by Jessie Cooke
24
Axel
When I stepped off the elevator Monday morning I noticed two very strange things…Holly was grinning like a Cheshire cat and Jesse Lee was sitting in one of my waiting room chairs. Holly wasn’t supposed to be happy this morning. Mark’s been in L.A. for almost a week. I’ve been practically ignoring her. Why is she still grinning? She’s supposed to be miserable. She should be all down and mopey and all, “Oh Axel, I’m so depressed please fuck me!” And Jesse Lee…well he should just be face down in the mud somewhere…anywhere but my office. What the fuck?
“Hi Axel,” Holly had the nerve to say.
“What the fuck?” was how I greeted her. Was this some sketchy plan of hers to get me to fire her? If it was…it may just work.
“He said he really needs to talk to you. He promised he won’t take any more than five minutes of your time and that he’ll be nice.”
That has to be it…she wants me to fire her. That’s why she’s smiling. She lets Jesse Lee in here and once I fire her she gets on a plane to California to live happily ever after with her advertising nerd. Well, I’ll show her. I won’t fire her. I just bought a fucking classic Camaro to impress her. I haven’t even gotten to take her for a ride in it yet. Nope, I won’t fire her. She’ll have to stay here with me or quit and then the boyfriend who I refuse to call a “fiancé” will no longer be employed. She can bring talentless hacks into my office all day if she wants to. It won’t work. I looked at Jesse and said,
“You have five minutes. If what you have to say doesn’t entice me at least a little bit, I’m tossing you out the window onto the sidewalk down below.” He looked nervous. He’s probably not sure if I’m crazy enough to do it or not. I’m not either so on that point we’re even. As he stood up and headed towards my office, I looked back at Holly. Her lips were pulled up in a semi-smile. “Stop smiling! I’m not going to fire you no matter how many formerly fat fucks you invite into my office!”
She had the gall to look confused. I stormed into my office and Jesse Lee followed me. Jesse fucking Lee! In my office! The world as I knew it was coming to an end. I went over to the floor to ceiling windows and took a deep breath and tried to remember I was on top of the world and Jesse was just a little piss ant for me to crush on the way up to my pedestal in the sky. I turned around and he was standing there looking at me like he had any kind of right to be alive…much less in my office.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“Can we sit?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. At times like this I wished I was like that little girl in the old movie that could start fires with her eyes. I’d roast him like a pig on a spigot. “Sit!” I barked. He sat and so did I. “Now what do you want? You’ve already wasted a minute by sitting.”
“My grandmother died.”
Shit! Fuck! Why does he think I care? Shit! I do care. His grandmother was a nice lady. Damn these human feelings and damn Jesse Lee for eliciting them in me. What the hell is his angle? I had to take another deep breath so I could force myself to do the human thing and say, “I’m sorry for your loss. You can show yourself out now.”
“My father is out of prison. He couldn’t live in the house while grandma was alive because she had a restraining order. The house transferred to him when she died. He lives down the street from your mother now. Prison didn’t do anything but make him meaner. I just thought you should know.”
I sat there and looked at this man who I’ve hated for most of my life and I was royally pissed off that he came here to do a good deed. Then I questioned what that said about me. Then I got more pissed off. I’m questioning myself over the likes of Jesse Lee? Really?
“He never bothered anyone in the neighborhood when we were kids.”
“He had me to beat the shit out of,” Jesse said, twisting that hot knife of guilt in my chest a little deeper. “Listen Axel, I don’t know if he would hurt anyone else or not. I would have just gone to see your mother and tell her to watch herself…but I figured that would piss you off, so I came to you first. All I know for sure is that my grandmother and I lived in terror for our lives every day before you and your mother stepped in and helped us. He was a mean son of a bitch and he did a lot more sadistic things to us than what anyone knew. He was pissed at you and your mother for helping me put him away…really pissed. I was already six-foot-tall by the time he was released from jail. He’s a chicken shit. He has no qualms about picking on a kid and an old lady…but he wasn’t going to come after me as a grown man. My grandma “fell” down the stairs in her house when she was “alone” and that’s how she died. This happened two weeks after he got out of prison. I told the police I thought he was involved but they ignored me. Don’t ignore me, Axel. No matter how much you hate me, don’t leave your mother alone three doors down from a monster.”
He got up then and headed for the door. I hadn’t said a word because in truth, I didn’t know what to say. I waited until he was half way out the door before I finally spat out, “Jesse!”
He turned and looked at me. “Thank you. I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt her. I can’t speak to how safe he’ll be, however.”
Jesse smiled and said, “Good. If you need any help ensuring her safety…let me know.”
After he left I called Wes and Chris and told them I needed to see them. Then I sat there and stared out the window wondering why life was so fucked up sometimes. Jesse Lee had been my arch enemy…my nemesis…for as long as I can remember. How can he be here now to “warn me” that my mom might be in danger? It doesn’t compute in my brain. Now, how was I supposed to feel about him?
