REDEMPTION

Chapter 3: The chase is on!

Even so, all this new attention put him on guard, made him second guess everyone's true motives and intentions.

All of these confusing and contradictory thoughts marring his piece of mind for the last few months had forced Dan to take Tony up on his invitation. He had jumped at the chance to come to London for Tony's wedding, a city he had never visited before. It had seemed like a good idea to leave everything behind for a week or two and clear his head.

Dan knew he was set for life, God willing, and if he didn't somehow piss it all away. With both health and fortune at his fingertips, he often wondered why the hell he wasn't feeling so very fortunate of late. 

His life felt stagnant somehow, meaningless. Despite all the money in the world he felt empty sometimes, he couldn't explain it or understand it and that just ended up pissing him right the fuck off. 

This morning was case in point, he felt like he wanted to smash something, and it had nothing to do with his ballooning bank account. Or his friend Tony's infernal good humour, although the man's constant chatter wasn't helping his bad mood any either.

Listening to the guy rhapsody on and on about the love of his life, his doctor fiancee Annie, had begun to pall.

Manfully, Dan squelched the urge to tell his friend to shut it when he launched into yet another long winded story about something miraculous his too perfect for this world Annie had done recently. He instead tried his best to ignore the lovesick fool, not really listening to what the moron was saying.

It wasn't easy.

"Hey man," Tony said, "Did you hear what I just said?"

Dan looked up from his scattered perusal of the emails and turned his attention to Tony who was sitting across the room, lounging on what the snooty bellboy, who had shown him into this suite of rooms on his first day here a week ago, had proudly described as a le corbousier, as if that should mean anything to a cowboy from the sticks.

"Nah man," Dan drawled, "Just waiting for you to run out of steam and shut your trap,"

Tony only laughed. He got up and walked over, pulling a chair at the mahogany dining table next to Dan.

Tony was an affable man, slightly chubby, brown haired, medium height and unremarkable as far as looks went. They had gone to school together, the difference being that Tony had gone onto college and gotten a degree in economics, he now worked for the international branch of some hot shot fortune five hundred corporation. He had come and settled in London as the regional head of his division and from what Dan could tell the man seemed happy enough in the rarefied atmosphere that pervaded the upper echelons of one of the financial capitals of the world. 

Their lives had taken them in two very different directions. But they had somehow still kept in touch over the years, ever the unlikely pair, the do-gooder accountant and the town bad boy.

"So," Tony asked, "What's up?"

Sighing Dan shut the laptop and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. 

He felt like an idiot for acting like a jerk but he couldn't help himself.

"Sorry man, I know I've been an ass-hole." he said, sighing, "I am happy for you man, Annie is a great gal and you guys deserve all the good luck in the world."

"No issues man, no issues," Tony said jovially, gratefully accepting the cigarette Dan held towards him, leaning back in the chair he skewered his contemplative friend with a curious gaze, "So why have you been acting like a jerk?"

"It's complicated,"

"It wouldn't have anything to do with a gal in black with a prissy accent, now would it?"