Sex and the City Contract

Although it was past noon, Lawrence was still wearing a homely V-neck shirt, with a newspaper and a laptop under his arm, and a Bluetooth headset in his ears, wandering around the house leisurely.It’s rare that Gabriel, the little devil, was not there, and Nelson also took a day off to go out; and he didn’t have to have a meeting that day, and he could remotely control the development of work through the electronic network, so he could finally enjoy the whole space.

The "whole" home, the "whole" space.Lawrence thought, in fact, isn't this the purpose of every man buying real estate?He has a territory that is completely his own. If necessary, he does not refuse to urinate on every corner of the pillars in the territory to mark it, just like many animals.

Ask yourself, Lawrence doesn't think he's greedy or petty.He has no desire to become the master of the universe, nor does he have the ambition to rule the world. The only thing he asks for is a world of "himself", to be his "head of the family".

Donne said: "Nomanisanisland."

And he, Lawrence Brodys, would say, "EverymanTRIEStohaveanisland."

Maybe he should really consider buying an island and being a modern-day Robinson, as long as the island has electricity and satellite internet and access to computers and cell phones, he'll be fine.Thanks, he doesn't need Mr. Friday, all he needs is a sexy mermaid that drifts to the island to have sex with him once in a while.

Of course, this is just a thought.Lawrence shrugged and walked slowly into the living room on the second floor.The decoration of the front half of the house was almost finished, leaving only a hall in the west wing, which was a bit weird, but he planned to worry about it later.

The living room with two large windows has excellent lighting. He specially used olive green as the theme color. When the weather is good and the sun shines in from the outside, the interior will have a Chinese-Italian mountain town atmosphere.So he installed an antique record player here, and especially put a simple and comfortable easy chair in front of the window; he first put Sainte Colombe on it, then sat on the easy chair, raised his long legs, and began to play on the classical cello. Read the financial daily with your company.

Yet the front page of the newspaper immediately taught him to frown.Chad asked two foreign oil companies to divest and leave the country within a time limit.

Lawrence clicked his tongue. Many people coveted the black gold pie, and there was a whole pile of investment plans on his desk; however, it is not so easy to make money in the Black Continent. Appetites are growing, coupled with political factors, the cost and risk of investment are getting higher and higher.Lawrence shook his head, continued to look down, and then suddenly pressed his phone as if he was electrocuted.

"Damn it!" he said straight to the other end of the phone, "Gary, you knew Ginger's company was going to invest in energy, why didn't you tell me first?"

"You're so fucking sweet, Lawrence." Gary said, "I just read the news in the newspaper today that the S company she invested in will replace the C company to compete for the development of the Chad oil field. Sorry, I'm sorry. It's not from the dames, there's no way to get early word from her hairdresser or manicurist."

In the investment world, risk and return are usually directly proportional.Such a big move is too dangerous for a person who has just established an investment company, even if she used to be a banker's wife.Lawrence didn't know whether Jin Jie was a fast and accurate great white shark or a tofu shark that hadn't learned from old Jeff. He was worried about another thing: the bank.

Hearing Lawrence's silence for a long time, Gary said again: "Why, you are also interested in African oil investment? This is a big headline! Which country? Angola? Congo? Or Sudan?"

"Stop guessing," Lawrence said. "Haven't the Metropolitan Bank paid enough to invest in oil field development? I'm just surprised that with such experience, Jin Jie dares to continue to take risks."

In the era of Jeff Gusman, it was precisely because of the big move to invest in an oil company to exploit oil fields in Sudan, and then suffered operating losses, even the Metropolitan Bank.He sincerely hoped that the bank would not be affected in any way because of Jin Jie.

After finishing the call with Gary, Lawrence was no longer in the mood to continue reading the newspaper, so he walked to the window and stuck his head out.You can see the whole greenery from the window, Lawrence turned his head, and suddenly he was attracted by a place: on the west side of the house, there is a green bush fence that is as tall as a person, which originally seemed to be a small garden maze or something, but The trees that haven't been pruned for a long time now have branches that grow in a mess, completely disorganized.He stuck his head out a little further, and found that the shrubs that seemed to be small gardens surrounded and consolidated a room like a magic grove, like a secret bunker.

The problem is, he doesn't remember a place like this in the house.The location is roughly outside the only undecorated room in the West Wing, which, if true, would explain the eerie nature of that place.

