"Oh! That's a shock. It's been a while since we've seen them. I don't think I expected to see them here,"
Robert turned to see who she was talking about. And his stomach dropped as the smile on his face faded away. The figure that came into view was one he had hoped to never see again.
There, near the corner of the ballroom, beneath the hanging banner that read "A Future Built on Discovery," stood Derrick Wills.
He hadn't changed much, but Robert was more surprised that he wasn't dead yet.
He wanted to make a detour and avoid them, but as he was the center of attention that night, it would be hard for him to do. As he was trying to figure out his next course of action, Nicole, unaware of his inner dilemma, made the decision for him.
"Oh my God, Derrick and Mavis?" she called out. "Is that really you?" She had a large smile on her face when she spoke, unlike her husband, she only had positive memories of the couple. Mainly Derrick's wife, Mavis, who was a bubbly woman with more jokes than a stand up comic.
Mavis turned around and her lips split open in a wide grin as she took in the sight before her. "Nicole?! Oh my goodness, it's been forever!"
The two women practically ran into each other's arms, squealing with excitement.
"Mavis, you look so good. What gym have you been going to?"
"Oh, you're too kind. I'm too busy to get to the gym. But you, this dress is stunning on you. It's silk isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," Nicole giggled as Mavis ran her hand against the fabric of her dress.
"Derrick! It's been years!" Nicole said with a smile on her face after pulling away from Mavis.
"Feels like it's been a lifetime," Derrick chuckled, shaking Robert's hand. Robert felt cold to his core, for the first time, he regretted not telling his wife about the shady stuff Derrick was into. He knew he couldn't because Nicole would have told Mavis and that would have caused Derrick to rain hell on him.
"I've been trying to get Derrick to come to church with me," Mavis said, shooting a playful glare at her husband. "But you know how it is. He keeps saying he's too busy."
"You know how it goes," Derrick added with a shrug. "Always something happening."
"Girl, tell me about it," Nicole sighed dramatically. "Robert's practically married to his lab at this point. Every day, it's 'the lab this, the lab that.' Sometimes I'm like, 'Hey, remember me? Your actual wife?' You know what? I don't think he does."
Nicole and Mavis burst out laughing, the kind of deep, contagious laughter that drew a few curious glances. The two women, both beautiful in their own way always drew attention anyway. However, even if it was a formal occasion, they didn't care. Whenever they met, they always came together like two kindred spirits. However, their other halves did not seem to share the sentiment. Robert and Derrick stood still, the stiffness in Robert's tone and posture made for an awkward meeting.
Mavis seemed to sense something, as she wound her right arm around Nicole's shoulder and began steering her away.
"Okay, come on," Mavis said between giggles. "Let's take the kids and leave the boys to talk."
With that the women both left and headed to the table.
With the women gone, Robert's demeanor changed. His friendly smile was replaced by a cold look that he aimed at his old friend.
"Why are you here?"
"I can see you left your sense of humor when you left the streets. Robert, it's a party. Lighten up, you look like you've seen a ghost," Derrick said. His words came out in a slow drawl, like a man who was used to wielding power. The sound of his voice took Robert back down memory lane, to a more reckless time in his life. The feeling of the trophy in his hand brought him back and grounded him. He wasn't young and desperate anymore, Derrick should not still scare him, but he did.
Looking at Derrick made flashes of memory go through his head. He remembered running, he remembered violence and he remembered holding a gun instead of a trophy. He took in a deep breath to calm down, he had come too far to let Derrick ruin things for him with his presence.
"Well Derrick, if I'm honest, I feel like I'm looking at a ghost. I fully expected you to be dead, in prison, or worse with the life you lead," said Robert, with a hint of distaste in his tone.
"Robert, still dramatic, hm? What could possibly be worse than being dead or in prison? Anyway, let's play nice now, put away that snooty look. Did you turn bougie and forget who you are and what you've done? What did your mom always tell us, ahh… yes, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones now, should they, Robert?" said Derrick with a smirk on his face.
His words sent Robert's mind into overdrive. He knew that Derrick couldn't implicate him in what had happened in the past without implicating himself too. However, his experience with the man told him that he was just crazy enough to try. He immediately started sweating, he put two fingers around his shirt's collar, trying to loosen it.
