Chapter 2: The Great Reset

“There he is! The man of the hour,” said Brian as Jake entered the tiny apartment he shared with him and two other guys.

“What’s up, bruh?” Jake greeted him.

“Cut the crap, pretty boy. Where’s your rent?” Freddie asked. He was a short, bulky guy with a mean streak and a foul mouth.

“Chill out, man,” said Paul. “At least, let him sit down first.”

“He can sit after he pays,” Freddie growled.

“So, where’s your cut, bruh?” Brian asked.

Six pairs of eyes focused on Jake. He realized just then that this was a gang-up against him. He’d walked into an ambush.

“Look, I got laid off from work today,” he explained.

Paul laughed and said, “I won!”

He stretched out his hand towards Brain and got a $20 bill in return.

“Wait, you guys bet on me?” Jake asked. He was embarrassed.

“Yeah, because all you ever come up with are stories,” said Freddie. “You never pay your share of the rent and hardly contribute to buying the groceries.”

“And yet you get to eat, sleep here and load the toilet with your stinky crap!” Brian complained.

Paul was rolling on the floor, laughing really hard. He was the clown in the group and never took anything seriously.

“Listen, man. We’re all struggling but we still manage to pull our weight here,” said Brian.

“We’re not a bunch of idiots and this is no charity home either,” said Freddie nastily. “You gotta leave.”

“What? Leave? Where would I go?” Jake asked.

“Anywhere you can get free accommodation and food. We’ve tried enough for you,” Freddie replied.

“Come on, guys. Don’t do this to me,” he begged.

“We already packed your stuff,” said Paul and he threw a worn-out duffel bag at Jake. “That’s all of it,” he added and made sure to stress the ‘all’ and the others laughed.

“Please, man. I promise to pay up once I get another job.”

“When?” Brian asked.

“I’ll go out and look for another job tomorrow morning.”

“I think you should start now,” said Freddie. He walked past Jake and opened the front door for him. “Leave!”

“Goodbye, freeloader,” said Paul.

There was nothing more to be said. Jake picked up his bag and walked out of the apartment.

Outside, the nightcrawlers were doing their thing. Dealers were selling drugs to their clients, hookers were patrolling the streets looking for a catch and a couple of pickpockets were hovering about, hoping to get lucky.

“Damn,” Jake muttered. Where would he go?

He remembered Morgan and his gut clenched. Should he go back to her?

“Hi, darling. Wanna take a trip to heaven tonight?”

Jake looked at the hooker who was talking to him. She would be about 50 years old judging by the sag of her skin and wrinkles around her face. She wore a crop top, skimpy skirt and fishnet stockings. Her makeup was a disaster and her breath stank.

“Leave me alone,” he said and looked away.

“Need someplace to sleep? You can crash in my crib tonight and you ain’t gotta pay nothing,” she said.

“Thanks, I’ll pass.”

“You’re real uptight for a broke ass,” she complained.

“Says the stinky old hag who doesn’t know how to act her age.”

“Go to hell!” She shouted at him and strutted away in her wobbly heels.

Jake sighed. Maybe he should go back to Morgan. He’d run away from her because her offer had been too good to be true.

“If something is too good to be true, then run away from it before you get into trouble.”

That was what the matron at the orphanage used to say. Was she right? Would he get into trouble if he agreed to marry Morgan?

But then again, what did he have to lose? He was already at rock bottom, so he couldn’t possibly go any lower than this, could he?

“Here goes nothing,” he whispered to himself and started walking.

He hitched a ride to somewhere close to Pearly Hills and walked the rest of the way to the gated estate. As he’d expected, the security men wouldn’t let him in when he got there.

“Go away from here, beggar!” One of them yelled at him with disgust.

“I’m not a beggar. I’m going to the Sherwood mansion,” Jake replied.

The security men looked at each other and laughed very hard.

“Look, I was here earlier with Morgan Sherwood!” he said and that got their attention.

“Wait, are you that guy sitting in the back of the taxi with her?”

