Chapter Two

 Everything was not back to normal in the morning. The first few times his phone buzzed, Jack didn't even bother getting up to answer it. He just prayed that it would stop before his hangover got worse.

When it started to vibrate non-stop, he finally reached out from under the blanket to look at who was calling. He had specifically requested that he only be bothered for emergencies, but one look at the Caller ID told him that he better pick it up.

“What's up, Dean?” he asked, his voice cracking halfway through the sentence.

“What's up? I've been trying to call you for a half hour now,” the angry man on the other end of the line said.

“Just woke- oh. Oh.” Dean sounded like he understood. Jack could hear someone talking in the background, then he heard Dean say, “He said he just woke up.”

Jack looked at the clock. 9:30 AM. It wasn't even that late, but for the CEO of a company, that might as well be sleeping in until sunset. He knew he'd be pulling some hours before dawn as soon as he started.

“Listen, guys, is everything okay? Did you land? Are you here?”

“Yeah, we're here and we'll be there soon.”

“Did you bring it?” Jack asked, a smile creeping across his face.

“Bring what?” Dean asked.

“Don't be coy. Did you bring the shirt?”

There was a pause. Jack hoped that he wouldn't have to trek into town to buy one if he didn't. “Yes, I brought it,” Dean said with an exasperated sigh.

Jack hung up the phone and wandered out of the room. He nearly forgot why he wasn't sleeping in his own bed, but he remembered as soon as he got to the kitchen for breakfast. There was Brandy, looking unhappy as ever. Clearly she thought that Jack had slept too late as well.

“Hey there,” Jack said, sauntering up to her. He leaned into kiss her.

“Ugh, you still reek,” she said, pushing him away. A flash of anger washed over Jack, but he managed to keep it in check. “When are you going to shower?”

He moved away from her with a sigh and went to get a toaster pastry. They weren't usually on his menu, but this was vacation after all. “Right after breakfast,” Jack said.

“Well, after you smell better, I was thinking we might go into town. I was thinking that you might get me some of that island jewelry,” she said, her eyes sparkling a little bit. “The island is renowned for their diamond and tanzanite pieces.”

Jack froze. “Honey, you know that my party is today. I'll be preparing all day for it.”

Brandy sighed. “Oh, is that tonight? Well, we'll just have to make it quick.”

“I literally don't have any time to take you shopping today.” Jack sighed. He wanted her to have fun on this trip, too. “Can it wait until tomorrow?”

Brandy pouted. “Well... Don't you want me to look good at your little party tonight?”

Is she for real? Jack thought. He was sure he had already explained this to her. “Brandy, we've been over this. Tonight's party is for guys only. You're going to have to find something else to do tonight.”

Her mouth dropped a little bit. “I thought you were just fooling around.” Jack shook his head. “Fine,” she continued. “If you don't want me here, then I won't be here. Enjoy your little boy's party tonight.” She stomped out of the room.

Jack just stood there, eating his Pop Tart. She had been so different at the office, flirting and giggling. Even out at restaurants she shined. The few moments that they had managed to be alone that didn't involve sex at the office, had been high points in his days. They were always full of excited whispers and giddy anticipation. Now that they really were alone out here, the anticipation and excitement was gone.

Jack munched on the last piece of toaster pastry. He would have to find Brandy something sparkly tomorrow. When she had talked about the jewelry, her eyes had finally lit up like they did at the office. Maybe that would buy him some peace.

***

Krista's note: This scene is told from Izzy's point of view in .

Jack came and sat down next to Owen at the bar of the Man Cave. The Man Cave was probably Jack's favorite part of the beach house. A tattered but extremely comfortable old couch sat in front of a big screened TV attached to every game console ever invented. There was an old pinball machine from Owen's college days and a bar along the wall that was Owen's pride and joy.

Everything for the party was coming together nicely. The DJ was setting up in the next room while the food and beverages arrived. Rachel was upstairs directing traffic and running the show and while Dean managed the security. Guests would be arriving any moment.

