Reaching The Stars

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any songs or brands of liquor mentioned in this story. Names of people and places are entirely coinceidental.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: A devoted reader (you know who you are) wanted to know about Christina's past now that Jack's is known to us. It tied in perfectly with the name of this chapter, so I did something of a slight change where plot was concerned. In any event, here's the fourth installment of Reaching The Stars. Enjoy, read and review!


Reaching The Stars
Chapter Four: Troubled Nightscape


An anticipated knocking drove Jack from his thoughts.

“What is it?”

“It’s Harland, Jack,” the deep voice announced from the other side of the door. “…And your guest.”

Jack nodded. “All right. Both of you come in.”

As Harland opened the door, an athletic figure stormed past the tall, ebony bodyguard and stood in front of Jack’s desk. He slapped his palms flat on the polished mahogany wood.

“What is it this time, Michael?”

“You damn well know what this is about, Cousin.” He spat the last word out as a curse. “You’ve turned me down and shuffled me away long enough. You know that as Kenneth Pembroke’s oldest son, I am the rightful heir to Pembroke Enterprises, and everything that comes with it.”

Jack wasn’t fazed by his cousin’s intimidating glare. “Verdant Acres is already yours, Michael. What will you do with Wind Mustang Stables? What about Pembroke Manor and the land around it? What about the company?”

“You know that I plan to turn Pembroke Enterprises into more than just a versatile empire. Don’t you see how much power and wealth you hold, Jack? You could build casinos, racetracks, whatever you want! You could hire anyone to work for you, and double the profits within a few months!”

Jack looked up and glared at his relative. “Michael, what would I gain from doing what you’re proposing? I already have almost seventy billion dollars in my pocket, and that is way more than enough money than I can deal with, let alone even attempt to double.”

“You are so nearsighted, Jack.”

He chortled. “It’s funny, Michael. Your father said as much to me about you.”

Michael narrowed his eyes. “Father was a philanthropist and a fool!” Jack noted how vehemently he used the term. “He gave his money to beggars and to people who stick needles in mice! He wasted millions of dollars giving to people that weren’t deserving of Pembroke money!”

“He wanted the people around him to benefit from his actions.” He waved his arm around him. “Your mother was glad when I told her that I intend to continue my donations to charities and research funds, just as your father did. The few things I’ve ever done for myself since I inherited Pembroke Enterprises were to renovate Uncle Kenneth’s city loft and build what you and I are now standing in.”

“Father donated his money to medical research.” Michael shook his head. “His donations should have saved his life!”

Jack leaned back in his chair. “Michael, you’re not making sense anymore. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Not until you hand me the fortune, Jack. Pembroke Enterprises rightfully belongs to my family, and as I am the oldest child, it should belong to me!”

Jack stood up, fighting hard to quell the rage budding inside of him. “Pembroke Enterprises belongs with a Pembroke! You may be older than me, Michael, but you cannot threaten me with seniority. Maybe if you learned to beat your father in chess, you would have been heir to his kingdom, and I would fade into obscurity.” He took a deep breath. “And to be honest, Michael Pembroke, if that had happened, I wouldn’t have minded one single bit.”

Michael straightened up, crossing his arms and looking down at him. “Is that so? But if you never built this place, you never would have met that harlot that’s somehow managed to squirm her way into your world and your pants.”

The words snapped a nerve in Jack. His vision went red and he flipped the desk over in front of him, the edge of the desk slamming into Michael’s toes. As Michael started to hop on one foot and gripped his injured foot with his hands, Jack rounded on him, sending him sprawling on the floor.

Stunned, Michael looked up and felt the breath being forced out of his lungs as Jack drove his knees into his chest. His cousin’s face was red, his knuckles white in a fiercely clenched fist. He threw his hands over his face before Jack could drive his fist into his head, but the blow never came. He looked up cautiously to see the dark-skinned bodyguard forcing Jack from on top of him. He managed to get his upper body of the ground and scrambled backwards against the wall.

