The Good Neighbour

"Goodnight, Chris," she whispered.

I sent a string of messages the next morning. All my friends were sad that they wouldn't have fun with me any longer but were delighted that Laura had warmed to me enough. I was surprised at the turn around in her attitude, but I wasn't going to fuck it up by pissing her off. As usual, I had visitors on the weekend, and Laura appeared this time without needing an invitation. I kept myself busy with all the kids as usual, playing all sorts of silly games, but I did hear snippets of conversation. Whenever I glanced in her direction, she was smiling.

Organising everything for Wednesday took a couple of days. Scared the shit out of Julie by calling her and announcing I wanted to visit by the office and my apartment. The whole reason was to make a point to Laura about the route I'd chosen. Whether she ended up believing me or not was a little out of my hands. All I wanted to prove, in the end, was that I was serious about my life where I was.

Still, I dressed to impress on Wednesday. I rarely ever wore a suit. I was one of those company owners happy to wear a shirt and slacks. But I had plans, so it was a dress shirt, cufflinks, suit and tie, expensive leather shoes, an expensive watch, designer shades, making sure I looked the part of a successful business and owner of a multi-million dollar company that only grew bigger with each passing month. I had my finger on the pulse, but I had plenty of good people working for me. I preferred being hands off, and hated micro-managing.

My phone rang, recognising the number. "You outside, Tim?"

"That I am, sir."

Heading outside, the limousine was parked outside my house, Tim standing by the rear door. "Circle around, Tim, and park outside number fifteen."

"As you wish, sir."

"My name is Chris."

We always had this argument. He smirked as always. "As you say, sir."

"Your son okay?"

He paused and the smile grew. "He's doing well, sir. Treatment seems to be working."

"Good. You ever need anything else, all you need do is call."

"I will. Thank you."

He circled the cul-de-sac and I could already see the ladies walking out of their homes. I saw Sally, Rebecca and Anna gazing at me in surprise. They usually saw me in nothing more than a t-shirt and shorts. I glanced their way and grinned before approaching Laura's front door. Knocking, she opened it to reveal herself as an actual goddess. She'd taken what I said to heart.

"How do I look?" she asked nervously.

"Angelic, if that's not too corny."

She then noticed what I was wearing. "I... I wasn't expecting..."

"As I said, it's a surprise. Are you ready to go?"

She grabbed her purse, a small coat, and announced she was. She was rather tall in her heels, up to about my shoulder. She noticed the limousine and stopped. "What the hell, Chris?"

"Tim, this is Miss Laura Cassidy. She's my guest for today."

"Does Miss Jenkins know you're coming, sir?"

"Yeah, she's already having kittens about it."

She looked at me. "Sir? He's calling you 'sir'?"

"I've told him to call me Chris, but does he listen? No. Swear he does it just to wind me up."

I opened the rear door for Laura to slid in. She glanced at me, a smile on her face but her eyes definitely wondering just what I had planned, closing it and quickly heading around the other side. Getting in, Tim had the partition down. "Office first, sir?"

"Aye, then we'll go to the apartment. Has it been cleaned?"

"Miss Jenkins has spent the past two nights in a hotel as she'd done nothing but fret the entire time."

I almost laughed. I trusted her implicitly but she did worry whenever I turned up out of the blue. At least I'd given her a couple days warning this time. Tim closed the partition and took off. Laura sat quietly next to me for all of five minutes before turning to me. "Okay, Chris, what the fuck is going on?"

"I promise you'll learn everything within the next few hours." I took her hand in mine. "Do you trust me?"

I didn't expect the immediate smile. "I do."

"Good."

Joining the freeway heading into the city, I offered her a drink from the bar. She suggested it was a bit early before laughing, taking the offered tumbler of liquor with ice. She sipped at it before glancing at me again. "Who are you again?"

"Christopher Jones."

She gave it some thought but it still didn't register. I wasn't actually famous. You had to keep up to date with the latest tech to even get a hint of my name. But that was only where I'd made my break. Since then, I'd gone far beyond that. Arriving in the CBD, Tim threaded us along the one-way streets before arriving outside the building where my offices were. I didn't own the building, I wasn't that rich nor influential, but I did have offices at the top with the best view.

"I'll wait in the lobby, sir," Tim said.

"We'll grab you when we're done upstairs."