“Nice shirt, Dean,” a man with jet black hair and an easy smile said, coming down the stairs. Dean scowled at him, but let him pass. Jack hoped everyone commented on Dean's obnoxious shirt.

“Hey, Noah,” Jack greeted the newcomer. “Glad you could make it.”

“Wouldn't miss it for the world,” Noah replied. “I still get to work the bar tonight, right?”

“Why do you think he invited you?” Owen quipped. “No one makes the drinks like you.”

Noah laughed, going around behind the back of the bar. “So, what'll it be, gents?” Noah asked, pulling out glasses and prepping the area. He moved easily, always on his toes. Jack still remembered that the man could pack quite a punch.

“Do you know a Naughty Shirley?” Jack asked with a wink. Noah grinned and pulled out a rounded glass. This was how the two of them had met: at a college bar with those same words. Unfortunately, Noah had been dating a girl named Shirley at the time. The two men's first meeting hadn't ended so well, with Jack learning just why the new bartender was at college on a partial boxing scholarship, but it had started their friendship.

“And for you, Owen?” Noah asked, setting the glass down.

Owen narrowed his eyes. “Nothing for me. I'm good.” At the original fight, Owen had sucker punched Noah once Jack went down. Despite years of protests to the contrary, Owen was certain Noah was going to try and get him back someday for the unclean hit. Noah swore that he had let Owen hit him and as such, felt no need to ever do anything in return. It had now turned into a form of game for the three of them.

“Um, I'm the bartender?” a quiet female voice squeaked by the stairs. All three men looked over at the girl standing on the bottom step shrinking quickly under Dean's impressive glare. “The woman upstairs told me to tell the guy wearing the Hawaiian shirt...”

“Quit scaring the poor girl,” Jack said, jumping up and putting his hand on Dean's shoulder. He knew Dean was just messing with her. In a dark vest and white shirt, it was obvious who she was. “Don't mind Dean. He's just mad that we made him dress up for the occasion.”

The girl smiled in relief. She was pretty, with strawberry blonde hair and green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks. Not really Jack's type, but definitely cute enough that he would enjoy her bar-tending for the evening.

“I'm Jack. The bar's this way.” Jack put his hand on her shoulder and guided her in the direction of the bar. Her eyes were darting every which way trying to take in everything all at once.

“I'm Izzy,” she replied. “Nice to meet you.”

She moved around the entrance of the bar, smiling at Jack and promptly ran straight into Noah, sending the ice from the drink he was making directly down his shirt.

“Don't worry about it. At least it was just ice,” Noah said, laughing. “I'm Noah. I'm going to be helping you out tonight.”

The two shook hands, something passing between them. Bartender secrets probably, Jack thought as Izzy blushed again. Noah released her hand and picked up a fresh glass, going back to the important task of making Jack's drink.

“A Naughty Shirley for the man of the hour,” he said, handing the completed drink across the bar to Jack. Jack took a big sip and let out a sigh of happiness.

“Best bartender ever,” Jack said, winking at Izzy. The two black eyes all those years ago had been worth it. The man knew how to make a drink.

“The woman upstairs didn't say anything about having someone else,” the female bartender said, looking at Noah and frowning slightly. It wasn't a big bar for the two of them to share.

“The guys brought me in special. I used to be their bartender when we were in college,” Noah replied with a grin. Jack could already see the wheels turning in Noah's head. Izzy was just his type.

“All right,” she said with an answering grin, pulling out an empty beer pitcher and chucking in a couple of ones. “What side of the bar do you want?”

“I'll take this side,” Noah said, inclining his head to the left.

“Barkeep!” Jack called out as he finished off his drink. “Sex on the Beach next, if you don't mind.”

“You know, you really have to buy me dinner first,” Noah told him with a wink. This banter was what had kept Jack from getting the man fired from his job.

“Make me an Angel's Tit, Noah,” Owen added.

“Any real drinks?” Izzy teased, snickering slightly.

