This is the final chapter describing Paul's adventures in New York. Telling this story was the primary reason I joined Literotica.
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To save time, Paul passed on the cross-town bus, and hailed a cab. It was going to cost him a chunk of his remaining cash, but time was of the essence. Once back in his hotel room, he stripped off his Levi's and rinsed them as well as he could in the tub then hung them over the shower rod. It would be bad form to continue to wear them or even just leave them around after Joannie had so thoroughly soaked them the previous night.
Paul pulled on a gray suit, knotted up his tie, and dashed out to get to Grand Central and the express downtown. The subway was already as steaming as it had been the night before. By the time the air conditioning hit him as he entered the headquarters building, he felt like he needed another shower. It was 10:15, and the third class of the day was in session. As he began through the door, trying to slip in unnoticed, he heard, "O'Brien! A word with you out here."
Paul turned to see the head of training, Jack Donovan, standing behind him in the hallway. His mood immediately turned sour. He had seen too many Jack Donovan's in his Army years. Typically, he was a major with no command time, putting in his 20 for retirement, and desperately hoping for there to be enough ass to suck that he could retire as a lieutenant colonel, the next higher grade. Jack was the civilian equivalent. He came up through the administrative side and had never had a client book of his own. He was a good thirty pounds overweight and his shirt tail was already starting to creep out from under the overstressed belt holding up his trousers. His hair was not exactly covering up early male pattern baldness as well as Jack thought it did, and his cheeks displayed that rosy glow so typical of a man who likes his evening cocktails a bit too much.
"You must think you're so much better than the rest of the class that you can just show up when you please," began Donovan. "The company is spending a small fortune on you to get trained for this profession," he continued, "and you are showing little appreciation for it. Perhaps I should call your manager in San Jose and inform him of your lack of focus."
"Sure, go ahead and do that, Jack," Paul shot back. "Tell Barry that I lack appreciation for the company providing me with a desk and a phone and little else, especially since they will keep 65 cents of every dollar I generate. However, I am grateful the firm plucked me off the unemployment rolls and that it has paid for my registration with the SEC. Since my registration is now effective, maybe the manager of the Dean Witter or Paine Webber office would like to pick it up for free when I get back there."
Donovan was clearly getting pissed off, and he took a step closer to Paul. He was a couple inches taller, and perhaps he thought it would impress the trainee. Paul stood 6' and thanks to his frequent workouts, his 190 pounds was mostly muscle. "Oh, please!" thought Paul, "This idiot isn't really thinking of getting physical, is he?" He stepped back to defuse the situation. "Jack, maybe you should tell Barry that Paul O'Brien has scored at the top of the class in every training scenario you have given us. Tell him I will be at my desk bright and early Monday morning ready to kick ass and take names. Oh, and Jack, if you ever step into my personal space like that again, I will demonstrate the training my previous employer gave me." Without waiting for an answer, Paul turned and walked into the classroom.
That afternoon, when Paul was preparing to head back to the hotel, one of the assistants in the training department gave him a note indicating he should call his manager. He found unused desk with a working phone and returned Barry's call. When Barry heard his voice, he said he had gotten a call from Jack somebody there. "Uh, oh," thought Paul, "here it comes."
"Hey, killer, it sounds like you are knocking them dead there," exclaimed Barry, "Top trainee in the class, eh? Bet you are raring to get back here and start building your book."
Paul winced at Barry's opening. "That I am. But Boss, please do not call me that nickname again. It's a long story and I will tell you over drinks sometime. See you Monday."
Friday was the last day of training. Everyone was let out on their own at 11 AM. Paul thought about what he could do to fill the time until the next morning. He tried calling Joannie at her office, but she was not in. So, what does a young man who is alone in Manhattan and almost broke do? He takes advantage of one of the world's greatest transit systems. The museums are free or next to it. The Staten Island ferry has a great view of the Statue of Liberty. The sky was bright blue, the sun was out, and it was the kind of day the Chamber of Commerce would buy and preserve if they could. As the afternoon wound into evening, Paul found himself in need of food and drink. He called Joannie's home number from a pay phone, but it just rang with no answer. Not much left to do but rely on survival skills. There was a little bit of limit left on his one credit card. "No time like the present," he mused, "Going to get rich starting next week."
He wandered over to the bar where he had first seen Joannie, hoping to find her there. He took a seat at the bar and ordered a Pabst Blue Ribbon (amazing the longevity of that brand). After drinking real beer in Germany for a year, the domestic product sucked. But it was cheap, always had been. Paul was absorbed in his thoughts, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see a woman who had been in the training class. She was tall and very thin. Her straight black hair was cut in a bob that hung just below her ear lobes, her makeup was heavily applied. "So, sailor, what are you doing for fun in town?" she asked. Paul searched his memory for her name. Mary, Southern Cal office, seemed to like teasing the other guys in the class.
"First time in the Big Apple," Paul replied, "I thought I might enjoy the sights before heading back. What about you?"
"I love Manhattan, and I wanted to stay a couple extra days. A few years back, I tried to break into fashion modeling. That was a whirlwind, drug fueled, celebrity meeting/fucking experience that I finally left behind, and moved back to my base in LA," she explained. "So, what about you? Rumor in the class was you were some crazy, whacko Vietnam guy."
"Guess I was," Paul replied with more than a hint of sarcasm, "but I am feeling so much more normal now."
Mary gave that statement a quick acknowledgement, then she began to talk. And talk. While she talked, and talked, she drank and drank. Paul nursed his second PBR while Mary rattled off the name of some exotic drink to the bartender. That was her fourth already; a mixture of at least three liquors and some fruit juices. Paul learned that Mary was going to take LA by storm. She had extensive contacts in "the industry", as apparently, everyone south of Ventura County referred to filmmaking. She mentioned the names of stars Paul thought he may have heard of who were chomping on the bit to give her their