing Palmer was a huge deal. John had worked at R.R. for two and a half years, and this was by far the biggest client he'd scored. There was a reason that his boss was elated, after all, it would make the company a ton of cash. John only received 20% of the 10% commission from Palmer's first deal. Palmer and his family would be stopping by later in the week to sign the paperwork, then that platinum Rolex he'd admired for months, would be his. 

After Ralph left, Aaron rolled his chair towards John's desk, he was holding a gold cross, "Are you going to be borrowing this again?" He asked with a smirk.

John couldn't help but smile. As silly as it sounds, that cross was a huge reason why he'd landed Palmer. Randle Palmer's father is a priest, and his parents accompanied him to all the agency interviews. John knew that if you got in good with the parents, you were golden. So he borrowed a cross from Aaron, brushed up on a few bible verses (which he sprinkled into their conversation), and acted like a God-fearing man for a couple of hours. Like taking candy from baby Jesus. 

After handing over the cross, Aaron annoyingly circled back to the breakup, "How long did this one last? A month?" John nodded and began overzealously hitting his keyboard, making it clear he was finished with the topic. Yet Aaron persisted, "Now that I think about it, she lasted longer than most of the others. Tell me the truth, was that your longest relationship?" he was only half-joking. 

In response, John shut his computer down, snapped his briefcase shut, and left without a word. It was only two in the afternoon, but John had some leeway after the big signing. Soon he would be promoted, and he could make his hours. 

It was an unseasonably warm day in the big city, so John opted to walk the twenty blocks to his apartment. He moved swiftly through a hoard of tourists, who were pointing stupidly at every building in sight, "I think that's the Empire State Building." He heard a slender man with a thick Spanish accent declare (it was not). He continued to race home, averting his eyes as he passed a cabal of beggars, "Please mister, do you have any change to spare?" 

Avoiding beggars 101:

Rule 1. Never look directly at them. 

Rule 2. Never stop moving. 

Once he was clear of the bums, his thoughts drifted to an unexpected place, "Man you're cold as ice..." Aarons's taunts usually bounced off him, so why was this pestering him? 

Because there's truth to what he's saying... 

What Aaron didn't know was why he was this way. Nobody in John's life understood the genesis of his ice manhood. 

THUMP. 

A mound of a man in a stringy red hood crashed into him, knocking him down on the hard-dusty sidewalk. John quickly lifted himself up, then yelled "Hey! watch where you're going!" The guy seemed to hardly notice their collision, as he was already half a block in the distance. He patted his chest as if to say "my bad" but kept waddling away. Ugh. Welcome to New York. 

Once John reached his one-bedroom abode, he was determined not to leave until the morning. The rest of his day was lost to online shopping, and dating. The former yielded more promising results. He decided that it wasn't too early to buy that Rolex, and a new Armani suit to pair it with. After all, the Palmer commission was going to be enormous. On the other hand, today's selection of eligible women left something to be desired. 

Why is her front tooth so much longer than the others? Left. 

Is that a mole or a zit? Either way, left. 

Pro-tip, if you're going to have three girls in your profile picture, don't be the worst-looking one. Left. 

"You're cold as ice..." The words danced around in his mind. Sighing deeply, he allowed himself to picture the golden blonde hair and the swimming pool blue eyes, that were once his. It had been years since he'd let himself ruminate on Michelle. She was his high-school sweetheart, the prom queen to his king, and the only girl he ever loved. 

John imagines himself standing in front of two paths. One would take him to a far worse college, but a college that she attended. The other path is reality. The one where he went to a top school and she found another guy. She told him they'd grown apart, and like a man abandoned in the arctic, he'd turned to ice. 

He tried to win her back, but she was smitten with the new man. Eventually, he realized she would never be his again. But he never unthawed, the ice only grew more jagged over time. 

He felt his heart pounding with an aimless fury; this is why he never allowed himself to think of her. He locked the memory away and fell into a dreamless sleep. 

The next day at the office, everything changed. Ralph waltzed over to his desk, he said, "Johnny boy! I'd like you to meet our new in-house accountant. This is Steven Bell." John felt his heart jump into his throat and his hands involuntarily curl into fists. It took all his willpower to muster a friendly nod. "Johnny here just landed that Palmer kid!" Ralph boasted. 

Steven said, "Oh that's terrific! I loved watching him in college." His voice was high-pitched, it was as if his voice-box stopped developing at 15. He had unkempt curly black hair, that looked like a pile of messy yarn. "Anyways, nice to meet you." John could only nod. 

When they were out of earshot, Aaron asked, "Did that guy run over your dog or something?" 

"Yes," John said as he snapped his briefcase closed. After all this time, the guy who stole his shot at happiness walked unknowingly into his life. 

When he reached his apartment, he realized that this was his chance to take another path. Steven was a pitifully unlucky gazelle, who'd landed in the den of a lion with a grudge. He lay on his couch, staring at the blank ceiling for hours, plotting his revenge. He scoured the internet for information on Bell, and by the time he went to sleep, he was ready to rip him apart. 

The next morning, there were a few changes to his routine. He styled his dirty blonde hair differently. He wore a new royal blue shirt that made his eyes pop. He even traveled four blocks further than normal and stopped at a cafe that he'd never frequented. He eyed a paper-thin waitress with raven-colored hair, who was carrying two iced teas in oversized glasses. He made his move. 

THUMP. 

The glasses crashed to the floor, along with the women. Puddles of golden-brown liquid blossomed across her white staff shirt. "I'm so sorry about that!" John said, flashing his pearly white smile. She looked up, intending to be angry but his looks disarmed her. "That's okay." She said sweetly. He gently took her hand and helped her to her feet. She started towards the customers, but John smoothly cut in front of her, "Let me make it up to you." He said suggestively. 

