to talk about her investment. But she didn’t want to make waves and decided to save it for later.
Kristen was about to take the exit to go towards the lake, but Robert said “Keep going. Get off at Division Street.” She exclaimed “Why do you want to go there?” He replied “Don’t worry so much, just drive!” He had her head east for a while and then suddenly yelled “Take a turn here. Kristen said “Are you insane? This is Cabrini-Green, the low-income housing projects. We are in the ghetto! Don't you know that it is totally dangerous here? I don’t want to get shot!” Robert said “It’s OK, don’t worry, it’s not bad. Go pull over by that corner and cut off the engine.”
Kristen went ahead and parked. She could hear gunfire about a block away. The area was dark because most of the streetlights had been shot out. She switched the car back on and said “I’m getting out of here!”
She was about to pull out when a man wearing a dark cap, torn coat and black pants walked up to the car. Kristen almost died right there. Robert rolled down his window “Hey man, can you get us some rock?” The man leaned in the window. “I don’t know man, are you the heat?” Robert laughed like a lunatic. “No, we’re cool!”
Robert poked Kristen and said “I need smaller bills. Give me sixty bucks.” Kristen protested “No way Robert! I can't believe you are trying to buy drugs here, I told you I don't do them. You are just going to get ripped off.” Robert said to the man “You wouldn’t do that, would you? You need to leave me with your wallet so I know you’re coming back.”
The man acted like he was going to just walk away. Robert demanded the money from Kristen again saying “I’ll pay you back along with the other money I owe you tomorrow. I promise.” The man was starting to look angry, so Kristen stretched to reach over Robert and handed him the money directly. The man pulled his wallet from his pocket and tossed it in the car. He said “I’ll be right back. Do you want any weed too?” “Robert said “Just the coke.” The stranger walked off in between two of the projects into the dark.
They waited for half an hour. Kristen angrily said “You know that creep isn’t coming back. I knew it! You are such a jerk! I can't believe you have put me in the middle of a drug deal. What happens if we get arrested?” Robert said “He’ll be back. We have his wallet. I wonder how much money is in it?” Kristen watched as Robert opened it and looked in. All it contained was a driver’s license, no money, nothing!
Robert held the I.D. up to show Kristen and chuckled. The picture on it was of a very young man with bright blonde hair. Robert laughed like he was going to fall over. “I guess it looks like our friend isn’t coming back. Let’s go.” Kristen saw a crowd of teens coming up on them and peeled out of there. She was livid at Robert. He was now deliberately endangering her life! She was so angry that she took him to his hotel, kicked him out, and sped off.
Kristen was now completely sure that Robert was out of her life and she was starting to worry about how she was going to get her money back. She was not rich enough these days to handle that type of loss. It was going to have a significant effect on her plans. After two weeks passed, she received a bouquet of flowers from him with a note. She called him and agreed to meet that night at the new hotel that he was staying in.
When she arrived, the door was slightly open. As she began to knock, an arm reached out, took her hand, and pulled her inside. Robert was wearing just a towel, fresh from a shower and his tight abs glistened as he brought her over to the couch. He handed her a large cocktail as she sat down. Kristen started to speak, but Robert touched her lips with his finger and said "I want you to take a big sip first! Then we will talk!"
As she began to drink she felt an amazing rush and a total feeling of peace overtaking her body. Kristen loved the world and now him too. She wanted him to make love to her. Robert advanced toward her on the couch as the towel fell from his hips. He kissed her and bent over as he held the glass for her as she took another long sip. He then retreated to watch her curiously from the other side of the room.
Kristen now felt her heart skipping and started to feel numb. Robert said "Finish that up. I have to go to a late business meeting.” Kristen moaned "Aren't you going to make love to me? We still haven't done that yet." She took a few more big gulps and was now feeling very light-headed. Robert laughed. "We have plenty of time to do that later. I'll come over to your house tonight and we'll work on keeping you happy all week. I promise."
