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It wasn’t long until the party later that night, Lee of course had promised Madi that he’d be there as her backup but that wasn’t the only reason for his attendance; he had been out of the game too long and he needed to get back into it. There was always a lot of money to make at parties like this. Lot of rich kids with access to their parents credit cards and accounts. Plus there was the factor of debts owed and in that regard that’s why he was taking Hyde with him tonight. Cameron Hyde was a necessary evil. Lee, for all intents and purposes did not see himself as a bad person and the messy part of his chosen career was not really to his taste: enter Hyde. Cameron was not a Beverly Hills kid. He was a Dogtown burnout who loved nothing more than causing mayhem. He was a mad dog on a leash ready to be set off on anyone who couldn’t pay up. An agent of chaos, born of fire and made from piss and vinegar. He would be here soon, the hustler knew he needed to be prepared.
Carefully, Lee laid out his outfit for the evening on the bed. It was a simple ensemble, nothing too fancy needed for a boat party. Some dark slack, dress shirt and a sweater vest. He turned and looked at himself in the mirror, he was still in great shape even having not played football in over a year. He had kept his rigorous exercise routine even though his doctors told him to cut it down. Lined up on the table next to his bag of supplies was a line of pill bottles that were not for public consumption, they were for Lee only. They were all he managed to salvage from his New York adventure.
Dropping to the ground, McCarthy began doing some press-ups. Working up a sweat was always a good way to get pumped for a party. As the heavy synth bass from the last Bernard Zephyr track blared from the wall mounted speakers, Lee has become so engrossed in his workout that he didn’t hear the door to his room open. ”Could you be any more American Psycho?” an almost impossibly disinterested voice said. Lee raises his head from the floor and looked up at the suicide blonde standing before him. Decked out in leather hot pants, biker boots and a Motörhead tank top, she was five feet of heavy metal fury, she was the resident rock n roll queen of Beverly Hills High and she was one of Lee’s favourite customers. ”Well well, Gwen Morgan. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Sitting on the edge of the bed, Gwen crossed her legs and leaning back on her palms, she admired the physical specimen before her for a moment, breathing it in before continuing. ”Well Mr Bateman, I’ve got deadlines to make and no time to make em, I’ve got three videos to put out before Sunday and then there’s this boat thing tonight, gotta keep my mood up. What have you got for me?”
Lee jumped up to his feet and scanned her heavily made up features. Aces was one of those girls who just couldn’t look bad if she tried and she was well aware of that fact. ”You know, I made my open door policy with something else in mind but you all seem just to use it for narcotics. Such a shame. Anyway…” Lee jumped to his feet and began to rummage around in his goody bag for Ace’s “prescription”. Gwen Morgan was a class act. Her daddy was Mitch Morgan, one of the four members of Bernard Zephyr turned record label owner, turned dead genius musician. He O’Ded on sleeping medication before she was born yet that hasn’t stopped Gwen from indulging in the same vice. You sometimes hear people described as pistols, Gwen was not a pistol; she was a fucking shotgun. She was unapologetically loud, strong and sexy. Her YouTube show, Ace’s Asylum was popular at BHH and slowly gaining traction elsewhere. ”Here’s some Adderall for work and Modafinil for play. Don’t mix them, you won’t be able to shut off but just in case, for free I’ll throw in these sleepers. They’ll turn you off but the rest is on you. You gotta sleep sometime” Lee threw over the pill bottles and Gwen took a wad of cash from her visible red bra and handed it over to him as she jumped to her feet. ”Its a shame you’re a drug dealer, Bateman. Beneath the abs and the snarm I think you might just care about people after all” Gwen quickly snapped up all her new meds and placed them in her handbag. She peered out of the window and smiled ”Hey Jekyll, Hyde’s here. You might want to put on some pants” She turned and kissed his cheek before moving towards the door. ”If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also. Remember that, handsome. See you at the party” Gwen breezed out of the door like a cold wind after a mosh pit leaving Lee standing there alone once again.
A few minutes later, the Beverly Hills Hustler emerged from his home to find Hyde waiting for him in his car. ”What’s up good brother? Glad to see you back in the land of the living. We gonna make some money tonight?” Cameron grinned a toothy grin as he leaned out of the window to speak to his friend. ”We’re gonna try but tonight isn’t about that, it’s about making up for lost time. New York was hell, I’m ready for a night in heaven” As Lee opened the trunk of the car to place the bag of drugs, he noticed the bloodied lead pipe that had become Cameron’s best friend. The thought of it being used gave him a horrible cold feeling in his gut. In that moment he reminded himself why he did what he did. Greed was good. He needed the money. Hyde was a necessary evil. He climbed into the passenger side of the car as Hyde turned and grinned again.
”It’s a thin line between heaven and hell, brother. Trust me”