by Nella Tyler
“Yeah, well I’ve been that idiot for a long time and don’t want my muscled friend to starve, so…you know,” I raised my shoulders nonchalantly as I walked over to the weights.
“Besides, I have a job!” he answered as his insult started to turn itself around on him.
“Being a personal trainer, with the way you live life, in Pennsylvania? Yea, that’s beer money, and that’s about it.”
“You’re particularly dickish today,” Garrett observed finally, “I’m hungover. I can be a dick, but you should be fine because you have a real job.”
“Yeah, I am,” I answered, not wanting to get into it.
“Have you still not closed that deal?” Garrett asked, this time sounding more understanding than he had previously.
“No, but I’m close,” I admitted, “Still, Supreme Lord Asshole doesn’t want to hear that. He wants me to wave a magic fucking wand and make everyone do whatever I want.”
“Well, he’s figured it out,” Garrett lamented.
“Yeah, with everyone but me and that seems to piss him off more.”
“Well, you are his son,” he replied.
“And that’s an excuse?” I spat, “Just because I’m the unfortunate heir, I have to bend to his every whim?”
“Well, no. I mean, your dad’s a dick. Everyone knows that but maybe he expects more of you than he does of everyone else.”
“No,” I hissed, “You had it right the first time. My dad’s a dick, and that’s all there is to it.”
After the unsuccessful week I’d had of baiting my line and receiving crap for doing what I thought was right, this was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“So, I guess that means you’re ditching the party tomorrow night?”
“Nah…I don’t want to go, but I have to,” I insisted, “Are you gonna be there?”
“No. I have to finish my community service, which I’m grateful for but I wish it were any other night.”
“Yeah, I still have to sign up for mine. I don’t know what I’m gonna do and I only have a few more days to figure it out before the court decides, and then I’m definitely screwed.”
“You still haven’t picked anything? Why didn’t you do the cleanup with me?”
“I told you, it’s too public. You know my dad would kill me and then fire me if he found out. I have to be incognito.”
Garrett narrowed his eyes in thought.
“Well, I think I saw something for the Santa Claus at the mall? At least you’d get to wear a disguise,” he chuckled.
I seriously thought about it.
“Actually,” I finally admitted, “that might work.”
“Dude,” Garrett answered with a sneer, “You don’t really think…”
“Not only would I be in costume,” I continued, working out the plan in my head, “My father would never be caught dead at the mall, among normal people, you know, having fun.”
Garrett’s disapproval slowly started to morph into a warmth for the crazy plan.
“You are right. Your father hates to go places and be around people enjoying themselves unless they’re giving him money.” However, after another moment of thought, he snickered, “It’s just, the thought of you…as Santa Claus.”
“What? I’m jolly!” I insisted, “I mean, I can be jolly.”
“Maybe they’re also looking for a Krampus,” Garrett offered teasingly.
“Ha! Ha!” I retorted, only half listening to him, “I know you didn’t mean to, but Garrett, I think you’ve actually come up with a pretty good idea.”
“Great! So, glad I could help,” he offered sarcastically.
I chose not to respond. My mind was on other things, and it took a moment for my mind to work out all the details, although the more I thought about it, the more I knew it would be perfect.
Thus, my mind eventually wandered back to another issue I was having.
“So…you really can’t go to the party? Shit,” I insisted suddenly.
“Sorry, dude. I can’t save you this time,” he teased. Garrett was used to my random bouts of silence, followed by a question or comment that had nothing to do with what we were previously talking about, “But hey, is Brent's hot-ass daughter gonna be there? Maybe you won’t miss me at all.”
I knew that I thought way too hard about it before I answered, but I didn’t care. After all, I hadn’t seen her in two years, and it would be nice to catch up.
“I don’t know,” I responded finally, “Isn’t she a teacher now or something?”
“How the hell should I know? All I remember is that she was hot and I would’ve given anything to touch her tits. I never gave a shit about anything more than that.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Well, she might not be there. She hasn’t been the last few years, and her father doesn’t talk too much about her when I’m around.”
“Probably because he knows you want to bang her,” he offered, and I shot him a dirty look.
“Dude, if I had a daughter like that, I wouldn’t let her anywhere near us.”
As much as I wanted to be insulted, I knew he was more accurate than I would like to admit and thus, I didn’t retort.
“Still, she’s probably married by now. A lot can happen in two years.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s happy…or maybe they’re swingers,” Garrett offered, again seeming far too genuine for the comment he was making.
“Dude...”
“What?”
“You’re weird.”
“Are you honestly just figuring that out?”
“No, but it needed to be said.”
“Fair enough.”
Mazie
After eventually guilting me into it, Laura succeeded in talking me into having a girly day with her. I was never one to dress up, but she used her femininity to be good at her job.
Thus, she always looked stunning, and the annual company Christmas party was certainly no exception.
So, we got our nails and hair done, got ourselves gorgeous new dresses, had massages and facials until we could barely fit actually getting ready for the party into our schedule.
