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have to deal with that other memory. 
    The one filled with laughter that erupted in a giggle he couldn’t forget.  The memory with the sun-gilded golden hair and startling turquoise eyes.  The remembrance of adorable bowtie lips under a perfect little nose and the way it made him feel when this memory of perfection would absentmindedly run her finger along her jawline from ear to chin when she was engaged in deep thought. As it made him feel right now, almost nine years later.
    Expressing a deep sigh , Nicholas Barrett forced his mind away from those memories and turned unseeing eyes on the city scene rushing by as his car moved through the always-crowded streets.
    Maybe the edginess he was battling was due to his locale , he mused. Perhaps all this pointless reflection and restless distraction was a result of having spent too much time in the city.  And not just this city. All cities, he reckoned, since his life was a never-ending itinerary of jet-propelled travel whether here in the States or around the globe, as was the case today. This particular car ride would eventually end at the private hangar Barrett Holdings kept for the company plane, which this evening would be taking him on another long-distance series of business obligations.
    “ Where am I off to this time?” Nick queried out loud to the empty space around him.
    Oh yeah, right.  This was the trip to Hong Kong to tour a string of hotels that Barrett was contemplating buying.  Three weeks in yet another bustling, noisy, crowded city.  Three weeks of monochrome days, cocktail -party evenings, and unceasing socializing at night.  His Chinese hosts were eager to please him, which he knew meant an endless agenda and very little time to be off the radar.
    He needed some down time after this trip.  Needed to get away from the never-ending business obligations that were swallowing his life whole. Since he couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken any personal time for himself, much less even so much as had the thought, Nick knew he couldn’t just stand up and say he needed a break without the financial times speculating on his actions and affecting Barrett business.
    God, the stranglehold of his birthright had tightened around him so much lately, it was no wonder he was out of sorts.  Digital information and technology moving around the planet in real time at the speed of light had changed the way business was done and introduced the unwanted attention and constant intrusion of the media and some rude-as-shit bloggers who liked nothing better than to sit around and ruminate on what was going on in his mind.
    No, to get away for some desperately needed space , he had to do something benign that wouldn’t attract a lot of attention, wouldn’t make it seem like he was heading for an early midlife crisis. Remembering that his sister Jules was throwing what would no doubt be an over-the-top, Southern California-style birthday party for his favorite and only nephew, Dom, in a few weeks instantly gave him pause.
    Yes, that’s what he’d do.  After the Hong Kong trip he’d indulge in some family time —head off to the left coast, hang with Jules, who conveniently was married to his oldest and best friend, Ned Stewart, spend some quality time with Dom. Just what the doctor ordered. Simple solution.
    His mother , he knew, would miss Dom’s party because she was off cruising the Mediterranean with her sister and a few of their lady friends, but if he timed things right, she will have returned home by the time he left California making it possible to head home to Connecticut for an overdue visit before he’d be forced to get back to the never ending business of being Nicholas Temple Barrett, business tycoon.
    Well , he certainly felt better now that was settled, Nick thought to himself, quite satisfied that he’d found a way to dampen some of his edginess with a plan to step back for a bit.  Maybe Hong Kong wouldn’t be all that bad if at the end of it