“Sir, cool it. You have to keep calm.”

Jack was breathing heavily, staring daggers, swords, and pitchforks into his cousin. The face of cold fear disappeared to be replaced with a look of smug triumph. Michael got to his feet and brushed the dust from the sleeves of his sweater.

“My, but you have a temper, Jack Pembroke.” He crossed his arms again and stared at his cousin once more, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in disappointment. “It would be such a bruise to Pembroke Enterprises and the world to know that a company that has helped the world so much is now at the hands of a loose cannon.”

“Michael, I’m ordering you to leave, right now.”

Michael raised his eyebrows. “Oh, really? You’re ordering me to leave?”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “Michael, you’re really pushing it. I don’t want Harland to have to escort you off the premises.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about him, Jack. You’re going to have a former drug dealer and a former hitman escort me from your premises? People will think that you’re sending him to get rid of me and solidify your holdings within our company, and that wouldn’t look good on either of your images, you know.”

“Of course I’m going to let him escort you,” Jack said with a sneer. “Because I’ve done my research on my bodyguard.” He gently shook Harland’s hands off him. “Now you have three choices. Either you leave the Cosmos by yourself, or I get Harland to escort you.” He narrowed his eyes. “…Or I get him to forcibly exit you from the premises. I will have a court order to keep you from coming here and anywhere that is owned by Pembroke Enterprises, including work. As well, I will take Verdant Acres and whatever money you have left from you should I have to resort to the third option.” His shoulders rose and fell with heavy breathing. “I don’t like conflict, Michael, and I’m willing to go to whatever means necessary to make sure I have no more from you.”


* * * * *


“Isn’t it a little too early in the day to have a drink, Jack?”

Jack wearily shook his head and slumped onto the couch. “You’re right, Harland. It won’t solve anything, anyway.” He set the glass of brandy down on the table. “Could you pass me a bottle of water, please?”

Harland nodded and took two bottles of water from the miniature fridge beside the upturned desk. He tossed one towards Jack, who caught it with both hands.

“You know, you’re twenty-three. You are free to drink whenever you want.”

Jack grinned. “I know, but unlike my cousin, I tend to listen when someone offers me a bit of common knowledge.”

Harland put the spout of the bottle to his lips and tipped his head back, taking in a third of the bottle’s contents. “You all right?”

“Yeah. I have to apologize for my outburst…”

Harland shook his head. “Don’t. Quite frankly, I didn’t want to stop you.” His expression darkened. “It’s the first time anyone’s mentioned my past after you bailed me out of jail.”

Jack smiled and clapped Harland on the shoulder. “Harland, you’re a friend, if not my best friend. My uncle, Michael’s father, always taught me to trust my instincts.” He chuckled. “He said that the Pembroke family had very keen intuition and believed in whatever they put their minds to. I wanted someone tough to be a bouncer for the Cosmos because I don’t want this to be one of those clubs that has drugs and dealers in it, and who better to sniff them out than one who was one of their own?

“I’m glad that you took my offer, because you’ve become a close friend, one I’ve come to trust. Like Adam and Carol, both of whom were just homeless people, I gave them a reason to live aside from just asking for money to buy a coffee. My uncle told me to enjoy my life, and I figured I should spread it.”

Harland shook his head and chuckled. “You’re like a six year old kid with delusions of grandeur, you know that?”

Jack threw his head back and laughed heartily. “Harland, old buddy, ever since I found out my uncle was head of the largest company in the world, I’ve had dreams. I’ve dreamt of finding a cure for diseases, I’ve dreamt of lowering crime and giving people reasons to live aside from drugs and alcohol. My uncle’s company helped me make those dreams come true.”


* * * * *


Michael waited impatiently for the gates to open. As soon as the gap between the wrought-iron bars was wide enough, he sped through and drove towards the house.

