King of New York (33 page)

They walk
towards the aged but well-maintained log cabin. They’re greeted by an estate
agent.

“Welcome, Mr
Perry,” she says, as she takes out a big key from her bag to open the padlock
on the wide oak front door. “This cabin was erected during the Civil War by the
original owner.”

“I like it very
much,” says Chad, “and I like the fact that it has a history.”

They enter the
cabin. Amazingly, the interior is intact; there’s even a well-trodden red
carpet on the floor. The only thing, however, is the smell of damp, but Chad
dismisses it as the nature of the cabin draws him in. There’s a big fireplace
with logs prepared in the hearth as if the last person who was here wanted to
light a fire. Besides the spacious living room, the cabin has one large bedroom
with wide wooden windows on three sides of it. A big oak bed stands in the
centre of the room. The back of the cabin opens into a forest populated with
ancient trees. There is also a small unkempt garden at the back and broken
flowerpots with various plants in them.

Chad stands rapt
in the simplicity and solidity of the cabin, and the splendour of its rustic
surroundings. He thinks that whoever built this cabin must have had a sense of
sturdiness as well as a sense of the future.

“If you need a
cleaner and a gardener, I can get you one right away, sir.”

“No, this is
exactly what I need to be at one with my senses and nature.”

As they cross
the threshold of the house to take the walk back to the main road, the deal
done, Chad takes a look back at the cabin and its picturesque mountain view. He
comes to the conclusion that the one who built it had a “Robinson Crusoe” kind
of personality.

He says goodbye
to James and the estate agent as they exit the cabin. He is left all alone with
nature, and for the first time since Sierra left he starts to feel a sense of
true happiness as he looks up at the mountain with a smile on his face.

“This is
wonderful,” he says to himself, as he continues to look around the views
provided by his cabin. “Some things money just can’t buy, and happiness is one
of them,” he says to himself quite happily.

“He puts on the
kettle and makes some tea, something he never normally does. He takes a seat in
front of the fireplace and reads for hours until he falls asleep.

He wakes up the
following day and decides to go sightseeing after a cool shower. He comes to a
clearing on the crest of a small hill with a view of a small pristine lake
lying below. There is no sign of human habitation, only the sound of birds,
which he enjoys.

He spreads a
quilted mat on the ground and sits on it. The weather is hot but also breezy,
and he sighs deeply in appreciation of the cool that the breeze provides. He
takes out a turkey sandwich from his rucksack and eats it heartily. He enjoys
the simplicity of all he has done in the woods. A squirrel rushes past him and
he smiles as it disappears into the bushes.

Chad packs his
rucksack and heads down to the lake, which is about two hundred metres below
where he is. Chad, who is so excited at the idea of being so close to nature, takes
off his stonewashed jeans and white T-shirt and then jumps into the water.

The coolness of
the lake is soothing to his warm skin. He submerges into the water and swims
across the lake. He laughs loudly.

“I love you
nature!” he shouts, as the birds in the trees scatter into the air. “King Perry
loves nature. Yes I fucking do!” He shouts once more before getting out of the
lake and heading back to his cabin.

Chad has enjoyed
his first full day in the woods of California, but the following day it’ll be
time for him to go back to his kingdom in the concrete jungle.

He enjoys the
last hours of his stay by tidying the cabin’s small garden.

He puts on a
different pair of jeans and another white T-shirt. As if he knew that he’d be
embarking on some gardening, he had brought along a suitable pair of boots. He
looks at himself in the small mirror and almost laughs at his reflection. He
looks like a common man, something he’s wanted to see in himself since he’d
made his first billion dollars, but has never been able to ever since, until
now. He smiles, deep in thought. Sometimes he feels as if he may have lost part
of himself the wealthier he became.

“Have I lost
myself in all my wealth?” he quietly asks his reflection in the mirror. His
reflection does not say a word; instead, it looks intently back at Chad, in
exactly the same way that Chad looks at it. “It seems neither of us have an
answer,” he says to his reflection. “Come on, let’s go do some gardening,” he
says, as his reflection follows him from the mirror.

Chad goes to the
garden, grabs a worn-out stool and sits on it. He slowly puts both hands deep
into the soil, taking in the feel of the raw earth. He closes his eyes and
feels the textures of the soil. He gently rubs his hands down his face and
feels the earth on his skin. He laughs with happiness as he feels the warmth of
the soil. He rubs his hands on his shirt and starts his gardening.

He digs the dry
soil, making it soft, and then he adds manure and mixes it in with the soil. He
then replants the old plants that had withstood the lack of care and gets rid
of the withered plants that hadn’t survived. He gets the flower pots and
carefully removes the healthy flowers and puts them in the garden. Some of the
flowerpots had fallen apart as the earth that held them together had broken
apart as Chad took out the flowers. He takes the broken pots and puts them in a
trash bag. He then cleans the whole area.

He looks at his
work and is extremely happy with himself. He punches the air as he looks at the
plants and flowers he has just planted. They look as if they are in bloom. A small
pretty bird comes and sits by the edge of the garden and starts to sing a sweet
summery song. Chad cannot believe his eyes and he smiles happily to himself.

 There’s a knock
at the door that rattles the bird, and it flies away deep into the forest until
Chad can no longer see the beautiful colours of its wings. He goes and opens
the door. It’s the estate agent who has come to check on him and make sure he’s
enjoyed his stay. She is clearly shocked at his muddy and dirty state, as she
quickly looks him up and down.

“I hope you’ve
enjoyed your stay, sir.”

“Oh, indeed I
have. It has been a wonderful experience. Just what I needed.”

“I am very glad
to hear that, sir.”

He takes her to
the back of the cabin and shows her the new garden.

“You did this?”

“Yes I did,” he
says, beaming with pride.

