Fred Manchester

Present Day

46 hours, 52 minutes to California seemed like a year.

The cargo had pulled up at the Port and the girls had left with their boxes. They had boarded a taxi to their rented apartment.

Mary King inserted the key into the hole and turned it anticlockwise. When the door was unlocked she pushed it open. Behold! It was a lovely apartment, a well furnished one. They had paid online for it at Rhode Island and the agents had sent a key to them.

She scanned the living room with the corners of her weary eyes.

The clock greeted them 12:00 am and soon Phoebe and Sloane were fast asleep on the white couch.

Mary didn’t sleep so early in fact she had watched the clock hit 12:10. The last ten minutes were spent chatting with Henry, she told him they had arrived at California and was expecting a reply when she looked back on what had happened on the ship.

She had seen a dark man who had rabbits all over him, from his shoulders to his chest, round his legs and even his head, like they were having a feast or something. He had caught her staring at him and smiled, his smile raising a thousand cells in her chest.

Mary had walked behind them to have a glimpse of the hydro world when she heard him speak to a white man who was calling the rabbits back to their cage.

Their conversation didn’t last a minute.

“Matthew, Mr. Manchester will never wait for the money rather he would go for it,” the dark man had said.

“C’mon J, his son Fred will help us speak to him.”

“Fred is not an option, remember, his father just crowned him the CEO of the first Jewelry company in California. What do you expect him to do man?”

“We’ll cross that bridge but for now, let’s drink.”

She walked to the refrigerator in a part of the room. It was filled with fruit drinks, fresh ones. “Wow! they did a great job here.” She sipped a little and went back to the living room.

She didn’t stop thinking of the men’s conversation till she fell asleep.

*******

By the time she woke up, the girls were already up and the living room was better now, since their luggage were no longer there, the girls might have taken it in.

The breakfast table was nicely set with macaroni and cheese, orange juice and donuts as appetizers. Phoebe was setting the dishes and Sloane was working on a punching bag in the training space at another part of the room.

She hadn’t stopped thinking of the men in the ship, it couldn’t escape her mind. She walked into the lobby, it was beautifully painted in white with a glowing chandelier right in the middle. The lobby was leading to three rooms, two on the left and one on the right. She entered the closest one and walked into the bathroom. At last! She had a bathroom with a bath tub in it.

The water dripping from the shower hole was so cold she had to squeak and put on the steamer. 

When she was out and dressed she walked to the kitchen and sat on the breakfast stool, where Phoebe and Sloane were. “Nice house.”

“Hmm!”

“There have been something on my mind,” Mary finally let it out.

Munching through the cheese, Sloane smiled, “what’s that? Have you found a target?”

“Yes. Maybe.”

Sloane dropped the fork and looked into her eyes like a wild cat about to devour it’s prey. “What have you got?” 

“Yesterday, in the ship, I overheard this man’s conversation with his friend, they were talking about one Mr. Manchester and his son, Fred Manchester.”

“Okay…,” Phoebe paid less attention.

“His son was lately crowned the CEO of his Jewelry company, the first jewelry company in California and the father, Mr. Manchester, is a hard type to get.”

“I think we’ve found our prey,” Sloane turned to Mary, “get the system, let’s get to work.”

Mary smiled, at least she was useful today. 

It didn’t take five for Phoebe to walk into the kitchen with her laptop in hand. She sat on the stool and set it carefully on the table, putting it on. “I pray he’s a great catch.” 

‘Fred Manchester' she punched the buttons, “okay. He’s a great business man in California and America with the influence of his father, he had gotten used to the business world and runs his father’s company now.”

“Sounds like daddy’s boy,” Sloane remarked.

“He is engaged to a Celebrity, Demi Grounds, an LD relationship.”

“What’s that?,” Mary asked and was attacked by Phoebe’s balls.

“Long Distance relationship, Mary.” 

“What does this Fred do on a norm?” Sloane seemed so interested.

“He visits the bar.”

“When did he get engaged to this Demi?”

“I think they were betrothed.”

“What are we in, the 18th century or what?” Mary implied, a negative one.

“He’s cute though, would wash all the hearts of California with just a blink,” Phoebe winked.

“Well we need his money, not his beauty,” Sloane shrugged, “maybe he’s our destiny boy, I’m back in California after ten years and it’s just for a reason; to make coins. My mother is out of this, okay?”

“Sure!”

Mary nodded, she felt so bad for Sloane and felt good at the same time. “So our next catch is” – she winked- “ Fred Manchester.”