AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m on my way,” I said.
I hung up and jumped in the shower. Five minutes later, I was dressed and in my car. I sped through town, not bothering to slow down until I pulled into the office parking lot. Marcy’s car was already in her usual spot, and two other, unfamiliar vehicles were parked on either side of her.
I groaned and shoved open my car door. This was the last thing I needed today. I barely slept the night before. Instead, I tossed and turned for hours. I tried everything to get Julie out of my head, but the hurt look on her face was forever burned into my memory. Even in the morning light, I couldn’t shake the memory free from my mind.
“Mr. Smart,” Marcy said when I walked through the door. She visibly relaxed when she saw me. “They’re in the conference room waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Marcy.”
I squeezed her shoulder as I hurried past. Outside the conference room, I paused with my hand on the doorknob. Whatever was going on in my personal life, I had to push that aside. This business, my business, was too important to let it fall apart.
With a deep breath, I turned the knob and slowly stepped inside. I smiled at the Richardsons and quickly closed the door behind me.
“About time you showed up,” Jim Richardson said. “Where the hell have you been, Smart?”
“Well, it is Saturday morning,” I said.
“I’m not fucking around right now,” Jim said. “Not today, Michael.”
“Just slow down for a second,” I said. I walked over to sit down while Jim glared at me. His two sons, Trey and Turner, kept their eyes locked on their father. The tension in the room was already unbearable, and we hadn’t even begun talking yet.
“I don’t want to slow down,” Jim said. “I want you to fix your mistake.”
“What mistake is that?” I asked patiently.
I leaned back and intertwined my fingers over my chest. This was the position I always took in important meetings. It allowed me to appear relaxed and calm, while still remaining strong and confident.
“You don’t even know?” Trey demanded. “What the hell is going on around here, Michael?”
“We’ve been sending complaints to your office for over a week,” Turner said. He was calmer than either his father or his brother and, still, his anger was evident.
“I’ve received a few emails,” I said with a nod. “And I responded.”
“Not good enough,” Jim said. “We asked for a whole new set of tools four days ago, and still, we’ve gotten nothing.”
“You know it doesn’t work that way,” I said. “I have to send a technician out to examine the tools before they can be replaced.”
“We don’t have time for that!” Jim spat. “We’ve already spent a week waiting around for you to get off your ass!”
I nodded and let Jim lay into me. He screamed and yelled, jumped to his feet and paced around the room. The whole time, his sons continued to glare in my direction. I did my best to listen to every word he said, but I let most of it slide past my ears. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about his complaints. Not now. Not with everything else I had going on.
“Are you even listening to me?” Jim screamed. He’d finally stopped pacing, but I didn’t know when. He was standing at the opposite end of the conference table, glaring at me.
“Of course, I’m listening,” I said. I sat up straighter. “But screaming isn’t going to resolve the problem, Jim.”
“Well, you can’t be trusted to resolve it!” Jim said. “That much is clear.”
“Just let me send my technician out,” I said calmly. “He can assess the situation and then we can decide what to do from there.”
Jim’s eyes flashed. I’d never seen him so enraged. Both Trey and Turner shook their heads in disgust and turned away from me. It was too late, but I suddenly realized I’d missed something important.
“I just told you,” Jim said. His voice was low. “I already had a technician assess the fucking tools, Michael. They are all shot. Not a single one works. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I got on a goddamn plane this morning!”
I didn’t know what to say. “I didn’t realize—”
“I just fucking told you!” Jim screamed.
I flinched, and that was it. The rest of the meeting was shot to hell. Jim raged at me while I tried desperately to rectify the situation. I begged, pleading with Jim to give me one last chance to make things right.
