The Art of the Hustle 2 (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Five

To get Trevor out of the house, his friends would often stop by to see him. Some would bring him food, others would sit and hangout with him for a few hours, but on one particular day, there was a knock on his door.

Wearing a thick white housecoat with the Fairmont logo embroidered on it, Trevor got up to answer the door. His hair was messy and he hadn't shaved in days.

When he opened his door, he was delighted to see his longtime friend and colleague, Will. Trevor had known Will since high school and they also spent some time together in Banff. Now he worked for as the Director of Marketing at Unity Inc.

Trevor was not only surprised to see Will, who had popped by unannounced, but was perhaps even more surprised by what he was holding. In his hand where two brand new skateboards. With a large mischievous smile on his face, Will handed one of the boards to Trevor.

"Here, I got you something," Will said.

"A skateboard?"

"Yeah, I thought it would cheer you up."

"If I were fifteen, I would be ecstatic right now."

"You're never too old to skate."

"Will, I haven't been on a board in nearly twenty years, I'm the CEO of a billion dollar corporation, and I'm mourning the tragic death of my wife and unborn baby."

"Cool, throw on some jeans and let's go shred."

Will had a way about him that made it impossible to be mad at him. He always looked for the positive in a situation and knew exactly how to cheer a person up. For that reason, he was the perfect person to spend the day with. After a moment of slight hesitation, Trevor finally conceded.

"Fine, you want to come in while I get ready?"

"Sure," Will said, stepping inside and letting the door close behind him. "Dang, this is a nice place you have here. What does it cost to stay one night in this suite?"

"I'm not sure. Probably at least $10,000 per night."

"$10,000 per night!" Will exclaimed. "For that price, you'd think it comes with free hookers?"

"It does."

"Are you being serious?"

"No, of course not. This is the Fairmont. What kind of sleazy operation do you think they're running here?"

"I don't know. You always hear of those crazy stories about hotels in Vegas offering its really rich clients anything they want."

"Maybe in Vegas or Dubai, but not Vancouver."

"I think you'd be surprised. Maybe we should ask the front desk on our way out."

"Let's definitely not do that."

"Fine," he said, walking over to the kitchen. "Do you have any orange juice?" he asked.

"Check the fridge."

Trevor put on some pants and a hoody, but didn't have the proper shoes. He wore his Nike Roche Fly Knits and Will, now drinking an impossibly large glass of orange juice, made a comment about them.

"Dude, those are the shoes you're wearing?"

"I don't exactly have skates shoes."

"Well then, let's go get you some."

The two left the hotel and skated to Robson Street to buy shoes. It was just like the good old days, skateboarding in high school and in Banff. It was exactly what Trevor needed and he thanked Will for boosting him up when he was at his lowest point.

They didn't waste a lot of time at the shoe store, they were eager to skate some of the spots that were made famous in the videos they grew up watching.

Trevor turned a few heads as he skated down the street. Not everyone knew who he was, but for those in the know, he was a local legend. Opting to keep Unity headquarters in Vancouver rather than relocating to Toronto garnered many praises from Vancourites.

Trevor was a little rusty to say the least, but after a quick warm up, he was back to landing some technical tricks. After thirty minutes trying to land a fakie tre-flip, he was exhausted.

"You're almost there," Will said, encouraging him to keep at it.

"I don't remember getting this tired when I was young."

Drenched in sweat, thirsty, and banged up. Trevor found a spot on a ledge and sat down. Will decided it was time for a break as well. He skated over and sat with Trevor. With their feet on their boards, they chatted like old times.

"This was fun," Trevor said. "We should do this more often."

"I'm glad to see you in good spirits, bud. For a while I was really worried about you."

"I appreciate your concern. I have avoided some of the pitfalls such as drugs and alcohol, and instead kept my mind occupied in other ways. I'm helping this street hustler kid."

"Helping him how?"

"I act as a strong male role model for him and give him the proper guidance he needs to achieve his goals in life."

"That's noble work you're doing. How is that going?"

"It's going well so far. He's been receptive to the advice I have given him and is staying out of trouble."

"What made you decide to help him?" Will asked.

"A number of reasons. It's a project to help take my mind off my current situation. But more than that, I want to change the world. And that starts with the youth. I feel I have learned a lot and am in a position to help.

"Noblesse oblige," Will said.

"What's that?"

"It means nobles, or privileged people such as yourself, have an obligation to help those who are less fortunate."

"Exactly."

"It's easy to be selfish and overlook these kids. You can make excuses and say 'I'm too busy', but we're all busy. This is our responsibility to make the world a better place for those who come behind us. And they have a responsibility to make it better for those who come behind them. Together we can fix the problems of the world."

"Preach, brother."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get all preachy on you," Trevor said.

"It's all good. You're a passionate guy. That's one of the reasons I like hanging out with you. I like seeing you fired up like this."

"I feel the same way about you."

"I hope that all works out for you. And if you ever need anything, I'm just a phone call or text away."

"Thanks, Will. I really appreciate that."