Breaking the Cycle
By J.C. Vascardi
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Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all related material is the property of Saban and/or Disney. I claim no ownership to it and am not making any money from this story. The only thing about this story that I own are the characters, places, and storylines not featured on the show.
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Chapter Two
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Leaving Zaidan's house in Rocky's Jeep, the two young men sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts until shortly after they'd left the Angel Grove city limits and Rocky made his way towards the Pacific Coast Highway for the hour-and-a-half drive south to Los Angeles.
"So I'm more your type, huh?" Rocky asked with a grin, remembering the blond's comment the previous day.
"Yeah, you're exactly my type," Zaidan said with a smile. "Actually, not to give you a swollen head or anything, but outwardly you're my dream man - don't know you well enough yet to know if your personality fits that description or not."
"Swollen heads are more fun, ya know," Rocky joked.
Zaidan laughed. "Yeah, that's true, although I wasn't actually talking about that head."
"I know, but I couldn't resist," Rocky said. "You're welcome to ask me anything you want to know."
"How about we do a question for a question?" Zaidan proposed. "I ask you a question, you answer it and then you can ask me a question and we just go back and forth like that?"
"Seems fair and it'll let us get to know each other better," Rocky agreed.
"Well, we'll start simple," Zaidan said. "I think I already know the answer to this, but what's your favorite color?"
"Definitely red," Rocky answered. "I'm also partial to blue, but I wear red more than anything else."
Zaidan grinned. "So, I'd noticed."
"So same question to you?"
"You probably guessed this already," Zaidan replied. "But, yeah, it's purple. It was actually Callum's favorite color, too. As I mentioned, we used to dress like twins most of the time and as he was older, he picked out the majority of our outfits, so I ended up wearing a lot of purple, and it just sort of stuck after he died and I got older. So, favorite food?"
"Basically anything," Rocky said. Taking his eyes off the road for a split second and seeing the look on Zaidan's face, he added, "It's true. I'll eat pretty much anything. The guys think I'm a bottomless pit and that my stomach is lined with lead, while the girls are jealous that I can eat as much as I do and not gain weight. You?"
"Interesting," Zaidan said. "There are some foods I don't like. I'm not very fond of overly spicy foods, for example. I don't mind some spice, but I draw the line at foods that make me feel like I have a five-alarm fire in my mouth that won't go away even if I drink a few gallons of water. Italian is probably my favorite though, especially pizza - I ate it practically every other day when I lived in New York."
" I like Italian, too," Rocky said, "and you can never go wrong with pizza as far as I'm concerned. So, while we're on the subject, what are your favorite pizza toppings?"
"Canadian bacon, green peppers, black olives, onions, and pineapple," Zaidan answered. "I also tend to love places that put both mozzarella and cheddar on their pizzas by default, though not many do in my experience."
"Hmm, sounds good," Rocky said. "Though I never much understood putting pineapple on a pizza. I've never tried it though, so I guess it could be good."
"It is," Zaidan said. "You should try it sometime."
"Well, perhaps we should go out sometime," Rocky said. "We can have a pizza together."
"Why Mr. DeSantos are you asking me out on a date?" Zaidan asked with a grin and a raised eyebrow.
"What if I said yes?"
"Hmm," Zaidan said, as he tapped his chin and pretended to think. "Well, I suppose I'd probably say yes. You get top marks in the hotness department and you seem nice enough. So, it doesn't seem like it'd be too much of a hardship to go on a date or two with you."
"A date or two, huh?" Rocky asked. "It'll be more than that if I have anything to say about it."
"Well, we'll see, Rocko," Zaidan said with a grin. "So, let's see you know I had a brother. What about you? Any siblings?"
"Oh yeah, several," Rocky said. "I come from a big ol' Catholic family. I have three older sisters, an older brother, two younger sisters, and four younger brothers. And my grandparents on my mom's side live with us, too."
"Damn," Zaidan said. "Talk about a full house. I think I'd go crazy with that many people around."
"Well, yeah, it can be a little annoying sometimes," Rocky said. "The older sibs don't live with us anymore, though, so I'm the eldest child in the house. So, that's kind of fun, actually, because I get to tell the younger ones what to do."
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Following his meeting with John Taylor, Zaidan couldn't help but be a little bit awed by everything he'd learned. He'd known that his mother had left him an extensive inheritance, but he hadn't quite been prepared for the knowledge of exactly how much. While there were subjects that Zaidan was interested in and good at, math and economics had never been on that list. So, while Mr. Taylor had sent him several detailed financial reports over the years, Zaidan had only given them the briefest of glances, enough to know that he was well-off, before he filed them away and basically forgot about them. Thus, he really hadn't been prepared for the knowledge of exactly what he was worth.
As it turned out, the thirty-five million dollars he had thought was the whole extent of his fortune was actually just the trust vault that he'd been given access to. Now that he'd been emancipated and was legally an adult, he'd gained access to another account which brought his worth up to just over seventy million dollars - and that was just the liquid assets he now had control of. There was still more in the trust, with releases of more due to come on his 21st, 25th, and 30th birthdays. When Zaidan asked about the vault, Mr. Taylor wouldn't tell him what was in it, as per his mother's wishes, only that he'd have to wait until his 25th birthday, as access to the vault was part of that release.
