The Mark

5. Fate

...Saturday...

My alarm went off at 6 am- the same time I have it set every day of the week. I wanted to get in a quick workout before I had to work. Since I was working from home, I was able to have a slightly longer workout. So I decided to go for a run since I didn't have to be in the office. I was halfway into my run when my Earpods signalled that I was getting a call.

I double tapped the right headphone to answer the call.

"Damian Stone." I said professionally into the speaker, not knowing who had called me.

"Dame. I need you to go to a meeting on my behalf." Zane said.

"Zane? What's up, bro? Why can't you go yourself?" I asked my brother.

"I'm still in England right now, and one of our clients is having a fit. I need you to go there and smooth everything over with them."

"Who? And what's wrong?" I ask.

"Benjamin Fonacali. He seems to be under the impression that he's been hacked." My brother began. From his tone, I could tell he was rolling his eyes, just like I was.

Benjamin is a very proud but idiotic councilman. Whenever he can't get something to work, immediately he's under the impression that he's been hacked. It was funny at first. But now it's just getting irritating. Benjamin continually threatened to end the contract, pleading that we gave him faulty products. The only reason we haven't just ended his contract was because of his status. Even though his claims were illegitimate, he still had a powerful word of mouth. If people thought our products could be hacked, we could say goodbye to our business. Who wants tech devices that can be easily hacked?

I ran my hand along my forehead, closing my eyes, as I sighed into the speaker.

"Do I really need to go? Couldn't you just ask one of the Stonticians?" I ask, referring to the numerous amount of tech wizards we employed. Since they work for us, we like to call them the Stonticians- referring to Stone Technicians. It was a fun play of words my brother and I had called ourselves when his company was merely but a dream. The name just stuck.

"No. It has to be you. You know how Benjamin is. If anyone other than you or me go, he'll make a big thing out of it." Zane sighs.

I sigh into the phone, placing a hand on my hip. I know Zane is right. I may not be as good as my brother, but we went to MIT. We both graduated with honours. I was just more interested in the business side of things, whereas my brother gravitated to the tech side. So while my brother was the true face of the company, I played a large part in its success. I held just as much weight as my brother did. Even though I wasn't CEO. I still had a high-ranking role within the company.

"Fine. I'll do it. Does it have to be today? Or can I go tomorrow?" I ask.

"Damian Maverick Stone." Zane said, irritated. Zane only ever called me by my full name if he was mad at me or trying to act professionally. Given the current scenario, it was easy to rule out it wasn't the latter.

"All right. I got it—no need to get your panties in a twist. I'll go today. It may just be a bit more difficult, that's all."

"Do I even wanna know?" Zane sighed.

"Let's just say that I don't exactly have access to a car right now.." I began.

"I don't even know how that's possible when you own like five of them, not even including your three drivers."

"Well, let's just say that I'm considering getting a fourth and perhaps another car."

"But you never drive!"

"That's not true. I just don't have a lot of time."

"The point?"

"The point is, if you want me to see Benjamin today, you need to let me go, so I can figure out how that's even possible." I say, rolling my eyes.

"Fine. Whatever. Oh, and one more thing. Bill called me. We need to talk when I get back." Zane said pointedly. He disconnected the call right after.

I couldn't say I was surprised. After all, I knew he had called my brother. I just wasn't looking forward to this 'talk' with my brother. Ever since we were kids, my brother was the studious good child. Whereas I was always the miscreant. When I was younger, I did it as a way to get attention. Once my father ran out on us, I began to act out even more. In my own way, I think it was a coping mechanism to dealing with the abandonment of my father. While I would tell myself that his absence never affected me, deep down, I knew I was lying to myself. My rebellious nature grew tenfold. I had your classic bad boy angst when I was younger. I got a full sleeve tattoo and started smoking before my fourteenth birthday. I started sleeping around and even committed a few B&Es. I probably would've been in jail if it wasn't for my brother. Thankfully for me, Zane was a prodigal hacker and would manage to scrub my misdoings so they could never be connected to me. So, in a way, I think his helping me might have been detrimental to me. As I knew, if I was ever caught, my brother could save me. I went from minor misdemeanours to major felonies. In my past, I've committed several different types of felonies. From, but not limited to, arson, fraud, forgery, vandalism, even high-speed car chases and drug possession. I was your classic bad boy without a care in the world.

