Just Starting Out
1.17 - Run Away
In the last five years, John and Kayla had tried to keep things for the most part the same. Sure, Kayla was constantly reaching new levels of success, but the two of them never wanted to flaunt it. They’d improved their house very slightly, adding on a separate office and a spare bedroom. Then, when Kayla got relevant enough that paparazzi started following her around, they added a hedge wall around their property. But, above all else, what was most important to them in light of all of this was staying humble.
Lillian was the one who regularly made it an issue, she and John having been dating for four years.
“You know what, John? You and Kayla have so much money now! Why don’t you tear this old place down, and build a mansion here instead? I know you two could afford it,” she’d said the last time she was over.
“People can lose a lot of themselves to money, Lillian,” John had sighed. “Take the Landgraabs, for instance. They don’t even have friends because all they care about is money.”
“You’re not the Landgraabs,” Lillian scoffed. “You can show off just a little without coming off like a total asshole.”
“I’d just rather not risk it.”
Lillian nodded curtly and ended up changing the subject.
John and Kayla were just glad everything was going so well. They’d really settled into life in Newcrest, and couldn’t thank their parents enough for forcing them to move out.
After his morning coffee, John walked into the office. Kayla stood at the window, staring out at the snow that blanketed the ground.
“You know? We’ve lived here for years now and the snow is still so pretty to me,” she said. “I guess it just didn’t snow as often in Willow Creek, because this is amazing.”
“Pretty stunning, huh?” John agreed, moving to stand beside her.
Kayla let out a deep breath, then turned away from the snow to look at John. “Anyway John, we’ve got to talk.”
“About what?” John asked, confused.
“Drag one of the computer chairs over, we should sit down.”
John did as she asked, and Kayla sat down in the other and looked him dead in the eyes.
“So. John. When are you planning on proposing to Lillian?”
John flinched. “Proposed? What? Kayla, come on! Don’t you think it’s a little too soon?”
“You’ve been dating for five years now, and usually at our age, that would start to imply…”
“…an upcoming proposal.” John sighed.
Kayla gave John a sympathetic look. “Hey. I think we all saw this coming, we would have never moved out of mom and dad’s house if it wasn’t for their effort. You and I just don’t know when to make big life decisions.”
John nodded slowly, understanding.
“And just between us? Lillian came to me last week and asked me if I thought everything was going okay. Just might want to make sure you make her feel extra loved for the next few days, because she’s really stressing, John.”
John sighed. “Okay. I- I’ll think about it, okay?”
Kayla nodded. “Please-“
They were interrupted by John’s phone suddenly ringing. He checked the caller ID, and suddenly got pale.
“John?” Kayla asked, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
John showed her the phone. The caller? Malcolm Landgraab.
Kayla gave John a confused look. “You told me that you two had a falling out because you called him out for being a rich showoff. So… why would he be calling you right now?”
“I don’t know Kayla!” John yelled.
John and Kayla sat there in an awkward silence, letting the call go straight to voicemail. Malcolm’s voice rang out across the room.
“John, please pick up! John! Please! I know that what happened ruined our friendship, but I need someone right now, there is no where else for me to turn and I-“ he stopped, and let out a loud sob. “I can’t stay here anymore! Mom just divorced Dad, and I just- she’s so awful John, you need to understand! Please, if you’re hearing this, I need you! I-I-“
A muffled voice spoke in the background, cutting Malcolm off.
“Gotta go,” Malcolm said quietly, hanging up with a click.
John and Kayla exchanged a look.
“John…” Kayla said quietly.
John sat there in dead silence, unsure of what to say.
“John, do you think we should book a plane there to meet Malcolm first thing tomorrow? I know you two had your falling out, but I think he really needs our help…”
“That’s the thing, Kayla. I don’t think Malcolm is going to be there first thing tomorrow. I don’t think he’s even going to be there an hour from now.”
“Then what should we do?” Kayla asked cautiously.
“I… I really don’t know Kayla.”
As night set on the Landgraab mansion, Nancy capped her lipstick, and turned to Geoffrey.
“Well? How do I look?” she smiled.
“Don’t even ask me that,” Geoffrey said, shaking his head. “You just filed for divorce, you don’t get to ask me that. You’re lucky I’m even standing here right now.”