“That idiot thinks he knows how to make money. I can’t believe Father would be so foolish enough that he would look over his own immediate family and give the entire fortune to a nobody.”

He parked the car noisily in front of the garage, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Without waiting for it to clear, he stepped out of his vehicle, slamming the door as he did so. As he jogged up the stairs, the butler emerged from the doorway.

“Good afternoon, Master Pembroke.”

“Get out of my face, Mulbury,” he snapped, striding vehemently past his butler. He made a beeline for the fridge and grabbed a water bottle.

“Michael!”

He rolled his eyes impatiently and drank from it, emptying it halfway.

“Michael James Pembroke!”

“What is it?”

His mother Linda and his two younger sisters virtually ran into the kitchen. “Michael, I just got off the phone with your cousin. He told me that he plans to switch ownership of Verdant Acres to himself.”

“I’ll bet he does,” Michael muttered sourly, taking another drink of his water.

“Michael, listen to me!”

“Forget it, Mother,” his younger sister Julie put in. She strode right up to her older brother. “Michael, look at me.”

He kept his gaze away and remained silent, finishing his drink.

“I said look at me, Michael Pembroke.”

Once more, he rolled his eyes and he looked down at his younger sister. “What is it you want to tell me?”

“Michael, Jack is serious. He already asked me to send him the deed to Verdant Acres Golf Course.”

He narrowed his eyes. “…And?”

“What else could I do? I sent him what he wanted.”

He crumpled the empty bottle in his hand. “You did…what?”

She nodded. “I sent him the deed to the golf course.” She took a deep breath. “And I agreed to be a witness of the change of ownership, as Jack put it, ‘should push come to shove’.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” he said in a loud voice. “The three of you are like children hiding from a bully while one kid decides to stand up to him! Don’t you realize that he’s dangling money in front of you like a carrot?”

“Michael, you’re an idiot,” Tanya replied. “Look at what he’s done in the short time he’s been the head of our father’s company. He’s given us more than we’ll be able to live off of, and he may possibly give us more. Production in Pembroke Enterprises has nearly doubled, he’s already donated almost a billion dollars to thirteen charities, and he still managed to build his own club, hire his own personal staff and renovate the condominium that Uncle used to stay in every so often.”

Michael sneered. “About his staff…”

Linda handed him a series of file folders. “He’s already done his homework, Michael. We already know about Harland Moseby, Adam Winthrop and Carol Gheidlmann.” She smiled. “And your father would be proud that Jack found his closest staff from where they were from.”

“Mother, his bodyguard was a convicted drug dealer…”

Tanya cut him off. “…And he’s done his time! Jack knows this already, and that’s why he hired him. Jack’s Cosmos is drug-free because of him, and Jack intends to keep it that way.”

“A former drug dealer can easily be swayed…”

This time his mother cut him off. “…But not for how much Jack is paying him, and what Jack made him sign.”

“He had the police witness him sign a contract?”

Julie nodded. “Jack was Father’s protégé, and Father made sure he covered every base.”

Tanya nodded as well. “He learned from the best.” Her expression darkened. “I wish some of us learned more from his lessons.”

“I don’t have to put up with this…this drivel,” Michael snapped, rushing past his family and making for the door.

“And where are you going?”

“I’m going to Verdant Acres,” he replied spitefully. “…While I still can.”


* * * * *


Christina opened the door to her apartment and turned the lights on. She kicked her sandals onto the shoe mat by her feet, and was immediately swarmed by her two cats, Nightshade and Spidey, and her dog, Sherlock.

“Hey, guys,” she said with a chuckle. “I know I haven’t spent enough time at home lately.” She set her purse down on the couch and flopped down beside it. The calico cat jumped onto her lap and chirped in an annoyed tone.

“Why have I been out lately?” She picked it up underneath its front paws, talking to it cutely. “It’s because I met this guy, Spidey. He’s the nicest guy I’ve ever met, and he’s rich.”

The black cat stood up on its hind legs, pressing her front paws on her lap.