Men are just older kids.There was a smile on the corner of Lawrence's mouth, and a treasure hunter's urge ignited in his heart, and he decided to explore there.

The Enigma Room in the West Wing is used by Jeff as a relaxation room.On one wall there is an entire wine cabinet, bar counter and high chairs.On the other side are two Hermelin pool tables and a row of sticks on the wall.Lawrence is not a fan of billiards, he prefers sports with high muscle activity; of course he knows that it is a sport about calculation, geometry, mathematics and strategy, which is very suitable for Jeff Gussman's banker status, not to mention the two The billiard table that Zhang ordered was expensive.

Well, the pool table can stay, but not the liquor cabinet.Lawrence studied it carefully, but he couldn't understand the relative relationship between this place and the mysterious small garden, unless someone made changes to the structure of the house.So he started knocking on the wall.

A wooden decorative panel extends from the wine cabinet, which should be made of oak heart.After a while of fumbling and knocking, finally, a piece of wood slid open, revealing a door and an electronic combination lock inside.

Good fellow, Lawrence thought, Gussman would not have a penchant for blue beard, and there is a secret room at home.

"What are you doing here?"

Just as Lawrence was trying to open the combination lock, a voice sounded nervously behind him.Lawrence sighed, the kid was back, and his monologue was over.

"I ask you, what are you doing here?" Gabriel raised his voice with obvious hostility.

Lawrence turned his head impatiently, and saw that Gabriel's muscles were tense and his eyes were wary, as if he had suffered a serious human rights violation.

"Calm down." Lawrence said with a relaxed face, "I'm just studying how to decorate here." He pointed his hand casually, "I noticed that there is a small deserted garden outside. If the board is knocked out, we should be able to pass through..."

"This is 'my' place, you have no right to do anything!" Gabriel gritted his teeth and said, "Get out immediately!"

"Who do you think you're talking to, brat?" Lawrence also became annoyed by Gabriel's inexplicable hostility. ’ Sovereignty.”

"No, this place belongs to the second half, it's mine!"

"First half."

"Back, half, part!"

"Please remember that you are talking to an architect." Lawrence said angrily, "I remember the structure of the house very clearly. There are five rooms on the first floor of the west wing, and this is the third..." He swallowed what he hadn't said. , spread his hands, "Okay, this is the middle room, we'll share it, okay."

Gabriel stared at him resentfully, with tears of grievance already in his eyes.

Lawrence began to feel like a bullying villain, "It's just a room, not a treasure house..." He compromised, turned around, and tried to change the subject, "... At least tell me how to open this ghost door? I You have the right to know what's in the house. This is not the workshop of the mail bomber!"

He began to press randomly on the number codes.Discovering this move, Gabriel immediately rushed over in panic and grabbed Lawrence's right hand, "Touch it!" Gabriel shouted nervously, "Please, don't move here..." His The voice was almost pleading, "This is mine..."

Lawrence felt some warm moisture on the back of his hand.Seeing Gabriel lowering his head, he trembled a little, not knowing whether it was anger or anxiety.Lawrence sighed softly, turned slightly sideways, and pressed Gabriel's head against his shoulder with his left hand. "Hey, there's no need for a room..." He stroked Gabriel's hair, "This is your home, it's all right."

The room was just a symbol, and Gabriel knew very well that everything he had left was preserved behind that door. That door was the most defenseless, and it must not be opened.

Gabriel leaned against Lawrence's shoulder, still clutching his right hand, and began to sob.Lawrence said in a low voice, "This is your home, it's all right", as if breaking through a dead key in his heart, letting go of all the grievances, sorrows, resentments, and dissatisfaction that have accumulated during this period of time. With the vent of tears.

Crying and crying, Gabriel gradually relaxed.And Lawrence has been standing there steadily, with his left hand lightly around Gabriel's shoulder, allowing him to vent.After an unknown amount of time, Gabriel finally calmed down. He let go of Lawrence's hand, took a step back, and with his head still lowered, he said in a small voice, "...Thank you."

Lawrence patted him on the head as if asking him not to mind, as if coaxing a dog. Gabriel wanted to complain, but couldn't say it.He raised his eyes slightly, and saw a large piece of weeping marks on the other party's V-neck shirt, and pulled Lawrence awkwardly, "...your clothes..."