He had learned, however, that in addition to the liquid assets that would be released to him at the intervals dictated by the trust, there was also a block of money that was tied up in real estate, stocks, and bonds. "Tallying everything up, Mr. Prince," John had said, "you're a very wealthy young man. I'd place your net worth in the arena of 420 to 450 million dollars. Of course, that value will fluctuate based on the stock prices and other factors, but my partner and I will do all we can to insure that you lose as little as possible."
"How did I miss numbers like that in those reports?" Zaidan thought to himself. Of course, he came up with the answer fairly quickly. He'd never bothered to read the reports past the first page, which was only an accounting of the trust vault that he had access to. He'd tried once and all he got for it was a splitting headache as all the numbers blurred together, so he never tried again. If he had then maybe he wouldn't have been caught off guard quite as much as he had been. When he'd attended an exclusive boarding school, he'd met plenty of other kids who had seen his perceived thirty-five million dollar net worth as being peanuts, because they were worth five or more times that, but it was still a pretty damn impressive number as far as Zaidan was concerned. He couldn't help but wonder just what some of them would be thinking if they found out that he was actually worth between 420 and 450 million. Probably still wouldn't impress some of them, especially the children of multi-billionaires, but Zaidan honestly couldn't care less about impressing them.
Once Mr. Taylor had left, Zaidan felt the need to clear his head and he wanted to see a few of the sights around New York again, so he grabbed his keys and left his hotel room. While he'd already eaten the meal that the hotel had sent up for his dinner meeting with Mr. Taylor, Zaidan had purposely left room in his stomach for pizza. That was one of the things he'd missed most about New York, so since he was here, he just had to stop in for a slice at his favorite pizza parlor. Turning a corner, Zaidan was lost in his thoughts and didn't see the person walking right at him until they collided with one another and landed on their collective rear ends.
As he stood up, he was just about to apologize profusely when he looked down at the person he'd run into and recognized him. It was one of his classmates from the exclusive boarding school he'd attended while he lived in Silver Hills and one of the few people there that he'd actually considered a friend. Holding out a hand to the young man to help him up, Zaidan asked, "Wes? What are you doing in New York?"
Looking up and recognizing Zaidan, seventeen-year-old Wesley Collins grinned, as he took the hand offered to him and said, "I could ask you the same thing, Zaid," using the shortened version of Zaidan's name he insisted on using.
"Well, I asked first," Zaidan said with a grin, as he pulled his friend to his feet.
"Dad's in town on business," Wes answered. "Pulled me out of school for the weekend and dragged me along because he thinks it'll be a good learning experience for me."
"I take it he's still intent on you taking over Bio-Lab one day?"
"Oh yeah," Wes replied. "That's like his biggest dream that I'll take over his company. He says that's the reason he built his empire, so that he could pass it on to me one day." At this point, Wes scowled and added, in a rather angry tone, "Personally, I think he's just a greedy, power hungry old man who doesn't want me to have any fun."
"Why so upset?"
"I just wanted to go out and explore the city a little," Wes said. "I've never been to New York before, so I wanted to see some of the sights but he won't let me leave. Says this isn't a pleasure trip and I should stay focused. Like I really care about his mind-numbingly boring meetings with Erikson Labs."
"Erikson Labs?" Zaidan asked.
"Yeah, he wants them to be Bio-Lab's newest subsidiary," Wes explained. "He's bought some of the stock, but he doesn't have enough to force the buyout. And the remaining shareholders are proving less cooperative then he'd like. Seems they're not interested in selling their stock or in allowing the company to become a subsidiary of one of their main West Coast competitors."
"That name sounds awfully familiar," Zaidan said. "Come with me back to my room, Wes. I want to check something."
"What?"
"I was just meeting with John Taylor," Zaidan explained, as the two teens headed back to Zaidan's suite. "He manages my trust fund. Had to sign some papers now that I've been emancipated."
"Emancipated?" Wes asked. "You mean you're legally an adult now?"
"Yeah," Zaidan said, as he grinned at his friend and asked, "Cool, huh?"
"Hell yes!" Wes said. "I'd give just about anything to be out from under my father's thumb. Don't get me wrong, I love him and he's given me a lot, but he can be very controlling." After a moment of silence he turned to Zaidan and added, "You ever tell him I said that though, and I will kill you."
Zaidan grinned and said, "Understood."
Arriving at the door to his suite, Wes's eyes practically bugged out as he asked, "Isn't this the Royal Suite?"
"Yeah, it is," Zaidan said.
"Man, Zaid, how do you rate?" Wes asked. "Emancipated and staying in the room that got its name because Queen Elizabeth once stayed in it? Not to mention becoming the New York residence of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor."
"Hey I didn't book this room," Zaidan said, as they entered. "Mr. Taylor's secretary did. Trust me, I was just as shocked when I found out. Anyway, I just need to take a look at these papers that Mr. Taylor left." Grabbing the list that Mr. Taylor had given him that listed his stock holdings, Zaidan ran a finger down the list as he read it quickly, before grinning and turning to his friend. "Aha. I knew that name sounded familiar. Wes, you think if I help your father out in his negotiations, he'd be willing to let us out on the town to have some fun?"
"Maybe, but how are you going to do that?" Wes asked.
"I own 31% of Erikson Labs," Zaidan answered with a grin.