“With these two?" Noah laughed. “Not likely. The reason I was their favorite bartender was because I was the only one who could make the drinks girly enough for them!”

Izzy started pulling out bottles of liquor to help Noah make the drinks. “So, you're Noah, you're Jack, the guy at the door is Dean, and you are?” she asked looking at Owen.

Noah, Owen, and Jack all looked at one another. Owen had just made the cover of “Business Weekly” as the top-performer at DS Oil and Gas. People came up to him at the airport because they recognized him. Jack started to laugh. Maybe Owen wasn't as famous as he thought he was.

“You don't know who he is?” Noah asked in disbelief.

“No...” she replied, looking carefully at Owen's chiseled good looks. “Should I?”

“This is my house. Jack here is just borrowing it,” Owen supplied. If she was a local, then she probably knew who all the big spenders on the island were. “Does that help?”

She frowned, thinking hard before shrugging. “I got nothing.”

Jack laughed. This was too much fun. He wondered for a moment if Rachel had found her on purpose. “Bob. His name's Bob. I guess you don't know Noah's or my last names?”

“If I didn't know his first name, how the heck am I supposed to know your last names?” she reasoned with him. His grin got bigger. “Why, are you guys famous or something?”

“Or something,” Noah said, handing “Bob” his completed Angel's Tit.

Two more men entered the man cave, getting past Hawaiian-shirt Dean with a nod. Logan, tall and slender with messy honey-colored curls patted him on the shoulder. Jack recognized the second man with a groan. It was Paul the lawyer. Jack was going to have to ask why in the hell Logan had brought the obnoxious man with him to the party.

Still, he was glad to see Logan. With him there, his closest friends had officially all arrived. More guests would still be arriving, but the people he wanted to see most but saw the least of were here.

“Joe!” Jack called out, hurrying over to greet Logan. “Joe” got a very confused look on his face.

“Dude, this is Paul...” Logan said, patting Jack's shoulder like a disturbed child. “You've met him before.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “No, you're Joe. Our bartender doesn't know who we are.” Jack grinned as “Joe's” eyes lit up as he got it.

“That game? I love it. I guess he's still Paul, then.” Logan/Joe inclined his head at the heavy-set man bee-lining his way to the bar. “Who's everybody else?”

“I already introduced myself as Jack. Same with Noah. But “Bob” did not.”

“Lucky Bob, then. Noah's here? Awesome.” Logan/Joe turned to the bar, looked at Izzy, and mumbled something about a lucky Noah.

“Give me some of that 1954 Mccallan scotch, sweetheart,” Paul said, sidling up the bar.” And don't be stingy.”

Jack looked at Logan. “Why'd you bring him? This is supposed to a party.”

“You are worth billions and you didn't get any say in it?” Owen asked. His tone was mild but the condescension was still there.

Logan glared at him. Logan's father was a definite sore spot with him. “Drop it, okay?”

“What about Aiden? Is he coming?” Jack asked, trying to change the subject. Tonight was supposed to be about fun.

“Yeah, he'll be here later with Sebastian and Leo. They decided to Jet-pool, and Leo was late as usual,” Logan replied. He eyed the TV and game consoles. “Halo match?”

“You're going down,” Owen informed him. “No crying to Daddy when you lose.”

“You're going to be asking for your mommy when I'm done with you,” Logan informed him, heading to the couch. Jack rolled his eyes at both of them but followed along willingly.

They set up the game and Jack quickly lost himself to killing aliens. The three men called out taunts and insults, thoroughly enjoying the blood-lust and competition of the game. Jack only paused the game when his younger brother waltzed in the door.

“Hello, Party People!” Robbie announced. Jack sighed. He had been hoping for a little more time before his screw up brother showed up. While the two men looked alike, with the same sandy hair and rugged features, they couldn't be more different. Where Jack was dedicated and professional, Robbie was a drunk with no direction in his life.

“Looking good, Dean,” Robbie said, patting Dean's chest and admiring his shirt. Dean rolled his eyes. He'd rescued Robbie's ass enough times not to take him too seriously.