“Like I said earlier, Geoffrey, we’re dealing with one crisis at a time right now, alright? Unfortunately, our son just ran away from home and I had to file a missing persons report. So now really isn’t the best time to come public with our divorce, understood? We both have our images to think about. So, for now, we’ve got to put on our fakest smiles and greet everyone coming to our door tonight like the perfect couple we were supposed to be.”
Geoffrey scoffed. “We were never the perfect couple, Nancy, I don’t know what gave you that impression. I’ve been acting not as a husband, but as your personal servant for years now! That hurt me so badly that I started drinking on the job and I’m dealing with walk-ins down at the police station now, my image is already ruined. I don’t want you to think for a minute that I’m going to put up with this facade for something as shallow as someone’s image. I’m doing it in the best interest of Malcolm.”
“Well,” Nancy smiled, standing up. “We can have different reasons. What matters is tonight.”
Geoffrey let out a deep sigh.
“The President-“
“Yes, I know. The President, Mitch Laurent, has decided to grace us with his presence tonight at our yearly ‘Gala for Gold’, where you invite successful people to talk about future business collaborations,” Geoffrey said, cutting her off.
“Yes, Geoffrey,” Nancy scowled. “In case you’d never noticed before, President Laurent has never decided to attend a Gala for Gold, even though I’ve sent him an invitation each and every year. So, this is a big deal! We can’t sour it with our divorce. That would only hurt business prospects.”
“A company can always back out-“
“Oh no, Geoffrey,” Nancy laughed. “I’ve got the contracts all drawn up. Binding contracts. My goal is to get President Laurent to sign one before the end of the evening, because he’ll have to stick with me even after all the negative publicity. Malcolm’s is… an unfortunate circumstance, but we have to push on like nothing’s wrong. Let’s hope no ones checked the news tonight.”
As the night went on, Nancy’s guests started to arrive. She and Geoffrey stood at the front door and greeted people, and she’d whisper things about them to Geoffrey as they entered the room she’d prepared for the Gala for Gold.
“Ah, the Winstrates,” Nancy whispered as the first couple walked up the driveway. “Real estate moguls. Lovely couple! But they’re completely awful. Their marketing their houses as having cheaper alternatives to Landgraab electric, which is utter garbage. So, I invited them to intimidate them.”
She then went on to shake their hands politely and graciously welcome them into her home.
More and more couples started to arrive, but none of them were President Laurent. Nancy was concerned, but she didn’t say it. She sought comfort in whispering about her guests to Geoffrey.
“Ah, the Fengs. San Myshuno business. It’s said that they own shares in every business in the city, and practically run the place. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why I invited them? Landgraab Industries certainly isn’t a business native to San Myshuno, but they flew out here, so that’s what important.”
“The Beauchamps. They’re a law firm that’s gotten pretty big in Willow Creek. If I ever get into legal trouble it’s always good to have access to a powerful lawyer.”
“The Le Chien family! They’re a legacy family, so they don’t really do much, but hey, they’re popular. An endorsement from them would do wonders.”
When the next couple showed up, a visible frown crossed Nancy’s face.
“I know them specifically because of how much you hate them, why on earth would you invite the Mai family?” Geoffrey asked.
“To look like I’m open to collaborating with local businesses, okay! Trust me, I’m… not thrilled. I was hoping they’d decline! I scheduled this on the grand opening of some new pool at their resort, but here they are,” Nancy sighed.
“Thanks for the invite, Nancy,” Daniela Mai said, taking Nancy’s hand.
“Lovely to have you, Daniela,” Nancy said, forcing a smile.
“We just opened up a new pool and water slide at our resort,” Ed chuckled. “Daniela almost thought it was on purpose! We’ve had that scheduled for months! But we thought it was important, so here we are.”
“Well, Nancy and I are just thrilled you two could make it,” Geoffrey smiled. “There’s drinks and music to your right, and if you need the bathroom, it’s right here on my left.”
Daniela and Ed smiled, waved their thanks, and headed to the right, into the party.
Nancy visibly shuddered, wiping off her hand on her dress. “She smelled. Like chlorine.”
“They run a resort and spa, Nancy, what do you expect?”