“Axel?” I swiveled my chair around. Holly was standing just inside the office. She’s so pretty she makes my heart hurt sometimes. “Are you okay?” I treated her horribly this morning. I sent her fiancé away. She still asks if I’m okay. Priceless.
“Yeah,” I said, clearing my throat so I sounded like a manly man.
“Okay. Wes and Chris are here.”
“Good, send them in.”
“You’re sure you’re okay? I’m sorry that I let Jesse in…”
I smiled at her. She’s just too fucking nice. “It’s okay. Don’t be sorry. He had something important to tell me. I’m okay though. Send in the meatheads and when I’m finished with them, how would you like to take a ride in my new car?”
“You got another car?”
“I’m rich. I can have as many toys as I want,” I told her. I sounded five but I didn’t realize that until it came out of my mouth. What is it about this woman that made me want to act out like an insolent child? She wasn’t taken aback at all. It’s the other thing I like about her. No one else would take as much crap from me as she does, and she usually does it with a smile. I want her.
“I suppose you can,” she said, leaving the room. A few minutes later I was faced with ‘Heckle and Jeckle’.
“You wanted to see us, boss?” ‘Heckle’ asked.
“Yeah, I have a job for the two of you. I want you to split it up so that one of you does twelve hours and the other twelve hours because I don’t want the subject left alone…ever.”
“Sure boss. It ain’t you?”
“No. Here’s the address. I want you there in two hours. She’s not going to be happy about this, so I need to give her a head’s up before you two show up.”
“Sure boss. We’ll be there.”
Now the hard part. I had to convince my mother not to scare them away. I sent Wes and Chris on their way and grabbed the keys to the car I’d picked up just the night before. I stood there for a few seconds and reconsidered taking Holly with me. I hadn’t really thought it through. To let a woman you’re sexually interested in to see you with your mother…my mother especially…that’s a game changer.
Holly was suddenly in the doorway. Jesus, she’s beautiful. She had on a white pencil skirt and a black silk blouse. Her long dark hair is smooth and shiny and my fingers ached to touch it. She’s going to kill me. “Are you ready?” sh
e asked me.
“Yeah, let’s go.” We got into the elevator and I asked her, “Have you talked to Mark?” She smiled…practically gushed as she said,
“Yes, we Skyped last night.”
Why the hell does she look so happy about it? A Skype session in place of a face to face…that wouldn’t even come close for me. “That’s good. I’m guessing you gave him a nice send-off before he left?” She blushed bright red. Fuck! The nerdy bastard probably had her all night last week and then naked Skyped with her. It makes me sick just thinking about it.
“The sendoff was nice. We had Chinese…” she gushed and then turned bright red and said, “A very nice send off.”
I dropped it there. Just imagining it was almost more than I could take. We stepped off the elevator and I watched her face as she saw the car. Her eyes widened and they may have even sparkled as she looked at my 1967 first generation 2-door, 2+2 seat, black convertible Chevy Camaro with white racing stripes. I handed her the keys and her pretty brown eyes got even wider.
“Really?”
I smiled. Something stirred in my chest. Weird. That stirring is usually a lot lower on my body. “Really. It’s got a V-8 power plant so be careful.” She squealed and did a little dance. There it is, now I’m stirring in the right places.
25
Holly
I couldn’t believe I was driving a classic convertible Camaro! It was my dream car when I was a kid. I couldn’t stop smiling. By the time we got to the Bronx I was probably going to have bugs in my teeth.
“How’s it feel?” Axel asked me with a smile. He has such a beautiful smile.
“Amazing! I love it!”
“Good. It’s yours.” We were on FDR drive on the way to the toll road in three lanes of pretty heavy traffic. I stepped on the brakes. Axel cringed as the car behind us hit his brakes and quickly whipped around us. Suddenly everyone was honking. “Holly! What the hell are you doing, drive.”
“Shit!” I took my foot off the brake and started forward again. “I’m sorry, I panicked. Did you just say this is my car?”
“Yes.”
“No…why? This car is a classic. It’s in perfect condition. It had to cost you a fortune. No way. I can’t accept it.” I merged onto 17. He looked relieved that I was paying attention to the road again.
“It’s a bonus.”
“A bonus? For what?”
“For being such a stellar employee.”
Shit! I found a place where the shoulder was wide and pulled the car over. I put it in park and turned towards him. “You can’t give me things like this, Axel.”
“Why? It’s mine to give. It was my money that paid for it.”
“Exactly…it’s yours. I can’t accept things like this from you. I’m engaged, Axel…”
“I’m not trying to trade the car for sex if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I-I-Oh, of course that’s not what I was thinking.” It was exactly what I was thinking. “It’s just not proper.”
“Holly, do you ever do anything that’s not ‘proper?’” I thought about laying across his lap…I thought about letting my fiancé eat Chinese food off of my naked body all night long…I’ve done more “improper” the past couple of months than I have my entire life. I’m sure my face was bright red as I said,
“Yes…but in this case, it’s just over the top.”
“Well I’ve already had it transferred into your name, so if you don’t want it…you can sell it.”