“Oh, look, my brother is here,” Jack said blithely. “Noah, Izzy, hide the booze so there's some for everybody else.”

“Hi, big bro. Love you too.” Robbie winked at him and then went directly to the bar. Jack sighed and un-paused the game. He had aliens to smash. Owen killed him immediately, putting Jack just behind him in the rankings. Jack reached down and found that his drink was empty.

“Noah, Izzy!” Jack called out. “More drinks!”

The game officially ended and Owen stood up to do his victory dance. “I win again!”

“Here you go, Jack,” Izzy said, handing him a drink. Jack took a big sip. He was going to destroy Owen in the next match. Izzy handed something with a ridiculous amount of whip cream to Owen. “And here's your drink, Owen.”

Owen immediately stopped his obnoxious arm wiggle. “So you do know who we are?”

“Owen was actually a guess, OwenedU” she said, tilting her head to the winner's screen. The video game clearly highlighted his name on the screen. He sank into his chair and groaned. “But thanks for the confirmation. One down, two to go.”

Jack laughed. His victory dance was what had given him away. Served him right. “Ready?”

The game started off. Jack was in the lead, riding around in a stolen Ghost and killing the level. Jack focused entirely on the game, blocking out all the sounds of the party behind him. He was going to win, but then with just a few moments left in the game, Owen somehow tied him. Logan was close enough to be a threat when Izzy walked directly in front of the TV screen.

He craned his next, desperate to see around her and stomp Owen into the ground but she just stood there, calling out, “Drink for Joe.”

“Just take the damn drink, Logan!” Jack hissed before realizing his mistake. He let the control drop to his lap, and he looked up at Izzy, eyes narrowed in speculation as the game ended. Owen won the match again. “You did that on purpose, didn't you?”

“Maybe. Your brother bet me I couldn't get everyone's name by the end of the night, and now he's the only one left with a pseudonym.” She handed Logan his drink, moving away from the TV.

Jack raised his eyebrows and looked over at his brother. “Just first names?”

She nodded. Jack thought for a moment. This was definitely a form of entertainment he hadn't planned on for the evening. It was nice not to be recognized.

“If you can get his name out of him, I'll double whatever he offered you,” Jack said. That should be a good incentive for her to mess with Robbie. If she was able to get him to spill Logan's identity by simply standing in front of the TV, he was excited to see just what she would do to Robbie.

“Are you sure? I mean, he offered two thousand dollars, and I don't want to put you in a tight spot,” she said, her eyes wide at the amounts. It was kind of cute.

“Just two?” Jack frowned. He yelled across the room at his brother, “You're getting cheap, bro!”

Robbie just grinned at him from the bar.

“What are we calling him anyway?” Jack asked.

“Sam,” Izzy told him, picking up a couple of empty drink cups. Jack laughed.

“Oh, I bet he loves that. Sam was the name of his girlfriend in middle school.” The two had been inseparable and insufferable.

“Right, that's why you cried-- ouch, man!” Jack stopped his teasing as Owen smacked his arm.

“I know it's your party, but I don't want you two to brawl again. Especially over that. Leave it,” Owen warned. Owen's blue eyes darkened as he stared Jack down. Jack glared at him for a moment and then shrugged. Owen was right. It wasn't worth it.

“Rematch?” Jack challenged. He was going to beat Owen if it killed him.

Owen hit start on the game.

***

It wasn't long before Aiden, Sebastian, and Leo arrived.

Logan shook his brother Aiden's hand. “Hey, we're playing the game tonight. My name is 'Joe' tonight.”

Aiden looked mad. He looked at his buddies and said, “Man, I told you we should have gotten her earlier. I love this game!”

Once they were settled, the official Halo tournament began. It was one of the main events of the party for Jack. He had played more Halo during college than he had spent studying, but he remembered it as a good time. It didn't matter who he was when he played. It just mattered that he was good. As one of his last memories of freedom before the job took over his life, he wanted to feel the simple joy of winning the game.