“That’s right, Nightshade, he has a lot of money.” She blushed. “But I don’t like him because of his money.”

The brown Scottish terrier tilted his head in a question.

“Don’t look at me like that, Sherlock. Why do you think I haven’t been around the past couple of nights?”

Sherlock lied down on the ground and put his paws over his eyes. She laughed, startling Spidey from her lap. He sat on the floor, looking at her with wide eyes.

“Fine, Sherlock. But I’ll make you a deal. I don’t tell any details, and you stop licking yourself in front of me, all right?”

Sherlock moved his paws away from his eyes and gave her a sad look.

“I’m serious, Sherlock. Unless you really want to know what I did yesterday morning…”

The Scottish terrier got up and ran towards her bedroom. She looked at her two cats, which just stared at her like a pair of bookends.

“Oh, don’t judge me,” she scoffed with a smirk. “I’m twenty-three. I can live my own life, you know.” She got up from the couch, patting her cats on the head as she did so, and made for the bathroom. Nightshade followed, while Spidey leapt onto the warm spot on the couch, clawed it a few times and curled up, deciding to keep her spot warm.


* * * * *


Steam was seeping out from the bathroom as the front door opened. Sherlock ran out from Christina’s bedroom and looked out from the corner of the hall.

“Chrissy, I’m home!” She took her boots off and noticed her roommate’s dog. “Hey, Sherlock! Where’s Christina?”

Sherlock looked towards the bathroom and back to her.

“She’s in the shower?” She walked towards the slightly open door.

Sherlock whined apprehensively.

“What’s the matter, Sherlock? You don’t want me to go in there?”

Sherlock lied down on the ground and put his paws over his eyes.

“Why not?”

As if on cue, Christina’s roommate heard a low moaning coming from the bathroom, immediately accompanied by heavy breathing.

“Christina…?”

The moaning and the shower continued. The woman cautiously stepped towards the bathroom.

“Jack…”

Who’s Jack? She opened the door a little, enough to stick her head in.

“Christina?”

There was a yelp of surprise, and Christina poked her head out from behind the shower curtains, her face red as an apple.

“Kimberly!” She was caught totally off-guard. “I totally forgot you had an early shift! I…”

“Do you…” Kimberly took a deep breath. “…Do you need a hand in there?”

Christina caught the undertone despite the genuine concern shown on her roommate’s face. Nothing I say can get me out of this one… “Well…” She strained for an explanation. “…I’m almost done. I’ll be out of here in a few minutes, and then I’m heading to bed.”

Kimberly couldn’t help but smile lasciviously. “Do you want me to join you?”

Christina grumbled. “Kimmy, can you go, please? I…” Her hand shot to her mouth.

“…Need some time alone?” Kimberly laughed. “Sure. Finish up there and get some rest. You’re working tomorrow, remember?”


* * * * *


Christina stepped out of the shower, a towel around her body and wrapped over her head. She hummed a little tune to herself, feeling tired yet renewed. As she looked in her dresser for a nightgown, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. Wondering to herself, she unraveled the towel over her head and shook her hair down. She posed in the mirror, pouting her lips like a model. Smiling to herself, she tossed the towel around her body aside and looked at her profile. She continued to pose in the mirror, each stance more suggestive than the last.

A flash caught her eye, and she turned towards the open door to see Kimberly with a camera.

“Kimberly!” She caught a bedsheet and covered herself with it. “…How long have you been there?”

Her roommate smiled slyly. “Since you took the towel off your head.” She raised her eyebrows in approval. “You know, that’s twice I’ve caught you with the door open.” She leaned on the doorway. “You never leave your door open.”

“Well…”

“Who’s Jack?” A smile grew at the corner of her lip. “He must be great in bed if you’ve managed to slip twice.” She looked her over approvingly. “He’s a lucky man to have bedded one hot mama like you.”

Christina smiled warmly then froze, a look of pain crossing her features. She sat down on her bed, on the verge of tears.

