Sex and the City Contract

Sitting in a window seat at Café Lalo, Gabriel waited for Michel rather dejectedly and anxiously.After leaving Café des Artistes, Gabriel received a call from Michel, asking him to meet and buy food for the HomeParty at night.

The French cafe atmosphere created by the ArtNouveau-style pictorials on the wall somewhat reminded Gabriel of his days in Paris.However, compared to the joy of the Lalo girl in the pictorial, Gabriel who ordered presso was very melancholy.With his current disgusting mood, he really has no interest in hosting any homeparty; what's more, he has less and less cash on hand, and this is the first time in his life so far that he is worried about money.

From a good life to the bottom in an instant, Gabriel still has no way to accept the reality that he will be penniless.Fortunately, before the accident, his father had already negotiated with an art auction company and arranged for him to work there.Looking back, Gabriel can't help feeling as if his father had a premonition of the accident.In short, he planned to visit in the next few days, so that he wouldn't have to endure the face of that damn upstart Lawrence.

Before Michele arrived, Gabriel became a little impatient. He lay on the table, sighed weakly, and subconsciously touched the bamboo-shaped platinum bracelet on his right wrist.Look at the "MonPetitPrince" engraved on the bracelet: my little prince.The image of the engraver with pretty short hair, graceful and gentle, reappeared in front of his eyes.

"Qiqi, you are my little prince." His mother said to him with a smile on her face, and "My Little Prince" became the name of the jewelry brand she designed as a matter of course.

The mother's studio, the roses in the small garden, the Crèmebrlée in the oven, in Gabriel's heart, these were all synonyms of happiness.

"Hey, young master." Someone patted Gabriel on the shoulder, bringing him back to reality in an instant.He raised his head and saw Michelle standing in front of him.

"Let's go." Michelle smiled and showed a shopping list in front of Gabriel, "Be happy, what you need most now is to relax and stop thinking about it."

Gabriel followed Michel out of CaféLalo half-pushed.Michel kept repeating how many people he had invited, and a friend from the sailing team he met in Monte Carlo would bring a group of cool companions, and the party at night was definitely worth looking forward to.Gabriel agreed casually, but it was really hard for him not to be depressed.

"Please be happy, young master?" Michel put the Norwegian smoked salmon in the cart, and crossed out the last line on the shopping list, "We are all sorry for what happened to you, but life must go on , it’s not the end of the world.”

Gabriel looked at Michel in disbelief.

"Everyone has their own troubles and stress, and you are not the only one who is unlucky."

While Michelle was speaking, the cashier at the counter began to scan the bar code readers one by one, and finally displayed a number on the screen of the cash register.Without saying a word, Michel took out the wallet from Gabriel's trouser pocket, and took out a gold card inside.Gabriel subconsciously signed the bill. He was surprised that this secondary bank card still had a limit.

Michel continued: "The GP championship is about to start, and I will go back to the training camp next month. Before starting the training camp, I want to have a High, you don't want to be so disappointed."

Disappointment?Gabriel felt a little sorry, but also a little wronged.

"Michael, I have something to tell you." After returning to the apartment, Gabriel said seriously, "I want to quit the apartment."

"Are you kidding?" Michelle took out a can of beer from the refrigerator, "Where can you find a cooler place than here?"

Gabriel sighed, it was a tough decision for him too.This place is really cool: a prime location on the Upper East Side, with lots of space, a great view, and a sky pool on the terrace outside the living room, but the relative rent is also very expensive.

"You know my situation..." Gabriel felt a little embarrassed in his heart, so he could only say in a low voice, "If you don't talk about it in the past few months, even if the work of the art auction company is fine, I believe it is impossible to afford it with their salary. Here." Gabriel paused and looked at Michel tentatively, "Unless you can..."

"Me?" Michele drank half a can of beer, "young master, I'm just a reserve driver. Understand, I came to New York just for your sake, if you cancel the lease here, I won't come Is that okay with you?」

Gabriel frowned, and began to feel a little displeased, "For you, is the value of our relationship only equivalent to this apartment?"

