Chapter 2 – the end

John broke the silence first, “Did either of you see the draft this week? I was surprised by some of the picks, and the not picked”.

Jackson nodded, “Yeah, I was too. It will be a really interesting season I think.”

Clark chimed in, “The pre-season games will definitely be revealing”. Once the conversation of sports had started, the guys were able to maintain a solid conversation. They paused as their drinks arrived and to order food, other than that, they maintained a solid conversation that rotated from football, to cheerleaders, to women and back to sports.

Two hours later, the men were stuffed; a little buzzed, and had gotten to know each other a little bit better. The three argued over whose company card it was to go on, settling on Jackson’s, as he picked the restaurant. Once that was settled, they all got up and headed back to the hotel. After a fairly quiet walk back, they parted ways to their own rooms, planning on meeting at the new office at 8:30am Monday morning. Jackson was looking forward to having 3 days to get settled, see his parents and his horse. He was hoping he’d be able to get a good start on his house hunt as well.

Jackson stuck the key in his door, ready to hit the hay, and hoping avoid too much jet lag in the morning. The room was cool, he had left the air conditioning on before he left, one of the perks of not paying the electric bill. He tossed his shoes into the corner, too tired to actually put them away. He stripped off his close and slid in the cool sheets. Setting his alarm on his cell phone, he hit the light and relaxed into sleep as his head hit the pillow.

 

Chapter 2 – Jackson gets to the hotel

Jackson pulled out of the garage and turned on the radio. The strong southern drawl of the announcer made him realize how much of his own accent he had lost in the last 9 years. Pretty soon the dj’s voice gave way to country. Jackson may have lost most of his accent, but he never lost his love for country music. He glanced down at the directions on the passenger seat. The airport was about 20 minutes from his hotel in Downtown Austin, and the drive was pretty straightforward. He got out onto the freeway and stepped on the accelerator. The engine purred under his foot. Not quite the sound he had grown accustomed to, but it wasn’t terrible. He glanced at the clock, 4pm. He was going to have to put Rakesford Realty on the schedule for tomorrow, as he wanted a shower more than he wanted to start finding a house. As he thought, the drive was easy and before he knew it, he was at the front of his hotel. He was staying at a beautiful historic hotel. He had been here once as a kid, and remembered how amazed he was when he looked up at the tall peaks of the architecture. Even now, it was still dramatically beautiful. He was in the heart of the business and entertainment district and planned on heading out to one of the local bars as soon as he cleaned up.

Fifteen minutes later Jackson was in his room, bags tossed into the corner and the hot water turned on. Check in had been a breeze and the bellmen were on top of their game. He stripped, tossed his dirty clothes in the corner of the bathroom, and climbed into the shower. The heat of the water immediately began to melt away the stress he had accumulated from his flight. He finished shampooing and washing and was letting the water beat off the rest of his stress. Unfortunately, his relaxation didn’t last long as he could hear his cell phone bleating from his jeans on the floor. Todd Rundgren “Banging on the drum all day”. His boss’ ring tone. He knew if he didn’t answer, his boss would never stop calling. Jackson sighed as he turned off the water, wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed the phone.

“Hello Bruce. Thanks for taking care of the rental car and my hotel”. Jackson held the phone with one hand toweling himself off with the other, so he could stop dripping on the floor. Walking into the bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed, he tried to keep the frustration of his interrupted shower out of his voice.
“Oh, no problem Jackson. When you get cleaned up, head down to the concierge desk. You have reservations in town with the guys that are helping you to open the office in Austin. They’ll meet you there at 6pm”. Jackson glanced at the clock, 5:00pm. That would give him enough time to relax a couple minutes, get changed and downstairs.

“Ok, thanks. I better get going if I want to meet them in time.” With that, Jackson signed off and tossed the phone onto the bed. He scooted back against the pillows, grabbed the remote and clicked on the TV.