Kimberly ran and sat beside her. “Hey, what’s wrong, girlfriend?”

Christina started to weep. “I…” She shook her head. “Did I ever tell you about Kevin?”

Kimberly shook her head. “I didn’t even know about this Jack guy. Who’s Kevin?”


* * Begin Flashback * *


“I wish I could go,” Christina said in a low voice.

“There’s nothing stopping you, you know,” Sarah countered.

“Yeah, Chrissy. Even Ricky’s gonna be there. With him around, you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

She pursed her lips in doubt. “Yeah, but I really can’t enjoy the party if he has his eye on me all night.”

Sarah waved off her argument. “Oh, please. The girls will be all over Ricky the second he gets there. He won’t have a second to keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t know…”

Angela scoffed. “Dammit, Chrissy! You always want to hear about it, and then you regret not going! For once in your life, do what you want to do, not what you should do. Let your hair down a little. Why not experience one of these parties instead of hearing about them all the time?”

Christina took a deep breath and nodded. “All right, you’ve convinced me. I’ll go with you.”

Sarah clapped her hands. “Great! We’ll pick you up at six. Dress casually.” She and Angela got up from their table.

“Where are you two going?”

“There’s a place that just opened in the mall that sells some really sexy clothes. I managed to get Angela to come with me and check the place out.”

“I thought you said to dress casual.”

“Oh, it is casual dress,” Angela assured her, “but with your cousin there, the other guys are up for grabs.”


* * * * *


“Sarah! Angie! Good to see you two!”

Angela took the host’s invitation for a welcoming embrace and walked into the large suburban house. Sarah took the host’s invitation as well, but not without gently nibbling his lower lip and cupping his genitals through his clothes with one hand. Christina noticed but didn’t say anything.

“Who’s your friend?”

Sarah dropped her hand and released him from her kiss. “Cody, this is Christina.”

Cody picked Christina’s up and kissed her knuckles. “A pleasure to meet you.”

Christina blushed. “Thank you, Cody.”

He waved the three girls in. “Where are my manners? You three get in here and grab a drink!”


* * End Flashback * *


“What happened after that?” Kimberly handed her a box of tissues from the nightstand.

Christina took one and blew her nose. “Thanks.” She looked up at Kimberly. "Well, we drew straws before we got to the party to see who would be designated driver, and Sarah got it. She got us some drinks and a bottle of water for herself, with Kevin in tow…”


* * Begin Flashback * *


“Chrissy, this is Kevin, that guy I was telling you about before we got here.”

Christina stood up and nodded. “Hi,” she said shyly.

He smiled warmly. “I’ve seen you where Sarah works sometimes.”

She nodded. “Yeah. I have a car, so I can pick her up and give her a lift home when I’m able to.”

He nodded in return. “That’s good. It’s nice to know that Sarah has a friend that she can trust.”

Christina blushed. “…Thanks…”


* * End Flashback * *


“He acted so nicely,” Christina said, blowing her nose again. “He was such a gentleman. I was so caught up in how nice he acted towards me that I never realized how much I had to drink that night.”

Kimberly looked worried. “Just how much did you drink?”

“I don’t remember how much I drank after three martinis and about six glasses of some really strong vodka…”

“Wow. I don’t think I could drink that much.”

“I thought I could really let my hair down around him…”


* * Begin Flashback * *


“Christina, are you all right?”

Her cheeks were flushed beet red, and she swayed a little. Sarah sat down on the couch beside her. Angela noticed from the other side of the room and walked towards her friends, trying to be discreet.

“I don’t think she’ll be able to make it home,” Kevin said. “Let me talk to Cody. Maybe she can spend the night here.”

“She has work tomorrow, though,” Sarah pointed out.

“Yeah, but the sooner she can sleep, the sooner she can get over the hangover she’s going to have.”

“What’s going on?”

“Christina’s plastered,” Sarah said. “We better get her home.”

