Gerald woke up early the next day. He spent the morning in his apartment complex's gym. He worked up a good sweet before returning to his place and taking a long shower. When he had dried off, he walked towards his closet and opened the door. After looking over everything for a moment he shook his head and shut the door.
He turned the knob the opposite direction and then opened the door again. This time a fifty-foot walk in closet lay on the other side. He entered while running his finger across the hangers, trying to decide what he wanted to wear.
After pacing back and forth several times he finally set his sights on a sharp grey colored suit. He pulled it down and then grabbed a belt and shoes that matched the style of the suit.
In front of a full-length mirror, he slowly got dressed while paying attention to every little detail. After he was dressed, he pulled open a drawer on an table in the closet and looked over his selection of watches.
When he found one that struck his fancy, he took it along with a pair of sleek eyeglasses.
Dressed and ready to go, he checked his wrist for the time. He still had an hour till lunch. Gerald sat on his couch and played with is phone until it was time.
Checking his watch again, he left his apartment and locked the door behind him.
Stepping out onto the street he walked two blocks till he came to a small café that was tucked between two large buildings.
"Hello sir, how many are dining today?" The hostess asked.
"Two, my guest has yet to arrive. If available I would like the corner table on the second floor, the one that overlooks both the alley and the street." He said while placing a fifty-dollar bill on the hostess's stand.
She quickly glanced at the seating diagram. When she found the table to be empty, she pockets the cash and looked back up towards Gerald. "That is no problem sir, please follow me."
Gerald followed the long-legged blond without giving her a second glance and took his seat with his back to the window when he arrived.
A minute later a waiter arrived. "Sir, would you like to order a drink while you wait on your company?" The man asked.
"Sure, I will take a hot tea, whatever the special is today. And do you have vanilla ice cream in stock?"
"I will have to check; the chef only makes it once a week."
"If you do, put a scoop in a glass of root beer for my guest." Gerald instructed while setting a fifty dollar bill on the table.
The waiter nodded and pocketed the cash.
A young woman in her twenties walked up to the second floor. She looked around and found Gerald sipping his tea while sitting in the corner. She hurried over with a soft smile.
Gerald rose from his seat when he saw the short slightly-chubby woman with her frazzled hair pulled into a ponytail.
"Gerald."
"Amy." He said while pulling out the chair for her to sit down. "I thought you wouldn't be coming into town until next month." He said while taking his own seat.
"I came early because I want to celebrate."
"Oh, what is the occasion?" He happily asked.
"I signed another writer to the company a few days ago. I am now an editor with more than one client." She said with a pleased expression. She noticed Gerald frown. "Don't be salty, you are still my priority. This guy only wrote a single book and according to him it took three years. You are still my priority."
"Hmpf, well congratulations. You are no longer a newbie editor."
"Pssh." She laughed. "I still have colleagues who have many more artists under them, and they have only published half of the works that I have. You are my golden goose. You will always be my most important writer. I see you managed to get ahold of our normal table. I hope you didn't come too early."
"No, I only arrived a few minutes ago. I asked for it and luckily it was open."
"Ma'am." Said the waiter as he set down the root beer float.
Amy's face lit up with joy as she saw the drink in front of her. "My favorite. You remembered." She remarked before quickly grabbing it.
Gerald couldn't hide his smile when he saw the unrestricted joy that she expressed. His expression vanished when he saw her pout.
"You are so bad, I told you that I am on a diet and trying to lose some weight."
"Don't frown, aren't we celebrating. Besides, you look beautiful exactly how you are. You should give up that idea of a diet. I think you are perfect."
Amy's frown vanished after she successfully fished out a compliment. She then happily drank her drink.
"Okay, tell me more about your newest work." She said.
They ate lunch and chatted for over an hour. After Gerald insisted on picking up the bill she didn't argue anymore. While it is true that the editor usually treats the artist. They were both close friends and they both knew that Gerald made a lot more than she did.
Gerald then escorted her out of the café.
"Where are you staying while you are here?"
"Since I booked my flight last minute, I didn't have any time to reserve a hotel room. As a local, do you have any recommendations?"
"How long do you plan to stay?" He asked.
Amy tilted her head and thought about it. "Maybe a week or longer, I am not sure."
Gerald hesitated for a minute as they walked down the sidewalk. "I have an empty guest room."
"Great." She said while taking his arm and leaning her head against him. "I parked my rental car in your buildings garage already." She said with a soft giggle.
"Then let me help you with your bags."