Lawrence lowered his eyes, spread his hands, and looked indifferent, "It doesn't matter." He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and stuffed it for Gabriel, and asked him at the same time, "Do you want a drink?"

Gabriel nodded, and Lawrence walked out immediately.Soon after, Lawrence came back from the kitchen with a bottle of mineral water and a plate of small truffle rolls, "This room is yours, but there are conditions: First, you have to remove these goddamn partitions, I hate poor lighting environment; second, only the pool table can be left, and all other decorations have to be replaced..."

"Wait." Gabriel, who was drinking water, was a little puzzled, and suddenly interrupted: "Didn't you say it's mine? Why do you want to see what you want to decorate?"

"Because one plus one doesn't equal three, that's it." Lawrence said naturally, "I've made a big concession. Third—" He pointed back, "Remove that door. "

Gabriel looked at Lawrence, and after a while, he took a deep breath and said slowly, "There...is my mother's former studio."

Gabriel pressed the codes of the electronic lock in sequence.The password is actually not difficult, it just requires a little imagination, because it is composed of his and his mother's birth dates intricately arranged.

After the door slowly slid open, Lawrence followed Gabriel's footsteps and walked in. Seeing that the four walls were sealed with oak core partitions, it looked very dark, and immediately blurted out: "You Germans really have a special liking for air-raid shelters. ah……"

Gabriel turned his head and gave Lawrence a blank look.The Gussmans are descendants of rich German merchants who immigrated to the New World in the nineteenth century. "I still have French and Chinese blood, thank you." Gabriel retorted, "You Nordic...Viking pirates have always liked to seize other people's property, and it seems to be true."

Lawrence smiled. "Worse. Didn't tell you, my mother was Italian. Pirates and mafia, you better watch out, kid."

Gabriel ignored him, and walked to turn on the sheepskin table lamp in the corner.

With the light of the lighting, Lawrence saw that the space inside was not small. It was mainly divided into two parts. On the left hand side was a neo-Gothic style bookshelf with a double sofa in front; at the bottom of the right hand was a work table. And a set of metalworking equipment.The rest of the place is scattered with cartons, boxes, books and other sundries.

He took a step forward and accidentally kicked down a stack of books pushed beside the sofa.

"You really need to tidy up here." Lawrence first put the small plate containing the truffle rolls on the cardboard box next to him, bent down to try to pick up the book, but knocked down another stack with his elbow, "Damn it , there is no way to move in this space!"

"Don't move around!" Gabriel walked over impatiently and helped Lawrence refold the book.

Lawrence picked up a book that was pressed at the bottom, "My God, how old are you?" He waved the book in his hand, and said with a half-smile, "The Little Prince?"

Gabriel snatched the book from Lawrence's hand, and one of them didn't pay attention, a photo fell out of the page.Gabriel was taken aback, and immediately wanted to bend down to pick up the photo, but Lawrence was a step ahead of him, picking up the photo and deliberately holding it up so that Gabriel couldn't see it, "Is your family photo?"

In the photo, there is a woman with short black hair, holding a child in her arms, snuggling beside Jeff Gusman with a smile on her face, who caresses her intimately.A few steps back from them, Nelson also entered the camera with his usual professional indifference.In the background of the photo was a bed of roses in full bloom, which he believed to be what the little garden looked like before it fell into disrepair.

"Your mother is really beautiful." Lawrence praised sincerely.

But Gabriel sat on the sofa in a fit of anger, he didn't know whether it was embarrassment or anger, he turned his head and deliberately ignored him.

He shook his head, went to sit on the sofa, and put the photo back into "The Little Prince" in Gabriel's hand.Seeing that Gabriel still didn't respond, Lawrence took a deep breath, picked a book at random and pretended to read it.

Staring at the book, Lawrence couldn't help thinking about what Nelson had told him before.

"In the first six years of their married life, they were very happy indeed."

"My family has been working for the Yang family since the beginning of the last century." Nelson said that day: "The Yang family immigrated from Shanghai to France because of the outbreak of the Great War. When the situation was urgent, they were relocated together with my family. Therefore, I His family owes a great debt of gratitude to the Yang family.

"I also serve the Yang family according to the family tradition. The previous generation of master Yang married the daughter of the winery in Yepo, Burgundy, so the Yang family also started the wine making business. In the professional management career, I made the biggest mistake. Mistake’, fell in love with someone you shouldn’t love, Camille.” Nelson lowered his head, as if caught in a past memory, “My father was very opposed to it, and immediately asked someone to introduce me to marry, and deliberately sent me to Monteca Luo works... Meanwhile, my wife is pregnant.

