He reclined in the uncomfortable chair, trying in vain to find a comfortable position...and failing miserably. He was also attempting to affect an indifferent façade to his companions, but that infernal chair was making it nigh impossible. Finally he just gave up. The sooner the business was completed, the sooner he could escape the confines of the spacious, but claustrophobic, conference room. He had never liked this room. Things had happened here that ruined men like him. In fact, he himself had done the ruining on the rare occasion.

Marty had only been listening half-attentively to the conversation of his associates. While he should have been concerned with what they were talking of, as it concerned one of his jobs, he couldn't get himself involved in it beyond the occasional head nod or grunt of approval. He was presently invested in his own thoughts. He was thinking of his nephew's upcoming wedding. He was getting married to a wealthy young woman who was quite the knockout. Marty had never met her, but he had seen the engagement photos that had accompanied the announcement and the invitation. She was stunning and perfectly suited (appearance-wise) to his nephew. Oh, to be young again! He couldn't wait to meet her. Especially in light of his new commission...

The clearing of a throat brought Marty back to his meeting. His colleagues were staring at him. Marty's boss, at the head of the table, slowly nodded his head once and Marty replied in the same manner. He got up, relieved to finally be rid of the chair. Leaving the conference room behind, he hurried to the nearest exit of the building which happened to lead onto a balcony. Once outside, he collapsed on one of the deck chairs that were set up and withdrew a cigarette from his pocket. Lighting it, he sat back and gazed out upon the sleeping city spread across the flat plains.

The wedding week started one week from the present day and he had much to prepare for. In addition to putting together the essentials for his job, he also had to assemble some needed items for the wedding party. It would not do to show up lacking a wedding gift for the happy couple. Marty had to admit that he was proud of Henry...and to a lesser degree, JD. When the boys had come to live with him after their parents' fatal car accident, Marty had worried about their ability to cope with the loss of both parents and his ability to cope with caring for two practically adult boys. Henry had already been living relatively independently for a few years as he had been attending college and living on-campus when the accident occurred. He had worked on the college newspaper as an editor, something that helped his career take off when he graduated from Harvard Business School and launched his own company. JD, on the other hand, had been sixteen at the time, making him a minor and fully dependent on Marty. Something had changed in him after his parents died. He had been a smart, curious and mildly troublesome teenage boy and after—well, he had started into a downward spiral of depression, drugs and suicidal tendencies. It had escalated over the years to the brink of attempted suicide last year and Marty had finally pushed JD into a help center. He hadn't known anything about raising kids, but he had always thought that he had made a valiant effort these last few years.

Marty was interrupted by the sound of the balcony door opening behind him. Turning in his seat, he watched his boss' secretary walk along the railing towards him. A small, manila envelope she carried in her hand was held out towards him. Taking it, he watched as she silently walked back to disappear behind the door. Marty had always found her to be exquisite looking, especially with her exotic Latin beauty. But, she was the boss' secretary and in his line of work, that meant off limits. Quickly peeking inside, he saw what he needed to see and now he was free to leave, not due to return until after the wedding.