The Plan (9 page)

It was time to meet my adversary, Harvey
Goldman, the killer to my sister and the snake in the grass to my parents. I
was finally going to get a chance to face him, finally getting the chance to
see the prick who had destroyed my life.

Elaine escorted me to the lobby where
several girls were gathered around a man, flirting, laughing and hanging around
him likes flies around shit. We came into the entryway, and then Elaine spoke
up,
“
All right girls, let Mr.
Goldman go free.
”

The escorts
, who
all want
ed the opportunity to spend the evening
with Harvey because of his extravagant tips, reluctantly moved away. Before the
girls cleared out, he grabbed their attention by giving each of them $100
apiece, paying them just for flirting with him. His arrogance made me sick.

“
Harvey,
”
Elaine said.
“
Let me introduce you to our newest girl,
Kelly. Kelly, this is Harvey Goldman.
”

I offered him my hand, greeting him as I
had been trained, even though I wanted to strangle him where he stood.
“
Pleasure to meet you.
”

 
He
took my hand
and turned it over, kissing my forehand.
I wanted to puke.

“
No,
”
he said,
“
It
’
s
my
pleasure to meet you.
”

How a man this handsome can be such an
asshole blows my mind.

 
Alex said he was 35, but his face suggested
otherwise. He did not look a day over 28. There were no wrinkles on his face or
neck; he had perfectly smooth skin and a perfect tan. He was six-foot tall,
well built with dirty blonde hair. He looked striking and buff in his Tom Ford
suit and Black Ostrich Cap shoes.

He just stared at me, as if he could see
right through me, through my dress and at my naked breasts. I did not know how
I would endure, but I knew I had to go through with it. After all, Penny did not
deserve to die and Harvey was going to pay for what he had done to her.

“
My
God, Elaine, when you said you had a stand-in for Janine, you didn
’
t tell me she was a goddess.
”

“
Oh,
you
’
re too kind,
”
I said.

Flattery will get you nowhere, you pig
.

Elaine thanked him for his kind words. He
continued to comment on my looks, making me feel sick to my stomach.

Elaine said that he liked room 11; it was
the dungeon, a place of sexual torture and bondage toys. When Harvey said he
did not want to play tonight, the look on Elaine
’
s face told it all. He said he was hungry
and wanted to take me somewhere to eat. When he saw the color drain from Madam
’
s face he must have realized that she was
concerned about the $5,000 he usually paid to play. However, when he offered to
pay the full amount it shocked Madam Elaine so much so that she was willing to
go along with his request and allow him to take one of her girls out of the
brothel.

We left the Cat Tails in a long black
limousine. He had his personal driver, David, fly in from New York just to
drive him around town. David opened the door for me, I thanked him and then
climbed in. I slid across the black leather seat to make room for Harvey. Once
inside I looked up and saw the neon lights and the crystal glass wine goblets
waiting in the cup holders. My heart stopped and then rushed to a start again.
I started to hyperventilate.

This cannot be happening.

Harvey noticed I was uncomfortable.
“
Are you alright?
”
he asked.

“
Yeah,
why?
”
I asked, trying to brush it
off.

“
You look pale
.
”

Something was wrong
—
very wrong. I could not believe it. I
thought I was seeing things. I closed my eyes and opened them again, only to
see that everything was the same. I was getting sick and I felt like I was
about to throw up. The limousine was exactly like the one I had been in during
Penny
’
s funeral.

I felt my breath catch in my throat, felt
my mouth run dry. I asked for a glass of water.

He opened a compartment and retrieved a
bottle of water. He scooped some ice into a glass, poured in the water and then
handed it to me. He made David pull over as I took a sip and thanked him,
before insisting that we continue.

“
Are
you sure?
”
Harvey
asked.
“
Seriously,
if you feel uncomfortable or scared, I can have David take us back to the
house.
”

The house. That
’
s what Elaine called it.
Why
didn
’
t he
call it the brothel?

Something was different. Elaine told me
that Harvey was an arrogant chauvinist; a foul-mouthed, egotistical narcissist.
But he was not acting that way at all, he was being kind and courteous.

I rested my neck back on the leather
headrest, closed my eyes and said,
“
I
’
ll be fine, this Vegas heat can get to you
sometimes, that
’
s
all.
”
I could not look at the
interior of the limousine any longer. It was making me think of Penny, and
thinking of Penny made me want to claw Harvey
’
s eyes out with my fingernails.

I could feel the motion of the limousine
resume as the ride continued.

