Miles found the elevator and went up the last few floors to the executive level. The smell of sterility was even worse here, only it was far less populated. Two voices chatted quietly around the corner. Other than that, nothing.
Miles walked along the hall to the reception area where a young blonde sat with half a headset.
“Can I help you?” she asked, giving him the eye.
Miles leaned an elbow on her desk. “Hey there. I’m here to see Roger.”
“Rog—“ she said, confused, then her face changed expressions when she realized he was talking about her boss. Obvious she was not on a first name basis with Roger. After talking over the little intercom, she smiled to him. “He’ll see you now, go right in.”
Miles winked and walked through the large, polished double-doors. Far wall was nothing but windows, and the view up there was even more severe than the one over the bridge.
“Wow,” Miles said.
“You like it?” Roger asked, smiling. He came around his desk and held a hand out to Miles.
After a quick handshake, Miles noted, “You get to look out at that every day.”
“It never gets old, either. Have a seat.”
Miles sat in the plush leather chair in front of Roger’s desk and rested his motorcycle helmet on his lap. Roger raised a leg to half-sit on his desk and interlocked his fingers in front of him.
“We’re both grown adults here,” Roger started, “so in the interest of mutual respect, I want to cut through all the bull. I’ll be straight with you, and you be straight with me. Deal?”
“Straight with you?” Miles asked, already feeling testy. “Like, the fact that your wife is constantly trying to setup my girlfriend with other men?”
Roger took in a deep breath, then slowly said, “Yes. That.”
“Sure, Roger. I can be straight with you.” Bring it on, old man, Miles thought. He’d hate to have to throw Saundra’s dad out the window to plummet down to—
Miles cut off that thought and shook his head. No, he couldn’t have those thoughts, not about Roger. The pain it would cause Saundra was immeasurable. If nothing else, he couldn’t do that to her.
“I know you’re having trouble finding a job. I wanted to offer you one here.”
“Excuse me?” For a moment, Miles couldn’t process what he’d heard. He thought back to all of the people in their cubicles, and the blonde at the desk that didn’t know his name was Roger.
“I checked through our records and it looks like we could use a receiver in our warehouse. It’s manual labor, like you’re good at. The pay is decent, and there’s a lot of room for development and growth down there. Do well, and you’ll climb the ladder in no time.”
“Like I’m good at?” Miles asked, trying to keep the fury out of his voice and knowing he failed.
Roger, for his part, seemed confused by this. The arrogant prick.
“Well, yes. Saundra’s told me of some of the jobs you’ve had in the past. You seem very physically inclined. I didn’t think you’d be happy in a cubicle. Was I mistaken?”
“Ya know what, Rog?” Miles said, standing up. He wanted to beat Roger in the skull with his motorcycle helmet. Because of that desire, he kept the helmet tucked snuggly against his body. “Thanks but no thanks.”
“Now wait a second. I don’t think you’re in a position to be able to turn this down.”
“I don’t need your charity, Roger! I can find a job on my own.”
“Calm down, son. That’s not what this is.”
“I’m not your son,” Miles said, poking Roger in the chest with a finger. “I know what you think of me, looking down on me like you do. You know what your wife does and you’ve never tried to stop her, because you agree with her.”
“Miles, think—“
“No, you shut it! Do you have any idea what I had to go through as a child? Fighting against the opinions and judgements of pompous arrogant jerks just like you and your pig-faced wife? Do you have any idea what it’s like for a ten-year-old to have to claw out his own existence? I’ll tell you this Rog-er: I’ve always survived on my own strength, on my own terms. I’ve gotten this far without your handouts, and I’ll keep making it through without them.”
“You’re making a mistake here,” Roger said.
“The only mistake I made was wasting the gas coming down here.”
Miles marched from the office. He paced the small space in the elevator, doing his damnedest not to shatter the mirrored walls. He needed to break something. He needed to hurt someone. The pain in his chest was too real, too violent. It needed out, and it needed out now. He couldn’t just hit something solid, he needed to feel something break under his fists, to know that he broke it.
As he marched through the rest of the office to the glass walkway toward the parking lot, he remembered all of those people in his life telling him he was worthless. All of them saying he’d never make it.
He proved them wrong. Now he’d prove Saundra’s parents wrong. They thought he couldn’t do this on his own.
He’d show them!
Saundra sat at her desk grading papers. School had been out for the last hour, but she had to get this done before getting back home. After the birthday party she felt better about Miles. She was still anxious, but it wasn’t as bad. They’d make it through. She’d gotten some money from her dad and paid up some bills, so she felt the relief from that.
Her cell phone lit up, catching her eye. She kept it silent, not even the vibration on so that it didn’t go off during class. When she checked it, she saw it was her father calling. A little thrill went through her as she remembered he said he was going to talk to Miles about a job today. “Hi Daddy.”