Michele put down the beer can, stepped forward and pushed Gabriel's shoulder half-jokingly, "Young master, be more polite!" Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, he went to the small storage table in the entrance and picked up a piece of paper. He grinned, "Why pretend to be poor? Your lawyer sent someone to deliver something not long ago—"

Without waiting for Gabriel's permission, Michel had already opened the envelope by himself, and there was a check inside. "Could it be the last inheritance left to you by your rich father? There is absolutely no problem in maintaining this apartment with this denomination."

Gabriel's eyes widened, his face turned livid, and he strode over to grab the check. "How can you randomly open other people's letters!"

"Hey, you said that I can move anything here." Michelle raised her eyebrows and patted Gabriel's chest provocatively, "Are you kidding me?"

"Anyway, this check can't be used!" Gabriel said through gritted teeth.

Gabriel looked at the demand check signed to him in his hand, the bloody upstart had written it in his own name, not even a company check.The more this is the case, the more it makes Gabriel feel cheap and disgusting: in the name of the company, it may be regarded as some form of investment, while writing a check in the name of an individual is like a kind of charity, or worse, a purchase.

Means to treat him as a stray dog ​​begging for mercy?A poor beggar?Or someone who blocks the streets and prostitutes?

The more Gabriel thought about it, the angrier he became, his finger holding the check turned red.Suddenly, as if he had made up his mind, without saying anything, he quickly tore the check into several small pieces.

"Hey..." Michelle was dumbfounded by Gabriel's sudden outburst.Although Michel, who was an athlete, had sharp nerve reflexes, it was too late when he jumped forward and grabbed Gabriel's wrist.High-denomination checks have become snowflakes.

Gabriel shook off Michel with a stubborn face, and said coldly, "This check cannot be used."

Michel picked up a fragment, which happened to be the corner with the amount written on it.He looked at the number on it regretfully, shook his head constantly, and then slammed the wall hard, "Such unreasonable trouble... Do you really think you are still a young master? You need money!"

Gabriel folded his arms across his chest, turning his face away from Michel.

"You will definitely regret it." Michelle stretched out her index fingers, pointing at Gabriel's stubborn and arrogant face. "It messed up my mood...I warn you, it's better to cooperate with the party at night, don't spoil the fun."

Gabriel didn't say a word, walked into the room with a shake of his head, and slammed the door hard.

It was almost dusk before Lawrence stepped on his bicycle and returned to "his" mansion.After parking his bicycle, he told himself that he would never play handsome again and ride his bicycle to play. He was so tired that his bones were about to fall apart; he was no longer the young man who dominated the court.

Lawrence wanted to rest and relax.Looking at his watch, he wondered if the female psychiatrist would re-accept the invitation to meet again.After thinking about it for a while, Lawrence still decided that he should not re-invite: Repeatedly, it is easy to give the other party the impression that "I am an indispensable person in your heart" and "You still can't do without me after all". Stanley didn't want to give any wrong message and make the other party expect the impossible.This goes against his motto of "everyone stays together, life lasts".

The implication was that he shouldn't have called Joachim either.

Lawrence sighed, he was beginning to think Gabriel was a bad boy.Coincidentally, every time that brat is involved, he has to cancel the date's bed appointment.Lawrence began to pray to God in his heart: moving here would not block his good luck so far.

"Welcome home, Mr. Broadis."

Walking up the steps, the butler Nelson has already opened the door to greet him respectfully.

"Thank you, thank you for your hard work." A habit developed by living in a hotel, Lawrence subconsciously reached into the inner pocket of his suit and took out the tip; fortunately, he recovered in time, only patted his chest, and smiled awkwardly at Nelson, " I really need time to get used to the fact that I have a butler at home.”

"No problem, you have plenty of time." Nelson said without hesitation with a considerate smile.

Lawrence looked at the sophisticated and deep man in front of him.In his early fifties, he speaks calmly, expresses emotions, anger, sorrow, and joy, and is meticulous in everything from hairstyle to shoes.

Lawrence remembers being impressed by Nelson's resume for the first time. Unlike most of the other half-amateur servants, Nelson graduated from a top-notch butler academy and served the nobles of Monte Carlo; He went to New York to become the housekeeper of the Gusman family, and stayed there for more than 20 years. He only transferred to Belgium for two years to work for two years, and then returned to the United States to work in the Gusman family again.