After a certain point, Nancy’s other invitees were running so late that she and Geoffrey were forced to join the crowd to avoid coming off like awful hosts. Nancy floated through the crowd, laughing and talking with everyone and casually mentioning future business endeavors she’d love to have a partner for.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey drank at the bar. He’d only spoken briefly to Ed of the Mai family and Timothy of the Winstrate family, neither conversation being about business. To him, it didn’t matter. He doubted he had one week left in this house.
It just so happened that when President Laurent finally did arrive, he was the one they approached.
“Ah. You must be Geoffrey Landgraab!” President Laurent said loudly, startling Geoffrey out of his chair.
Geoffrey quickly found his footing, and shook the President’s hand.
Nancy, with eyes like a hawk, quickly abandoned the conversation she was having with Rosaline Le Chien and flew across the room to greet President Laurent.
“President Laurent! Words don’t express how pleased I am to finally meet you!” she looked at the other people who’d come in with him. “Did you and the Goth family run into each other outside?”
“Please, call me Mitch. The whole formal title is a mouthful, and I’d rather not hear it,” Mitch sighed. “And no, the Goths and I talked beforehand, and they gave me a ride to your place. Lovely home, by the way.”
“Thank you, we both love this home very much,” Geoffrey smiled. “Wonderful place to raise the perfect family, right Nancy?”
Nancy nodded quickly, shooting Geoffrey a look that told him he better not mention their family again.
“Well, I take it you already know Bella and Mortimer,” Mitch smiled.
“Yes, very well,” Nancy said, the tone in her voice implying that she wasn’t overly fond.
Mitch didn’t catch on. “Well then, you must know their lovely daughter, Cassandra! She’s been doing wonderful work as my personal secretary. Promoting her last year was one of the best decisions I ever made.”
Cassandra laughed anxiously. “Mitch, you don’t have to oversell me like that.”
“I’m not,” Mitch said simply.
“I’ll show you all over to the refreshments,” Geoffrey offered.
“I think we’ll stay here and chat with Nancy for a moment,” Bella said, “We need to catch up, it’s been far too long!”
Geoffrey nodded and led Mitch and Cassandra away.
“So, Nancy! I heard you lost your poor little darling son, Malcolm, today,” Bella said sorrowfully. “And yet, you’re still hosting the gala? I fully expected a cancellation so you could go track him down! Children are very precious, you know. Watching my little Cassandra assist the President is definitely frightening! But I’m also filled with pride, as a mother should be.”
“The show must go on,” Nancy smiled. “People had already spent money on plane tickets, I couldn’t cancel the event! I’m sure Malcolm will turn up, the police are searching Oasis Springs thoroughly.”
“But are you certain? I can’t imagine the pain one would feel losing a child, it can’t possibly compare to all the wealth you’re planning to make tonight, can it?”
“Bella,” Mortimer said calmly. “Give it a rest. We’re guests here, we ought to listen to what Nancy has to say. If she believes that Malcolm will be found by the police, then we should to. At least until given a reason to believe otherwise.”
Nancy smiled her thanks at Mortimer. He didn’t smile back.
By the end of the night, Nancy had secured several deals, but not the most important one. She hadn’t gotten Mitch to agree to anything.
“So, Mitch. I just feel it would be really beneficial to the both of us if we considered-“
“Stop right there, Nancy,” Mitch said calmly. “I’d love to work with you, but I can’t trust my mind to make rational decisions after a 13 hour long flight from Windenburg.”
“Please, Mitch, reconsider, I-“
“Now hold on a minute, Nancy. That isn’t a no. Luckily for you, I’m planning on staying in Oasis Springs for a few more days. I’ve never been to this part of the world before, so I want to get to know it before I head back to Windenburg. So you’ll have ample time to try to sway me to your point of view.”
“Thank you, Mitch. What time should we meet?”
“How about noon tomorrow? I should be up and ready to go by then,” Mitch smiled.
“Great! Do you mind if I ask where you’re staying?”
“The Mai Resort and Spa!”
Nancy had to turn her face away and pretend to cough to hide her disgust.
John and Kayla were woken up by someone pounding on their front door at 3 in the morning. The pair shared a groggy look in the kitchen, then headed to the door because the knocking wasn’t stopping.
Crouched on their doorstep was Malcolm Landgraab, shivering violently. He had nothing but one tattered suitcase.
“Please,” he croaked. “I have no where to go.”