Kristen slowly sat up pouting and groggily said "Are you going to drive me? I don't think I can do it.” Robert acted indifferently and said “You’re a big girl. Have the doorman get you a cab.” He then flicked the towel at her like he was fending her off and walked into the bedroom. Kristen followed him. "Aren't you even going to pay for it like a gentleman?” The drink had now made her totally lose her inhibitions. "Please Robert, please make love to me! I need you so bad!" She started pulling at her clothes. He shut the door behind him. Kristen whined at him "What about my money?" She then laughed. She was too buzzed to care. She tried to stand up but her legs gave way and she collapsed on the nearest chair.
A few minutes later, the door to the other room opened. It all seemed very foggy as Kristen made out the shadow of a figure emerging from it and walking towards her. As she regained her focus, she saw Robert had now matted down his hair and had donned heavy make-up, a tight red skirt, and a pair of stilettos! Kristen rubbed her eyes and muttered “You have got to be kidding me! That’s it. This is too much, I am leaving!” Robert looked hurt and froze as she slowly pulled herself up and stumbled out the door. As she made her way to the elevator, she had to keep bracing herself against the wall.
Finally, down in the lobby, the doorman took one look at her and summoned her a cab. Kristen shook her head and brushed past him. She was able to walk, but clearly wasn't thinking straight and decided to take the train near the hotel that had a stop near her place in the suburbs. As she headed down Michigan Avenue, she began to feel a bit queasy. She quickly ducked into an alley so no one would see her.
Soon she felt like she was swooning. She felt a great heaviness in her neck and in her ears. It felt like someone was taking deep footsteps inside her head.
Kristen grabbed the handle of a dumpster that was next to a brick wall and eased herself down onto the ground, her arms clutching behind her to keep upright. Sitting there with her legs straight out and her head slumped to the side, she went into black.
After about a half-hour, Kristen began to come out of it. Her body was now completely beneath the dumpster and its gritty rubber wheel was hard against her cheek. She could feel the pressure of it as her senses faintly returned. Shaking her head, she said “Oh, God, what am I doing?”
She pulled herself out from underneath it and became very scared. She was fully aware of everything now and was horrified this had happened. Kristen pulled herself up quickly and walked a few blocks more in the direction of the train station. There were two shady looking men at the entrance and thankfully they just glanced at her without much interest. A police car pulled up. The cop in the passenger side lowered the window down. Kristen ran down the stain-covered stairs to the platform as he started to say something.
It was freezing out, but Kristen was burning up. Standing on the platform, she still felt dizzy and she could feel her throat choke her as she tried to breathe. Everything still felt like it was numb, like she had been strangled. Kristen reached at her neck and now realized that her necklace had grown very tight. She yanked it off breaking its clasp. “The drink or whatever it was must have caused this.”
She felt strong, then overwhelming, flashes, and even in the coolness of the tunnel, the heat enveloped her even more as she just stood there paralyzed.
A train came from the opposite direction. Kristen could feel its deep rumble in her knees and as it came upon her. She was refreshed by th
e strong gust of cool wind that followed as it passed. Kristen leaned forward towards it and closed her eyes, tranquil in this moment. It comforted her, and then chilled her to the bone.
A jittery unsure feeling in her ankles made her open her eyes and look down. Startled, Kristen pulled back from the ledge. She couldn’t believe she was standing so close to it. One slip onto the very electrified Third Rail and she would have been toast. Her thoughts were racing again, falling on top of each other. She felt way too high and was freaking out! “What did he give her? Was it poison? Her hands were trembling.
Her train finally pulled up and she got on. There was no one on the car except for a couple at the far end. The ride was fast because no one was out that late to get off and on at each stop. Before she knew it, Kristen had arrived back in the suburbs.
It was very late and Kristen was now afraid of having to walk the two miles to her place. As she pushed open the exit door of the station, it was like a dream. A bright white cab was waiting on the street! The owner was asleep with the window half-open. Kristen stood outside and reached in nudging him on the arm. He looked ticked off that she woke him. He was even madder when Kristen mumbled they would only be going a couple of miles.
