Hidden Sanity

Chapter 15 - Temptation

As Alice hung up, Jack can't help himself but to clench his fist and get angry at Joe, who ruined it all.

His rise from such humble beginnings had called for intelligence, hard work and a touch of a genius. Intelligence had persuaded him to show respect to those he despised but those who had the power to affect his plans and intelligence had to foresee what death looked like.

No one liked Jack, no one had openly insulted him; yet only he, Joe Schmidt, had seen reason to put on such a negative case to accuse him.

But that was not a hindrance for Jack. It was never one.

He let it pass and planned to talk to her later instead. Even though practically he was apparently a poor catch for any woman, he'd never doubted she'd accept him. After all, she'd already been in her late 20's—most women were married by twenties—he could get her easily, and the best anyone could say about her looks was that she was very pure and looks very kindhearted, anyone can get her.

As a final point, he went to his office to work.

He mentally listed his major possessions and Alice was first on the list.

The call from his office phone interrupted his pleasant thoughts.

He leaned forward and picked up the phone.

"Sir Jorge, the project manager wanted to raise a suggestion about a new project. She's here." ,said Morrie, the assistant secretary.

He was expecting to hear someone else's voice. Where the heck is Alice? That's what he thought inside.

"I'm too busy," he replied.

"I told her you weren't seeing anyone, but she's insistent."

"Tell her that I'm even more insistent that I'm too busy." He once more leaned back in the chair.

"The vice president says that you've got to see her."

A wise man knew when to accept the inevitable. "Alright. Show her in a couple of minutes."

He picked up a photo of Alice in his table and put it in the central drawer of the desk, which he locked. Although the figures could not possibly have meant anything to anyone else, life had taught him that a man should sometimes be too secretive.

Later, after he talked to the project manager for a few minutes, he felt that it's the right time to see Alice. His schedule was really vacant, not busy at all. He just tried to appear busy so no one would bug him. One could always distinguish an educated gentleman not by the way he behaved—a gentleman laid down his own standards of conduct—but by the way he dressed. He had never forgotten that. He put on a newly laundered cotton suit and linen pants, looked at his reflection in the mirror on the wall beside his table, he decided with complacent pride. He knew the growing excitement of expectation.

He thought that he would assuredly bring to an end her coquettish hesitations tonight.

He asked the project manager to call Alice as she goes out. She did but Alice took so long before she enters his office. She didn't want to talk to him. Jack calls for her again. He was starting to get irate.

She checked herself first before she entered. From his room, there came a strange sound, it was her boss yelling, but which for some reason disturbed her. She hesitated, then crossed to the door and knocked—in a spirit of contempt, he had ordered her to knock before entering any room; in truth, she would have never have done otherwise for fear of what disgusting scene she might witness if she did not. There was no answer to her knock so she opened the door. The body of Jack was slumped in his chair and he had become an attraction for a swarm of lights that didn't get too lacking to make his body glow in her eyes.