Sex and the City Contract

Lawrence put a thick layer of Mozzarella di Bufola on whole-wheat bread, then spread black cabbage filling, and then put the bread in the oven to heat; then took the poached chicken breast from the refrigerator, chopped it, and put it in the dill A salad of vine leaves, arugula, and tomatoes, drizzled with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.At the same time the oven clangs, heating the bread just right—his dinner is done.

Renovation of the house is ongoing.During this period, Lawrence's living space is temporarily dominated by the unchanged part of the back half.Since the dining room was also in the scope of decoration, Lawrence simply ate at the kitchen table.

After sitting down, Lawrence turned on the TV news channel, picked up the Evening News, and prepared to enjoy his dinner.When he was about to pick up the bread, the phone rang loudly, "Yes..." He subconsciously picked up the phone, only to notice that the source of the sound was the phone on the wall.

Lawrence reluctantly went to pick up the phone, "Lawrence Brodys, who are you?"

There was no sound on the other end of the phone.Lawrence asked again, but still didn't get a response, so he simply hung up the phone.

"Mr. Brodys, just let me know when you want to eat." Nelson walked into the kitchen and said hastily when he saw the food on the table.

"It's okay. You probably haven't eaten it yet, do you want to try it?" Lawrence went to the cooking counter and prepared another piece of bread.Nelson shook his hand politely, saying how could he bother the boss.Lawrence smiled, "Don't be so reserved, I'm not the same as old Mr. Gusman."

Nelson accepted with a humble smile, and walked to the stage to watch Lawrence get ready.

"By the way." Nelson asked casually, "I seemed to hear the phone ringing just now."

"That's right." Lawrence took the bread out of the oven, put it on a plate, and handed it to Nelson, "But no one answered, maybe it was a wrong call or a prank."

"I see." Nelson stared at the phone thoughtfully, but answered indifferently.Then he took the bread, tasted it, and nodded appreciatively: "It's not a compliment, it's really delicious."

"This is my family recipe: Italian home cooking." Lawrence said with some pride, "My mother is Italian. Although my appearance is completely inherited from my Norwegian father."

"Camille... the second Mrs. Gussman also likes to cook." Nelson said with a smile, "When the young master was young, he always followed his wife around the kitchen or in his wife's studio..." His thoughts It seems to go back to the old days, "...that was the best time for this house."

Lawrence glanced at Nelson and remained silent.Just went back to the table to continue enjoying his dinner.

I don't know how long he fell into a coma before Gabriel opened his eyes again.His mind went blank, and he began to feel a little hungry, but he was too lazy to move.He continued to lie on the ground in a daze, he didn't know the exact time, he could only judge whether it was day or night based on the weather.

The sky outside the window was dark, but not completely dark, so it must be near evening—or early morning, Gabriel thought.But for him, so what if he knew the time?Nothing will change anyway.

He suddenly wanted to go to the toilet.Hunger can be tolerated, but peeing is not.However, he still struggled for a long time before finally deciding with difficulty that he should go to the toilet.After waiting quietly for a while, it was confirmed that there was no sound outside the door: Michelle was not there.So he stood up slowly, opened the door and walked out.

After going to the toilet, I was going to go back to the room and continue to isolate myself.When he came to the kitchen, Gabriel drank a little water, but still didn't eat anything; he was a little hungry, but he didn't have any appetite.

As he passed the living room, he noticed that the red light on the answering machine was blinking non-stop. He pressed the play button and found more than 20 messages: a third of them were from Isaac, and several were from the bank. Notifications, which made him even more frustrated after hearing them; and boring greeting calls.The remaining few messages were just messages without words; until the last message, after a long silence, there was a deep voice: "Master, everyone is very worried about you..."

Gabriel crouched down.After a moment, he rewinds the message and listens to it again.Then, press the clear key to delete all messages.He continued to crouch there with his eyes closed and his head buried between his arms.

This may be his only chance for help.

Gabriel pulled the phone to the ground and pressed a phone number without looking at it.He held the phone nervously, and heard the ringtone coming from the receiver, one, two, three... Finally someone answered the phone.

"Lawrence Brodys. Who are you?"

Gabriel felt his heart almost jump out of his chest.Without saying anything, he immediately dropped the microphone, rushed back into the room, and locked the door again.

Nelson has called Gabriel several times, and the result is always the same: the phone is off, the call is not answered, or someone with a French accent speaks rudely back.

Nelson vaguely remembered that Gabriel had mentioned such a friend to him as a reserve driver or something.Nelson only met that person once, and it was obvious that he was another person who was close to Gabriel because of the financial resources of the Gusman family; Gabriel grew up, and Nelson had seen too many "friends" of this type in his life. Haunted around.Now, Gabriel's only advantage in the eyes of these "friends" no longer exists, and I am afraid that he will no longer be able to get too friendly treatment from them. This will undoubtedly make things worse for Gabriel who has suffered double accidents.