Thankfully, by the time I was done high school, I had grown out of that stage. Now, all I do is sleep around a lot. Though I typically try to be a bit more subtle about it. My actions with Bill last night were probably the most public I've made my actions known in a long time. I know it was petty, but Bill just brings out the worst in me for some reason. I think part of it is because he reminds me of my own dad. He never liked me; rather, he only ever loved my brother. I remember feeling disappointed in myself for my own father not liking me. I tried my best to be more like Zane, hoping that he would approve of me. But, regardless of what I did, my father never paid attention to me.

I gave up on my run and made my way back to my condo. I contacted my assistant Zach to help me figure out how I was meant to get to Boston. As if it wasn't hinder-some enough that we had to visit Benjamin in person, the worst part was that I had to go all the way to Boston. Manhattan to Boston was typically a three-hour drive. However, by air, it would just be an hour.

Even though Zach was my assistant, he was also the closest thing I've ever had to a best friend. We were quite close and had more of a relaxed relationship. We both felt comfortable talking to each other about our conquests and would often meet up after work at one of the clubs. I considered him like a brother. He had been my assistant for nearly five years now. He's been loyal to me from the get-go.

I showered and changed quickly. Zach had managed to get me on a direct flight to Boston. However, being a weekend and on short notice meant that it was difficult to arrange a flight back. Not only that, but we weren't even sure how long I'd be. I asked him to watch the flight times and let me know if there were any complications. Since I would be in a meeting all day, I wouldn't have time to track flights.

After a gruelling day, I finally managed to get on a late flight back to JFK. I would still need to figure out how to get back from the airport, but I wasn't concerned about that right now. I would probably just take a taxi.

I leaned back in my seat, utterly exhausted. Benjamin had kept me at his office all day. What he had assumed was malware was actually just a failed update. It turned out that the tenants in the office building they shared had turned the power off during the middle of the night as they were working on the electrical panels. Since our systems normally perform their updates overnight, the systems misfired because they were missing the update. It was a simple fix, not that Benjamin cared. Rather, he kept me there the remainder of the day to ensure no other computers had any issues. Zane would owe me for doing this. There were so many things I needed to get done and didn't get a chance to do anything. So I was just grateful to be heading back finally. I couldn't wait to jump in my bed and go to sleep.

Though it seemed as though someone had it out for me, when I arrived at JFK, I found out that there was a major sports event happening in downtown New York, which meant that all the cabs were unavailable. As if that wasn't bad enough, every car rental agency was also completely booked. So I decided to call Zach.

"ZACH! What the hell?! Why didn't you tell me that I wasn't going to be able to get home tonight?" I ask, furious.

"What do you mean?"

"WHAT DO I MEAN?!" I asked, incredulous.

"WHAT I MEAN IS HOW THERE ARE NO CARS OR TAXIS AVAILABLE!" I yelled. I noticed people around me were staring, but I couldn't be bothered. I was pissed. Not because of Zach or the lack of cars, but rather because I just needed to get home.

The line remained silent for a while. I could hear the familiar clicks as Zach typed away furiously on the keyboard. Then, after a brief pause, I heard him pick up the phone.

"There may not be any cars, but I found the next best thing."

"What?"

"The bus."

"As in a public bus?"

"What other bus would I be talking about?"

"I don't know! A party bus?"

"Really? That's what you're thinking of right now?"

"Well, I can't deny that I need to relieve some tension right about now."

"Perhaps you'll find someone on the bus?" He replied, making me roll my eyes.

All of a sudden, I saw this stunning blonde rush past me. She didn't seem to notice anyone around her as she almost ploughed into me. I grabbed her arm protectively, afraid she might fall from the contact. I stood there stunned as she turned to look at me. Not only was she stunning, but she had the most incredible eyes I've ever seen. In the light, they actually looked purple. Then, depending on how she looked at me, her eyes appeared to change colours from blue to purple. It was absolutely mesmerizing. I've never even had these thoughts about a woman before. Typically I just notice their curves and go from there. But this girl was different.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there." She said, pausing momentarily.

"That's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt."

I noticed how she blushed from my comment and found myself smiling at her innocence.

"Anyways. I better get going. I'm going to be late." She said, turning away from me.

I watched as she ran towards the bus stop where the bus was waiting. She quickly dashed on board and found a nearby seat.

"Dude... you still there?" I heard Zach ask me over the phone.

I had temporarily forgotten that I was talking to him.

"Ya. Right. I think you're right. I'll take the bus." I said and quickly ended the call. It's been nearly a decade since I've last been on a bus. But in any hope, this bus trip would prove to be beneficial in more than one way.

I ran towards the bus and climbed on board. The driver looked confused. I quickly pulled out one of my black cards and paid the driver. I wasn't even sure where this bus was going. I just hoped that I could get home somehow.