Just Another Night... Or Not.

Zack Zimmerman continued his speech immediately the cheering calmed down, "We are here to celebrate my success, connections, and most importantly, having a great hell of a time. So lets keep the drinks coming, the music blaring and the energy alive!"

With that, he stepped down from the stage and disappeared into the throng of guests as the music surged back to its alarming volume.

"Don't remember him being such a show off though…" Maximus muttered still leaning towards Danny.

"Come on, he not that bad," Danny said with a chuckle, "Come on, lets go say hi…"

It happened faster than Maximus could process, before he had the time to protest, Danny grabbed his arm and started weaving through the sea of half naked party goers. He spent the entire moment preventing his body from making contact with exposed nipples and giggling butts dancing to the beat of the loud music.

They eventually found Zack near the bar, surrounded by a group of hot women hanging on his every word. When he spotted Danny, his eye widened.

"Daniel! Man, it been eons!" Zack pulled Danny into a firm hug, lifting hi from the ground slightly with a loud groan. Then his eyes landed on Maximus, and his grin elongated like that of a hyena. "No freaking way! Maximus? Maximus Prime? I never thought id see you at a place like this!"

Maximus forced a smile, shaking Zacks's outstreched hand. "Yeah well, danny here can be a little too persuasive."

"Good to see you man…" Zack said. "How've you been? What are you up to these days?"

Maximus smoked in a huge gulped of air, air that was infused with the stench of alcohol and something that he picked out as human sexual bodily fluids.

"Keeping busy," he said vaguely. "You've got a great set here though congrats." he changed the subject quickly so as not to give away information regarding his personal life.

"Thanks," zack said with his chest heaving with pride. "Its been a wild ride, but I cant complain. You know, you should stop by more often. I could hook you up with one oor more of these beautiful ladies…" he finished as he turned and sppanked the exposed ass cheeks of a half naked woman hovering on his shoulder.

Maximus smirked a little, not out of impression, but of discomfort.

"Or maybe with the VIP treatment…" Zack dropped again.

"ill think about it," Maximus said, though he didn't have any intention of doing so.

As the night wore on, Maximus found himself standing by the bar again, sipping his drink slowly as he watched the crowd.

Danny was off somewhere, probably mingling or dancing and Zack 1had been pulled into another conversation with a group of investors.

Maximus leaned back agiant the bar, letting the music and energy wash over him. Despite all the things he had accomplished over a short period of time, he couldn't help but feel a small tang of envy.

Zack had build something impressive, and while maximus knew he was on his own path to success, it was hard not to compare.

"Lost in thought…"

Kpim!

Maximus was startled by a voice, he turned to see a bartender smilling at him as she wiped down the counter.

"Something like that," he admitted.

"First time here?"

"First time in a place like this… a friend dragged me along."

"Well, you clean up nicely for someone who dosent look like a regular," she said with a wink before moving off to help another customer.

Maximus chuckled, shaking his head. Maybe this might wouldn't be so bad after all.

By the time Maximus left the club, it was well past midnight. The cool night air was a welcome relief from the heat and noise inside, and Maximus took a deep breathe as they walked toward their parked vehicles.

"So, what do you think?" Danny asked, shaking his keys on his fingers.

"It was… interestingly leud," Maximus said.

"Come on, you had fun," Danny said, frinning. "Admit it."

Maximus shrugged, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "I'll admit it was better than I expected."

"Thats the spirit," Danny said, clapping him on the shoulder. "well do it again sometime."

"well see," Maximus said, climbing onto his power bike.

As he rode home, the city lights streaked past, he found himself replaying the might in his mind. It was amazing to spend some time out, but he needed to focus on the more important things first— his investments, he was almost done with the second building and once he finished that, he wanted to sell it off and fill up his account again.

He was in trance of thought when suddenly his jammed the brakes of his bike, sending the tyres skidding across the asphalt with that familiar skrecch sound. He looked up to realise that he had been taking the route to his old boxy apartment instead of his residential million dollar apartment.

He turned the bike with a proud smirk on his face.

"For christ sake, even I cant keep up with my susccess…"

»»»«««

Stepping into his mansion, his footsteps echoing softly against the beautiful marble floor.

Tossing his keys onto the entryway table, he walked to the living room, pulled off his shirt and sank into a soft cussion of the couch.

The luxury surrounding him was still something he was getting used to.

He closed his eyes shut and rubbed his temples in an attempt to ease off into rest.

"Come Forth…" he muttered.

Tti-ring!.

He summoned the system, but the screen was blank, no messages and no new notification.

"I half expected that…" he muttered, letting out a deep sigh and waving away the holographic screen from his line of sight.

He then let his head fall back against the couch and closed his eyes, hoping to let the silence draw him into some semblance of sleep.

Just as he was about to doze off, his phone buzzed violently in his pocket. He let out a groan of frustration as he dug for the device in his pocket.

An unfamiliar number flashed across the scren. He considered ignoring it but eventually picked the call, lifting the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he said, his voice slightly reserved.

"Max! My man!" the voice on the other end was loud, causing him to move the phone a couple inches away from his ear. "Its Zack!"

Maximus blinked, sitting up and started undoing his tie with his free hand. "Zaccheus? How did you get my number?"

"Oi don't be mad. Danny gave it to me," Zack replied, his tone casual as if sharing someones personal contact was no big deal.

Maximus rubbed a dry hand agianst his tightly plaited braids and then against his neck, "Alright. So, whats up?"

"Well I wanted to talk to you since the party. You know, I didn't get the chance to properly chat with you bback then. You seemed busy with danny, and I didn't want to interrupt."

"HUH?!" Maximus scoffed. "You seemed busy with them naked ladies strapped all over you like a second skin"

"Ah! About that… if wanted one you could have said so, Vanessa the one with the fat ass, she said you was cute…" Zack rambled.

"Oi idiot! Get to the point!"

"Okay okay, I wanted to discuss something revolutionary with you. But not over the phone, drop by the club tomorrow? It'll be quieter during the day, and we can have a proper conversation…"

Maximus hesitated. He wasn't particularly in the mood to socialize, but Zack did say it was for something important.

"I see… sure, what time?"

"Around noon works just fine…"

"Alrighy, ill be there. And no half naked women with fat asses please…"