“Wow, it’s lovely.”

“Thank you,” he
smiles.

They walk back
into the living area and he gets his bag.

“Are you not
going to change, sir,” she asks

“No, this was
the outfit I decided to wear after my shower this morning. I see no reason in
changing my mind.” He winks, knowing that she is shocked that a billionaire
like him would wear something that looks as if he has been doing hard labour on
a farm. She smiles though, and they leave the cabin together.

He gives her the
keys to the cabin. “Thank you. What would you say if I told you I wanted to buy
this cabin?” he asks.

“I would say let
me get on it right away, sir, see what we can do,” she replies.

“Excellent,” he says.
“If it is up for sale, please email the details to my secretary. Money is not
an issue, so don’t worry on that front. Goodbye, and thank you once again for
having chosen this particular cabin for me.”

His driver is waiting
outside for him. He gets into the jeep and they head to the airport, where he boards
the plane and sits in his usual first-class seat.

He is flown back
to New York and gets straight to work.

CHAPTER 24

The following week, after he’d
already received envelopes with images of Sierra and Sebastian, another
envelope finds its way to Chad. This time it’s at one of the home addresses
that he rarely stays at, but since his mind has been feeling disturbed, he came
today to calm his thinking. He knows that someone has been following him. He is
being watched by hawks, or so he believes. He picks the paper off the floor and
immediately opens it.

It’s another
image of Sierra. This time, however, she is fully clothed and staring longingly
into the camera. There is a note with the single photograph – it reads:

See the way she
longs for me? She is in love with me. Can you see the lust in her eyes for me,
Chad Perry? Signed, Sebastian Benoit.

The words and its signature are
poison to his heart and he slumps on the leather chair. He needs to release his
anger, but since Sierra left he hasn’t been with another woman. They disgust
him and he doesn’t want to be defiled by them. Sierra has done enough of that.
Instead he walks towards the piano.

His fingers
dance across the keys of the grand piano in his majestic living room. The
jumbled notes bring sweet music to his ears. He closes his eyes and hears the
sound echo in his mind. He sits calmly, as if hypnotised by the melodramatic
sound he’s created.

Chad begins to
play the piano eloquently, as if he has been trained by a master musician.
Music is one of his ways to escape the pain. The sound consumes his pain and
turns it into profound pleasure. The piano cries softly and sensuously as if it
were a woman. He becomes one with the music as he touches the heart of the
rhythm, caressing and delicately touching it.

The piano reacts
to the touch of his fingers and reacts wildly as his pace becomes faster and
passionate. The music is chaotic with pain being screamed out by the high keys
and love being mellow with the lower keys. The music wails agonisingly as his
anger devours the keys. He becomes possessed by the music. It ravages his soul with
all kinds of emotion, from the sublime to the grotesque. They all gather within
him to create an exquisite orchestra of ugliness synthesised with beauty.

Beethoven would
have been in awe had he heard the masterpiece Chad just created simply by
feeling the immense pain experienced through love.

He finally stops
and his pain comes rushing back like a malignant disease waiting to consume his
soul.

Chad Perry
doesn’t normally drink coffee, but he puts the kettle on and makes a cup of
strong black coffee. Drinking it without sugar, he savours the taste of the
dark liquid.

They are out to
get him but in this moment all he cares about is his cup of coffee. The taste
is bitter but brings sweetness to his mouth. The picture lies on the table but
it has no effect on him. The coffee must have drowned the pain. He smiles as he
looks at the empty cup.

Although he
feels anger, he doesn’t think of revenge. Ironically, he only thinks of
purchasing more of the fine coffee that he hardly ever drinks.

Feeling that his
sixty million dollar home does not bring him the calm he requires, he goes to
one of his other penthouses.

There is a knock
on his door.

One of his business
friends who works for the government has come over and they leave his home to
go and get some food. Chad is famished. They are driven to downtown Manhattan
and settle at an Italian restaurant. Chad also invites his driver to join them
for food and drinks. The driver doesn’t ask for alcohol like his boss and his
friend. Instead he settles for sparkling water. He’s loyal to Chad and behaves
professionally whenever they are together, even at social gatherings. He never
forgets that he is the driver, nothing more, nothing less, and Chad considers
him a good friend.

They eat, drink
and are merry. Then the driver mentions the strange men that have been outside
Chad’s work and home for the past couple of weeks.

“Do you know
these men that have been watching me?” Chad asks, as his paranoia returns, not about
the men but what they represent and the actions he might be forced to take. In
this moment, even his friends seem dodgy, including his driver. Paranoia
engulfs him and Chad doesn’t trust them, but he manages his self-control.

“No boss. I
don’t know who they are. They’re fucking scum I tell ya. However I got a picture
for you to see what they look like.” Chad’s suspicion subsides as he realises
that his driver is on his side.

“This is why I
trust and admire you, Ricardo. Your loyalty to me is admirable. Here, take this
to spend on your kids. You’re long overdue for a raise, and I shall add it to
your next payment.”

He gives Ricardo
a chunky sum of hundred-dollar bills that are in his small bag. Ricardo smiles
awkwardly.

“Thank you,
boss. Here are the pictures. I’ll be sure to tell the wife to make a bowl of
spaghetti bolognese for you just the way you like it next time I come to work.”

Chad smiles with
glee at the prospect of eating home-cooked spaghetti from the best spaghetti
cook in the world.

Chad’s friend
doesn’t say a word. He just observes as the pictures unfold before his eyes. He
gets a little uneasy, but the weather is agitating, so Chad dismisses his
fidgeting. The pictures are a little blurry. Chad doesn’t recognise the faces properly
as one is facing away from the camera, but the other in particular looks
familiar with his silver-black hair and green eyes.