A Blast from the Past

Schuyler Square

Day One

An Unexpected Visitor

Spring was abnormally early that year. Sitting in his office at Schuyler Enterprises, Ron Schuyler stared out of a window that looked over a parking lot filled with inexpensive cars, rusting out beaters and one or two newer models. It made him inordinately happy to see that his car, a vintage tomato red Corvette, was the only truly important car out there. Well, that made sense. After all, Ron owned Schuyler Enterprises and everyone else who was parked in his parking lot worked for him. His employees shouldn't drive anything better than he did. That would be wrong on just about every level imaginable. Ron Schuyler, as sole heir to the Schuyler fortune, was top dog in the small Midwestern town. Ron liked being on top. It was a position he'd held for as long as he could remember and it was a position he didn't see relinquishing.

"Mr. Schuyler?" Ellen, Ron's pretty if frazzled secretary, entered his office, a stack of papers in her hands. "I have the report you wanted and your two o'clock appointment is here."

Ron tried not to look annoyed. Papers and appointments, that's all he dealt with during the two hours he spent at the office every day. "Who is my two o'clock appointment?" he asked, looking at the papers Ellen put on his desk with disdain. "I don't remember setting anything up."

"You didn't. Ms. Channing did."

"Ms. Channing?" Ron felt a sudden, sharp pain in his gut. It couldn't be the same Ms. Channing from so many years ago.

Ellen nodded. "Veronica Channing. She was quite insistent about seeing you. Would you like me to send her in now?"

"Not yet." A wave of nausea had swept over him. "I'll let you know when I'm ready." Shooting a look at Ellen that clearly told her to leave his office, Ron waited until the heavy wooden door shut, leaving him alone again. Putting his elbows on his desk, Ron sank his head into trembling hands. What could Veronica Channing possibly want from him now? He hadn't heard from the woman in over twenty years and they'd only spent a few nights together anyway. They had nothing to talk about.

Oh, really? What about all those letters she used to send you? What about those pictures she sent of that goofy looking kid with the eyes that looked a little bit too much like yours?

Impossible. The letters had stopped along with the pictures. Any accusations Veronica Channing was trying to make, any trouble she was trying to stir up had clearly died out years ago. She probably realized that Ron Schuyler was too smart to fall for her hustler games.

Still...what was she doing here?

Ellen buzzed him. "Mr. Schuyler? Ms. Channing asked me to tell you that what she wants to discuss will only take a few minutes."

Good. He could handle a few minutes. "I'll be right out." Ron thought about having Ellen bring Veronica to him but it would give him the upper hand if he got up and went out to meet her. It would show her that he was in charge, he was the boss, he ruled Schuyler Enterprises and he ruled Schuyler Square too.

Taking a deep breath, Ron rose to his full six-feet-two inches. Veronica probably stopped by to say hello. He was sure it wasn't anything more ominous than that. Hello, you look great, good seeing you, good-bye. He'd been through worse.

With long strides, Ron Schuyler walked confidently to the door and reached for the doorknob. Who knew? It might really turn out to be nice to see Veronica Channing once again.

But as he pulled the door open, a flash of doubt covered him as he remembered how they'd said good-bye all those years ago. Or rather how he had said good-bye to her. With a message left on her answering machine.

Ron's stomach began to churn again. It hadn't been one of his finer moments.