If anyone was qualified to offer any opinion on the house, Lawrence thought, Nelson would be at the top of the think tank list.

After entering the door, Lawrence stood in the hallway on the first floor, inspected it carefully up, down, left, and right, and even studied the possible direction of the pipeline behind the wall.After all, he was an architect. Old Jeff should have removed the interior and left him a complete empty room for decoration, but now it was obviously too late, and the only thing he could do was to inform Jin Jie to take the furniture away.However, Lawrence was very skeptical about how much storage room would be needed to accommodate it.

The hall still maintains the decoration of the previous owner: a marble fireplace is installed in the whitewashed walls, calfskin sofas, plush carpets and a series of resplendent Louis Philippe Style furniture form the main tone of the decoration, plus several postmodernist paintings , and a huge oil painting of the former owner and his wife.

Lawrence had the illusion that he had strayed into the set of the "Dynasty" album.Some people say that as long as you look at the decoration of your home, you can understand what kind of people you are dealing with. He doesn't want to be mistaken for an oil tycoon.Lawrence scratched his head. Everything had to be changed.

"The decoration of the entrance hall on the first floor, the hall on the second floor, the living room, and the bedroom is decided by the wife." Before Lawrence could ask, Nelson said automatically.

Lawrence nodded, not surprised by this answer at all, then climbed up the stairs and continued to check the rooms.The following halls basically maintain the same style, with luxurious crystal chandeliers and golden furniture, almost dazzling.

"If I remodel everything here...it won't be too exaggerated." Lawrence said to himself.

Every time he reached the door of a hall, Lawrence would stop to conceive.Interior design is also one of his favorite projects, but he is too subjective to design for others and can only entertain himself.Moving on, the light gradually softens, followed by apparently less used rooms.

"What is this room used for?" Opening a door casually, Lawrence's eyes lit up with the furnishings inside.

Unlike anything I've seen before, the walls here are surrounded by mahogany Robert Adam bookcases, a Chippendale desk, chairs and a Caucasus rug on the floor.

Walking into the room, Lawrence noticed that among the entire series of antique books on the bookshelves, small statues, coral trees, and other trinkets were dotted as decorations.He picked up a gold-plated Sakyamuni statue to play with, and smiled, "I like this study. Just keep it like this, and don't change it."

"The decoration of the study and other rooms in the back half is up to the young master." Nelson said slowly.

Lawrence glanced at Nelson, and his smile suddenly stiffened.For some reason, the professional indifferent smile on the butler's face gave him an unfathomable feeling.It was only then that Lawrence suddenly remembered that he was only the "half owner" of the house.

The scent of Crèmebrlée permeates the entire basement.Sitting on the small easy chair, little Gabriel had a copy of "World Art History" spread out on his lap. The French in it was very difficult, and Gabriel actually couldn't understand it.Looking up at the workbench, a woman with short black hair was concentrating on the metalwork in her hands. She wore a pair of large goggles on her face, which made Gabriel chuckle.

"Qiqi, what are you laughing at?" The woman raised her head and asked with a smile, "Mom's glasses look like dragonflies!"

Camille walked up to Gabriel, took off the goggles and put them on Gabriel's face.Gabriel's tiny face made the goggles impossibly large, and he smiled even wider.

"Kiki, let's have some snacks!"

Gabriel nodded, adoringly watching Camille take out the Crèmebrlée from the small oven and put it on the tray.Gabriel grabbed the hem of his mother's clothes and happily walked out into the small garden.

The flower season is approaching, and rosebuds that are about to bloom can be seen everywhere.Little Gabriel and his mother sat side by side on a rattan double chair, eating snacks.Through the big goggles on his face, everything in front of him looks a bit dreamy.

Gabriel leaned contentedly beside his mother, touching the bamboo platinum bracelet on her wrist.

"Like it?"

Gabriel nodded.Camille took off the bracelet and put it on his hand.Gabriel looked at the engraving "MonPetitPrince" on the bracelet and read it out, knowing that "My Little Prince" was referring to him.