Taking Laura by the hand, I greeted the security guards, leading us through the barriers, before pushing the button for the top floor. We actually had the top three floors, but it was the top where my barely used office was, and where those I left in charge made their home. The elevator opened and the woman behind the reception desk immediately grinned.

"Mister Jones!" she exclaimed, "I didn't know you were coming."

"Snap visit, June," I said, rounding the desk and hugging her, "How are you?"

"I'm just fine."

"And how's Bob? Is his heart okay?"

"He's doing much better now, sir. Much better."

"The CTJ Foundation?" Laura asked, "What's that?"

"Who is this?" June asked.

"June, this is Laura Cassidy. She's special."

"Well, about time, sir. About time after all that unseemliness."

"CTJ Foundation?" Laura asked again.

I looked at June. "Care to do the honours?"

"The Christopher Terence Jones Foundation. Experts in current and future technology, particularly in regards to tackling the issues that plague us today. Add to that a side dish of philanthropy. How many charities are we supporting now, sir?"

"Have to ask one of the eggheads in finance that." I gave her a hug again. "Lovely to see you again, June. Give Bob my best. Remember, if you have any problems, you've got my number."

"I will, sir. Thank you."

Opening the door, it wasn't as busy as the floors below, but it was still a hive of activity.

"Neil, how is Sue?" I asked, poking my head in an office. He was one of my directors. Good guy. A bit bland, but he was good at his job.

"Fine, boss. Just fine."

"Kids doing well in school?"

"Yeah, they're doing grand, boss. Thanks."

"Good to hear. Hope to see Sue and the kids at the company gathering in December."

"Sure. I've already mentioned it. She's eager to come as always."

"Good man."

I felt Laura squeeze my arm tight, no doubt wondering who she was watching. "Liam!" He recognised me and grinned, giving me a high five. If anyone knew about the finances, it was him. I liked him because he was a character, but when I needed him serious, he was a bulldog.

"Boss man, in the house!"

"How are the numbers looking?"

"Better and better, boss. The Japanese are fully invested now. Getting some Americans sniffing around now. If they buy in, we can add at least a zero to the value of the company."

"Get them on board as soon as possible. We get the Yanks on board, then we go for Europe. The likes of the Germans will love the idea. We've got the patent, but if we can spread it around, all the better."

"I'll crunch some numbers and have the boys on the phone non-stop."

I stopped and said hello to everyone. I wasn't in the office often, but when I appeared, I was only ever greeted by grins, handshakes, hugs. I looked after my employees. Julie was in her office on the phone, though as soon as I knocked as she saw me, she said goodbye, hung up and slid over to hug me. Not only did Julie run the day to day affairs, she was one of my best friends. We'd graduated high school in the same year. We'd never been intimate, our friendship far too important to both of us to involve sex, plus another reason.

"Let them know I was coming?" I asked.

"Of course not, Chris. You show up and it brightens their day. Most other bosses show up and I swear the stench of shit stinks out the floor." Realising what she just said, she blushed before noticing Laura next to me. "Ah, is this your friend, Chris?"

"Julie Jenkins, meet Laura Cassidy. Laura, this is Julie, otherwise known as JJ, though only to me and selected others. One of my oldest friends and the person I trust most to look after my foundation."

They exchanged friendly pleasantries before Julie suggested we head to my office. Unlocking the door, I opened it to reveal a rather large, luxurious room. Quite frankly, I thought it a waste of space, but Julie had insisted on it for the rare times I hosted important clients. Taking Laura by the hand, I led her to the window to take in the view. We could see the bridge, harbour and opera house in the distance. I let the two women chatter as I walked over to the drinks cabinet, pouring the three of us a tumbler.

Standing at the window, Laura turned to me again. "Who are you?" she asked softly.

"She doesn't know, does she?" Julie added.

"She knows what is important at the moment." I took her hand and met her eyes. "Laura, I'm sure you're figuring things out. I'm going to explain everything during the day. But all this... This isn't me. It's bullshit."

Julie scoffed. "Here we go. 'I'm just a boy from the west. Blah, blah, blah'." Then she seemed to remember everything, why I'd left it all behind in one way, and her face fell. "Shit, sorry, Chris. I sometimes forget."

"Don't sweat it, Julie. I try and forget about it most of the time too."

"Is this about..." Laura started to ask.

