Lunchtime Chronicles: Fire Roasted

by L. Loren

  He reaches down and takes my hand in his. “Roman.”

  “Like the soldier.” I grin, but he doesn’t laugh.

  His hand tightens on mine, those eyes crinkle at the corners revealing his tailored appearance belies the dark side of life he’s seen. I don’t ask for more, and he doesn’t offer as he leads me deeper into the club’s shadowy interior. What I understand about Roman without a last name is, he could rob the church’s collection plate with a straight face because he just stole my panties with one touch.

  Excerpt from Bohemian Outlaw

  © 2021 L. Loren

  One

  Josey

  Sleep overtook Josey as soon as she placed her head on her Goose Down Euro pillow. The exhaustion of covering for her useless boss and doing her own job at the same time, taking its toll. Her hard day rolled off her shoulders as she drifted into a vivid dream of her sitting atop a beautiful brown and white mare out on the wide-open range. She could feel the warm Colorado wind caressing her face as the horse’s wild mane blew from side to side.

  The scent of sweet honeysuckle tingled her nose as Josey’s eyes spied the smiling face of her beloved grandfather. Josiah Jones was a godlike vision as he stood in the field with tall grass surrounding him, putting her in mind of a black Jesus. The setting sun provided an ethereal glow that caused his Stetson to appear as a halo above his head. His graying beard and moustache framed the broad, welcoming smile he reserved for his Lady Bug. Whenever her favorite man gazed up at her she felt loved and safe. He was larger than life in his custom-made boots and jeans. The wind caught the tail of the brown duster Josiah Jones was wearing, causing it to billow up behind him.

  “There’s my pretty girl. I miss your smiling face.”

  “Hey Pawpaw! I miss you too.” She smiled as the rumble of his deep baritone voice filtered through the air.

  “Lady Bug, why are you still working in that call center? You’re wasting your life in that place. I have given you everything you need to live your dream. All you need to do is open your eyes!”

  His rough expression was one that the elder Jones only used when teaching life lessons to his beloved granddaughter. Before she could respond to his accusation, the sharp sound of her alarm caused her to leave her grandfather behind once again. She would much prefer to stay asleep and see his handsome face, but it was time to get up and get ready for her day. After slamming her hand on the phone to snooze the offending sound, Josey closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to fall back asleep so she could chat with her Pawpaw.

  “Just a few more minutes,” she whined out loud to no one in particular.

  Since he passed away three years ago, Josiah visited her in her dreams. It was always with the same message, but this dream was much more intense and caused her to pay more attention. When the second round of alarms went off, she popped her eyes open and climbed out of bed. It was time to start her mundane cycle of work all over again. Josey picked up her phone, remove it from the charging station and turned off the alarm, for good this time. Scrolling through her music, she settled on the Gretchen Wilson playlist and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

  After her regular grooming routine, she twisted her shoulder length tresses into a demure bun at the back of her head. Josey dressed in a modest business suit that made her itch. She wanted nothing more than to throw on her favorite pair of worn jeans, a tank top, and her cowboy hat, but that did not fall within the corporate dress code. As she twisted her feet into the classic heels that were HR approved, she wished she was sliding into her cowboy boots getting ready to climb on the back of her trusty steed and riding the range for the day. Instead, she clomped to her truck in shoes that pinched her toes, fired up her metal horse and sat in stifling traffic for thirty minutes while the exhaust fumes from surrounding vehicles polluted the air. At least she had the country twang of Gretchen singing about being a redneck woman to keep her company.

  A southern girl at heart, it was her biggest wish to be the owner and operator of her very own ranch. However, until she grew the balls to tell her father what she wanted out of life, she was stuck working at his company, doing his bidding and hating every second of it. It was a great job for someone with aspirations to work in finance, but that was the furthest thing from her heart. Entering the glass doors of Johnson Enterprises stole a little bit of her soul each day. Josey knew she needed to get out of there, but she couldn’t bear to see the disappointment on her father’s face.

  “Josey, you need to get your head out of the clouds and stop dreaming of being a cowboy! Whoever heard of a black cowboy other than your mother’s father? And a girl to boot. It just isn’t practical.”

  Every time she worked up the courage to enact her seven-year plan, she heard the words of her father tamping her dream down to the ground. She wanted so badly to tell him about the communities of black people working as ranchers across the country. It was a foolish notion that there were no black cowboys, when she saw them all the time online. They were plentiful. You just had to know where to look. It disheartened her that black people were placed in a box and were expected to choose from a handful of careers. Ranching was a good living. It was hard work, but that only fueled the soul.