Angela shook her head. “No way! I saw Ricky head out the front door with a girl, probably to her car. I have a feeling that they may still be there.”

Sarah snorted. “Dammit.” She looked up at Angela. “You’re working tomorrow, aren’t you?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Chrissy and I are supposed to work.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to call and tell your boss that Christina won’t be in tomorrow?”

“Wait,” Kevin piped up, “what if we get Christina to sleep here? She’ll be able to drive home in the morning and get herself ready for work.”

“What are you talking about?” Christina managed to slur. “I’m…I’m fine, Sarah. I can go home…”

Kevin put his hands on her shoulders. “…Not in your state.” He picked her up in his arms. “You and Angela get home. I’ll drive Christina back to your place tomorrow so she can pick up her car.”

Sarah looked at Christina in Kevin’s arms and nodded. “All right, Kevin. I trust you with her.”

He smiled. “As you should…”


* * * * *


Christina started crying uncontrollably, her body shaking with every breath. Kimberly put one arm over her shoulders and laid Christina’s head on her shoulder.

“Shh, it’s all right, gorgeous,” she whispered. She kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. “You don’t have to say anything more, baby.”

They stayed that way until Christina calmed down. “I’m sorry,” she said hoarsely.

Kimberly smiled. “Don’t worry about it.” She got up. “You don’t have to tell me anymore. Just get some rest, all right?”

She shook her head. “No, please. I don’t want to be alone just yet.”

Kimberly stopped, unsure of what her roommate just said. “Christina, you’re sure?”

Christina nodded mutely. “I just want to lie down. I’d call Jack over, but he already knows.”

“Who’s Jack?” Kimberly asked again.

“Jack’s my new boyfriend,” Christina replied, lying on the bed and turning away from Kimberly. “I met him at the Cosmos a couple of days ago.”

Christina’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth to ask a question but stopped herself. I’m sure she’ll tell me when she’s ready…

“Kevin took my virginity that night,” Christina said, her body visibly shaking. “I was too out of it to do anything to stop him. He just stuck his…” She shuddered. “…His penis right into me.” She started to shake again. “God, it hurt so much…”

Kimberly lied down beside Christina and hugged her. “Chrissy, babe, you don’t have to talk anymore.”

She vehemently shook her head. “No, Kimmy. If I don’t finish my story, it’ll keep bugging me. Sarah and Angela told Jack about it this morning, and I have to tell somebody for myself.”

Kimberly nodded and kissed the back of Christina’s head. “All right.” She suddenly realized what she was doing and sat up.

“What is it?” Christina asked, alarmed.

Kimberly shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I know you’re not into women, and I’ve got a girlfriend…”

Christina shook her head in return. “It’s all right, Kimmy.” She shrugged. “I’m not really in the mood anyway, even if I wanted to, and you’ve put up with my bitching and whining since you moved in.” She took a deep breath. “I just need someone to hold me right now.”

“All right.”

Christina lied down again, looking out the translucent curtains and the window. Kimberly sat on the bed behind her.

“What happened afterward?”

“Sarah’s friend Cody found me in the bedroom where Kevin took me. I was shaking so hard and I couldn’t move. He called the hospital right away. Ricky was just coming back into the house when the ambulance came in. Cody told him everything, and he went with me to the hospital. He was really shaken up by the way I looked but managed to call Sarah and Angie. They got there some time later and Ricky told them everything. Angie talked to my boss, and he gave me two weeks’ paid vacation.”

“That’s it?”

Christina laughed sadly. “Yeah. He said he wanted to give me more, but any more than that and it might cause a bit of unwanted attention.”

“And you closed yourself off from men from that point?”

Christina sat up, the sheet covering her from the chest down. “Yeah.” She smiled warmly, recalling the past two nights. “…Until I met Jack.”

“I have to ask, but is this Jack you’re talking about the new head of Pembroke Enterprises?”


=[ Owari ]=