Seventeen days and change
For exactly seventeen days, six hours, thirty-three minutes and to the tune of one hundred eighty thousand dollars, Justin Scoville enjoyed the amenities of the Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel and his shining, blushing bride Tsu Yen.
At day seventeen, hour four, he allowed their first visitor, after not accepting one call or one intrusion other than room service for seventeen days, three hours and fifty nine minutes. After his nap that day, which followed the lunch which followed the morning love making, which followed the breakfast, which followed the early morning love making, which had followed some sleep after the latest night love making which had followed fairly closely after some midnight love making...you get the idea...
Justin Bryce Scoville said hello to the chief financial officer of Planetary Publishing, Int'l Division, who had flown in the evening prior from New York, Roger Willis III.
"Boss," started Willis, "I know you have your reasons," he finished as he walked into the honeymoon suite. "But we're getting hit hard. At least, turn over operations. Details are slipping. Schedules aren't being kept. Arrangements aren't being handled. You hold too much, too close. And you've disappeared."
"Bullshit." All Scoville said was that. Bullshit.
He rummaged for some champaign from the freshest batch, evidence remaining as empties. He managed a glass for Willis while he took a pull from the bottle.
"Aren't you going to congratulate us Willis?," asked the boss. "Tsu Yen, please come meet Sir Roger Willis, our chief financial guru. He's come all the way from NYC!"
Tsu Yen appeared in kimono, almost in a white face, except with simple adornment of make-up so perfect she could have been born with it as a delicate complexion.
Willis turned and was able to hide his surprise and his impression of her great beauty to half of the audience, his gulp hardly noticeable to the bride, but strikingly obvious to the groom.
"Am I to understand that this is Mrs. Justin Scoville?," asked the CFO.
"Indeed you are my good and noble accountant!," bragged Scoville. "So, what dogs are barking so horribly, that Tiffany sent you on a rescue mission?," he asked, referring to Tiffany Lokasher, Justin's assistant and operations superintendent.
"What dogs?!," exclaimed Willis. "What dogs are barking horribly? Oh that is rich. I'll tell you which BIG DOGS are barking. The bankers boss. That's who. The line of credit is being called. Rare Flesh has filed suit in the supreme court. Four females, supposedly from your past have all been talking to the press about your affairs. The Post ran an article about you being dead and The Wall Street Journal has a column which has run for seven days, asserting that we've been bought out by the Chinese."
"What do you think of her Willis?," calmly asked Scoville, as he held hands with Tsu Yen and held out his arm and hers, seeking Willis's opinion.
"Boss. She's outrageous. Congratulations honey," Willis answered obediently. "But boss, please, just give me the order to fix everything and take 45 minutes to answer these simple questions we've compiled. We'll bring you everything you need to set us straight. But we'll need a little of your time."
"Tsu Yen, my love," responded Scoville. Pack your bags baby. I'm taking you to the Big Apple. "Willis, get Tiffany on the horn. Tell her to meet us at the terminal in Beijing, tomorrow night."
Justin paused as if he had just seen a ghost, then he added casually, "oh, and find out if Ripley showed up and get him to Beijing too. That boy has got a story we need to tell."
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