  The only thing that kept her going each day, since she was unable to be outside, was the anticipation of all the shenanigans she and her work bestie, could get into daily. Mel was her ride or die buddy. The one person at her job who always had her back and shared in the disdain for the job Josey’s father forced upon her. Being trapped in an office all day and sometimes late into the evening was like a wild horse being harnessed and tamed. It was just wrong. As she caught the elevator to the fourth floor, she took a deep breath and smiled at the older lady who stared at her like she had food on her face. Josey knew this couldn’t be the reason because she hadn’t had her breakfast yet. She always reserved that for after she clocked in.

  “Good morning, Miss Marie. How are you today?”

  “Don’t call me Miss.” The older woman growled as if she had called her a bitch.

  “I apologize. No harm meant. It is a southern thing. We add Miss in front of your name to show respect.”

  “Well don’t! I find it very offensive. I am not from the south.”

  Apparently. “No problem. I will do my best not to call you Miss in the future.”

  The older woman rolled her eyes at Josey and stomped off the elevator as the doors opened. She mumbled her way down the hall ranting about rude southerners calling her Miss.

  “What’s her problem today? She literally just walked through the door.”

  Melanie approached Josey with a mug of steaming coffee in her hand and a scowl on her face.

  “Girl, I made the mistake of saying good morning and calling her Miss.”

  “How rude of you. I can’t believe you would greet someone as you make your way into work. How dare you?”

  They laughed at their ornery co-worker who was always complaining about something and made their way to their respective desks. Even though the ladies were supervisors, they were expected to sit in the call center area with their teams. The poor working environment was the catalyst for them bonding. Josey and Melanie kept each other sane in the house of horrors that was Johnson Enterprises.

  As Josey logged into her email, an alert popped up to remind her of a staff meeting that her boss must attend. Thankfully, her presence wasn’t required. However, she would need to run several reports and compile a synopsis of the sales from the previous day. It meant lots of extra work for her, but it would also give her at least a good hour without her boss, Drew, hovering over her and making demands.

  “Mel, did you see that the execs are meeting today? You know what that means.”

  “Yes, fruit platters!”

  “That’s right. I ordered the catering myself and I know for sure they will have wraps, chips and a big ass fruit tray. Those greedy bastards will devour the wraps, but nobody ever touches the fruit. As soon as they leave that o
ffice, we have to move so we can get first dibs.”

  “I know, right? The rest of these vultures around here will be circling the conference room just waiting. It is always a race to see who can get to the food first.”

  “Oh, I forgot to mention, today is Cindy’s birthday, so they are having cake too.”

  “What kind?”

  “Does it matter? It’s cake.”

  Both ladies laughed, realizing that they would always be first in line to snag the meeting leftovers. It was their favorite pastime at work. Over the years it had become a game to see who could get the food first. Most times it wasn’t even about the food. It was all about the competition and bragging rights. Before going back to work, she decided to check out what her cyber friends were up to on her social media app. An ad popped up on her screen and she was unable to look away. It was a rancher riding a horse looking like he was the happiest man on earth. At the end it said something about living your dream. Josey couldn’t remember what the ad was selling. All she saw was her dreams come to life.

  A few hours later Josey’s ears perked up as the unmistakable sound of the conference room door opening grabbed her attention. She was just about to snag Melanie so they could pillage the leftovers when she saw her friend in distress. Her face was struck with a shocked look on it, while her mocha skin was turning paler by the second. Her breathing was labored, and she looked like she was about to pass out. Mel flailed her arm toward her friend as she tried desperately to draw a breath. Josey rushed over and caught her before her body hit the floor. Panic took hold in Josey’s soul. Her friend was in crisis. She cradled Mel as she screamed her head off for help.

  “Someone call 9-1-1! Please help her.”

  Chaos ensued as co-workers rushed around trying to help. Someone could be heard talking to emergency services, unsure of what to tell them. All they knew is she was having trouble breathing. Everyone assumed it was a heart attack. One of the safety team members came running with a defibrillator but was confused when he found a pulse. No one knew how to help her, and Josey was distraught.

  “Talk to her, Josey. Keep her alert,” the lady on the line with 9-1-1 stated.