Wes's mouth dropped open and it took a minute for him to speak, before he said, "Dad managed to buy 20%, so that means between your stock and his, you have a majority! Oh man, Zaid, he's sure he stands to make a killing if this deal goes through. It's all I've heard out of him all week. If you help him get it, I'm sure he'll be in a much more agreeable mood. Making money always makes him more agreeable."
"Okay, well, before we take this to him," Zaidan said as he pulled out his cell phone, "I just want to call Mr. Taylor and ask his opinion. Have to make sure your Dad doesn't get all the profit from this deal."
Wes grinned and nodded, as he began looking around the lavishly appointed room, while his friend was on the phone. After a few minutes on the phone, Zaidan said, "Will do," as he closed his phone and said, "Hey Wes, let's go see your father."
"So does that mean Mr. Taylor thinks this'll be profitable for you?" Wes asked.
Nodding, Zaidan said, "Yeah he's optimistic that I can make a good profit."
"Awesome," Wes said. "Well, Dad was headed down to Peacock Alley for dinner," looking down at the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing, he added, "but we'll both have to change clothes before we'd be allowed in."
"Well then I guess it's a good thing I packed some nicer clothes," Zaidan said. "Come on, we're the same size, so you can borrow some of mine for now."
Wes grinned and said, "You just want an excuse to get me naked in your bedroom."
Zaidan laughed and said, "You know I don't ever recall needing to come up with an excuse for that. You always seemed more than willing."
While they'd been in school together, Zaidan and Wes had fooled around a bit. They'd seen each other naked and had several ferocious lip-locking sessions, however, they never went all the way and had sex. Well, intercourse anyway, for there had been several mutual masturbation and frottage sessions.
"What can I say?" Wes asked with a goofy grin. "You're hot."
"You're not so bad yourself," Zaidan said as he slung an arm over Wes' shoulder and led him towards the smaller of the two bedrooms in the suite. The other room was actually the "master" bedroom, but it had been decorated with a more feminine look to it. The bedroom that Zaidan had chosen was more masculine in its appointments and thus was the room that he preferred.
Walking over to the closet, Zaidan grabbed his garment bag and placed it on the bed, as he unzipped it and said, "I really don't know what possessed me to bring two suits for an overnight trip."
"You're in Angel Grove now, right?" Wes asked, as he toed off his sneakers.
"Yeah, I've got a nice house overlooking the ocean," Zaidan said. "Remind me to send you some pictures in my next email."
"Will do," Wes said as he took off the black denim jeans he'd been wearing, leaving him standing there in just a green t-shirt, hunter grey boxer-briefs, and white crew socks.
Looking over at his friend, Zaidan smiled and said, "Lose the socks. Those might work well with sneakers, but not so much with dress shoes."
"True," Wes agreed, before he sat down on the bed and pulled his socks off, before putting on the black dress socks that Zaidan tossed over to him. Once he'd put them on, he looked over at his friend, who had now stripped down to his underwear, and whistled before he said, "Damn, Zaid, you've been working out haven't you?"
"Yeah, a bit," Zaidan said. "My new house has a pool, so I go swimming practically every day. It's in a gated community, so there's also a clubhouse for all the residents with a fully equipped gym that I've been making good use of. Plus running through a few katas. I've been hanging out with a group of my classmates from school and they're all really into the martial arts. Two of them even teach classes at the youth center, so, figured I should try and stay in top form, just so I can keep up with them."
Wes nodded and giving his friend a significant look, he asked, "Do they know?"
Seeing the look on Wes' face, Zaidan didn't need him to elaborate any further. "No, they don't."
"You going to tell them?" Wes asked.
Zaidan shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know yet. I've only really known them for a couple of days. Didn't really seem like the time for heart to hearts, ya know?"
"Yeah, I can understand that," Wes answered. "Lord knows I was shocked when you told me."
"I can't say as I blame you," Zaidan said. "It's not every day a person learns something like that about one of their friends. Honestly, as much as I trusted you, I don't think I would've told you at all if we hadn't been fooling around. You're the only person I've ever let see me without any clothes on."
Wes grinned at that. "So, I'm the only one whose seen that hot body of yours in all its glory, huh? Cool."
"Yeah, Wes, you are," Zaidan said. Blushing slightly, he added, "Kind of had to tell you the truth though or I can only imagine what you would have thought."
"It was definitely different," Wes agreed. "Though not in a bad way." Putting on a green silk shirt that matched the deep purple one that his friend was putting on, Wes asked, "So, these new friends of yours, anyone cute?"
"Well, I do have my eye on one of them," Zaidan said. "He's just about the hottest guy I've ever met. His name is Rocky DeSantos."
"Hispanic?" Wes asked.
"No, Castilian," Zaidan said. "His family is from somewhere in Spain."
"Cool," Wes said, as he grabbed the pants of the suit that Zaidan had set aside for him to wear. "This brings back memories."
"What us sharing clothes?" Zaidan asked with a grin.
"Yeah, lord knows we did it enough when we in school together," Wes said. "You know half our classmates thought we were a couple?"
"Well, I suppose they weren't too far off base," Zaidan said, as he finished buckling his belt. "We were practically inseparable and were fooling around quite a bit."
"That's true," Wes conceded, "although I never really thought of you as boyfriend material. You're a great guy and I love spending time with you, but..."