"Samantha Tyler was the fiancée," Julie said, "I liked her, but what she did to him? Bitch. Should be glad I never got my nails into her. In fact, there was a line of friends ready to deal with her. Megan Rainsford was his girlfriend who proved to be nothing but a giant slut. I never liked her. Always thought she was a rebound taken too far, but my best friend was in love."

"Now who's the broken record?" I retorted.

"I've been your friend for eighteen years, Chris. I'm still looking out for you after all this time."

"I know. It's why I love you." I glanced at Laura. "Platonic, of course," I added, before asking, "How's Jennifer?"

"She's just fine, sends her love as always. Wondering when you're going to visit for dinner."

"Who's Jennifer?" Laura wondered.

"Her wife."

"Oh..."

"It's why we never had sex, Laura," Julie said, giggling away, "The only penis I like is a fake one attached to my wife. Still love this big adorable doofus though."

"Jesus Christ, Julie!" I exclaimed, laughing away.

She kissed my cheek. "I'll leave you to talk. Are you going to the apartment after this?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't Jen and I join you there? We could enjoy lunch together. You know Jen loves to cook."

"Good idea."

"Got dinner plans?"

"Already have somewhere reserved. Explains the clothes."

"Okay. Lovely to meet you, Laura. I'll see you again quite soon."

"Lovely to meet you too."

I heard the door close behind me, sipping at our drinks before she put her glass down, turning towards me. "So you own a company, business, foundation, whatever you want to call it?"

"Yeah."

"And you are rich?"

"I have a solid bank account."

"And an apartment?"

"More than one. I own a dozen in the city. I rent out eleven of them, Julie took over the one I lived in until I moved to where I am now. They're investment properties. I intend to sell them eventually. They're usually a headache."

"You own a dozen apartments?"

"Yeah."

"Fucking hell, Chris. So what does your foundation do?"

"To be honest, we don't just do one thing." I took her hand and led her to the couch, sitting her down. "When I was nineteen, I designed an app for smartphones. It became far more popular than I anticipated. Soon enough, nearly anyone who had a smartphone had this app. It went global. It was a phenomenon. I was a multi-millionaire by the time I hit twenty as I refined the app, made improvements. Then I moved on to other things. I've always had an eye on the latest trends, and I'm good with numbers. So I invested my money and looked at what else I could do. I'm nothing if not ambitious, or at least I was. Within five years, I'd set up this company. My account just kept growing, but I didn't want to just rest on my laurels, nor did I just want to see my bank account grow and let it sit there. So, in addition to technological research, I made sure we invested in a charitable arm, looking after those less fortunate. I know how lucky I am to be in the position I am. Remember when I mentioned about 'Pay It Forward?' I do that big time."

"Who knows?" she asked.

"Mum, Dad and my sister. Only one of our friends where I live as we were having a heart to heart and I needed to tell someone. A couple of close friends who have known me most of my life."

She took my hand, meeting my eyes. "And me?"

"I wanted you to know me first, Laura. I trusted you straight away, but I wanted you to know me without all the bells and whistles. All this?" I gestured around. "I'm fortunate to be where I am, to have what I have. But it means nothing without having someone to share it with. Remember Samantha? I thought I could share this with her. The term gold-digger comes to mind regarding her. The recording proved it in the end. Megan was just a mistake. Those two relationships resulted in me being careful. I wasn't lying, it was..." I sighed. "I don't know..."

"Well, I do like the man you are, Chris. The man I met for dinner last week. The man who my children adore."

"Good. That's just what I wanted."

Julie joined Laura and I in the limo. It was only a short drive to the apartment. Jennifer was waiting for us, Julie no doubt calling her ahead of time. As they prepared lunch, I showed Laura around. While she was impressed with all the amenities, she mentioned it was more functional and a bit cold. Certainly not somewhere you'd raise a couple of children. She seemed to understand, at least partly, my desire to get away. The apartment had served its purpose, but by the end, I hated living there.

We enjoyed a long lunch together. Jennifer had a cracking sense of humour, the perfect foil for Julie. They could only marry recently due to the change in law, but they'd been together for ten years. I'd been the first person Julie had confessed her sexuality to. It had only brought us closer together, that level of trust. Julie told her the story and Laura smiled at me in such a way, Julie suggested to Jennifer they make themselves scarce.

