“The Pacific Coast Highway.”
I looked out the window of the house I’d just purchased. It was a nice view, but it was nothing compared to that morning.
“Summer always wanted to go back to that place.” My eyes suddenly filled with frustrated tears. “Before the explosion we had talked about going back there sometime. We were supposed to go back. Damn, there were so many places we were supposed to go back to.”
“Sorry, man.”
I shrugged, refusing to let myself get caught up in the emotional turmoil of that year. I blinked the tears away and wanted to bring my focus back on the present, but I was stuck there. Stuck three years earlier when my life was fun in the sun with Summer.
“We’d go down to Zuma beach,” I said, bringing a cheery tone back to my voice. “And we could literally sit there for hours watching the dolphins play. Sometimes it was as if they were putting on a show especially for us.”
“Cool,” Ace said. “I’ve never seen a dolphin before… not even at one of those marine parks.”
“Well,” I said with a grin. “We’ll have to fix that. Pick a day this week and we’ll head out there and hope to see some.”
“I’d like that.”
“Me, too.”
Ace let out a loud laugh. “Yeah. Only you would dump me in a heartbeat if you could go with that girl again instead of me.”
I laughed along with him. “I can’t argue with you there, buddy. I love you and all, but… Hell, if I ever have the chance to bring Summer to any of those places, you can bet I’m going to jump at that chance.”
“Can’t say I blame you.”
“Damn,” I let out beneath my breath. “I miss those days. Damn, how I miss her.”
Ace was quiet for a long moment, giving me time to recover from my trip down memory lane.
“Sorry about all that,” I finally said. “It’s all been a little overwhelming ever since we settled in here. Every time I go into town, it’s like… Well… I just go back to that time again.”
“No problem,” Ace said. “I understand. I mean, I don’t know from experience, but I can understand.”
I smiled at him. “What were you coming to see me about?”
“Oh. Yeah. Right,” Ace said, bringing forth a sheet of paper with scribbles on it. “So, here’s the final guest list.”
I put aside my residual thoughts of Summer and tried to concentrate on the task at hand.
“First off,” Ace said. “The invitation simply reads: Parker James, CEO of TechUp wishes to invite you to his housewarming party in Malibu Canyon. Special announcements will be made over the course of the evening. Then the time, date… yada, yada, yada.”
“Sounds good.”
“Okay, so we have here, Georgina Foster, Noemi Bright and Dahlia Stone who are all staring in the latest movie out by the one and only Stanley Campbell. I’ve also included Matt Cocker, the director and Vince Timber, one of the producers.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Then there are a few other two bit players like the Tingsley twins, Jake Night, Sasha Plumb and others who are fun to have around and who never refuse an invitation.”
“Go on. What about the media?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention Abigail Christian who is a popular influencer. She’ll be sure to talk all about the party. But there is also Robert Tinsdale from The Record, Barbara Heinz from The Briefer and Tyrina Lopez from that magazine The Loupe.”
“Did you find a suitable caterer?”
“Mademoiselle Francoise is one of the finest caterers in town and comes highly recommended. It is said that she has the most heavenly desserts and her patisseries are to die for. I’ve looked over her menu and have set out three possibilities for you here.”
He handed me a print-out of the possibilities.
“You can either have a sit down dinner; leg of lamb, seasonal vegetables, green salad and all. Or a buffet style affair where everyone takes what they want. Or you can just have bites and hors d’oeuvres all night with plenty of champagne to wash it down with.”
“I think I’d prefer that last option,” I said. “I don’t want a tedious sit down dinner. I want everyone to go around and mingle.”
“I think that’s best also.”
“Good. All right then,” I said with a satisfied clap of my hands. “That leaves us six days to get this place suitable for an elegant soiree. Let’s get to it.”
*****
The two-bit players were the first to arrive followed by the influencer. They were all dressed to party, with short cocktail dresses that shimmied and shined. They were also quite chatty and effervescent, eager to meet with some of Hollywood’s royalty.
Unfortunately for them when the bigger stars arrived, they had little interest in talking with the lesser known actors.
“What a group of pompous asses,” I muttered to Ace as I watched the game play out in front of me.
Barbara Heinz from The Briefer was quick to come to me with a few questions.
“You are indeed a very mysterious man, Mr. James,” she said. “Few know much about you. Can you let us in on who Parker James really is?”
“I’m just a really hard working guy,” I said with an incredible dose of false modesty. “I mean, this all might seem glamorous and exciting, but underneath it all, I’m just a geek who likes to tinker with computers.”
She looked at me with an appraising eye. “I don’t think many women would think of you as merely a computer geek. You’re quite hot and sexy, especially for a successful businessman.”
I shook my head. “Not really. I’m actually quite dull. But when I get an idea in my head, I follow it and don’t give up until it either works or fails completely.”
“So little is known about your background; where you were born, where you grew up… are you married or single. That sort of thing.”
I looked beyond her as the last of the expected guests arrived.
“I do apologize,” I said. “I do have a few words to say.”
As the champagne and hors d’oeuvres went around to all the guests, I went to stand before the fireplace. I looked at all the people standing in the great space of my new home. It was like starting a new chapter in my life.
I tapped the side of my champagne flute with a golden spoon. “Excuse me,” I called out.
The hum of conversation continued, though slightly quieter.
“Excuse me,” I said again, with a clang of my spoon against the glass.
Many turned to look at me while others turned to their conversation partner to shut them up.
“Thank you all so much for coming out here tonight,” I said, once the room had completely quieted down. “I know that the invitations were a little last minute, but I am thrilled to have you all here.”
“Happy to be here,” a slightly drunken starlet cried out. Clearly, she had decided to dive right into the champagne.
“In addition to meeting you all tonight, I also have a very important announcement to make,” I went on. “As many of you may already know, TechUp has found phenomenal success in Europe. It has been an unexpected surprise, but we’re thrilled with the way things have turned out. As we speak, TechUp is the third largest tech company in France, Germany and Portugal, the second largest in Italy, Sweden and Belgium and the leader in Norway, Turkey, Finland, Austria and Denmark.”