“Saundra, you know I love you.”
“I-I know.” She put the pen down and leaned back in her chair. His tone of voice was one he saved for piano movers after they dropped it out of the third story window.
“I don’t want you seeing Miles anymore.”
“Daddy!”
“Now listen to me! I have never forbidden you from seeing anyone in your life, and I’m not doing it now, but damnit if I don’t tell you he is bad news. You’ve stood by him. I know you see something in him nobody else sees, but at this point, I have to believe that all you see in him is a delusion.”
“How can you say that? He and I have been together for years. Why this all of a sudden?”
“I invited your boyfriend to my office to offer him a job. He all but threw me out of a window for it! He went on about how it was charity and he didn’t need my handouts. I thought you said he was desperate?”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. After everything she went through for him, and he would spit in her father’s face like this? “He is. I have no idea why he would turn you down like this.”
“Some people are dealt a bad hand and make the best of it, darling. And some people struggle because they bring it on themselves. I know you love him, but he is a drag on your life. He’ll only ever bring you down.”
“Daddy, please, I can’t hear this, not right now.”
“The fact that you can’t hear it is why I have to say it! Do you think I would be coming to you with all of this if you were happy? How many jobs has he had? Can you imagine having children in this situation? How much worse would it be with all of his drinking?”
Saundra leaned forward, propping her elbow on her desk and cradling her forehead in her hand. “Please don’t tell me he was drunk.”
“It came off of him like a vapor. I’m surprised he could walk.”
“He’s been depressed,” she said weakly. “He’s just… he’s trying to work through things.”
“Drinking is a helluva way to do it. I’m telling you, I’ll help with money because I can’t stand the thought of my daughter living in poverty, but I can’t support your relationship with him anymore. I want you to end it.”
“Thank you for your concern, but this is my life.”
“I know, and I raised
my daughters to think for themselves. But sweetie, this is not a man that’s worth the sacrifices you’re making.”
“Goodbye, Dad.”
After a gruff noise, he hung up.
She dropped the phone and held her head in both hands. How could Miles do this to her? She’d done everything for him, and he couldn’t just take the damn job? She looked down at the papers and couldn’t possibly think about doing any more work for the day.
It was the most stressful drive home she’d ever experienced since being with Miles. Would he be home? If he wasn’t, she was sure it’d meant he was out drinking again. Of course, if he was, she was positive they were going to have a fight. As she thought about it more and more, she realized she wanted that fight. She’d been standing by him, resolute, supportive through everything. He’s been going out drinking, spending money they didn’t have, and now he refused a job they both knew he needed. She realized when visualizing the fight, fantasizing about the arguments they would have, she needed to yell at him.
She’d just lost her father’s support of their relationship. Even if he never really approved of Miles himself, he’d always supported them. With that gone, it was her versus her family, and she didn’t even have Miles to lean on now. She’d be damned if she was going to take this quietly!
When Saundra walked in through the front door, she found him sitting on the couch, watching TV, a beer on his hand. She didn’t even pretend to care. Her blood practically boiling in her veins, she tossed her purse and coat to the floor and slammed the door closed. Miles jumped, obviously not expecting hostility from her. He looked up at her, sizing her up. Every ounce of her was ready for this.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” she screamed at him. “My father offers you a job, and you refuse?”
“Real nice,” he said, shaking his head. “Welcome home. I’m fine, how’re you?”
“No, we’re not playing this game. I’m done treating you like the wounded victim. How long have you been drunk today, Miles? Where’d you get the money for that beer?”
“You want it?” he said and dramatically set it on the coffee table beside here. “Here, all yours.”
“I don’t drink beer!” Saundra shrieked, her fists thrust down at her sides, her eyes squeezed shut.
“The hell is your problem?” he asked as he stood up from the couch. She followed him through their apartment on his way to the bedroom.
“My problem? My problem is you yelling at my father.”
“Your dad can suck it. I don’t need his handouts.”
“Yes you do, Miles!”
He turned and looked at her, stricken.
“You don’t have a job. You stopped looking for a job. You’re spending our bill money on booze.”
“I don’t need to be mothered by you.” He pulled on his boots but didn’t lace them, and threw on a jacket.
“Where are you going?” she asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Out.”
“I swear to God if you spend any money on anything tonight, I’m calling the bank and canceling your card.” She was so terrified of losing him, she started shivering. Adrenaline and fear ran through her blood, chilling her. He looked at her, his expression clear that he wanted to argue more, but instead he just raised a hand as if to stop her from saying anything else.
“I have a job. That’s why I didn’t take your dad’s.”
“What?” This was the first she was hearing about it. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take it.” He looked her up and down, as if appraising her and finding her wanting. “Now it’s clear I don’t have a choice. It’ll be fine now. I’ll have money. Everything will be fine.”
“Miles, wait, talk to me. What’s the job?”
