A couple days had passed and while Cassel sat in his office making some last minute changes to Mayor Albright’s speech he had just received from the speechwriters, his assistant Tracey buzzed in, “Mr. Carmichael, I have a Mr. Vanderbilt holding on line one.” This puzzled Cassel what possibly could Vanderbilt want, his meeting with the mayor was next. “Thank you Tracey,” he said. Cassel waited a few more moments before he answered line one. “Mr. Vanderbilt, what can I help you with?”

 

“I wanted to call and thank you for setting up the meeting with Albright,” Vanderbilt said.

 

“No problem at all, but you already thanked me when you were in my office.” John Vanderbilt was in some ways a cocky man. He knew that he looked good for 55 and while most men his age were overweight and balding, he was not. The man loved making sure that people recognized his body accomplishments. He wore tight shirts that showed off his muscular physique and just in case anyone dare look down in his private region, you could tell that underwear were not his thing, he never wore them.

 

“Something told me as I sat in your office that you wanted to go on a date,” Vanderbilt said. This totally caught Cassel by surprise. “Are you sure you picked that up,” Cassel said. “Maybe you were imagining that Mr. Vanderbilt,” he continued. “Maybe one drink,” Vanderbilt said. Cassel didn’t know what came over him but it was something because he agreed to the drink. The two of them met later that evening at Bar Louie in the South Loop. It was far enough away from City Hall and if anyone spotted them they would say that they were having a business meeting about city developments. Cassel and Vanderbilt talked about some of everything, their lives, the job and of course the fact that Vanderbilt was a married man. He and his family of many years had three children. Vanderbilt told Cassel after many years of marriage he was no longer attracted to his wife, he loved her, yes, but he was really attracted to men and while standing his Cassel’s office earlier in the week, he knew he wanted to see if things could go further and that’s why he wanted to go on a date. They sat there at Bar Louie drinking, Vanderbilt had white wine and Cassel’s drink of choice was grey goose, with soda and a lime wedge. The time seemed to fly by and it was Vanderbilt who needed to get home. He mentioned that he stayed out late so that his wife would already be asleep when he arrived. In his mind they were already separated even though they shared a house together.

 

Cassel looked at his watch, it was getting late and he had an early morning especially since his frat brother Darren would be flying in from Miami in the afternoon. “I guess I better get going,” he said. “Let me drop you off at home so you don’t have to call for a cab,” Vanderbilt responded. On the ride to Cassel’s rise condo the two talked more, Cassel was intrigued for some strange reason but knew that nothing would become of it. It just wasn’t right, he wasn’t in the habit of hooking up with a married man even if the man walked around living a life of separation. Vanderbilt pulled up to Cassel’s building, he mentioned how he had always wanted to see the inside of Trump Tower and wanted to know if it was okay to come in just for a tour of the condo. Cassel agreed when really he shouldn’t have. Inside Cassel’s apartment, Vanderbilt took the tour and while passing through the living room grabbed hold of Cassel and pulled him in close for a kiss. The kiss was nice, Cassel enjoyed it, Vanderbilt started to remove his clothing and Cassel finally saw why Vanderbilt was so arrogant. The man had a body and a really nice one. They kiss a little while longer but Cassel ended it. There was no way he could go to bed with someone Mayor Albright seemed to carry a problem with. I mean if what Vanderbilt says is true Mayor Albright had stopped him from getting city contracts. It was time for Vanderbilt to go. “I think you better get home now,” Cassel said. Vanderbilt pulled up his pants and put on his shirt and headed for the door. “Let’s grab drinks again sometime soon,” he said. “I’m fairly new to this life and you can be my therapist, my guide,” Vanderbilt mentioned to Cassel. “That might work, sure let’s be friends, friends sound like a good start,” he responded. “Now good night John.”