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I raise my eyebrows, “Who?”
Leah softly chuckles. “Mr. Whitmore. You get used to it. I don’t think he realizes he comes off kinda grumpy.”
“I didn’t even notice.”
I sit for a second as everyone else stands. Apparently, people think the CEO is grumpy. I on the other hand think he’s charming but no one needs to know that.
Chapter two
Jared
Some days as I walk through this building, I am still surprised that all the hard work and planning paid off. It’s been over ten years now, but each day I come to my office I am reminded that this company would not have gotten off the ground without the dedication and hard work of its employees. Teamwork is what I like best about business.
I enter my office suite and say hello to Diane. Speaking of teamwork, Diane might be the single most dedicated, loyal employee I know. I’d be stranded without her. She also likes to feed me things and at least a few times a month she’ll look at me and say,“you look thin, you need to eat.”She’s not wrong. There are long days and nights being the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company. Food is never a priority, but when Diane brings in anything, I immediately remember how much I enjoy home-cooked food.
I walk down the short hallway to my office and see Shane looking out the window. He turns to me and says, “Hey. How’d that meeting go?”
“Good I think. David has a talented team and I know they’ll get it done. How are you feeling about it with the Operations team?”
“Great. We had a meeting yesterday and everyone is on board and excited about the project. I just hope finance can make the numbers work.”
I watch as Shane puts his hands in his pockets. Being old college roommates and having worked together since we started this company, I know his mannerisms well. I watch as he starts to chew on his bottom lip rocking back and forth on his heels. This is my cue. “What are you concerned about?”
“Concerned? I’m not concerned. I just want everything to run smoothly. This is a big project with a lot of complexity.”
I nod as I sit on the top of my desk. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but being the Chief Operational Officer there’s a lot of this is riding on you.”
Shane guffaws. “No kidding Jared. I am aware. We’ll get it done.”
Shane turns to me and crosses his arms. “So, what’s going on elsewhere? We haven’t caught up in a bit.”
I let out a sigh as I think about his question. My life is the same each day. I get up. I workout. I come to the office. I leave the office either picking up take out or putting in a frozen dinner when I get home. I then work some more and then try to sleep for a few hours. Rinse. Repeat. This has been my life since starting Whitmore Tech and I don’t know any other way to exist.
“Nothing really. Work is my life with the occasional dinner with Rachel and my parents.”
“How is Rachel doing with baby? I can’t believe she has three kids.”
My younger sister is an amazing woman. She teaches kids all day long and comes home to three little ones all under the age of seven with nine-month-old Danielle rounding out the crew. I admire her and her husband. Jeff owns his own construction business and builds custom homes. They just make it all work somehow. They always seem happy and fulfilled. Between her life and how we were raised by our own parents, I definitely have the picture of family perfection to look at if I ever need tips. Right now though, I can’t imagine myself as a dad or even a husband at this point and it makes me a little uncomfortable to admit it.
“She’s good. Hoping to get together with her soon. How are things with you?”
Shane sits in the chair across from my desk and shrugs. “I can’t complain. Seeing a new girl this weekend. She seems interesting.”
I nod as I wonder about the last girl he dated. Stephanie? No. Sandra? No. I can never keep track of Shane’s dating life. If anyone were to be called a serial dater it would be Shane. He’s been the same since college. Every week he showed up with another girl latched on to his arm. I wouldn’t consider Shane a player though, he never led girls on and from what I know he never dated more than one at a time. He’s just quick to date and assess if there’s a connection worth pursuing. Frankly, his tactic isn’t half bad, but I do wonder what his standards are at this point having dated more women than any other man I know.
Suddenly the last girl’s name comes to me. “Wait. What happened with Stacey?”
“Oh, Stacey was great, but we just didn’t click. There was no spark.”
“Sorry to hear. Well maybe this new girl will turn out to be something great.”
“I hope so. Speaking of dating, you should get out there. You haven’t dated in what? Two years? Three? The last girl I remember you even talking about was Chrissie and that was like an eternity ago.”
I clench my jaw. Shane is almost correct. I haven’t dated anyone in four years. Chrissie and I only lasted eight months because I was in another relationship. With my job. I look at Shane and shake my head. “Why should I take advice from you anyway? You have dated more women in the last six months than I have in the last six years.”
“You’re probably right, but at least I have a better chance of finding ‘the one’ because I’m actually out there rolling the dice.”
I look down at the carpet. I don’t even know if I want to find ‘the one’ at this point in my life. I should want that, but those months with Chrissie were stressful. I know I played a huge role (okay it was more like all my fault) in our break-up, and I just don’t know if I even have the capacity to be in a relationship. Sometimes I think there are people that are not meant to be with someone, and I might be one of them. I close my eyes briefly, only to be hit with a memory. One night after working late at the office I met Chrissie for a drink. When I walked up to her sitting at the bar, she had given me a look of pure disgust. When I asked her what was wrong, she shook her head then proceeded to tell me I was over thirty minutes late (which was true) and I didn’t call her to tell her I’d be late (which was also true) and me scrolling through my phone as I walked in the door and continued to scroll as I walked up to her was rude (that was fair). Her words to me as she left still ring in my head.“Jared, you’re un-dateable. You have no idea how to be with someone.”