"I originally wanted to take this opportunity to start over, but the human heart cannot be controlled by reason." Nelson glanced at Lawrence meaningfully, "A few years later, when I heard Camille and Gus After the news of Master Man's lightning marriage, I immediately understood what I wanted... So, I found an opportunity and came here to become the housekeeper of Gusman's family.

"In the first six years of marriage between Camille and Master Gussman, they were indeed very happy." He said slowly, "It's just a charming and successful person like Master, so there are naturally many affairs around him. Because of this, they gradually distanced themselves, and Camille became more and more depressed. In short, after she passed away in a car accident, even though she asked me to take good care of young master Gabriel, I still left temporarily. I believe you You can imagine."

Lawrence nodded. The person he cared about the most was gone, so Nelson naturally had no reason to stay sad.

"My wife is not stupid, and of course understands that my heart is not with her. Instead of helping us mend our relationship, that period of time made me more depressed, so I went back to the Gusmans' house. I was considering divorcing my wife. but……"

"Because of your child?" Lawrence interrupted.

"Indeed." Nelson nodded, "My wife also tried to date other people, but... she had bad luck. get cancer.

"I'm sorry for what happened to her, but I don't regret my choice. But I'm very sorry for my child." Nelson bowed his head, "...I received a letter from him saying that his mother passed away, and he didn't even notify me to attend the event. Funeral." He smiled sadly, "Now that he finds an opportunity to work here, I hope to visit him."

"It's a matter of course, please take care of yourself." Lawrence said sincerely, "If there is anything I can do to help, just ask."

"Thank you." Nelson said gratefully, "Please don't let Young Master Gabriel know about this..."

"why?"

"I'm afraid my son has deep hostility towards Gabriel, and I don't want any accidents to happen."

Lawrence's consciousness returned to reality.Looking at his watch, it was getting late, so he stood up. "I've been bored here for too long, kid, open the door, I want to go out."

Gabriel walked to the door without saying a word, and pressed the password, but the door did not move. "Strange..." Gabriel frowned and tried again, but the result was the same.He was starting to feel bad.

Lawrence stood by and watched his actions, feeling a little uneasy in his heart. "What's wrong? Open the door!"

Gabriel bit his finger, and continued to try a few more times, "Didn't you see that I was trying to open the door..."

"Little devil, the electronic lock is not short-circuited, right?" Lawrence stood beside him with his hands on his hips, "Damn it, you have to repair it if you want to build an air-raid shelter?"

"I haven't been here for four years...the last time I came, it was fine..." Gabriel suddenly remembered that Nelson opened the door from the outside when he used it last time, and started to break out in a cold sweat. Could it be that he can only unlock it from the outside?He tensed up, pounding and kicking the door, and yelling, "Open the door! Is anyone out there? Hey, Nelson—"

Seeing Gabriel's out-of-control reaction, Lawrence was so frightened that he immediately hugged him from behind, "Little brat, calm down! You really can't get out if you knock on the door."

"Fuck! Let me go!" Gabriel kept struggling, "Nelson! Open the door!"

Gabriel yelled several times in a row, and Lawrence felt that his ears were going deaf. In desperation, he hugged Gabriel tightly around his waist with his right hand and blocked his mouth with his left hand, "Don't yell! My hearing is already a little weak, are you trying to deaf me?"

Gabriel was still whimpering and roaring, his hands were constantly scratching and trying to tear Lawrence's hand away. Lawrence tried to comfort Gabriel, but he lost his balance and fell back on the sofa.With the support behind him, it was easier for Lawrence to apply force. He grabbed Gabriel even more firmly with both hands, and at the same time whispered in his ear, "Calm down, don't mess around! It's no use shouting, Nelson is not here."

After a while, Gabriel finally stopped screaming, turned his head slightly and asked, "Not here? Why?"

"I'm giving him a special day off," Lawrence explained. "He won't be back until tomorrow. If you try to open the door again and it doesn't work, we'll have to stay here until tomorrow morning. Agree?"

Gabriel nodded, and Lawrence let go.After a glance, Gabriel noticed that he was lying on Lawrence in an ambiguous posture.Immediately he stood up and tried the code again.The door was still motionless, Gabriel was desperate to find that they would not be able to get out that night, he couldn't help sighing, and leaned his head against the door.