Eventually, though, after a long day, we found ourselves at my house having a glass of wine before slipping into our dresses.
I hadn’t gotten this dressed up in ages; albeit, being a teacher, there weren’t too many opportunities to go all out unless you were on the hunt for a significant other, which I most definitely was not.
Despite what everyone else seemed to want to believe, I was happy with my life, and I didn’t want the complications of a relationship to hinder what I had going for me.
“I can’t believe how much my father and Mr. Myer have expanded the company,” I expressed to Laura, “After he took you under his wing, it seems like my father gained a new perspective.”
“I know. Remember when there was almost only family working there?”
“Of course, I do! We were the secretaries!” I replied with a laugh.
“Yeah, remember Dexter and his friend…what was his name? Lenny? Gavin? Garrett? Anyway, we would sneak away and explore the offices.”
“The few people outside of our relatives who did work there hated us,” I agreed.
“The four of us were always getting into trouble, though. I would’ve hated us too.”
“I know. My father would continually be apologizing for our antics while Mr. Myer basically told them to get over it or leave.”
With wide eyes, she nodded in agreement.
“I think he even told one of the employees, ‘If you even last that long, which I doubt you will, my Dexter will be your boss!’” Laura insisted with a giggle, “Little did any of us know that now, despite Dex’s capability, if he wanted control, he’d have to pry it out of his father’s cold, dead hands.”
“Maybe it’s for the best, though. I mean, do you really think that Dexter would be a good leader?” I wasn’t convinced. Even though he was extremely attractive, he never seemed like the leader type
.
“Yeah, I definitely think he’d do well. It would probably be a big adjustment for him, and eventually, the power would go to his head, but in the time in-between, when he started to get the hang of it but didn’t know everything yet, he’d be good.”
“So, you mean, it would be a great place to work for like, a week?”
Laura snorted a laugh before downing the rest of the wine in one large swallow.
“Pretty much,” she insisted.
“Yeah, that reality is one of the many reasons that I would starve before I worked for my family’s company.”
Laura’s shoulders rose and fell in a slightly contrite manner.
“Hey, Mazie, that’s not your thing. Everyone knows that. You have a passion for teaching. You love what you do.”
“You’re right, and when I look at the kids, I try to imagine what they could be, what they will be. There isn’t one that goes through my classroom that I can’t imagine something great for.”
“At that age, everyone still has potential,” Laura offered cynically.
“At any age, there’s still potential,” I insisted, “But seriously, in every grade I’ve ever taught, there has never been any child that didn’t have something wonderful going for them.”
With that, my mind wandered to Susie, and I hoped that her father had made the right decision after our talk yesterday.
Even with the issues that are clearly driving her need for attention, I knew that if she put her energy into the right things, she could turn her bad experience into a story of inspiration and healing.
“Yeah, you’re far too virtuous to work in marketing. You see the good in everyone,” she grinned and scooted closer to me, and I could already tell where this was going before she even opened her mouth, “Girl, you’d be the perfect mother. You need to find yourself a man and start having some babies of your own. Maybe you can use tonight to step out of your shell a little.”
“I don’t have a shell. I’m just not crazy.”
Laura’s lips pursed and I could tell she didn’t agree with what I was telling her.
“Besides,” I rolled my eyes, “I’ve told you before, Laura. When it’s time, the right man will come along, but I seriously doubt that will be anytime soon.”
“We’ll see,” she replied before changing the subject in a hurry, “Come on! We should get going. We can only be fashionably late tonight. After all that work we did, I want to make sure that people notice us, not what time we got there.”
Thankfully, Laura had let the conversation of me, my comfort zone, and any possible future babies go for the time being and thus, we had an enjoyable ride over to my parents’ house.
Once we got there, I parked in the spot that had always been and likely would always be dedicated to me and we went inside.
Before we even got through the foyer, though, we were bombarded by family friends and business associates of my father.
It was nice to see everyone since I hadn’t seen a lot of those people in more than two years, but by the time I found myself in the main entertainment room where the food was set up, I had lost Laura.
Now I was all alone, fielding questions of what I was doing with my life from people who didn’t think I should be pursuing a career unless I was making six figures, and it was getting claustrophobic
I hadn’t even found either of my parents yet, and I was already trying to slink toward the door to get some fresh air.
It took about a half hour to make my way to the back door, and by that time, the dress I had thought might be too cold now seemed to have too much material on it.
I didn’t want to sweat since I had spent so much time getting ready and hoped the winter air would help soothe both my claustrophobia and my perspiration.
Once I could burst through the doors, I took the largest breath of air the formfitting dress would allow and rested against the columned railing that separated the patio from the garden.
I grinned as I remembered how many summers my friends and I would spend out in that large, sprawling garden, and, for the moment, wished I could return to the carefree nature of my childhood.
It wasn’t that I regretted coming to the party; I had simply forgotten how judgmental my father’s friends and associates were.
I remembered all too well now.