"No, I understand," Zaidan said as he walked over to the mirror and began tying his tie. "We're probably much better off as friends anyway. I think if we were a couple, we'd probably get on each other's nerves too much. Besides, I always thought you kind of had a thing for Eric."
"You mean Eric Meyers?" Wes asked, as Zaidan nodded. "Well, yeah, I guess he's cute, but he's also got a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas."
"You're going to let a little thing like that stop you?" Zaidan teased. "Doesn't sound like the Wes Collins I know."
"There's not much I can do, Zaid. He left school shortly after you did, I think his scholarship ran out or something," Wes said as he finished with his tie and pulled on the suit coat. "I haven't seen him since he told me he was leaving and let me tell you, he wasn't all that nice about it. Anyway, let's get down to the restaurant and shock my dad."
"Sounds good to me," Zaidan said with a grin as they left the room.
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A few minutes later, Wes and Zaidan walked into Peacock Alley, as the maître d' asked, "Do you gentleman have a reservation?"
"We're meeting someone," Wes said. "My father, Alan Collins?"
"Ah yes, he mentioned his son might be joining him. This way, please."
A moment later, they'd arrived at the table that Mr. Collins was sitting at. He was currently talking on his mobile phone, clearly not all that happy with whomever he was speaking to. "I don't care, I want that report in my hands first thing in the morning!" Not giving the person a chance to respond, Mr. Collins disconnected the call. It was while he was putting his phone away that he spotted his son and Zaidan.
"Ah, Wes, you decided to join me, I see," Mr. Collins said, as he then looked over at Zaidan and asked, "Do I know you?"
Holding out his hand to Mr. Collins, Zaidan said, "Zaidan Prince, sir. I'm an old classmate of Wes's and your new best friend."
"My new best friend?" Mr. Collins asked, as he raised an eyebrow and pointedly ignored Zaidan's outstretched hand. "How do you figure that, Mr. Prince?"
Wes and Zaidan sat down at the table at this point and Zaidan smiled, as he said, "Well, Wes tells me that you're in town to get your hands on Erikson Labs. I just so happen to be a major shareholder."
"Shareholder?" Mr. Collins asked. "You're a teenager."
"True," Zaidan said. "I'm seventeen, although I've been legally emancipated. Anyway, the stock in question was bought by my late mother and is now a part of my trust fund."
"Just how much stock are we talking about?" Mr. Collins asked.
Grinning, Wes said, "Oh not much, really, just 31%."
Eyes widening, Mr. Collins asked, "Did you say 31%?" He'd known that between them the shareholders blocking Bio-Lab from taking over only owned 49% of the shares. With the 20% that Bio-Lab owned, that did leave 31% of the company's stock unaccounted for, although that was a detail that Mr. Collins had never shared with his son. He'd tried to track down the owner or owners of the stock in question, but had little success in doing so. Now, however, it seemed as though the owner had found him.
Zaidan nodded and said, "Indeed. I was in town to meet with my trust manager to sign some papers now that I've been emancipated and ran into Wes here," at this Wes mumbled, "literally," under his breath. "Anyway, I asked why he was in town, so he told me. I knew that name sounded familiar, so I checked and I own 31% of Erikson Labs. Now, I already checked with my trust manager - I can't sell you the stock, because it's part of the release scheduled for my 30th birthday. My mother made sure that the terms were ironclad, so, there's no way I can access it to sell them until then, but Mr. Taylor says that I can still vote the shares."
"Between Bio-Lab's 20% stake and Zaidan's 31%," Wes said, "unless my math is failing me, that's 51%. So, Dad, considering that I've basically just handed you Erikson Labs with a nice big ribbon on it, can I go out and see some of the sights now? Please?"
"I'm going to need proof of these claims," Mr. Collins said.
Pulling a business card out of the inner pocket of his suit jacket, Zaidan handed it to Mr. Collins and said, "That's my trust manager's card. Go ahead, call him - he's expecting your call. He'll confirm what Wes and I have said."
Looking at the card, Mr. Collins nodded, as he pulled out his mobile phone. He did recognize Taylor & Evans, it was a well-known and respected trust management firm. He hadn't used them for his son's trust fund, but that was only because he wanted someone closer to home as Taylor & Evans was based in New York. After a brief conversation with John Taylor, in which his son's and his friend's claims were confirmed, Mr. Collins hung up and said, "Well, I suppose you can go out and see a few of the sights if you wish. Just try not to get lost."
Smiling, Zaidan said, "That won't be a problem, Mr. Collins. I'll go with Wes - I lived here for about 7 1/2 months, so I know my way around the city pretty well."
Mr. Collins nodded and asked, "Thank you, Mr. Prince. I appreciate your help in this matter. There's a shareholder's meeting scheduled for Monday at 2pm at the Erikson offices."
"Well, that poses a problem," Zaidan said. "I have school on Monday and I live in California. This was only an overnight trip - I'm booked on a flight to LAX that leaves tomorrow morning at 8:45."
"What about Mr. Taylor?" Wes asked. "He is the trustee of your trust, Zaid." Casting a questioning gaze at his father, he asked, "He could attend the meeting and vote on Zaidan's behalf, right?"
"Yes, that would work," Mr. Collins said.
Reaching into his pocket and pulling out his own mobile phone, Zaidan said, "Well, I'll just call him and check. No idea what his schedule is like on Monday."