"You really don't have to. It was an honest mistake." Her fingers twirled nervously in her hair as she spoke. 

"Come on. Let me buy you a drink after your shift. What time do you get off?" 

The usual song and dance lasted a few minutes but ended with plans to meet in two hours for an early afternoon cocktail. He stopped by the office to check his emails (and to make sure Steven was there). The next time he truly needed to be at the office was in two days when the Palmers were signing the contract. The days of spending hours cold-calling were finally behind him. 

"John! Wait!" Aaron shouted but John pretended not to hear him. He intended to get to the bar early. 

The wine bar was one of John's favorite spots. The lighting was dim, almost dark, and John reserved a booth with purposely little legroom. She arrived 10 minutes late, which normally would be a deal breaker, but not today. She'd managed to change out of her stained staff shirt, and into a green sundress. The waiter dashed over with a bottle of sauvignon blanc (just as he'd instructed); he filled their glasses generously and left the bottle. They chatted for a while, it amazed her how many things they had in common. They had the same taste in music and books, and they'd traveled to many of the same places. 

"I bet we ran into each other in Italy and didn't even know it!" She said with a grin. 

Of course, he didn't care about music or books and he'd never been to Europe but that didn't matter. She was on her second glass and that's when he asked her back to his place. She turned pink. "I'd like to ...." 

"Then what's the problem?" He asked innocently.

"I'm actually married." He feigned surprise. "But if that's not something that bothers you, then it's fine with me." She tapped his leg as she spoke. 

"Why would it bother me...? I mean as long as you okay with it." 

"Some guys are uncomfortable participating in adultery. It is a sin after all" She sounded earnest. 

"Not me. I think you'll see that I'm okay with all sorts of sins." He winked and that sealed the deal. 

The following morning he took an extra long shower, then happily got ready for work. He skipped downtown, his briefcase was filled with photographs from yesterday's conquest. The only question was how to distribute them. He knew it was in his best interest to stay anonymous, but that wasn't going to work. I want to see the look in his eyes ...

He was surprised to find Ralph hopping around like an anxious rabbit near his desk. "John! What the heck! Where have you been?" 

John checked his new Rolex, it was 10 A.M, he wasn't late. He pointed this out, which was a mistake. "What are you? Some kind of Moron?!" John had never heard his boss get that loud. 

"What's the problem, Ralph?" He asked too causally. 

"The problem is that the Palmers have been in our conference room for the last hour and a half waiting for you!" 

John felt the bottom of his stomach fall through the floor, he tried to talk but his throat had gone dry. Finally, he managed to say, "I thought tomorrow..?" 

Apparently, they'd rescheduled for this morning. Ralph practically dragged him through the hall and into the large conference room, where three mammoth-sized humans were huddled around an iPad, watching a video. John tried to muster his charm, "Randle, Mister, and Misses Palmer, I am so sorry to have kept you waiting. Our secretary forgot to remind me that the meeting had been changed." 

John could feel his future hanging in the air, for a moment there were multiple paths in front of him. Then all three Palmers stood, the men nearly banging their heads on the ceiling. They moved as one to John. Six eyes appraised him intensely, then Mr.Palmer spoke, "I don't want my son represented by such a reprehensible character. We'll be seeking representation elsewhere." 

John's world froze. The hands-on his Rolex ticked mockingly, suddenly the watch felt like a weight that was dragging him back to earth. He barely registered Ralph chasing after the Palmers, begging them to reconsider. 

He walked like a crest-fallen zombie to his desk, and all eyes followed him. Aaron barely looked in his direction, "I tried to tell you yesterday that the meeting had been moved." He sounded gravely concerned. "but I guess it wouldn't have mattered much..."

John's voice was barely a whisper, "I just don't understand how this happened ..."

A look of sudden realization appeared on Aaron's face. He turned to his computer and tapped the spacebar, a sleazy voice said, 

"Then what's the problem?" 

No...Please tell me this is a nightmare. 

But the recording continued, "I'm actually married. But if that's not something that bothers you, then it's fine with me."

"Why would it bother me...? I mean as long as you okay with it." 

"Some guys are uncomfortable participating in adultery. It is a sin after all"

"Not me. I think you'll see that I'm okay with all sorts of sins."

He knew he was ruined. Suddenly, His face began to burn, he panicked, fearing that he was having a stroke, but the source was a single tear. He could hear the audio echo throughout the office, coupled with snickering and sounds of disapproval. He lamely opened his computer and saw that he had two unread emails. Both were from Steven Bell. The first was a link sent to the entire company, including every client. The second was only to him, 

Dear John, 

I know you think too highly of yourself to ever believe it was you who fell into my trap. I've hated you for longer than I can remember, you are the reason that Michelle left me. If not for the way you constantly degraded me, in your pathetic attempts to win her back, she and I could have made it. Alas, I bided my time, and my patience was rewarded. 

When I saw you'd landed Randle Palmer, I knew that your career was set to take off. I've watched you for years, I knew you must have lied to Palmer about the kind of man you are. I also knew you'd jump at the chance to get revenge on me and I knew how you would do it! Tsk tsk so predicable. You deserve to know that you did not commit adultery, Trisha is not my wife, she is an enterprising young woman, who I paid handsomely to go along with the ruse, recording and all. 

Don't bother coming after me. By the time you're reading this, I will be long gone. Now that this business is behind us, I hope you're able to move on. I find myself relieved to no longer carry this grudge. Perhaps, you can grow from this too. 

Not holding my breath, 

- Steven