He was almost sure that the wordless phone call was a distress call from Gabriel.

After midnight, Nelson couldn't resist calling Gabriel again.This time, not only did no one answer the phone, it didn't work at all, and there was only a beeping sound of disconnection from the microphone.

Nelson hung up the phone and sighed solemnly.

"It's so late, you haven't slept yet?"

Lawrence noticed that the light was still on in the kitchen and came over.

Hearing his voice, Nelson turned his head and returned to his usual professional expression. "Mr. Broadish, thank you for your concern. I'm coming to drink some water. I'm very sorry for waking you up."

"No, I didn't go to bed that early," Lawrence said, smiling with a stack of papers under his arm. "Now is usually the time I follow Asian stocks."

"Can I get you some coffee?" Nelson asked.

Lawrence shook his head, "I have sleep problems, and I sleep lightly, so I don't have coffee."

"So... what about some sleep aids?" After thinking about it, Nelson continued to ask: "Scented tea? Chamomile? Honey milk?" He opened the storage cabinet and rummaged among the neatly arranged bottles and jars, "... ...Ha, so here it is. There is something very suitable for you." Nelson took out a purple glass jar with a smile on his face, "Lavender tea, native to Provence."

Lawrence nodded. He was not a fan of herbal treatments, but he didn't want to refuse the other party's kindness.

"Master brought this back last Christmas." Nelson put some lavender in the glass teapot. "At that time... Master Gusman suffered from severe insomnia."

It happened to be the time when the Metropolitan Bank's finances were at its worst, and Lawrence remembered it clearly, because he completed the equity acquisition just after the Christmas holiday.

"Put the purple lavender in a purple porcelain jar..." Lawrence took the jar over, only to notice that the glass jar, which looked like purple at first glance, was actually decorated with delicate curly flowers in relief, gradually The layers are rendered exquisitely and elegantly; turn the porcelain jar over to see that it is a masterpiece of Gallé.Lawrence raised his eyebrows. He knew a lot of collectors who would bid high prices, and this jar was actually placed in the kitchen as a daily item.

"Young Master is a person who can't hide." Seeing Lawrence's expression, Nelson somewhat guessed what he was thinking. "...everything from personality to values ​​- your lavender tea is ready."

"Thank you." Lawrence took the teacup from Nelson while speculating about his intentions.

"I remember the only time he played hide-and-seek with his classmates when he was young. He carefully hid in the storage room and waited for the ghost to come to him. Because he hid too secretly, until after school, the kid who was a ghost didn't find him. Find him. He's still hiding in the storage room when the kids have gone home."

Nelson recalled, "The driver who picked him up at the school couldn't wait for anyone, so he hurriedly contacted his family; the master was not there that day, and Camille...that is, the wife at the time rushed to the school very nervously, thinking it was a kidnapping incident. Finally, in the I found him in the storage room, and I fell asleep crying. From then on, the young master never played that kind of game again." He said with certainty, "The young master doesn't like it, and he doesn't know how to hide and seek."

Lawrence took a sip of his lavender tea.He understood that Nelson's seemingly inadvertent hints over and over again were to hope that he would pay attention to the seriousness of Gabriel's loss of contact.He sighed, "...still can't contact him?"

Nelson showed grateful eyes, "Mobile phones and telephones are not acceptable."

"Have you been to his apartment?" Lawrence asked. "Is there anywhere else he can go?"

"Lawyer Mel sent someone to his apartment to ask, but no one answered the door. And the landlord is in Switzerland and won't be back until next month." Nelson thought for a moment, then shook his head, "As far as I know about the young master...he didn't Other places I can go...unless there is an accident."

"Then, we'll find him before the 'accident' happens." Lawrence said calmly, "There will be no problem."

Lawrence drank half a cup of lavender tea and prepared to return to the upstairs room with the documents.

"Mr. Brodys." Nelson stopped him. "Thank you."

"No," Lawrence said, "thank you for the lavender tea."

Lawrence had a hunch for a long time that this "Sponsor" was a thankless job; but he did not expect that in addition to financial assistance, he would also have to bear a certain degree of guardianship obligations.

One of the reasons Lawrence is single is that he doesn't enjoy the constraints of family responsibilities, but at this moment, he feels like the head of the family.

Scratching his head, he sighed.He had never done such a loss-making business.

It started to rain.

It started to drizzle first, and then the rain gradually became heavier. The mung bean-like raindrops fell rapidly and made a rustling sound, waking up the sleeping Gabriel.