"What's wrong with you?"

"..." Gabriel was silent for a moment, "I'm hungry."

Lawrence said helplessly, "Fortunately, I had the foresight to bring in some truffle rolls. Let's eat."

Gabriel picked up the plate on the carton and quickly started eating.He wasn't actually hungry, that was just an excuse, the real embarrassment was having to stay here with Lawrence for the night.

"Don't finish eating."

When Gabriel stuffed the truffle roll unconsciously, Lawrence suddenly called him, and he realized that he had already eaten the small amount of food on the plate, leaving only half of it in his hand.

"I'm hungry too, kid?" Lawrence shook his head, took Gabriel's hand, and ate half of the truffle roll in his hand.

Gabriel stared blankly at his hands, unable to say a word.

Afterwards, Lawrence first called Nelson on his mobile phone and told him not to worry, as long as he remembered to open the door for them the next morning.Then, in order to avoid the embarrassment of staring at each other in a daze, they casually arranged the stacked books and checked the contents of the boxes.At the same time, Lawrence studied the structure of the room and planned how it would be equipped later.

"Anyway, the partition here also needs to be removed." Lawrence concluded, "The garden outside needs to be tidied up."

"Here too?" Gabriel glared at Lawrence. This guy wanted to force open his defensive space as soon as he came, and it was hard for him to accept.

"Of course. A bomb shelter like a rat's nest, isn't it?" Lawrence said. "This is still your place, it just doesn't need to be so claustrophobic. That way, no one can hear you calling for help."

Gabriel gave Lawrence a wary look, not knowing if he meant to be sarcastic or pointing out something.

Lawrence ignored him and stretched himself. "By the way, there is a very important question: how do we rest?" He looked around, "I don't want to sit and sleep all night."

Gabriel hesitated for a while, then walked slowly to the sofa, "This is a sofa bed, very comfortable." After he struggled to straighten it out, the bed finally unfolded creakingly. "...Go to sleep. I'll sit on the chair over there..."

"Brat." Lawrence smiled contemptuously, "If I want to fuck you, I will tell you directly."

"Fuckyou!" Gabriel hurriedly defended, "I mean it well! Do you think I'm afraid that an uncle like you will be in heat?" To show that he didn't mind, he immediately climbed onto the sofa bed and lay down on his side.

Lawrence shook his head with a smile and sat on the bed too.After laying down, he immediately complained, "What kind of comfortable bed is this?"

Gabriel sat up and looked, and couldn't help but burst out laughing: Lawrence was exposed from the bed from the mid-calf down.

"Is this sofa bed too short?" Lawrence said angrily.

"Hey, didn't anyone say you're too tall?" Gabriel continued to laugh. In fact, when he was lying upright, his ankles were exposed outside the bed.

"Enough is enough, the bed of this dwarf needs to be replaced immediately."

"Are you 'Homo sapiens'?" Gabriel curled himself up, and at the same time sarcastically said, "I wonder if higher creatures can adapt to the environment? If you can't change the length of the bed, you can change your own length. This even Monkeys know it."

"Thanks for the reminder, monkey." Lawrence retorted. "Talking to you makes people childish."

"Fuckyou!" Gabriel said, "Talking to you makes you dumb."

"..." Lawrence was silent for a moment, and then said seriously, "You'd better not say the catchphrase 'Fuckyou' too often."

"Because this is an upper-class family, can't you swear?" Gabriel said sarcastically.

"Wrong." Lawrence said slowly, "Your personality is very annoying, but you are good-looking. You say that sentence too often. It's hard to say whether I will really fall in love with you one day."

Gabriel immediately turned around and kicked Lawrence forcefully while lying on his side.

"It hurts..." Lawrence held Gabriel's soles, "Your feet are not small."

"The bigger the feet, the bigger the genitals, haven't you heard of it?" Gabriel said impatiently.

Thief Lawrence laughed twice, "Thank you. I wear size 47 and a half shoes. Do you want to see them?"

"...Fuck you!"

Lawrence shook Gabriel's soles firmly, without saying anything, closed his eyes and fell asleep slowly.

Lawrence was never a sleeper, and always a light sleeper.But that night, on the sofa bed that was too short, it gave him a peaceful and nostalgic feeling, allowing him to sleep peacefully without any miscellaneous dreams.