Kristen sank back into her lumpy seat watching as her knee started to shake uncontrollably. She screamed to herself in her head. “What the hell did he put in it?” She brought out her cell phone and planned to call Robert, but she could barely keep her head up. She started thinking she should seriously go to the Emergency Room, but decided not to because that could only lead to trouble.
Kristen finally made it home, pulled the phone cord out of the wall, and just lay in bed with her eyes closed. She could feel her blood speeding through her veins. In the morning, she forced food into herself to ward off the effects. She also took a lukewarm shower topping it off with a cold blast. Kristen moped around another hour wondering whether she wanted to sleep in for the rest of the day or not. She remembered to plug her land phone back in, and just as she did, it rang.
“How are you this morning?” Robert was on the other end and was talking excessively and painfully loud into her ear. Kristen was mad and said “What the hell did you put in that cocktail that you gave me?” Robert laughed “Oh, just a little something to make your night more interesting without me. Did you like it?”
Kristen screamed “No! What are you trying to do? Kill me?” Kristen wouldn’t even allow him the chance to reply and said “What do you want? Actually, never mind, I’m hanging up” and she put the phone down hard. As soon as she did, her cell phone rang. “Did you really think you could get away from me that easy?” Kristen was very irritated. “Robert, I have nothing to say to you…”
He interrupted “I have something of yours. I have your ring.” Kristen looked down at her pinkie. She couldn’t believe she didn’t know it was missing. Since, it was normally pretty tight on her finger; he could have only pulled it off of her at the hotel. Kristen yelled at him “You stole my ring? When were you going to tell me?” He floundered a bit. “The maid found it on the floor.” Kristen said “That ring means a lot to me. You have to give it back!” Robert said “Don’t worry, I will.”
“You better come to me,” Kristen demanded. “I’m not trekking down there! You can meet me somewhere around my place.” Robert said to her “Meet me over at Mulligan’s in one hour.” Kristen yelled "I can't! My car is at your hotel." Robert calmly replied "Look out your window." He then hung up.
Kristen opened her curtains and was shocked to see her car sitting out on the street. She still felt like she was both trembling and exhausted and just wanted to go back to bed. She threw a bland looking skirt and blouse on and then walked outside. It seemed like a lifetime since she last saw her car. The keys were in the ignition.
When she got to Mulligan’s, Robert was sitting at the bar with a large cocktail and a full plate of food. Turning to her with his mouth full, he tried to turn her cheek towards him for a sloppy kiss. She pulled back and sat two stools down from him. “What did you lace that drink with? It almost killed me! I don’t even do drugs.” Robert laughed “Oh, come on. Don’t be so dramatic. It just had something special in it. No worries! Maybe you were allergic to it.”
Kristen was very angry now. She did not even rip into him about what he was wearing the night before. In fact, she almost thought that part could have just been a side-effect of the drug and it didn’t happen. “I am not staying! Give me my ring.” She held out her hand, not looking at him. He leaned up in his chair a bit and fished it out of his pocket. Chewing still with his mouth open, he plunked it into his glass. “You Creep!” Kristen took the glass and started pouring it out on the bar until the ring slipped out. “You are a bigger Creep”, Robert said and motioned for the female bartender.
The bartender gave her a snotty look and threw a rag down expecting Kristen to clean it up. Kristen ignored her, pulled her stool away, and started walking out the front door. Robert said “Kristen, I forgot my wallet. Can you pay for this? I’ll get your money to you tomorrow.” Kristen groaned and went back in.
She pushed Robert in the chest and said “What’s wrong with you?” She pulled two twenties out of her purse and handed it to the waitress. “If this will get rid of him, then here!” This time she almost ran out the door to get to her car.
A week later, Kristen had heard that The Patio was going to undergo renovations and they were having a closing party that evening. She lined up two of her friends to go with her. When she got there, it was filled to capacity. Luckily, her friends were already settled and had procured a table. Kristen decided to walk around a bit to see who else had come out. To her dismay, she saw Anne and Robert sitting on the other side of the room.
