“Come in!” Jason called without a care in the world, not lifting his eyes from my notes. As if he hadn’t just fucked me over his desk.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting?” I didn’t have to turn around to know it was Monica.
“No, no. Come in. Elena and I were just reviewing some notes.”
Monica sauntered in and took a seat in the chair beside me. “Oh, hi, Elena. I didn’t see you there.” She offered a fake smile, twirling a lock of hair as she turned to Jason.
I ignored her and remained focused on him, not giving her the reaction she so desperately craved. It had to suck to go through life needing conflict as a source of entertainment.
“What can I help you with?” he asked, a pen pressed to a random line of my notes.
“I wanted to talk to you alone about some things. I can speak more freely when Mr. Radwell isn’t around.”
“I’m sorry, Monica. I’m busy and have another call shortly. Perhaps we can talk with someone from HR about whatever issues you’re having?”
“But you’re talking to her,” she shot back, crossing her arms.
“Because we just got done a national meeting. I have to review these with Elena for completeness.”
“That takes two seconds. My issue takes two seconds too.” Her nose tilted high, and she crossed her legs for an added bit of dramatics, looking more like a child than a grown woman.
“Then, let’s hear it.”
“I want to talk to my manager,” she retorted, eyes on me. “Alone.”
“I’m sorry, but Marty isn’t here. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” He wasn’t giving an inch.
“You can’t be serious right now!” she snapped, flying to her feet. “You can sit with her and read a stupid notepad, but you can’t hear me out!?”
“Please leave my office,” he said calmly, not flinching.
“This is so unfair!” she hissed, storming to the door.
“We’ll set a time to sit with Marty tomorrow to discuss it, Monica.”
“That isn’t what I want!”
“But he’s your boss, so that’s what you’ll get.”
With that, she stormed off, slamming the door behind her.
“You’re not in town tomorrow...” I trailed, knowing his schedule better than I’d like to admit. He had a customer meet in Albany.
He shrugged. “Marty made that monster. He can deal with it.”
Jason
Please join us for the annual Great Lakes Military Electronics Exhibition in Buffalo, NY.
Another invite rolled in, the third I received since noon. My schedule was filling up fast, visits across the region keeping me on the move. Most were day trips, though a few overnight stays were on the horizon.
Business was booming, my exhausted contact list paying off in the form of new customers and, best of all, orders. If the figures were right, I’d exceed Corporate’s goal for the branch come January.
It highlighted my need to hold interviews for an assistant when I went to Corporate, but none of the applicants looked promising. There was a lot of intern material in the stack, but no one that seemed capable of handling my problems.
“How’s New York treating you, brother?”
I adjusted the volume on my cell, Luke’s booming voice deafening, especially with the hot pain behind my ear, the daily headache arriving on schedule. He worked in the shop all day, so he still roared like he was talking over tools despite being tucked away in his office.
“Same shit, different day,” I muttered, clicking send on an email agreeing to another customer appointment. Balancing my schedule was getting tedious. “Too much work and not enough play.”
I was having plenty of playtime with someone, but not as much as I craved.
“Nice to have a taste of the Northeast again, eh?” Luke chuckled.
Oh yeah, I was liking my taste of the Northeast.
I held back a laugh as I remembered Elena riding me the night before, her head tossed back in ecstasy as she made magic with each roll of her hips.
“Something like that.”
“How’s Ithaca?”
The city was beautiful, but nothing like our hometown of Briar, a quiet coastal town that was the backdrop of every made-for-TV flick where arguments ended with a cheap bouquet from the corner store. Seriously. Film crews flocked the place once fall hit along with tourists who wanted a taste of the quaint vibes most native youths longed to flee.
Ethan and I had long since left, but Luke holed up in Nan’s old bungalow, converting the waterfront property into his own whorehouse or bachelor pad, depending how your morals stretched. He was hellbent on rebuilding the Barrett name in the town, flipping off anyone who judged him. So far, he was pretty damn successful, opening an automotive shop that blew chain places out of the water and was closing in on opening a brewery.
“It’s a great place for day trips on the weekend. There are tons of trails down here.”
Elena and I traveled out of town on the weekends, visiting everywhere from the falls at Letchworth to Overlook Mountain three hours east of the city. We steered clear of town, heading far enough out to avoid detection.
“And you can walk waterside without getting eaten by a goddamn alligator!” he laughed.
I grinned. “That too, and I don’t get swamp ass from walking to my car.”
Even during the summer, I barely broke a sweat, used to the sticky humidity of Florida. Ithaca felt like spring on its hottest days. Now that fall was kicking in, I was happy as a pig in shit.
“Did you list the house yet?” he asked.
My guts twisted at its mentioning. “I contacted an agent last week. He already has four buyers interested.”
I loved that fucking house, but it was time. I was glad I didn’t have to clear it out, already moving most of my belongings into storage before I left. Everything else was offered with the place, other than the Porsche that I needed to sell when I flew back for closing.
“Find somewhere to park your dick yet?”
Always the blunt one, Luke’s question was a right hook to