Mr. Collins nodded and waited as Zaidan talked with John. After a few moments, Zaidan hung up and said, "Okay, well, Mr. Taylor can't make it. He's got meetings all afternoon that he can't cancel. However, his partner's schedule is free, so he's going to make arrangements for Mr. Evans to attend the meeting and vote on my behalf."
Nodding, Mr. Collins looked at his watch and said, "Well, it's almost five now, so I guess if you boys want to go out and see a few of the sights, you can go now. Just try and be back before ten."
"Thanks, Dad," Wes said with a smile, as both he and Zaidan stood and left the restaurant. Going back upstairs to Zaidan's suite, they both changed back into the more casual clothes they'd been wearing when they'd run into one another, before heading out to see as many of the sights as they could fit into the time they had. The first stop being Zaidan's favorite pizza parlor for a slice of New York pizza.
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Arriving back at LAX the next morning, Zaidan found Tommy waiting for him.
"Tommy?" Zaidan asked. "Wasn't expecting you to pick me up. Don't you have a class to teach at the youth center in about half-an-hour?"
Tommy smiled. "Rocko sends his apologies, but he had a church function with his family this afternoon. He tried to get out of it, but his parents wouldn't let him. As for the class, it was cancelled. Youth center had a power failure, along with half the city, so Ernie didn't know when he'd be able to get the lights back on. Had it been our older students, we might have moved to the park, but this was our younger group who are just learning. So, we didn't want to have the class without mats."
Zaidan nodded. "Can understand that. Just have to get my bag and we can get out of here."
"Cool," Tommy said as the two headed for the baggage claim. "So, everything go okay in New York?"
"Well, once I got over the initial shock it was great," Zaidan answered.
"Shock?" Tommy asked, as they arrived at the baggage claim and waited for Zaidan's bag to show up.
"Turns out I'm worth a lot more money than I thought," Zaidan said. "I never read past the first page of the statements that my trust manager sent me, so I thought the amount that was in the trust account that I had access to was the whole extent of my assets."
Tommy laughed. "Sounds like something I'd do, honestly. I've never had much of a head for numbers. So, how much are you actually worth anyway, if you don't mind my asking? Rocko said you were a millionaire several times over, but we never did get a number out of him."
"I had thought about 35 million," Zaidan answered. "Turns out though that between stocks, real estate, and more liquid assets which are scheduled to be released to me at specific ages, I'm actually worth over 400 million."
"Damn," Tommy said after a moment. "That's a lot of money. You said it was your mothers?" Zaidan nodded. "What did she do to have that kind of money?"
'You wouldn't believe me if I told you,' Zaidan thought, as he said, "Old family money... my family owned a lot of real estate." Okay, that wasn't even a lie, as his family did own a lot of real estate, they just didn't make any money off of their properties.
"So, other than that shock," Tommy asked, "did you do anything fun?"
Zaidan nodded as he spotted his bag and grabbed it. "Yeah. I literally ran into an old classmate of mine from the prep school I attended in Silver Hills. He was there with his dad on business. We went out for pizza and saw some of the sights. It was fun."
"Cool," Tommy said as they headed towards the parking lot. "So is this friend of yours rich too?"
"Yeah, way richer than I am," Zaidan said. "His name's Wesley Collins. His dad is a multi-billionaire CEO. I didn't really get along with most of my classmates at that school, because all they ever wanted to do was brag about how much money they had and try to make those who had less feel inferior, but Wes was different. We clicked and have stayed in contact ever since. I have to remember to send him some pictures of my house, because he wanted to see them."
"Well, I hope you didn't find it offensive when I asked," Tommy said. "We've all just been curious since Rocky made that comment. Not that we care one way or the other. You seem like a really cool guy and I still want to learn those moves you showed off at the youth center. Those were so cool."
"No problem," Zaidan said with a grin. "I taught Wes, so, I don't see why I couldn't teach you and the others as well."
"So Wes is into the martial arts, too?" Tommy asked, as they arrived at his jeep and got in as Zaidan tossed his bag into the back.
"Not so much until we met," Zaidan answered. "His father is grooming him to take over his company someday and for the longest time didn't allow him to do any sports-related activities because he felt they wouldn't teach him any skills necessary in a corporate setting. So, instead he was bored out of his mind as a member of the debate club, chess club, and an accounting club."
"Accounting club?" Tommy asked as he started up his car. "You have got to be kidding me."
"Nope, I'm not," Zaidan said. "Ever see the movie Richie Rich with Macaulay Culkin?" Tommy nodded. "Well, the prep school had an extensive business department, where the classrooms looked pretty much exactly like Richie's classroom in the movie. School has lots of rich alumni in the corporate world, so the business department is basically a rival of any major university's business program only on the high school level. Thus, they offer several activities meant to train future corporate CEOs in skills they'll need, like marketing, accounting and golf."
"That's crazy," Tommy said, as they left LAX.
"Yeah, it is," Zaidan agreed. "Anyway, eventually Mr. Collins let up and let Wes join a few activities he wanted to join. One of them was a martial arts class, which is where we met. He was pretty much my only friend at that school because he didn't enjoy bragging about his father or his bank account. Anyway, we practiced in our off hours quite a bit because the class itself was worthless."
"In what way?"