He felt a vague sense of dampness, which was no wonder, because he simply forgot to close the window.Rainwater drifted into the room with the wind, and a small puddle had actually gathered under the wall by the window.

Gabriel struggled, wondering if he should get up and close the window.As a result, he still stayed still, and his eyelids became heavy—he closed them again.He wasn't sleepy, just tired, and he tried his best not to have any contact with the outside world.

The sky was gray and blue, and the continuous heavy rain formed water ponds, which immediately gave Gabriel the impression of being in the deep sea.As if to be the only passenger in Nautilus, continue to sink [-] miles under the sea.Gabriel sincerely hopes that when he opens his eyes again, he has arrived at L'lemystérieuse, a mysterious island far away from the world.

Run away, he told himself in his heart, escape from this real world.

Michel parked the motorcycle and took out the shopping bag from the glove box.He invited another group of friends to have a HomeParty that night, and had a carnival before going back to the training camp; besides, when he returned to New York next time, the lease might have been withdrawn, so he had to make good use of it while the young master still had some remaining value.

Looking up, four people just came to the door of the apartment and waved to him.Michel looked at his watch and was very punctual. Like him, those people were athletes who cared about time.

He braved the rain and ran to shake hands with each other one by one, and then entered the apartment gate together.

"Mr. Michel Gulot." Just after he stepped through the threshold, the administrator poked his head out of the window of the reception room and called him to stop him.

Michelle walked over, "What's the matter?"

"Someone came to find Mr. Gusman Jr. at noon, but no one answered the door." The administrator said, "Maybe he just went out?"

"Probably." Michelle shrugged and said perfunctorily.But I couldn't help muttering in my heart, that guy's autism was too exaggerated. "Who's looking for him? The law firm? The bank? The police?"

"Neither." The administrator shook his head, "Anyway, that gentleman asked me to give this to you—" he handed an envelope to Michelle, "and said that if you see Mr. Gusman Jr., Please contact him."

Michelle opened the envelope, and there was only a business card inside: Lawrence Brodys, Drakkar Group.He frowned and stuffed the business card into his pocket.He had a vague impression of the name of the company, and speaking of which, the young master knew quite a few big characters.

The administrator squinted his eyes at Michel, and said in a low voice: "One more thing. Mr. Guluo, you know this is a "high-end" apartment, and the residents are all social elites above a certain level..."

Michel raised half of his eyebrows, "So?" At the same time, his four friends also leaned over.

The administrator looked at Michel, and then at the four people.Michel is not tall, but the four guys are about 180 or so, and they are all quite strong, obviously they have all undergone professional physical training.After evaluating, the administrator spread his arms and said with a smile: "I hope that your home activities can be based on the principle of 'quietness', so as not to disturb the lives of other residents." The administrator deliberately showed the muscular arm under the shirt, a Keep your hands under the table for any possible situation.

Michel looked at each other for a while, then grinned, "Dude, don't worry, we are all serious people."

The administrator continued to look at them with slightly defensive eyes, but said politely, "I have no doubt about this."

Opening the door, Michel found that the hall was still as messy and deserted as when he left.Glancing at the still locked room, he knew that Gabriel was definitely still inside.He no longer dared to imagine the situation in the room. It might be even scarier than the cave where Lionheart Cha was imprisoned. Maybe it was a replica of Bastille.Michel shrugged, he was not a son of revolution, and he had no desire to storm the prison gate.

"Oh my God, the things from the last party are still there!" The sailing team members who followed in the footsteps of Michel first smiled and sarcasm, "Is there no cleaning lady here? Do you want to find the cleaning lady who cleans up my apartment? Discount available."

Then the other three who came in also laughed together.Michel laughed a few times, put the shopping bag on the ground, and sat down at the same time. "The owner of the rented house doesn't mind. Of course I don't care. And I will go back to training soon, and I will return to New York next time. If it doesn't work out, I will cancel the lease."

"Why? Did you not renew the lease?" asked one person.

"Money." Michelle made a gesture of lack of money.

"It's a pity, it's a cool place."

Michelle shrugged, feeling a little helpless, "Listen, today is a farewell party, so let's have a good time! Come on, help me clear this place up."

Several people started to clean up.While tidying up, the quieter one of the four team members suddenly asked, "Is that..."he" okay?"

"Who? Young master?" Michelle said indifferently, "Probably in the room. He's been difficult to deal with recently, so don't worry about him."

The man involuntarily looked towards the closed door.

"The bartending effect last time was really good..." Another person laughed, "A Monte Carlo captain's exclusive recipe is invincible."

"I remember the captain named that drink 'The Snake of Eden', a very forbidden drink, hahaha..." His companion echoed.