“Yes. Please, call her and let her know I’m here.”

The security man frowned. “I’m not going to disturb the lady at this late hour because of a nobody like you. Come back tomorrow.”

Jake panicked. If he couldn’t find his way into the Sherwood mansion tonight, he’d end up sleeping outside in the open.

“Please, call her and let her know I’m here. It’s urgent,” he said desperately.

“Is something wrong with your ears? I said to come back tomorrow. Now, get lost!”

Jake felt his temper rising. These idiots were going to make him sleep outside like an animal when all they had to do was to inform Morgan of his presence. Why were they being so mean?

“I’ll make sure you too never work here again,” Jake said angrily. “You’ll see!”

The men began to laugh again.

“Ooh, I’m shaking in my boots,” one of them said in-between laughs.

“The homeless beggar is going to fire us from our jobs,” the second one laughed.

Jake ignored them and began to walk away. He heard the phone in the security booth ringing and one of the men went to answer it.

“Hey, you!” He called out.

Jake turned around. “What?”

“What’s your name?”

“Jake. Jake Turner.”

The man spoke into the phone and his countenance changed immediately. He put the phone down slowly and waved at Jake to come back.

“Ms Sherwood says you can come in. A car will pick you up once you enter the estate.”

“How did she know I was here?”

The security man shrugged. His colleague had stopped laughing. They opened the gate for Jake and watched with open mouths as a white Rolls-Royce showed up to pick him up.

“Are you Jake Turner?” The chauffeur asked.

“Yes.”

“Hop in then. Ms Sherwood is waiting for you at the mansion.”

This felt like a dream to Jake but he was more than happy to go along with it. He entered the car and was instantly blown away by the beautiful interior.

The gates of the Sherwood mansion swung open on their own as the car approached it. There were fountains, trees and colourful flowers all around the large compound.

Once the car pulled to a stop in front of the entrance, an elderly man opened the door for Jake. He got down and greeted the man politely.

“Welcome, sir. My name is Gary and I am the butler. Please, follow me.”

Jake tried his best to keep his mouth closed but it was hard. The interior of the mansion was magnificent!

Gary took him upstairs to a guest room. He was instructed to take a shower and wear the black silk robe that had been laid out on the bed for him.

He felt like a new person after the shower. When he looked in the mirror afterwards, he almost didn’t recognize himself. His wet dark brown hair curled around his head, his face was squeaky clean and even his bottle-green eyes sparkled.

“Damn. I can’t remember the last time I was this clean,” he said to his reflection. “What the hell was I thinking before? Why did I turn down Morgan’s offer?”

Someone knocked on the door and he hurried out of the bathroom to answer it. He found Morgan standing there, smiling up at him. She was dressed in a pink silk robe.

“Hey, handsome,” she said with a grin.

“How did you know I would come back?” He asked.

“Only a fool would come through those Pearly Hills gates and not want to come back here,” she replied confidently. “I knew that your going back to Shaw Town will help you make the right decision.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you want to marry me? You can have your pick of any guy in this world, so why me?”

“May I come in?”

“Sure,” he said and let her in.

She sat on the bed and said, “There are so many things I’d like to tell you tonight, but before I do, I want to find out something first.”

“What’s that?”

“Take off your robe.”

“What?”

“I said, take off your robe.”

“I’m not wearing anything underneath.”

“So? Are you a virgin?”

Jake scoffed and untied his robe. He shrugged it off and let it drop to the floor, revealing his naked body to her.

“Hmm… I like what I see,” she said and licked her lips. “Come over here and show me what you’ve got.”

“Is this some sort of audition or what?”

“Maybe. If you’re going to be my husband, I need to be sure that you can satisfy me because you clearly have nothing else to offer.”

Jake felt insulted but he let it slide. If he was being honest, she wasn’t completely wrong.

Morgan smiled seductively at him and said, “The floor is yours, Jake. Impress me.”

And he did. Again and again, until she begged for mercy.

“You passed the test,” she said many hours later. “We’ll announce our engagement tomorrow.”