"It was full of spoiled rich kids," Zaidan replied. "They'd had everything they've ever owned handed to them on a silver platter without having to do anything. More than one of them made it clear that they expected to just be given their belts without actually mastering the skills necessary to earn them. And don't even get me started on the ones who would threaten to sue you for everything you're worth if you so much as tapped them during practice."
"Wow," Tommy said. He really didn't know what else to say to that. "How long did you stay at that place?"
"I stuck it out for about six months," Zaidan said. "Probably wouldn't have stayed much past a month if it hadn't been for Wes. Our friendship made it bearable."
Grinning at him as they stopped at a stop light, Tommy asked, "So, were you and Wes just friends or something more?"
"Mostly just friends," Zaidan said. "We did fool around a bit though. Mostly just some heavy make out sessions though. We realized pretty quickly that we were better as friends, so we never went all the way, even if our raging hormones were wishing we had."
-o-0-o-
Pulling into Zaidan's driveway, Zaidan got out of the car and grabbed his bag. "You want to come in for a drink or something?"
Smiling, Tommy turned off the jeep and said, "Sure, thanks."
Heading up to the front door, Zaidan pulled out his keys and unlocked the door, letting his friend enter first, before entering himself. "Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I'm just going to drop my bag in my room."
Tommy nodded and headed towards the kitchen, still somewhat in awe of the house. He'd seen it before, obviously, but he still couldn't believe that one of his classmates lived in a place like this, not to mention the fact that Zaidan lived alone and owned the house. Opening the fridge, Tommy scanned the available drinks before grabbing a can of Sprite and sitting on one of the stools at the island. Zaidan showed up a minute later and grabbed another Sprite, noticing again that his answering machine was blinking. Hitting the play button, the automated voice said, "You have two new messages."
"Saturday, 8:30 PM," the automated voice said, before Rocky's voice said, "Hey Zaidan, it's Rocky. By the time you get this, you'll probably already know but I have a church function with the family on Sunday afternoon, so I can't come pick you up. I really tried to get out of it, but my parents wouldn't hear of it. I'll try to get someone else to meet you at LAX. Sorry - hope everything went okay in New York. See you Monday."
"Sunday, 9:42 AM," the machine said, before a female voice said, "Mr. Prince, this is Maggie Carlson - I sold you your house. You mentioned that you might want to hire a live-in housekeeper. I think I've found someone who would work, if you're willing to meet with him. Call me and let me know. My cell is 958-555-0128."
"A housekeeper, huh?" Tommy asked as he took a sip of his drink.
"Yeah, this place is pretty big," Zaidan said. "Figured having someone around to help with the housework would be good."
"Makes sense," Tommy said. "If you want to return that call, go ahead. I don't mind."
"Thanks," Zaidan said, as he grabbed the phone and dialed. The phone was answered on the second ring. "This is Maggie."
"Hey Ms. Carlson, it's Zaidan Prince."
"Ah Mr. Prince, I was wondering if I'd hear from you today. Sleeping in where you?"
"I wish," Zaidan said. "Just got back from LAX actually. Was in New York on business."
"Ah, I see," Maggie said. "I talked with the staffing agency and found out you weren't having the best of luck in finding a housekeeper. I apologize for that. The agency I've normally worked with in the past closed upon the owner's retirement and this new agency doesn't seem to be working out. Anyway, I wanted to find you someone who could do the job and I think I may have found a good candidate."
"I take it from your message it's a man?" Zaidan asked.
"Yes, it's my son, Gregory Carlson. Until recently, he was working as a housekeeper at a hotel in town, but both it and his apartment building were destroyed in a monster attack a month ago. So, he's been living in my basement and trying to find a new job."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Zaidan said. He'd heard the rumors about Angel Grove often being the target of monsters sent down by one Rita Repulsa, but he hadn't really believed it until he actually moved to the city and saw one of the attacks on the news. "I'd like to know a bit more about him. I'm assuming he's gay-friendly, because as you know I'm gay, so that's non-negotiable."
"Considering that he's gay himself," Maggie said, "I don't think there'll be any problems there, Mr. Prince. Anyway, he's twenty-six years old. He refused to accept the money his father and I set aside for his college education, telling us to save it for our retirement. He wanted to pay his own way, which he did, graduating with a degree in hotel management. He's been trying to secure a new position, but with the monster attacks, jobs are scarce, because any openings are filled almost immediately by people who lost their job to one of the attacks."
"Sounds like he's responsible and a hard worker," Zaidan commented.
"Oh he is that and I'm not just saying that because he's my son," Maggie said. "The only potential wrinkle is that he does have a live-in boyfriend. When I mentioned your need for a live-in housekeeper, he expressed interest in the position, but only if Michael could live with him. I know you weren't planning on hiring a couple, but I think Michael could also help you."
"How's that?" Zaidan asked.
"His father owns a successful landscaping business," Maggie replied. "And his mother is the head horticulturist at the Angel Grove Botanical Gardens, so he's well-versed in landscaping and plants and should have no problem handling all of the outdoor work of your property while Gregory handles the indoor work."
'Well, that would save me from having to find a landscaper,' Zaidan thought. 'They both sound like they'd be good fits.' Making up his mind, he said, "Well, I guess it can't hurt to meet them. I'm free for the rest of the day if they can come over, otherwise, anytime after 4 tomorrow."