"Relax, you're way too stressed on your big night, old friend. This is all for you, the big scientist. Who would have thought that little Robert from back then would go completely legit?" asked Derrick with a sarcastic smile.
"Cut the crap Derrick. What do you want? I know your presence here isn't a coincidence, but I also know you're not here to congratulate me."
"Smart, as always. I'm here looking for business opportunities."
"I don't think you'll find any here."
"You'd be surprised. My boss comes with a proposition," said Derrick.
"Your boss? You mean there's a more dangerous person on the loose in this city? May god help us all, you included," said Robert.
"Yes, my boss, and I think it's nice you're still praying for my soul, but we have bigger business to discuss,"
"I guess I'm just surprised you haven't gone into business on your own. Where's that drive you had back in the day? How come you don't already own the city?"
"You've got all the jokes tonight, I like it, you've still got spunk to you, just like the old days. That's good, I was afraid you'd lost your edge. You're going to need it for what my boss is proposing," said Derrick.
"I don't want to hear it. Anyone just as or more dangerous than you needs to stay well clear of me and my family," said Robert.
"Well, I'm going to tell you anyway," said Derrick.
"Would walking away from you right now stop you from telling me?"
"Maybe for now, but I'll just keep coming back until you finally listen to me," Robert instantly sighed at his words. He felt like he had boarded a pirate ship and he wasn't allowed to leave.
"Well, if you must," said Robert in a resigned tone.
"My boss wants to go into business with you."
"Your boss? I don't make or sell drugs, and I don't ever intend to make or sell drugs. This isn't breaking bad."
"Don't flatter yourself, we have a chemist for that. And he's an ivy league guy like you, you'd be surprised how similar our whole arrangement is to breaking bad. You wouldn't make the cut to work on our goods," Robert resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Derrick's words. Only him could make the drug business sound like something so refined.
"Then what do you want?"
"My boss wants to launder money through your lab."
"What?!" shouted Robert, drawing attention to them. However, he was too shocked to pay attention to that, Derrick looked around with an annoyed look in his eye before turning his attention back to his old friend who was still indignant.
"Are you crazy? I don't know what you told your boss, but I'm not about that life," Robert stated firmly.
"Calm down, people are watching," said Derrick. However, his words had no effect on Robert who was still fuming. He had put too much effort in keeping his family safe to expose them to that life now.
"You must be out of your goddamn mind to come to me with that" said Robert
"You're being too hasty. He will fund all your experiments, you will be paid triple the money you're being paid, and you don't have to worry about finding money to keep the lights on in your lab. You also won't have to worry about investors coming in and telling you what to do. You won't even know me and my boys are there. All you have to do is record that you received a certain amount of funding and funnel part of it out later by 'buying' some equipment sold by companies owned by my boss. My wife tells me you're working on some groundbreaking work, work that requires the right amount of funding, and I'm your man." Derrick laid out the terms as fast as he could because he could see that Robert was getting ready to bolt.
"Thank you, but no, thank you, this award is a step forward in the right direction, winning this award will garner all the funding I could ever dream of, so again, respectfully, the answer is no," said Robert.
"I think you're making a huge mistake, this could be a win-win situation," Derrick tempted.
"No, thank you. I'm sure. Also, speaking of your wife, she's a good woman. If I were you, I'd get out so she can have a stable life. You know it would break her heart if she ever found out."
"Is that a threat?" With those words Derrick's demeanor changed. Gone was the affable businessman, instead he was replaced by a dangerous man. Derrick's hand slipped into his pocket, Robert's eyes followed the movement nervously. He had no doubt that a weapon of some sort was hiding there.
"It's not a threat, just a reminder. I know you care for her, but you're not acting like it," Robert was nervous but he still finished his thought. At his words, Derrick took his hand out of his pocket and smiled again.
"Well, thank you, but I know best how to protect my wife. About my proposition, I respect your decision, but it's life, things happen. Just in case one of those things ends up happening to you and you ever change your mind, take my business card."
"I won't change my mind," said Robert in a firm tone.
"Just take it. If this whole science thing doesn't pan out, and you find yourself in need of some cash, you know where to find me."
"Okay, but that won't happen," said Robert in a terse tone, taking the business card and putting it away. He vowed to never call the number on it as he and Derrick headed back over to their wives to enjoy the rest of the night.