Mother touched his head, "When you grow up, I will give you this bracelet." At the same time, she kissed him on the forehead.

Gabriel turned to look at his mother, her smile was warm and her eyes were shining like little stars.

This scene is clearly recorded in Gabriel's memory, like a disk, it is always played repeatedly in his mind from time to time, this is the happiest moment in his memory.

However, once upon a time, his mother's studio became his PanicRoom.

Gabriel opened his eyes in a daze, feeling a headache.The place he was in was hard, and there was an unknown object in front of him.After being dazed for a few seconds, he realized that he was lying on the floor next to the sofa.He didn't know why he was here, only that the night on the floor made his back ache.

Gabriel stood up slowly on the sofa, wanting to go back to the bedroom and continue to sleep, but before walking halfway, he fell forward with an unsteady center of gravity, only to find that his jeans and underwear had been taken down to his ankles.Glancing around roughly, he noticed several used condoms scattered among the mess of beer cans, plastic cutlery, and other inexplicable items.

He didn't have the energy to think about what happened, he just subconsciously pulled his trousers back around his waist, groped slowly back into the room, climbed onto the bed and fell asleep again.

In the haze, Gabriel seemed to hear the ringing of bells, which made him feel very harsh, so he subconsciously covered his head with a sheet.

After the ringing continued for a long time, it finally stopped wearily, and then there was a click and then a dispassionate electronic voice: "...Please leave a message after the signal, thank you."

"Mr. Gusman, this is Antique Art Brokerage Company. I am the executive director, Oxon." The cold voice on the other end of the microphone revealed obvious impatience, "I hope you have not forgotten today's appointment, because I I've been waiting for you for two hours..."

For the next few days, Lawrence indulged in his decorating plans.Container trucks came in and out one after another. Nelson first directed the porters to pack the furniture in the house and put them on the container truck one by one. Then, he directed the workers to pack another batch of antique furniture on the container truck with more delicate movements. Unload it and move it into the house carefully.

Isaac stood aside with his hands on his hips, watching the porters continue to move in and out the items wrapped in bubble wrap or thick cotton, as if observing a line of hard-working ants.A worker accidentally slipped his hand and let a roll of carpet roll down the stairs. Isaac saw the roll of carpet approaching where he was, and subconsciously raised his foot to step on it.

"Be kind, Barrister." Lawrence said lazily, "It's a Soumac rug from the early nineteenth century, and it's quite expensive, you know."

Isaac glanced sideways at Lawrence.Yes, he really wanted to kick the carpet roll away with a big foot.After hesitating for a moment, he put his feet down, and at the same time, the workers hurried over to carry the carpet away.

"Mr. Broadis, what you are doing now is actually on the verge of breaching the contract. You know this as well as I do."

"I only know to choose a good day and auspicious day for moving, otherwise I will commit a crime, but I don't know that I will break the law." Lawrence raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly, and said ironically, "If this is the case, bring me to justice."

Isaac was silent for a moment, then retorted with the same sarcasm: "No, what lawyers usually do is tell the other party: 'You will receive a subpoena and we will see you in court'."

Lawrence frowned, looking at him provocatively.

Isaac continued: "You don't have the right to change the underlying movable property—that is, furniture, collections, decorations, clothing, anything—until the title to the real property is fully clarified—because the movable property affects the real property as well. value, not to mention the value and property rights of these movable properties..."

Lawrence raised his hand to stop Isaac in a gesture of surrender, "Barrister, let's be frank and honest, these movable and immovable properties have already made me sick to my stomach. The actual situation is that my The secretary has informed Ms. Jin Jie to take away the interior furniture of the house, she expressed no interest, and left it to me to handle it, that’s all.”

"Damn it, Mr. Brodys, you know that's not the point," Isaac said. "It's not Ginger you should be contacting, it's Gabriel."

"If you can't even contact your client, how can I find him?" Lawrence asked back, "Go to Notre Dame Church and ask the angel to report?"

"Look, haven't we returned to the source of the problem? You should not change the movable property in the house without the consent of the co-owners!"