"I don't know what they're up to this afternoon," Maggie said, "but if you don't mind me giving my son your number, I can have him call you himself."
"That's fine," Zaidan said. "Thank you, Ms. Carlson."
"You're welcome, Mr. Prince," Maggie responded. "I'll see to it that my son calls you as soon as possible to set up a meeting with you."
"Okay, thanks for calling, Ms. Carlson. I appreciate it," Zaidan said, exchanging goodbyes before hanging up.
"So, how'd it go?"
"Well, Ms. Carlson is going to have him call me," Zaidan said. "Apparently it's her son that she's recommending. Both his home and place of employment were destroyed in one of the monster attacks a month ago. He worked in housekeeping at a hotel, however, and he has a boyfriend who's skilled in landscaping."
"Sounds like they might work well," Tommy said, as he finished his drink and stood. "Well, Z, thanks for the drink, but I should get going. I have a date with Adam tonight, so I should get ready."
Smiling, Zaidan said, "Well, don't let me keep you from your stud. Get going, Tommy."
"See you tomorrow at school," Tommy said as he shook hands with the blond, who walked him to the door.
Once Tommy was gone, Zaidan headed into the study and powered up his computer in order to check his email. He'd just finished deleting the spam and was typing an email to Wes when the phone rang.
Reaching over, Zaidan picked up the receiver and said, "Zaidan Prince."
"Hi, this is Greg Carlson," a male voice said.
"Ah you must be Maggie Carlson's son," Zaidan said.
"That's me," Greg said.
"As I told your mom, I wasn't planning on hiring a couple, but I'm willing to meet with you and your boyfriend, at least. I'm free all this afternoon, otherwise it would have to be after 4 PM during the week, as I'll be in school."
"Are you going to AGU?" Greg asked. His mother hadn't told him a whole lot about Zaidan, only that he was young, had recently bought a house from her, and that he was in the market for a gay-friendly live in housekeeper. Being a borderline neat freak who had until recently had a housekeeping job, Greg had no problems with staying in that industry. Being a live-in position would also allow him to move out of his parents' house, having been forced to move back in with them after his apartment building had been destroyed when one of Rita's supersized monsters fell on top of it during its battle with the rangers.
"No, I'm a junior at AG High," Zaidan answered. "I'm a 17-year-old emancipated minor."
"Ah, okay," Greg answered. He hadn't really expected his potential employer to be only 17, but it wasn't really a problem for him. "Well, Mike and I can be over in about twenty minutes if that works for you."
"Yeah, that's fine," Zaidan said. "I'll be here. I look forward to meeting you."
"Same here," Greg responded, before the call was ended. Zaidan called down to the gate guard to tell him that he was expecting a Greg Carlson, before he resumed typing his email to Wes, making sure to attach some pictures of his new house. He also mentioned his potential new domestic help in a postscript. Finishing up, Zaidan clicked send seconds before the doorbell rang. Standing up and heading into the entryway, Zaidan answered the door to find two good-looking young men standing on his front porch. One was about 6'1" with black hair, brown eyes, and faint black stubble on his face. Zaidan assumed he was Greg Carlson, because he could see a resemblance to Maggie Carlson. The other man was also about 6'1" with dark brown hair and grey eyes.
Inviting them inside, Zaidan said, "Zaidan Prince, nice to meet you."
"Gregory Carlson," the black haired man said. "But I prefer Greg."
"Michael Landers," the other man said. "It's just Mike though - Michael is my father."
Nodding, Zaidan said, "Well, why don't we adjourn to the family room and we can chat a bit."
Both of them nodded and followed Zaidan into the family room. Motioning towards the sofa, Zaidan sad down in a chair across from it.
"This is a very nice house," Greg commented.
"Thank you," Zaidan said. "I'm quite pleased with it, although it is rather big for only one person. Your mother is a good saleswoman though and I fell in love with this place the moment I saw it."
"I can see why," Mike said with a smile.
"Now, I wasn't planning on hiring a couple," Zaidan said. "However, I am willing to do so, as I'd figured I'd have to hire a landscaper to deal with the yard work anyway. Greg's mother did mention your background in the field, Mike, although she didn't specifically say that you were looking for a job."
"I wouldn't say no to one," Mike said. "I'm currently working full-time for my father's landscaping company, but I wouldn't say no to some extra income on the side."
Nodding, Zaidan said, "Alright, well, as the live-in housekeeper, Greg, your job would be to load and unload the dishwasher, vacuum, dust, clean the windows, sweep and mop the floors, clean the bathrooms, make the beds, and change the linens on them at least once a week. I may also need you to run errands occasionally, such as grocery shopping or picking up dry cleaning."
"I can do all of that," Greg said. "It's not that much different from what I did at the hotel. I also minored in the culinary arts in college, so I'm a decent cook, if you need me to do any cooking."
"I usually do that myself," Zaidan said. "Although, there are days when I'm too tired to do it, so I wouldn't say no to having you prepare a meal. While we're on that subject, I should say that I am lethally allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish. So, as a rule, I don't keep any of those items in the house so that I can't accidentally consume them. I've had one major bout of anaphylactic shock in my life that almost killed me. Obviously it's an experience I do not wish to repeat."
