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Prologue

Marshall

It could be said that I lead a double life Two faces, one man Two sides to a coin

On the one side, there’s the me most of the world knows and sees Father, entrepreneur, provider Hedge fund er Retired Navy Lieutenant Divorcé They see a man ealth—not the flaram-catered lifestyle of yachts and women, but real, sizable wealth

They see a et you favorable returns on your investe funds in all of New York City They see a hter to school, when she lets hi to keep in the sae

He lives in the very moneyed Greenwich, Connecticut, thirty-five miles north of Manhattan He sits on the board of directors of three charities, two y startups

And then, there’s the other side of me I won’t say it’s my “dark” side, because that sounds cliché But ers for the primal—for the illicit For the rush of the forbidden It’s a side of e, too Hence the luxury condo I keep on Central Park West Hence the e, a very exclusive, very secret, very fucking expensive underground club for men like me

The rest of the world knows nothing about this darker side of hter Not my employees Not the other board members No one None of the in the world I live in, with the sort of billion-dollar decisions hanging above my head, needs to disappear into the shadows sometimes That’s where The Society comes in

There, I can blend as faceless no-one Masks are optional, but you can be da at The Society Wos, drink, blood-sport Whatever you crave, it can be round fights they host, and drink

What can I say, I have a taste for ludicrously expensive bourbon

The drugs I want nothing to do with And as for women? Well, I’ve watched, when there are shows But that’s it I’od, in the shape of a college guy, and single—divorced, actually, for the last seventeen years And yet, I don’t really chase that There are wo’s ever stuck And of course, there are women for, well, more casual, short-term relationships at The Society, but it’s never interested me

…That is, until a week ago A week ago, when I broke