Tales From Sechs City
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welcome to Sechs City, a wealthy, middle-class costal area of Western America in the state of California. A gorgeous, quiet largely uneventful place, people move to the city to follow their dreams, to live their day-to-day lives. It's almost too perfect to be true...
Heidi tried to show as little frustration as possible on her face as she opened the door to let her best friend of a year and a half in, but Isabella didn't seem to notice any sign of annoyance on her face as she sauntered in, dressed in a tight white strapped top and short denim skirt, her tanned legs ending with a pair of sports trainers. Under her long blonde hair, her light pink bra straps betrayed the colour of the underwear that was supporting her 38C breasts, underwear which hid itself surprisingly well under cotton of the top.
'How's the blushing bride, then?' she asked cheerily as Heidi closed the door behind her.
'Fine,' replied Heidi, though a little testily. 'I'm fine.'
Isabella nodded and sat down on the sofa. 'Mike gone already?'
Heidi grinned widely. 'Yeah, he has; Izzie, guess what? He got promoted yesterday!'
Isabella raised an eyebrow. 'Really? Promotion, hey? Well, now I guess you can afford that royal carriage you've always had your eye on.'
Heidi tutted. 'Don't make fun. This is a big deal for him, for both of us!'
'Okay, okay,' said Isabella, raising up a hand in mock surrender. 'Seriously, I'm happy for you guys. I've never known a guy work as hard as Mike does, so I guess he deserves it. Now are you sure you're going to be okay all on your lonesome for the next couple of nights without your big strong man to come and protect you? 'Cos you know you can still totally crash at mine, or I can come here, whatever.'
Heidi shook her head. 'Nope, I'll be fine. Anyway, my Mum and Dad are coming over early, remember?'
'Okay, but I don't have to tell you, I'm just across the road.'
Isabella lived in a small house almost exactly opposite Mike and Heidi. She had been the first person to welcome to the neighbourhood when they had moved in, and the two blonde ladies had hit it off right away. Usually Isabella worked as a PA for one of the big business in the financial district of Sechs City, but she had managed to persuade him to let her take the week off to help Heidi with the wedding. Heidi was sure she knew just exactly how Isabella's boss had been 'persuaded'. Her friend was not shy about admitting all her kiss and tell stories, and freely announced her love of sex.
'Okay, blushing bride,' Isabella said now, 'What's the plan for today?'
'Well, maid of honour,' said Heidi, stretching a little. 'I've really got to get to the golf club to check on things there. Then there's the florist to ring, the cake to check, the musicians to rehearse...'
'Uh huh, yeah, blah blah blah,' interrupted Isabella, rolling her eyes. 'We can do all that, IF you let me take you shopping this afternoon!'
'Shopping?' Heidi said suspiciously. 'What for?'
Isabella smiled slyly, her blue eyes twinkling. 'It's a surprise.'
'Izzie...'
'Nope, don't start protesting. I'm allowed to spoil my friend once in a while, especially if she's getting married in three days time.'
'Okay,' sighed Heidi. 'But only after we've done all the chores I have to do. I'll go and get dressed; there's some coffee in that mug on the table if you want it, but it might be cold, I'm warning you now.'
As Heidi left the room, Isabella picked up the mug and peered into it curiously. Heidi never usually left a near-full mug of coffee un-drunk. She tasted it a little; it seemed fine. So why...?
She glanced downwards and found a screwed up invitation which, as she picked it up, felt slightly sticky. She lifted it to her face and gave it a quick sniff. Her smile widened.
'Naughty blushing bride,' she said to herself, then laughed.
***
Kevin, still sitting in his seat watching cartoons, was understandably surprised to see Mike back from work so early. 'Forgot your packed lunch?' he asked sarcastically. But he reacted with real anger when Mike told him of the sacking at Clarke & Bros.
'Those stupid stuck up bastards!' he raged. 'Look. I'll go right there and give them something to think about...'
Mike looked amused at his friend. 'Seriously? Kev, you couldn't give a chipmunk something to think about. No, I'm in enough trouble with them as it is. I don't want to make even more mess. But thanks.'
'But are they really serious about this whole female harassment bullshit?'