He straightened the collar out on his jacket. “I think we’re both done talking for tonight.” On his way out the door he called out, “Don’t wait up for me.”
Saundra stood in the hallway, alone, listening to the rumble of his motorcycle as he took off down the street. Even after all of the yelling and slamming of doors, she didn’t feel any better.
Miles ordered another shot of whiskey and a fresh beer. He looked ahead and focused on the label of the bottle in front of him, but his vision barely shifted. Not even a decent buzz. He blew air out between his lips and wondered when the liquor was going to hit his system. He could really use the numbness right about now.
It was happening, he was losing Saundra. It was about the time he’d have to tell her about the kid. Miles rubbed the side of his face roughly with the palm of his hand, as if he could sand away the anxiety boiling just under the skin. The bartender appeared with the beer and the shot glass.
As he filled the shot, Miles drank his beer while his knee bounced below. He couldn’t sit still. This was it, everything was falling apart. Now that he was actually faced with it happening, he didn’t know what he was going to do. It was one thing to fear it, another to expect it, and something else entirely for it to actually happen. He was panicking.
“Hey there partner,” the familiar man said as he took the seat beside Miles. “You look in particular rough straits. Everything all right?”
Miles shook his head reflectively. “It’s really not, man. It’s really not. It’s happening. I’m losing everything. My whole life is slipping away and I can’t stop it.”
“Hey, hey,” the guy said quickly, rubbing Miles back between his shoulder blades. “Calm down, man. It’s okay. Have you given any thought to my offer?”
Miles’ tongue flicked out over his lips and he couldn’t stop flexing his fingers into a fist. “Yeah, actually. That’s why I came. I was hoping to run into you.”
“Yeah?” The guy took a drink of his beer, as his second sat frosty and untouched in front of him.
“Yeah, and if it’s still available, I’d like the work. I need money. I can’t let this happen.”
The man slapped the top of the bar and laughed. “Fantastic! When can you start?”
Miles shrugged. “When do you need me to?”
“Hey, if you need money right now, I got some things I could use your help with.”
“Well I can’t tonight,” Miles said, and picked up the beer bottle to show to the guy. “I’ve kinda been drinking already.”
The man leaned in with a decidedly wicked smile. “Even better. C’mon, I’ll take you to your first job. Bring your beer.”
Then, right before Miles’ eyes, the man tipped back one beer mug, and then the other. He drank both beers without even needing to swallow, like something out of a TV commercial or something.
Miles followed him out the front door to his car. After getting in, Miles thought nervously about the fact he had an open beer in the car, but if the guy didn’t care, he wasn’t going to say anything.
As he buckled in, Miles said, “You know, it’s embarrassing, but I don’t think we were ever introduced. I’m going to be working for you, and I don’t even know your name. I’m Miles.” He held out his hand.
“Maybe that’s for the best,” the man said, and shook Miles’ hand. “For now, just call me Boss.”
“Boss? Uh, yeah. Sure.” This was already sounding bad. Crap. What was he getting into? “So where to, Boss?”
Boss drummed his fingers on the steering wheel for a moment in thought and then started the car. “I’m going to start you with something big. If you pull it off, it’ll prove to you I’m for real. If you can’t, well, then you’re obviously not the man for the job anyway.”
Miles was reaching emotional overload. His anxiety over losing Saundra was becoming muted by his fear of the situation he was entering. “Okay. Let’s do this then.”
Boss gave him a crooked half smile. “Don’t you want to know what the job is?”
“I’m not concerned, but go for it.”
Boss pulled onto the street and started driving. “There’s a man that owes me money. He’s owed me money for a long time now. I
’ve been nice about it, because I knew he didn’t have it and he was trying to get it. I just found out that he’s had it for the last three days and instead of paying me, he’s planning on putting it all down on a game. That’s my money.” Boss stabbed his own chest sharply. “You get the money from him, and you can have a quarter of it.”
“So you are a loan shark,” Miles said.
“I never said I wasn’t. I just said I wasn’t going to loan you any money.”
How could he get out of this? Loan sharks, illegal stuff, this was getting too deep. That job with Saundra’s dad was looking more and more attractive. But he couldn’t go crawling back now! He yelled at her dad, yelled at her. He said he had a plan. If he went back now begging for help, how much worse would that look? Especially since he hadn’t even told her about the kid yet! No, he had to fix this first and come back to her with results. He hated this, but he couldn’t think of anything else. It was all so damn unfair! He took a drink of his beer.
“How much does he owe you? Hundred bucks?”
Boss laughed. It was a hoarse sound filled with a mirthless joy. “I said I wasn’t going to send you after the small stuff. He owes me ten grand.”
Miles choked on the little beer that was still in his mouth. “A quarter of that is—“
ROMANCE: THE SHEIKH'S GAMES: A Sheikh Romance Page 22