With a nod, Mike said, "Well I can certainly understand that. One of the things Greg and I have in common is that neither of us ever particularly cared for eating nuts of any kind. In fact, when I was still in school, I used to say that I was allergic to them, even though I'm not, to get classmates and teachers to stop asking me why I never ate the desserts with nuts in them that the cafeteria served from time to time. So I don't think either of us will have a problem going without them. As for shellfish, while we do both eat it from time to time, it's always been in a restaurant, so we wouldn't be bringing it into the house."
"That works for me," Zaidan said. "Now, I know Greg is old enough to drink and I'm assuming you are as well, Mike. I'm not, however, nor are any of my friends from school that might be coming over from time to time. To that end, I would ask that you not place any alcoholic beverages in the kitchen refrigerator. However, there is a wet bar with a mini-fridge in the bedroom you'd be using. You can stock whatever you wish in it, as my friends and I will stay out of the room. I would, however, prefer that neither of you walk around the house drunk on a regular basis."
"That won't be a problem," Greg said. "Mike and I are not heavy drinkers. We do drink socially, never more than one or two drinks a night, however. And none if we have to drive. Before our apartment was destroyed, we did keep beer and wine on hand to drink with meals from time to time, but we can easily keep it in the fridge in our room and not drink it in front of you or your friends."
"That'll work," Zaidan said. "Mike, your job would be to maintain the yard in compliance with the homeowner's association's regulations. They require that the lawn be cut once a week, although a grace period is given in the event of a particularly rainy week that would leave the grass too wet to be cut. There's a compost bin for the grass clippings and other yard waste on the side of the house. You'd also need to remove any weeds, keep the hedges trimmed, and keep the other plants looking their best."
"I can do all of that," Mike said.
"Well, you two are certainly the best candidates I've interviewed so far," Zaidan said. "First woman didn't understand what I meant by gay-friendly and proceeded to quote Bible verses and tell me I'd roast in hell once she realized I was homosexual and the second one proceeded to tell me all the things she wasn't willing to do - which included everything that I'd expect a housekeeper to do. I haven't interviewed any landscapers yet, as I figured once I hired a housekeeper, I'd ask their opinion, figuring that they had probably lived here in Angel Grove longer than I have and might know a good one. I'm guessing, Greg, that you would suggest I hire Mike?"
Greg grinned. "What this lay about? Nah, you can do so much better."
Mike growled as he playfully hit Greg upside the head, as he looked at Zaidan and said, "He's kidding."
Zaidan laughed. "Yeah, I kind of guessed that. Anyway, how about I give you both a three month trial in the positions and if at the end of three months, I'm pleased with your performance, the jobs will be yours on a permanent basis. Does that sound fair?"
"Sounds good to me," Mike said, as Greg nodded.
"Alright then, well, let's see here," Zaidan said. "We've covered what your duties will be, I imagine you want to know what your compensation will be. First and foremost, you'll have the room here in the house. As I said it has a wet bar with a mini-fridge, in addition to a coffee pot. There's also a walk-in closet and a bathroom. Technically the bathroom is the pool bath, so there's a door that leads outside, but it can remain locked and I can tell guests to use the half-bath off the kitchen. Now, I noticed the truck in the driveway - do both of you have vehicles?"
"The truck is mine," Mike revealed. "Greg doesn't have a car, but we both have motorcycles."
"We also have a tandem bike," Greg added. "My parents are avid cyclists and have been riding their own tandem for years now. They think every couple should have one, so they bought Mike and I one for our anniversary a couple of years ago."
Nodding, Zaidan said, "Okay. I asked because as I'm sure you noticed I have four garage bays. I only use one of them myself. They're large enough that your truck, motorcycles and bike should all fit in one of them, so, you'll also have a space in the garage to keep your vehicles out of the weather."
Greg and Mike nodded and Zaidan continued, "Now, the room you'll be using has its own satellite TV receiver, an unlimited cable internet connection, and it's own phone line. Your compensation will include all utilities, with the exceptions of the phone line in your room, as you'll be the only ones using it, and any pay-per-view programs you buy."
"Fair enough," Greg said.
"Now, as for time off," Zaidan said, "Greg, you'll have one full day a week off, plus two half days, where you can choose whether to work in the morning or evening, with the rest of the day off. As for you, Mike, your schedule will be flexible, to fit with the needs of your job at your father's company. As for salary, Greg, I was thinking $500 a week and for you Mike, whatever your father charges for the weekly upkeep of a one acre lot plus a $100."
"That's very generous," Mike said, as Greg nodded.
"I'm a generous person," Zaidan said. "As I'm sure you must have guessed, as I bought this house and live here alone, I'm quite wealthy. Not as wealthy as an old friend of mine from Silver Hills, but wealthy enough that you needn't worry about me being able to pay you. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to the room you'll be using."
Once he'd shown Greg and Mike to their room, Zaidan headed into town to visit a locksmith and have copies of the house key made for Greg and Mike, while they headed for Greg's parents house to get their belongings. Zaidan also made sure to inform the gate guard that Greg Carlson and Mike Landers were now live-in staff at his home and were to be allowed in at all times.
-o-0-o-
To be continued.
Questions, comments, suggestions? Feel free to contact me, I love hearing from my readers.
Next chapter: Tommy and Adam's date, Jason and Billy "conversing" on the phone, and Rita notices the rangers' new friend.