I told Julie not to bother heading back to the office, the four of us sitting on the balcony to enjoy the afternoon sun and perhaps more than one bottle of wine. I wasn't a wine connoisseur, despite all the bottles I owned, but I did enjoy a particular bottle if it melded with a meal. I called Tim once it was close enough to the time of our dinner reservations. Asking Julie to bring Jennifer out to my house as soon as possible, I escorted Laura downstairs. It was only a short drive to the restaurant, one of the finest, if not the finest in the city.

I'd taken dates there before and my face was well known. It was one of the places that didn't list the prices on the menu. You just paid the bill at the end of the night without question. She leaned across the table. "Chris... What should I get?" she whispered.

"Whatever looks good to you, Laura. This is your night. Whatever you want to eat, whatever you want to drink."

She smiled at me. "I want one of everything!"

"Order it then."

I think she considered taking me up on my offer, but we both went with a three course meal, and a bottle of wine to accompany each course. I was amazed at how easily the conversation flowed, but while I relaxed in her company, she noticed enough to suggest the experience... It just wasn't me. The suit was starting to annoy me. The waiters were fake. The people around us were fake. I was recognised by people and I just detested most of them. Fake greetings, fakes laughs, fake fawning. By the end, I was gritting my teeth. I hadn't put up with this in a few months and I hadn't missed it for a second.

After paying the bill, I took Laura by the hand and led her outside. Tim was on his way. "You know the only real people in there? You and me, Laura. Did you believe any of them when coming up to talk to me?"

"Major whiff of bullshit and a lot of arse kissing."

"Tim, our driver today. I know all about him. He's a good friend. He was one of my first visitors to my new house. Him and a few of the boys sinking cans by the new pool. When he's not working, I'm just Chris. One of the guys. No-one special. I know his wife well. Sandra. Lovely women. You'd love her. His young boy? He was very sick. Needed specialist treatment in the United States. No way he could have afforded it. Cost him a minimum $150,000. I gave it to him, the full lot, not expecting a thing in return, just hoping to enjoy his continued friendship."

"Is that why he calls you 'sir'?"

I grinned. "Nah, he just does that to piss me off."

The limo arrived, Tim getting out to open the door. "Where to, sir?"

"Home, Tim. I mean my real home."

He smiled. "Of course, sir."

"And make sure you bring the family around soon. My fault for not asking you to come around again sooner. I've been rather busy with everything."

"I'll mention it to Sandra once I get home, Chris."

"Good man."

Laura snuggled into me during the journey home. He dropped us off outside Sally's house, as she'd looked after the kids again. As she collected them, I quickly headed home to get the hell out of my suit. T-shirt, shorts and trainers on, I found Laura still at Sally's house. Same as the previous week, I carried Mark and Emily across the road to her house, watching as she put Katie in her crib first, before we put Mark in his bed, then Emily in hers. She was dead to the world, so didn't wake up this time.

Laura changed into a shirt and shorts, walking out barefoot, grabbing a couple of beers from the fridge, joining me on the couch. Didn't even touch a drop before she straddled my lap, looking into my eyes. "I prefer this, Laura," I whispered, "What we've done today... The foundation does mean everything to me, because we're doing some good in the world, but it runs itself. I get emails constantly and deal with it that way, but I don't want to be there every day. Everything else? It's all bullshit. You know what I want? I want what we've had. The best Saturday night in my mind would be you curled up against me on the couch, the kids sitting on the floor in front of us, all of us watching some really bad TV after having enjoyed a hearty home cooked meal. But that's just me, Laura. What do you want? What do you think?"

"I think you're a wonderful man, Chris." She leaned down and kissed me, running my fingers through her hair as her tongue slid into my mouth. She smelled delightful again, that lingering perfume and just her natural scent. Maybe shampoo and soap too. Leaning back, she rested a hand against my chest. "While the meal was fabulous, that just isn't me, though it was a lovely treat. That dress I wore? It's the only one I have, and it seemed cheap compared to everyone else. Julie and Jennifer though? Delightful. Everything else? Frankly, I don't think I'm missing damned thing."

"She's from this part of the world, as is Jennifer. They do love that apartment though. They're not interested in kids. It's why I moved here. I didn't choose this street for any specific reason. I chose the house because it was a project to get my teeth into. Once that was done, I wanted to help everyone else, including you. Not by throwing money at you, but just by helping out where I could."