Growing up, everyone assumed I would take over the business and work my way through the ranks of the marketing company. Yet, when everyone found out what my plan entailed, they were far less impressed.
In fact, now that I was remembering why I had stopped coming to these stupid parties to begin with, I also distinctly remembered Mr. Myer telling my father to stop telling their business associates my plans. He had told my father it was bad for business, but being that he was proud of me, he told Mr. Myer that he was being ridiculous.
That was one of the few times that my father stood up to Mr. Myer, but that was the most important time to me, and he had done it.
Laura, on the other hand, was universally loved for taking an interest in the business and aspiring to work at the company.
Since we were friends since we were young, she was known around the company almost as well as I was.
Once our true personal paths became known, Laura gained even more, esteem. I didn’t mind, though. I was happy for Laura. I didn’t want all that attention anyway, but it would be nice to go to a party once and not be snubbed for what they felt was a poor decision.
I rolled my eyes and grinned as I breathed in the fresh air and gazed up at the brilliantly starry night. I found it funny that with all the money and power that was in the room behind me, not one of them had taken a moment to enjoy the true beauty of such a crisp, clear winter evening.
“I should’ve known I would find you out here,” a voice that I couldn’t quite place called from behind.
I stopped, trying to carve out the face in my mind but was unsuccessful, so I turned around.
“Oh my God! Dexter!” I called.
Seeing him with his perfectly pressed suit and stunningly devilish disposition, with his arms out wide, made me remember instantly what was so attractive about him.
While he looked like he could charm a snake, perfecting his father’s stoic nature, at least around me, he was also able to maintain a boyish charm that I wondered if he showed to everyone.
Only thinking of how handsome he looked and how wonderful it was to see him, I raced into his arms and hugged him tightly.
“It’s great to see you, but wait. Find me? Were you looking for me?” I teased, arching an eyebrow.
“Not exactly,” he admitted as I pulled back from him, “Like I assume you were, I was hiding. Too many stuffy dicks ready to blow their load on the first deal they can morph into millions.”
“A charmer, as always,” I jeered, “How do you get away with saying such things?”
“I know who I can be myself around,” he responded genuinely, and the dormant butterflies that ruled my entire adolescence instantly returned.
I tried not to blush, or think too deeply into the comment.
“So, how have you been?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.
“Things are…static? I don’t know,” he insisted, “Your father’s doing great, my father’s still a dick, and I’m trying to stay out of the way.”
“So, everything is exactly as it was when we last talked? Laura pretty much has the same opinion.”
Dexter’s shoulders rose and fell easily and unconcerned.
“Unfortunately, there’s not much else to report that you don’t already know.”
“That’s so strange,” I admitted, “Growing up, to hear your dad talk, he couldn’t wait to hand his shares over to you so that he could retire and enjoy the spoils of everything he and my father built.”
“Tell me about it,” Dexter rolled his eyes, “Some days I think he genuinely doesn’t think I’m ready, and some days I think he just likes the ability to tell me what to do. I think if he retired now, without havin
g anyone to boss around, he’d go crazy. Plus, my mom…”
“Oh God!” I insisted, instantly feeling an ache in my heart filled with fresh grief, “Yes. I’m so sorry, Dex. She was a wonderful woman.”
“Thanks. Yeah, she was the only one who could love my father, not that he deserved it, but when she passed, my dad got worse. His work became even more important to him, and my presence faded into obscurity,” he shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” I offered again, “I have so many great memories with her. She really did know how to do it all.”
A saddened grin spread across Dexter’s lips as his eyes turned away from my gaze.
“Yeah, she was one of a kind, that’s for sure. Anyway, how are you doing? I hear you’re a teacher, right?”
“Yes, second grade.”
“Good for you!” he expressed with genuine enthusiasm, “You were always too good to get caught up in this rat race, especially with all the shit Laura has to dodge.” He shook his head, “But, she does a good job, and I’m glad you were able to find your calling.”
“Thanks,” I replied, feeling pleased that at least someone here appreciated what I did instead of looking down on me for not choosing to follow the money, but rather the passion.
“Second grade, huh?” His eyes grew wide, “How you do it, I’ll never know.”
“Yeah, some days, I don’t know either, but I love it. I have no doubt that this was what I was meant to do.”
Dexter shook his head in agreement.
“I didn’t have much of a choice. I was destined to do this, come Hell or high-water.”
“Yeah, but from what I hear, you’re good at it,” I assured him.
“Sure, but that doesn’t mean I want to be,” he retorted, but quickly added, as though he felt I might get the wrong idea, “You know, though, it depends on the day. When my dad is being an ass, I can’t stand it, but when I close a big deal, I’m on top of the world. Give and take, you know?”
I simpered, but before I could say anything more, I heard my father’s voice call from behind me.
“There you are, Mazie.”
Both Dex and I turned to greet him.
“Hello, Dexter,” my father answered, “I am so happy you could make it. Mazie, dear, I heard you were here, but I couldn’t find you anywhere,” he laughed.