"Being able to capture that young master is the best guarantee for the 'Snake of Eden'." Michelle showed a nasty smile, "That young master's bed skills are terrible. How should I describe it... Yes, like a walrus, paralyzed on the bed It doesn’t even move there, and he always needs others to please him, and it’s tried and tested—it won’t work no matter how you try. Hahaha..."

A sailing team member also interjected: "Oh, people have to be self-aware. His family is bankrupt, does he really think he is the young master? Shouldn't he be more easy-going?"

"In short, he is usually a wooden man on the bed, and after drinking the "Snake of Eden", he becomes an inflatable doll. He can be played with by anyone. However, he just doesn't respond to the same thing."

Several people laughed, only one person not only did not laugh, but also stared at the door of the toilet in astonishment, with an embarrassed expression on his face. "……OMG……"

Michel and the others looked towards his line of sight together, and the smiles on their faces froze at the same time: Gabriel was like a dark shadow leaning against the door frame, and he was still wearing the same clothes from the previous party.There was no expression on his face, or he didn't know what expression to use to face these people, his eyes were wide open, looking frighteningly empty.

Michel raised her hands in front of her chest, trying to squeeze out a kind expression, trying to smooth things over: "Ga...Gabriel, I can explain..."

"That day..." The person who first spotted Gabriel also said apologetically, "It was an accident..." At the same time, he took a step towards Gabriel's position.

Discovering the opponent's intention to approach, Gabriel subconsciously shrank back first, then suddenly rushed forward at a speed of running [-] meters.Michelle and the others didn't seem to expect such a reaction from him, and they were all taken aback. When they came back to their senses, Gabriel had already rushed out of the gate and rushed down the stairs, as if fleeing for his life. Not even shoes.

"Damn it!" Michel hurriedly leaned out of the window, only to see a figure crawling and running, rushing through the traffic on the road, heading towards Central Park, and gradually disappearing.

Lying on the big Thai teak bed, Archer drank the KrugRose champagne in his hand, then took out strawberries from the crystal glass bowl and put them in his mouth, looking boredly at the night in the rain outside the window.

Lawrence sat beside him, a laptop on his lap, while his left hand ran softly on Archer's bare back, down the nape of his neck, to his hip.After caressing for a while, Archer suddenly got up and sat side by side with Lawrence, frowning deliberately, pretending to be angry and staring at the computer screen, and put his hand between Lawrence's legs.

"Don't make trouble." Lawrence smiled, turned his head and kissed Archer's lips, but his eyes were still fixed on the screen.After a while, Lawrence simply moved the laptop to the floor, took out a condom from under the bed, rolled over and pinned Archer down.

Lawrence held Archer's cheek with one hand and kissed passionately, while the other hand moved back and forth between his knees and inner thighs; following Lawrence's teasing, Archer kept twisting and letting himself The genitals of each other rub against each other, making each other more excited and hard.Then, Lawrence put Archer's legs on his shoulders, put on the condom, and slowly pushed into his body.

After a whirlwind of ups and downs, Lawrence withdrew from Archer's still intoxicated orgasm body, leaned to the side, fingered the hair on Archer's forehead lightly, and asked softly, "Why don't you stay here overnight?"

Archer looked at him, wondering what he really meant by asking this question. "I didn't bring a change of clothes. I have to go into the studio to take pictures tomorrow morning, so I can't wear the same clothes. And—" Archer raised his eyebrows, "You won't give me the key."

"How do you know I can't?" Lawrence asked back.

Archie froze for a moment, then smiled. "Let's talk about it after you put the furniture here."

"What style of furniture do you like? How about Biedermeier?" Seeing the surprised expression on Archer's face, Lawrence smiled and said, "...I'm not kidding you. I'll send you back at midnight .”

"...Thank you." Archer turned his head and his face sank instantly. "I'm going to take a shower." He jumped out of bed with an excuse and walked into the bathroom.

About 10 minutes later, Archer emerged from the bathroom. "What's the matter?" He was shocked to find that Lawrence had already put on his clothes, even put away his laptop, and was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for him.

"Put on your clothes quickly, and I'll take you home right now."

Archer froze for a moment, looked at his watch, it was a quarter past midnight.He shook his head and started picking up clothes off the ground and putting them on. "It seems that the magic statute of limitations is over, and the king must 'drive' people away on time." Archie said with a wry smile.

Lawrence went to hug Archer and kissed him on the forehead a few times. "I'm sorry...but I have something urgent."

Archer leaned on Lawrence and slowly embraced him.

"I will definitely make it up to you." Lawrence whispered in Archer's ear, "...By the way, do you want to endorse brand A's cologne?"

"..." Archer didn't reply for a while.In his heart, he actually hoped that he could get better compensation.