Lawrence clapped his palms heavily, with a look of unreasonable impatience, "Listen, I'll just say this one last time: I did 'keep' the part of this house decorated by 'your client', only Clean up the part I bought, that is, Jin Jie..."

"Mr. Brodys, you should be clear that the property rights of these movable properties are not distinguished by the location of the furnishings!"

"Sorry, I don't want to get involved in too personal matters. However, I have reasons to believe that 'your client' should—" Lawrence spoke at the same time as two workers were carrying a huge oil painting of Jeff and Jin Jie passing by in front of them.The two of them glanced at the oil painting, and at the same time took a step back to get out of the passage. "Shouldn't care about these items."

"Besides, I just 'temporarily' moved these things to my storage warehouse." Lawrence continued, "Barrister, it is your client who avoids seeing each other, not my intentional black box operation."

"Mr. Broadis, Gabriel has been out of contact for several days, and you don't care at all?" Isaac asked, looking slightly worried.

"Honestly, if anything happened to him, it would be to my advantage, wouldn't it? I could just take the opportunity to acquire his part of the property rights."

"Mr. Broadis, please remember that you are talking to a lawyer." Isaac's eyes widened, and he was very surprised by Lawrence's unexpected candor. "Everything you say may turn against you." Evidence in court—if anything happens to Gabriel."

Gabriel was curled up in a ball under the sheets, nestled in the little corner between the bed and the nightstand.Looking out of the window from where he stood, he could see a New York sky: as usual, the color was as cloudy as pen wash; the air was so heavy that even the buildings on the skyline looked tired.

Gabriel sighed, and subconsciously bit the nail of his right thumb.As soon as I put it near my mouth, I felt a tingling pain, and when I lowered my eyes, I found that all the nails were only half of their original size, and slightly oozing blood.

I don't even have to bite my nails anymore, it's so miserable.

"Gabriel! Young Master!" Michelle slammed on the door, "How long do you want to lock yourself up? Damn it, don't be autistic!"

Gabriel shrank back a little more.

"Party, it was an accident! It's normal for guests to want to see you as the host, isn't it? How did I know it would turn out like that..."

Gabriel covered his ears, his hands trembling slightly.He made a point of not listening to what Michel had to say so he wouldn't have to recall what had happened at HomeParty.

"Also, so what if you missed the interview? You can make another appointment!"

Thinking of the call from Oxon, the executive director of Antique Art Brokerage Company, Gabriel collapsed on the ground, resting his head on his knees.He wished for a moment that it was quicksand, not a log floor, so that he could sink and bury himself unconsciously.

"That's not the only company in New York, you can go to Christie's or Sotheby's to try it out! Tell me who you are, the son of so-and-so, the people there should know your father!"

Is it that simple?Let's talk about it when you become an official driver.Gabriel thought so, but he didn't have the strength to speak back.So tired, Gabriel closed his eyes and kept lying there, making people drowsy.

"Damn it! Do you want me to slam the door in?" Michelle said threateningly, but he wouldn't really do that. How could he get on his body for such a boring reason before the training camp started. "Hmph, you can't stay locked inside forever, you still have to come out when the landlord comes!" After finishing speaking, he kicked the door hard.

Immediately after the slamming of the door, Gabriel heard another soft "Ouch!" and began to appreciate that he had stuck with the solid walnut door.

"Vatefairefoutre!" Michel, who kicked her sore foot, cursed outside the door for a while, and suddenly the phone rang. "No such person!" Michelle yelled into the phone, and then hung up the receiver forcefully.

"Go to hell!" Michele returned to Gabriel's room and yelled and cursed loudly. His footsteps gradually moved away, and finally he slammed the door with a "bang" and left.

Gabriel was still lying on the ground motionless.

After 10 minutes, the phone rang again.In the empty living room, the bell echoed in the hollow with a mournful frequency.Because there was no answer for a long time, the line was automatically switched to the voice answering system: "...Please leave a message after the signal sound, thank you."

There was silence on the other end of the microphone, and the caller didn't leave a word.After a while, the phone line was cut off, and there was a beeping sound.

"..." Nelson looked at the microphone in his hand and began to get really worried.