Conundrum Read Online Free PDF Page B

“I’ll be returning to the fold to rebond with my fellow narcissistic phonies. I don’t think that I should sequester myself with you. Been there, done that. “
    There was a pause. “Did you notice that I convinced Will to come?”
    Jerry hesitated. Damn G.B. for remembering his Achilles heel. The memory of staring fixedly at the back of Will’s glorious wavy hair during structures class popped into his head unbidden. Will had always been catnip for him. “Who else is coming?” He asked trying to muddy the waters.
    “Well, Alyssa and Adam, your class’s Heloise and Abelard will be there, of course. And Norman Meeker is acting as pukka-sahib, having the Friday dinner at his new house designed by Iris Reid.”
    “Ugh, Will’s girl-toy. So, we’ll have lust, pride, sloth, envy, and wrath?”
    “Oh, and C.C. promised to come. Maybe yo u can pedal some project to her— write off the trip.”
    “Great. There’s gluttony! But you know that cuttingedgedecor doesn’t publish commercial architecture.”
    “Well, your reimbursibles department will not know that.”
    “Hmm. That’s true. Good idea. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the old gang. I’ll have to think about your offer of hospitality. Au revoir.”
    He hung up, then flipped open his laptop. After pressing some keys, an image appeared of a glass-walled Modernist living room floating high above an expanse of water. He scrolled through the rest of the photos in the listing. The light in the spaces was amazing.
    He pressed a speed dial number on his cell-phone.
    “Hi, Tony. It’s Jerry Jensen. Is that condo you showed me on Lake Shore Drive still available?”
    “Oh, hi Jerry. Yeah, it’s still there. The seller doesn’t want to come down at all from the asking, so in this economy it should be there awhile. But… you never know.”
    “Good. I’m still interested, but can’t make an offer for another month. Keep me informed if anyone makes a move on it, all right?”
    “Sure. I want you to get it. Call me once you know that your financing is ready to go. Then we can move fast.”
    Jerry tapped his pen on the desk and thought to himself. Time for Norman Meeker Enterprises to commission a new headquarters.
    ***
    In Berkeley, California, Will Reynolds bobbled his head as he tapped out the drum solo to “In a gadda -da- vida ” with two felt-tipped pens on the edge of his side table. He finished with a flourish, then spun his chair around toward the computer to reassure himself that the numbers hadn’t changed during his recital. Renno baby, your ship has come in! He stood up to peer over the workstation walls of the factory loft that he and his partner had converted into an architecture office. Everyone had gone to lunch, except one overly conscientious assistant, Traci, who was hunched over her computer.
    Will lounged against her partition wall. “Hey, Trace, aren’t you gonna break for lunch?” He flashed her a boyish grin.”You work too hard.”
    She gazed up at him over her black nerd glasses. “Vanessa needs these specs redone for her 3:00 meeting. I brought in a salad for lunch. I’m on a diet.”
    He leaned in close to let her get a whiff of his aftershave. “I was hoping to buy you a large iced mochaccino in exchange for you bringing me one. How about it?”
    Traci snapped her gum and weighed her options. “Okay.”
    After making sure that she was out of earshot, Will raced back to his desk, snapped on his blue tooth headset, and punched in a phone number. “Hey C.C., it’s me, Will. What are you doing? Can you talk?”
    “Go away— you’re interfering with my on-line shopping time. There’s a shoe sale on the Bergdorf’s website and I see some Jimmy Choo boots with my name on them.”
    He heard the sound of tapping.
    “Okay, I ordered them. Now you have my attention.”
    “I’m calling about the reunion. G.B. Rasputin called and put the screws on me to come. I can’t believe he hasn’t found new victims by now to