The two vanished into the parking garage under his building.
***
Gerald brought her luggage up to his place and placed it in his spare room.
She looked around for a moment and then looked towards the bed.
"Is there something wrong?"
"The bed, it looks questionable. I don't like those beds that are soft like marshmallows, I like a firm and tough bed."
"Eh, it's not bad, feel free to test it out."
"Okay." She said while jumping onto the bed. She then turned around and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him on.
***
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Oh Gerald, you're amazing. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Right there! AHHHHHHHHH!"
***
Amy collapsed on Gerald's bare chest while panting heavily. He grabbed the sheet and pulled it up over them as she ran her finger up and down his stomach.
"Why are you so good to me?" Amy asked while staring towards his covered feet.
"You deserve it." He said while kissing the back of her head.
"But with your money and looks, you could be with models or rich heiresses. I know who I am, I know what I look like. Sometimes I think you are playing a big joke on me. Why would you spend time with me when you could have any number of beauties throw themselves at you?"
Gerald wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "We have been working with each other for a few years now. You should have a good idea of how I am. Being happy and comfortable is what I desire. I am both happy and comfortable with you."
"Then why haven't you asked me…" She stopped and then turned her head to look at Gerald. "I have decided that I am not satisfied with this bed. Are their any other rooms available in this hotel?" She asked with a cheeky smile.
"Hmm, our establishment does have one more room, but it is currently occupied."
"I don't mind sharing."
"Then our bellboy will move your luggage when he is available."
"Oh, it won't be taken care of right away? Is this how your hotel treats guest?"
"I am sorry ma'am. He is currently deal with a pressing matter."
"What could be so pressing?"
Gerald flipped Amy onto her back and pressed down on top of her.
***
That evening Gerald rested his head on Amy's lap while she ran her hands through his hair. The two spent the evening chatting and laughing while watching movies that they both enjoyed. At the end of the night, they both shared Gerald's room.
In the morning, Amy answered the door and received the breakfast they ordered. She then set the waffles, eggs, and fruit on the table before proceeding to make a pot of tea.
"Breakfast is ready." She shouted once finished.
The shower turned off and a minute later Gerald came and joined her.
"You must have slaved in the kitchen this morning to prepare such a spread." He said while throwing away the takeout bag.
"It was so tiring, you must make it up to me later." She said with a giggle.
"That can be arranged." He said while sitting across from her and filling a plate before passing it to her.
They happily ate until Gerald's phone rang.
Amy saw him frown when he looked at the caller I.D.
"Do you need to step out to take that?" She asked, a little curious to know who would call him so early.
"No it's fine." He said while answering the phone. "This is Gerald."
"Hello Mr. Acers. This is General Dasher."
"What's up?"
"The reason for my call is that things have developed in a rather unexpected manner."
"Spit it out." Gerald said.
"It is like this. The last thing I did before I retired was add your name to the staff of our unit. You are listed as a training consultant. I normally wouldn't have done this, but my three replacements don't have the same reputation as I do. I was worried that they wouldn't be able to handle and quash every disturbance that came your way. They are still young and do not have my connections. So I decided to put your name on the registry. All the people in our unit receive the highest protection. The registry keeps everything in check. If the police run a name on our registry, we are alerted and their boss's boss's boss gets a call and is told to back off. Same goes for media and other various situations."
"Hmm, and?"
"I failed to predict that our registry would automatically submit your name and position to the accounting department to issue you a paycheck. And when money starts to move, people always notice. The Military Oversight Department looked into it and saw that a check was issued even though you never once signed into any of our bases and no expense reports were provided to indicate that our people went to a private facility to receive training from you. MOD followed procedure and called the Secretary of Defense since no one else in the military is above my old unit in the chain of command. This morning the Secretary of Defense sent an email to Alpha, asking for an explanation. He wanted to know why they were paying a consultant that didn't consult. I am sorry about this, but I really didn't plan for things to happen like this."
"So you are telling me that I must actually consult for your department now?" Gerald asked, a little miffed at what happened.
"…Unfortunately, that is the case. If you were to be removed from the registry, there will be a lot of unanswered questions. Mr. Acers, I am truly sorry about this."
"…"
"Mr. Acres?"
*Sigh*
"Mr. Acres? Gerald?"
*Click*
Gerald hung up the phone.
Amy finished putting whipped cream on her and Gerald's waffle and then looked at him. "What's wrong? Is it something I can help with?" She enthusiastically replied.
A smile crept across his face when he saw he concern and willingness to help.