a place with city views within walking distance of the trendy clubs and bars and restaurants. I imagined the late nights full of food and drinks and live music. I imagined returning to my swanky pad at three A.M. with a crowd of people where I would entertain them on my balcony with the city lights and the latest cocktail they’d all heard about. It was all within reach. It was all accessible. It was mine. I had worked for it, and I would take it.
I went up Olympic and approached the Century City Mall from the south. I would meet Jendrek for drinks at the same place as before, but first I would kill some time and treat myself to something. I wandered around the open air shops until I found it. I knew what I’d come for, another distraction, another accoutrement of my new life.
I’d seen the jewelry store with the fancy watches before. I spent a half hour picking it out.
“Among connoisseurs, the Omega is one of the most prized makes,” the thin, balding man with the affected English accent went on. He peered at it over the top of his glasses as though he’d never seen it before, as though he did not dust it and polish it everyday.
I held it. It was solid, heavy, ornamental, yet practical. It was the kind of thing only truly successful people could afford to own. It was a watch that communicated to the world not only the time, but the fact that I, Oliver Olson, had made it, had arrived, had succeeded in life where others had failed.
“If you ask me,” he began, as if I weren’t really asking, “I think jumping into a Rolex is a sign that the buyer really doesn’t understand fine watches at all. The Rolex is all flash, it’s style over substance.” He laughed heartily, “I suppose that makes it perfect for this town. But really, the Omega is understated. It makes a scene without making a scene. If you know what I mean.”
I didn’t, but his delivery was good and it was undeniably a fantastic watch — all silver, even the face. It gleamed in the special light of the jewelry store. I had read that the most important thing a young professional man could spend money on was a fine watch. Most people can’t tell the difference between a five hundred dollar suit and a two thousand dollar suit, but a fine watch is immediately recognizable. I figured it would be a good thing to have, and now that I was staring at a counter full of them, I knew the article had been right.
Four thousand dollars later, I walked out of the shop with the new Swiss chronometer strapped to my wrist. I tossed my old watch in a trash can and walked along, checking the time much more often than before.
Jendrek whistled long and slow when I took the stool beside him. “Nice watch. You look like a plaintiff’s lawyer with that thing on.”
I just grinned, feeling slightly embarrassed, but figuring I’d have to get used to people noticing it — and wasn’t that why I’d bought it in the first place? “Ah, well, I figured it was the kind of thing that will last forever.”
“It’s probably worth more than you and me put together.” Jendrek was halfway through a beer already. “So I saw your guys all mixed up in that Steele case. Pretty interesting stuff.” He gave me a knowing look and winked. “Don’t suppose that had anything to do with what we talked about last time?”
I could feel my cheeks flush. I was proud of my work and excited about being involved in something everyone was talking about. I also figured it was acceptable now to talk about the case. And I wanted to, badly, and Jendrek could see it. I went through every detail, embellishing my own role in the strategy decisions, and then finished with my acceptance of the job offer.
“Ha, ha! That explains the watch.” Jendrek ordered another round and went on. “Well, that’s great. You’ll do great there. They need some people like you around there. A blue collar type to stir it up a bit.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. They’re actually a good group of people.”
Jendrek gave me the look of someone who knew a lot more than the guy he was talking to and knew when to keep it to himself. “So, I hear he’s going to run again. He’s