Robert saw her and came rushing up putting his hand on her arm. “Hello! Come and join us.” He seemed jovial and this made Kristen even more nervous. He half-tugged her over to his table and pulled out a chair for her. He started making small talk. Kristen only wanted to know when she was going to get all her money back. She had no intention of waiting any longer for the pay-out. Anne said nothing and just glared at her. The waitress never came by, so Robert got up to fetch himself another drink at the bar.
Anne moved over a chair and really ripped into Kristen. “How the hell could you have done that to me?” Kristen had no clue what she was talking about and said “What do you mean Anne? I didn’t do anything to you.”
Anne attacked like a pit bull “You stopped the check! I gave Robert money because he knew that he was getting the $25,000 from you. That was supposed to be my cut. He never paid me back because you did that. I can’t afford that. You need to give me that money. I have to have it!”
Kristen said forcefully “You are delusional. I am not going to give you, or Robert, or anyone my money. He has the $75,000 in cash too. Why doesn’t he give you some of that?” Then Kristen had a sick feeling. It suddenly was evident what Robert had been up to with her, Anne, and all his so-called investors.
Kristen said cautiously, still unsure, “If you lost your money to Robert’s pyramid scheme, then it is your fault. Why the hell did you ever tell me you knew all about him and that he was a trustworthy person?” Kristen got up, slammed her chair back into the table, and went off to find Robert.
He was now sitting at the bar and had ordered food. “Here” he patted the chair. “Sit down. I ordered you some dinner too.” Kristen wondered what he was up to again. Before she could question him, the bartender laid a full dinner in front of her and a Screwdriver. Anne started to make her way toward them.
Kristen knew she had to handle this delicately or she would never see her money again. She could only hope for the best that the money was safely in his hands and that he was legitimate. She did not mention what Anne said. Robert just stuffed his face and did not talk. He then ordered a big dessert and told Kristen he was going to the washroom.
That was it! Kristen
raised her voice and startled the other customers near them. "Robert! I want my money. NOW! St. Germain jumped up like a mad man and yelled even louder. “No problem. No problem!” He motioned to Anne to come over. “Anne! Take a memo. Remind me to have my partner fax Kristen a promissory note for the money I owe her. There. That takes care of that!”
Kristen grew bolder. "No Robert. This is a pyramid scheme. I want out. Robert looked at Anne and then turned bright red and looked like he was going to hit both of them. He yelled “What are you talking about? You just gave me that money. It’s going to take a month. You know that.” He violently put his face up in hers. “You are crazy. It is tied up. I can’t give it back to you yet. I will try to work something out, but you are just going to have to wait. Flustered, he waved his hands in the air and started to walk in circles. “Please, be patient. Don’t be so paranoid. I'll be right back. I have to call someone.” He then ran from the room.
Kristen sat back down and began to finish off her food. Robert was taking a very long time to return. The bartender smiled and laid the check in front of her. Kristen remembered back to when Robert stiffed her with the check before, so she handed cash to the bartender and said that she was only paying for her meal and drink. Then she went to find her friends who were now out on the atrium.
A very irate Robert found her a short while later. He complained to her that he didn’t have any money or credit cards with him and that Anne was mad at him and had already left. He told her the bartender said he was going to call the cops if he didn’t pay him for dinner.
Kristen decided it would now be a good idea to leave since he might do something unpleasant. She said "That's your problem Robert." He started to rush after her, but the bartender grabbed him and pushed him onto a stool. She hurriedly got her car from the valet and drove through the parking lot. As she sat in her car hidden behind some trees, she called her friends in the bar to tell them she was leaving.
She then veered her car back and was headed towards the exit, when she noticed Robert standing in a telephone booth. She could see he was arguing with someone.
She drove up to him and asked as obnoxiously as she could, “Where is your cell phone? I didn’t know they still had booths.” He covered the receiver with his hand. “The Manager said I had to leave the phone and my license until I got him the money.” Robert was really ticked off.
She pushed further