Blurred Lines

Chapter 21 - I Wanna Dance With Somebody

October 30, 1992

Wings Restaurant, Salem

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Clock strikes upon the hour

And the sun begins to fade

Still enough time to figure out

How to chase my blues away

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John wasn't sure that an ecologically friendly business was his calling. Not that he didn't want to leave the planet in better condition than it had been when he was born, he just wasn't sure he had the heart for it. Isabella did, and she kept insisting that he was a natural, but he would have much rather taken his Alamain inheritance, and done something different. A top tier P.I. firm, or a security business perhaps, but he wasn't meant to be CEO of EcoSystems. In truth, he'd like to simply drop his money in the bank, and become a cop again. That was when he'd been happiest, down at the cop shop with Abe, and then Schofield.

He glanced at the man across from him. He was small, with thinning hair and a paunchy belly, from too much alcohol indulgence. "So, you see Richard... this water filtration system will cut down on the pollution created by the runoff of your plant by nearly 90%."

"I'm not sure," the man hedged. "That's a mighty hefty price tag attached."

John stared at him for a moment, and then said, "That's true, but how much has your company paid in fines to the city of Salem over the last five years as a result of pollution? You'll see that this system will pay for itself."

Richard Hendershott started laughing, "Oh! You got me there, John! That damned ecological department downtown has cost me more than this contraption will." Sticking his hand out to shake John's he said, "You sold me. It's a deal."

John shook the other man's hand, feeling disgusted at the feel of his palm against his. Richard Hendershott was a horrible person, but at least now his company wouldn't keep polluting the Salem River, and paying fines like he had money to throw away. "You won't regret it. EcoSystems will do the installation for free, as long as you agree to paying upfront. We can get it done within the month."

"That's still with the 15% discount you lured me to dinner with?" Richard asked with another laugh.

"That's a fact," John said.

Richard stood up, feeling frustrated that he had to invest that much in something he would never see a dime from. But he knew that the fines were cutting into his overall profit margin. "Good. Good. It'll get those fucks off my back. Thanks so much for meeting with me tonight."

"It's no problem," John said, shaking Richard's hand one last time. He watched the man leave, and thought about Isabella's frustration over his dinner meeting with Richard Hendershott.

It seemed as if she was second guessing everything he did. He hadn't seen Marlena in twenty days. He knew it was twenty days, because at some point he'd started counting them. Isabella's suspicion was warranted, but still exhausting. A near constant barrage of where was he, where was he going, why was he late, who did he see, who did he talk to... John sighed, sitting back down in his chair. It didn't help that nearly every time he came home, Marcus Hunter was sitting on his couch with Isabella right beside him.

He sat back down in his chair, hoping to stall going home for a few more minutes. Catching the eye of the server, he ordered a whiskey on ice and tried to relax. That lasted mere seconds when he heard Marlena's laugh coming from the entryway at his back. He immediately stiffened. He closed his eyes, waiting for the scent of her perfume to hit him, and when it did, he wanted to get as far away from it as he could. It was too late to leave, so he turned slowly, and his eyes caught Marlena's. It was instant. Fire, lust, want, desire. It would burn him, and destroy him from the inside out.