  “Mel, stay with me girl. I know you’re scared, but you’re going to be alright. Just think about the fun we are going to have next weekend when we go on our trip to the mountains. We’ve been planning that for weeks. I know you want to meet your dream man when we get there. He’s going to be a big strapping lumberjack type of man who loves wearing flannel. You can’t meet him if you’re in the hospital. I need you to hang in there.”

  The paramedics could be heard in the distance as Mel struggled to speak to Josey. She raised her head with a distant look in her eyes. Josey leaned over to get close enough to hear what her friend was trying to tell her.

  “Josey, stop wasting your talent in this place. Don’t end up like me. Go live your dream.”

  With that, Mel fell unconscious just as the EMTs arrived at her side. They moved a hysterical Josey out of the way as they worked on Mel. The first responders were able to find a weak pulse, stabilizing her enough to get her into the ambulance. Josey’s whole world felt like it was tilting on its axis as she watched her friend be carted off fighting for her life. Mel was relatively healthy and was way too young for this to be happening. Whatever it was that was going on in her body it was serious. No way she was having a heart attack.

  The hustle and bustle of the call center faded as Josey stood there not knowing what to do. Her friend had stopped breathing, and the paramedics had to bring her back to life. Now it seemed like nobody cared. Everyone simply went back to work as if nothing had been the matter just a moment ago. When she looked up and saw that evil woman Miss Marie eating a big slice of cake, glaring at her as if she won a contest, it was her undoing.

  Josey collapsed at her desk with her head in her hands and started crying. Her Pawpaw had warned her in her dreams, the commercial on her social media apps had reminded her, and now Mel drove it home. She was definitely wasting her life in this place of misfits. As she sat there shocked at the utter disregard for human life, her boss strolled up behind her and put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.

  “Josey, I need the sales reports on my desk in ten minutes!”

  She felt like her head was going to explode. It was as if she was the only person in the entire place who witnessed Mel’s tragedy. They were acting as if Josey should simply shake it off and get back to work. She refused to take the bullshit anymore.

  “I quit!” she yelled in Drew’s face, before grabbing her and Mel’s stuff and running to the elevator.

  About the Author

  L. Loren holds a Business Management Degree from the University of Mount Olive. As a former call center supervisor, her desire to write lay dormant for years, until she found the courage to live her dream. She is currently based in Birmingham, AL with her loving and supportive husband.

  L. Loren created her own brand of erotic romance that she dubbed LoveRotica - Love stories with an edge of sexy. Her catalog of sexy stories is self-published and available on Amazon.

  Her stories and poems have been featured in magazines, and several anthologies. L. is also the curator of the Love is Color Anthology, available for free on Smashwords.

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  Also by L. Loren

  The WanderLynn Experience Series:

  The Layover

  Island Adventures

  Destination Home

  The Triple Threat Series:

  Egyptian Nights

  Model Behavior: Kenya’s Tale (Coming 2022)

  Naughty Nairobi (Coming 2022)

  Walk of Fame Series:

  Hall Pass

  Wolffy Maxx (Coming 2022)

  Predators MC Series:

  Predators MC (Available exclusively to newsletter subscribers)

  Subscribe here: https://llorenwriter.wordpress.com/joinmygroup/

  The Taming of LaRue

  Obsession

  Lady Guardians Serial:

  Lady Guardians: The Wrong Side of Right

  Once Upon A Villain Series:

  Season 1

  Untangled

  SinFul! - ‘Tis The Season for Villains

  Season 2

  Blind Spot

  The Whiskey Collection:

  Tennessee’s Whiskey

  Whiskey Sour

  Top Shelf (Coming 2022)

  A Very Alpha Christmas:

  Mr. Grinch’s Secret Love

  The Lunchtime Chronicles Series:

  Season 2:

  Bottoms Up

  Fresh Meat

  Season 3:

  Honey Dripper

  Southern Comfort

  Season 4:

  Fire Roasted

  Watermelon Sugar (Nov 10th)

  Christmas Stories:

  A Phat Ash Christmas

  Nona’s Bleu

  Short Stories by L. Loren:

  Parasol

  Stormy’s All-Star Weekend

  Club Escape

  Anthologies:

  A Country Temptation

  Love Me Always (No longer available) - Proceeds went to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund

  The Glittering World (Sunset Moons) – Proceeds went to the Navajo Nation COVID-19 Fund

  Cabin Fever (No longer available)

  Love is Color

  Shades of AMBW Halloween

  Shades of AMBW Valentines

  Christmas Kisses

  Lovestruck

  Journals:

  LoveRotica Sex Journal<
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