The tournament sucked Jack away, just like he wanted it to. The hours flew past, buoyed by the fruity, girly drinks Noah had perfected. The night was going just how he had planned. He was tipsy enough to feel good, but not drunk, and was dominating everyone but Owen in the tournament. It was down to just the two of them and he was about to win; that was until Leo barfed all over his shoes. It of course happened with just seconds left in the match, distracting him and letting Owen win the match and the tournament.

Jack dropped his controller in his lap and groaned. At least Owen didn't do a victory dance. “How can you still beat me when your house is now covered in vomit?” Jack asked.

Owen blinked. With complete sincerity, he said, “Years of practice of hanging out with you destructive assholes.”

Jack smiled. “Dean, will you grab me a bucket and some napkins?”

Dean came over with an empty ice bucket and a roll of paper towels. He took one look at Leo and shook his head. “He's going to need more than just a bucket.”

Jack sighed. He was going to have to clean up after someone else's mess. Story of his life it seemed. He bent down and took one arm while Dean took the other, and together they took him upstairs to put him to bed.

“He's in this room tonight,” Owen said, holding open the door to one of the guest rooms. It was the one Jack had put Owen in after their night in the bar. The nightstand was already stocked with Gatorade and water. Rachel had thought of everything.

“Hey guys,” Aiden called, popping his head in the door. “We need some muscle. Paul's roughing up one of the caterers.”

Jack sighed. So much for his perfect bachelor's night. “Dean, Owen, you two go down and kick the crap out of Paul. I'll get Leo cleaned up and put to bed.”

“I'm okay, really...” Leo tried to protest, but then sprinted to the bathroom.

At least it wasn't on my shoes again, Jack thought as Dean and Owen hurried out to solve whatever damage Paul had done. He hoped they really did have to beat him up. Maybe he could go get a punch in himself. Jack certainly felt like punching something.

Jack got Leo back into bed and set up with a bowl and a bottle of water before cleaning off his own shoes. Jack was pretty sure he wouldn't be hearing from Leo until at least late evening with the hangover he was going to have. As delicious as Noah's drinks were, they unfortunately left the worst headaches.

Jack meandered back to the Man Cave just in time to see Noah and Izzy come back down the stairs. Izzy was pale and shaken while Noah had his pissed-ready-to-hit something face on.

“Is everything okay?” Jack asked.

Noah put a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah. Paul was just a dick. Like usual. Sorry about the bad ending to the party.”

“Not your fault. Besides, the party was mostly over anyway.” Jack shrugged and looked around the room. Glasses and food were everywhere. “It was still a great sendoff.”

Sendoff?” Izzy asked, peeking at his left hand. “Are you getting married or something?”

Jack laughed. “I suppose you could say that I'm getting married to my job. I'm taking over my dad's company in a week, and I won't get another day off until I'm seventy. I even got a nice little bed installed in my office.” He grimaced and shook his head as if to clear the thought. “Where's Ro--I mean, where's 'Sam'?”

“Robbie is upstairs helping,” Izzy said, emphasizing the name.

Jack laughed. “So he lost the bet. Good job. I'll have Rachel put my part on your check. Don't let Robbie stiff you on his share.”

Jack went and sat on the couch. Someone had cleaned up Leo's accident, so at least he didn't have to deal with that. He started a new game, more just to relax and let his brain melt than to actually play.

Rachel came down shortly after but he was already drifting to sleep. He heard Noah offer to walk Izzy out and Rachel say something about waiting until the morning for the cleaners.

Jack stared at the TV screen as long as he could. He was tired down to his bones. All he wanted to do was sleep. He turned off the game console and headed upstairs, nearly going for his normal room before deciding he didn't feel like dealing with Brandy. He probably smelled like booze again and didn't want to be chastised about it.

He collapsed into bed, thinking he would pass out almost immediately. Instead, he lay there, face buried in the pillow just thinking. His life was about to become an endless string of meetings and business transactions, yet all he could think about was how nice it had been not to have Izzy know his last name.