I rested back peacefully and flinched
slightly when I felt a trace of movement on my forehead. I tried not to open my
eyes or even move as Harvey stroked his hand gently across my forehead and onto
my hair. It was not a provocative touch, but one with tender compassion
—
something you would see in a movie.

“
Just
relax,
”
he
said. His words creeped me out a little.

I lifted my head and Harvey removed his
hand.

“
Hey,
”
he said in a soft voice.

I turned and looked at him quizzically.

“
I
’
m serious, if you want to go back to the
house, I won
’
t be
upset. If it
’
s the
money, I will pay you the full amount. No, I
’
ll pay you for an all-night service. Just
say the word and I
’l
l
take you back
—
no
strings attached.
”

His generosity seemed sincere. He not only
didn
’
t make a pass at me during
the ride, but he was a gentleman
—
no
sexual innuendos, no dirty jokes, no perverted statements and no unwanted
touching.

We arrived at the restaurant. David opened
the door, but Harvey reached his hand into the limousine to assist me. We had a
private table waiting away from all the other diners. We had a glass of wine,
sourdough bread as an appetizer, a Caesar salad and my favorite desert, peach
cobbler.

Harvey talked and talked, he wouldn
’
t
shut up
, but
he wasn
’
t
obnoxious. He talked about his childhood and his fond memories of working in
his dad
’
s
butcher shop. He told funny stories about time spent with his dad
—
fishing trips, Disney vacations, the Grand
Canyon. He told me about his mother, how she taught him to cook, bake, sew and
crochet. He shared some of her secret recipes and methods for cooking a turkey,
along with tips on baking the best desserts.

When I excused myself to use the restroom
he jumped up and pulled the chair out for me. I powdered my face, staring into
the mirror and trying to think my way through the situation.

W
hat
’
s wrong with me? I hate this guy. Why is
he being so
nice?
It
’
s a trick . . . that
’
s it. He wants to get in my pants. Then
again
…
he
paid for that and yet he
’
s
making no attempt to have sex.

I could not believe I was having an
argument with myself over Harvey
’
s
apparent breakdown of a
“
Doctor
Jekyll - Mister Hyde
”
moment.

When I returned to the table I noticed
that something was different. The lights were dim and a flickering glow was
ruminating from the table. The closer I got to the table I more noticed the
radiance coming from two candles which now rested on the table. Behind the
candles was a vase full of red roses, at least three dozen in total, without a
single wilted or drooping petal.

I was speechless when I arrived at the
table. I just stared at the flowers. Never had any man bought me flowers
before.

“
Do
you like them?
”
Harvey
asked.
“
I had
David go find them while we were eating. Aren
’
t they gorgeous?
”

Gorgeous
.
They really are.

Harvey pulled up his coat sleeve to expose
Hugo Boss cufflinks and gazed at his watch.
“
My, the time
’
s got away from us,
”
he said.
“
But I had a good time.
”

He reached for his wine glass and lifted it
in the air, making a toast. I clinked my glass against his glass and the chime
echoed melodically. We both took a sip of wine and set our glass on the table.

“
Are
you ready?
”
Harvey
asked.

My heart pound
ed.

This is it.
Here comes the hustler
Harvey.

“
Ready
for what?
”
I
said.

“
To
take you back to the house, it
’
s
getting late.
”

What the hell?

“
Are
you serious?
”

“
Yes,
I noticed you were not feeling good on the way here, but you came anyway. I
appreciate that, but maybe you
’
re
tired and need to rest.
”

Riding back to the brothel I kept waiting
for Harvey to place his hand on my breast or slide his fingers up my dress. He
just sat there with his hands on his thighs.

Is he gay
?

After a few minutes of silence, Harvey
said,
“
Kelly,
can I ask you something?
”

Here we go
.

“
What
is it, Harvey?
”

“
I
really don
’
t
know how to say this,
”
he
started stammering his words.
“
Well,
what I
’
m trying
to say is, hmmm.
”
He
stopped, nervously rubbed his fingers through his hair and stared into space.
“
I want to ask you
…”

“
Just say
it,
”
I replied impatiently,
waiting for his big question.

“
I
want to make you an
offer
,
”
he
said. He took a deep breath as if he was going to pass out. He turned and faced
me. I was getting nervous.

“
I
want to offer you a chance to get out of this.
”

I waited a few seconds for him to finish.
When he did not, I said,
“
Get
out of what?
”

He raised his hand above my head, waved it
down my body toward my feet and said,
“
This,
this lifestyle, this job. I want to offer you
…
will you come to New York? I mean, will
you consider moving to New York City and
…
I think I
’
m going nuts,
”
he said.