“Sell it?” My chest hurt just thinking about that. “No way! Axel…”
He grinned. I wish he would stop being so damned hot. “Holly, I really need to get to the Bronx. Can we talk about this later?”
“Fine, but we’re going to talk about it.”
Chuckling, he said, “Fine. How about over dinner?”
“Axel…”
“A working dinner. I’m meeting with the manager of a new “boy band,” God help us. I’ve listened to their stuff, they’re not bad…but I don’t want all of them. I’m trying to woo away their lead singer.”
With a sigh I put the car back on the road and headed for the toll bridge. “What about his loyalty to his band members?”
“Loyalty is fine…unless it’s holding you back. His brother and two cousins are holding him back.”
“Oh Axel! They’re family too? You can’t break up a family.” He laughed. Sometimes I don’t think he takes anything I say seriously at all. I glanced at him. He was looking at me with a look I didn’t recognize. “What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. You’re just so…Never mind.”
“I’m so what?”
“You’re so pure.”
“Pure?” I laughed and thought about Mark licking sweet and sour sauce from my back-side. “No, I’m not pure. I just have a heightened sense of right and wrong. Family is so important…” I stopped there and realized I was being a big, fat hypocrite. I haven’t seen my family in years. As if reading my mind he said,
“Where is yours?”
“My mother and two brothers live in Connecticut.”
“You’re not close?”
Damn him! I was just spouting about how important family is. He’s going to think I’m a big, fat hypocrite. “Not exactly,” I said. “Where am I going here?”
“East 182nd,” he said. “So what were you saying about your family?”
“I wasn’t saying anything about them.”
He raised an eyebrow, but he let it go. “Turn left at the next light,” he told me. I did and we were on a cozy looking tree lined street with well-kept Brownstone homes lining both sides. “Pull up behind that blue van there.” I parked and he looked at me with another look I didn’t understand before he said, “You’re about to meet my mother. Please keep in mind that the way a mother thinks or feels about her child is not necessarily an accurate reflection of who he is.”
I giggled. He was worried I’d realize his “cool-guy” act was all a façade. I already had that figured out. He gave me a hard look then and I said, “I’ll keep it in mind.” As we walked up the steps to the house I asked, “Did you grow up here?” He nodded and reached for the front door. When the knob turned in his hand, he looked annoyed. He didn’t knock…he just pushed in on the door and stepped inside.
“Mom!” The house was quiet. He moved down the hall and I followed him. He seemed nervous all of a sudden like he was afraid of what he might find. As we got closer to the back of the house I heard the sound of a woman humming a very pretty tune. Axel rolled his eyes and pushed open a swinging door that opened up into the kitchen. A middle-aged woman with long dark hair and big brown eyes looked startled until her eyes focused on her son. She put her hand over her heart and said, “Gabriel Maxwell! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Gabriel?
“Sorry Ma. I called out to you when I opened the front door that should be locked. Why are you sitting in this big house all alone with the front door wide open…?”
“Was it wide open?” she asked. Then she looked at me and with a wink and a warm smile she said, “Who is this lovely girl?”
“Ma listen. You need to lock your doors.”
She rolled her eyes at her son and turned her attentions back to me. “I’m Teresa Maxwell sweetheart. Who are you?”
“Hi,” I said extending my hand. “I’m…”
“She’s Holly. She’s my assistant. Now Ma…”
“I don’t know why I bothered teaching you any manners at all. You act like you were raised by wolves.” She turned back to me and said, “I’m so pleased to meet you Holly. Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea?”
“Ma, this is not a social call…”
She shot him a look and then trained her smile back on me as she said, “It never is. Holly dear I hope when you have children…. you don’t have any yet, do you?”
“No ma’am.”
“Good, enjoy your youth. But really, when you do have children…only have girls.”
I looked at Axel.
He rolled his eyes. “I’ll remember that Mrs. Maxwell. Thank you.”
“Please, call me Teresa.”
“Hello? Am I still here?” Axel was pouting because he was being ignored. It was cute. His mother put her hand on the side of his face and said,
“We see you, handsome. What did you come to tell me, exactly?”
Axel’s eyes softened and he said, “Let’s sit down Ma.”
“Sure honey,” she said. “You and Holly go sit in the parlor and I’ll bring out some tea. I just made some shortbread…”
“We’re fine, Ma.”
“I’d love some shortbread,” I told her, only to annoy him. He glared at me and I smiled. His mother winked at me again and said,
“Take her to the parlor Gabriel and be a gentleman.” I was about to bust a vein in my temple trying to hold back my laugh.
The parlor was not large but the drapes were open to the sunlight and it flooded the room, bathing it in a warm, inviting glow. The furniture all looked like it had been made in the eighties, but it was immaculate and didn’t look used or worn at all. There was a brick fireplace and across the top of it were framed photos of a handsome little boy and a man in a military uniform that I’m assuming is Axel’s father. I never heard him mention his father…so I didn’t ask. Instead I said, “Look at these pics! I love them. You were such a cute kid!”