Mike shrugged and collapsed on the worn out sofa. 'Guess so, though I haven't got a clue where they would get such an idea. In the last year I've only ever worked for three, four female clients...and always, always I'm the perfect gentleman. Unless one of them got the wrong idea.'
'What, thought you wanted to play at Handsome Stud Lawyer and Lonely Rich Widow or something?'
'I wasn't gonna put it like that, but yeah.' Mike groaned and rubbed his forehead with his hands. 'What am I going to tell Heidi?'
'I don't know, bro, but you're gonna have to tell her sooner rather than later, especially if she's got this dream wedding all planned out.I don't know; maybe you oughta call it off for a while?'
'We can't cancel the wedding now! Everything's all set out just the way she wants it. It's perfect for her.'
Kevin got up out of his chair. 'Dude, you need to start pushing your weight around a bit more in your relationship. Just tell her straight that you're gonna have to start making a few small sacrifices for the big day. Do you want a beer?'
'No, thanks,' Mike replied, not wanting to admit to the fact that he had drunk four an hour ago.
'Right, well I'm gonna get one for me, and I'm gonna be reeeeeeeal slow about it, so you've got plenty of time to call Heidi. All right?'
Mike sighed as Kevin went out of the room. His friend was right; he had to tell Heidi what had happened before the wedding became even more expensive than it already was. He knew that she would probably think of something last minute that she desperately wanted -- she always did with these big occasions, and this, well, this was probably the biggest occasion of the lot, so she was bound to think of something.
Then there was the wedding night -- she'd said she'd planned something really special for then. Mike felt his wallet scream slightly. Kevin was right about one thing; lately it seemed Heidi was the one wearing the trousers, particularly in the bedroom department. He'd put it down to simple wedding fever, but now he wasn't so sure.
Mike put his hand in his pocket to find his cell phone, and pulled out a piece of white card along with the small blue oblong. For a moment he glanced at it, puzzled, and then remembered the pretty features of Stacey Field, her pearly white teeth, those three silver butterflies on that silver chain. Boy, had she been cute. What was it she had said? 'My boss heard about your situation and was very interested in your track record, Mr Crane. We'd like to offer you a more exciting job with a lot more pay than the salary you would have got from your promotion at Clarke & Bros.'
Mike looked at the card again. 'Narina Ltd' it said over the number. His mind started to work over time. What if, just what if, he went to see this company, had an interview with them, got a job with them? Then he could keep it until after the wedding, but Heidi wouldn't mind because he was earning more money...
He got a coin from some loose change in his other pocket and flipped it. Heads, call Heidi. Tails, call this number.
It landed tails.
Taking a deep breath, Mike dialled the number on the card and waited. The connection rang twice before there was an answer. 'Narina Ltd?' The voice was that of a high-pitched male.
'Er...hi. My name's Mike Crane, and, er, one of your employees talked to me earlier today...'
'Oh, yes, Mr Crane, how lovely to hear back from you so soon. Now we'd love to set up a meeting with you as soon as possible. Are you free at all later this afternoon?'
***
Moments later, Mike was riding in a cab to an address that was just outside the financial district. He hadn't told Kevin where he was going, in case his friend tried to talk him out of it. He'd just said he was going to go for a walk to clear his head, to which Kevin had replied with a not-listening, 'Uh huh,' as he sat watching more cartoons.
Soon the cab arrived outside a rather anonymous looking brick building with a set of glass double doors as its entrance. There were one or two windows along the walls, but apart from them there didn't seem to be much sign of this been a prosperous solicitor firm.
'Are you sure this is the right place?' Mike asked the cab driver, who scowled back at him.
'Look, buddy, I've been driving this cab for five years. I think I know where I'm going, don't you?'
'Okay, okay, sorry,' Mike replied and handed him his fair, minus the tip. After taking one more look at the outside of the building, he walked towards the entrance and through the glass doors, his nerves all over the place.
The reception room was a little way into the building, with a deep red carpet and a light paint on the walls. The desk, which had a bright bold 'Narina Ltd' on its front, was occupied currently by a middle-aged, slightly balding man wearing a phone headset and furiously typing away on a cordless keyboard.