Chapter 2
Kendall
Elijah had been strutting around his office on his cell for the last hour, probably making calls to arrange his parties or whatever he did on the weekends. He also had a conversation on the landline and had been screaming for a while, but that call had not gone through my switchboard, so I had no idea who he was talking to.
I felt sorry for him in a way. It seemed like he had the world at his feet. He had more money than anyone could imagine, he had a body like a Greek god, and he was witty and intelligent, but still, he had a horrible attitude. How anyone could stand him was beyond me.
I’d spoken to a ton of people who just thought he was a worthless piece of ship. They said everything was wasted on him. Maybe, they were right. But maybe not.
Elijah grabbed his jacket and headed for his office door. He opened it and stood in front of my desk looking down at me.
“I’m off, see you Monday, Kendall. Have a good one, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he said as he laughed.
“Bye, for now, Sir. Have a nice weekend yourself,” I replied as I tried to smile.
“Always do, Kendall, I always do!” He flung his jacket over his shoulder and strutted toward the elevator.
“Hey Kendall,” Jefferson whispered as he sneaked up to my desk.
“Hi, Jefferson, what’s up?”
“Not much. Same shit different day sort of thing, you know,” he said with a huff. "You know I love this job, but he’s such a prick.”
I laughed. “He has his moments for sure. You just have to take it all with a grain of salt. It seems he has a point to prove, most of all to himself. I’m sure deep down there is a good person.”
Elijah vanished into the gray elevator at the end of the corridor.
“Fuck, you think so? I think it must be so damn deep, that there is no chance of it ever seeing the light of day,” he scoffed.
“So, what can I do for you?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Nothing, I just wanted to chat before leaving. It makes a change to talk to someone different,” he said with a wry smile.
“I’m sure there is a compliment in there somewhere,” I replied with a giggle.
“Oh, Kendall, you’re so funny. Hey, have you seen Peter around recently?” he added.
“No, not for a while, why do you ask?”
“No real reason. He just used to pop in and say 'hi,' and I have not noticed him here for a while,” he said as he slumped his shoulders.
“I’m sure you have more to talk about than that. What’s really on your mind?” I asked as I leaned on my desk toward him.
“Kendall, you’re just too smart. You can read me like a book,” he said, smiling. “Seriously though, I’m having thoughts about finding another job. I’m not sure I can stick this one out for very much longer.”
“You think it’s that bad here?”
“It’s just getting me down. I worry he’s going to explode on me like he has before. I don’t think I could take the humiliation. I struggle to sleep at night when I think about work,” he said and sighed.
“Well, you have to do what’s best for you. As my mother keeps telling me, ‘If you’re unhappy, it will only play on your mind and lead to other problems.' Then, before you know it, you will become stressed. You’ll stop eating, you know, things like that,” I said, trying to be supportive of the guy.
“Well, it’s the weekend. I’ll step back and really think it through and see what my options are. I just think I won’t be here for the long term that for sure,” he said.
“Personally, I have not really been here long enough to make a real decision. I know he’s an asshole, but I’m in a different position than the rest of you because I’m with him more, so for me, it’s hard to decide,” I replied. “Sometimes he’s supportive of me in front of others, and then he’ll rant and rave behind closed doors. I just try to see the good in people, even if it’s me that ends up suffering,” I added.
“Oh well, knocking off time, we should be getting going, no need to stay longer than we need to eh?” Jefferson added as he grinned at me.
“Sure, have a nice weekend, and take it easy.” His face lit up.
“You too, and see you on Monday Kendall… maybe!” Jefferson added with a raised brow.
I watched Jefferson and the others pack up their things and head off home, I started to finish up and sat thinking of the conversation I had just had with Jefferson. It was hard, should I consider leaving? Or was that too much. Hmm, and would it be my choice? Or was I being swayed by everyone else’s thoughts and opinions? I would consider it carefully, and watch what happened over the next few weeks.
I left the office as I had already arranged to go to Mandy’s house for drinks. I decided that I would speak to her about it. Although she was a bit of a wild one at times, she still had a wise head on her shoulders. Thankfully, she was street smart rather than book smart.
I turned into Mandy’s road, the kids were playing ball on the sidewalk and stood to watch me as I passed them, I gave them a small wave, and they all stood to wave back at me with grins on their grubby little faces. I often looked at kids playing like this and imagined what it would be like if they were my kids that were running and playing.
The car came to a halt in Mandy’s driveway, and I turned off the engine and could see Mandy’s face pressed against the window looking at me with a huge grin. She was such a funny girl. And by the time I reached the house the door, it was already open, and Mandy stood there with her arms outstretched for me.
“Hey girl, what’s up?” she beamed.
“Hey girl!” I replied in a false, silly accent.
“Come on in, make yourself at home, not that I need to say that,” she said as she checked her painted nails.
“Glass of wine?” She held a bottle and two glasses up high in the air still trying to look at her multi-colored nails.
“Sure, why not, it’s the weekend after all!” I loved being with her.
“Steady on girl, I said a glass, not a bottle,” she said with a laugh as I poured from the bottle.
“So, what’s new with you?” I smiled. “You found the man of your dreams yet?”
“No, still looking, a few potentials though, I did start reading a new book. It’s 20 chapters on how to find a man and keep him. It’s a good read. It tells you how to be true to yourself. You should read it,” she commented and sounded as if she were being serious for a change.
“I don’t think I need a book on how to find a man,” I said as I sipped my red wine.
“No, it has plenty of information you could use toward other parts of your life as well, not just relationships, but like your job for example.”
“Funny you should say that I have just had a conversation with Jefferson about the same thing,” I replied. “He said he’s thinking of leaving.” She checked my nails to see if they needed painting.
“You should follow him, your boss is a real ass-wipe and treats everyone like crap,” she replied in an angry tone.
“I know, but I can see past that, I think he’s a lost soul who just needs something to bring him out of his bad self,” I replied.
“That may be the case, but why does it have to be you?” Mandy added as she chose a color for my nails.
“I don’t know, in a way, I’m drawn to him, it’s strange, but I think he may feel the same somehow,” I said. “It’s just his attitude I can’t really handle. He has a really crappy mouth sometimes.”
“Just don’t take any crap; what have I tried to teach you? Remember, you are in control of your own destiny,” Mandy said as she refilled the glasses with more wine.
“I know all that, and the pay and the perks are excellent, but there is no way I could find that sort of offer anywhere else. My resume would look woeful if I left too quickly,” I added.
“Nearly everyone knows what Elijah’s attitude is like, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem,” she said, not letting me make any excuses.
“That is true, but it shows I have given up quickly without trying to resolve the matter,” I replied. "What does it say about me as a person?”
“Well, you should keep your options open, there is no harm in looking around and checking what’s available, what have you got to lose?” Her eyes were wide and obvious. She could be so assertive, and it was hard to ignore her, sometimes.
“That would be a bit dodgy, Elijah has contacts everywhere, it wouldn’t be long before he found out I was looking, then he would surely give me hell,” I said in explanation.
“Well if I were you, I would start looking, even if you just read the adverts, he won’t find that out. Plus, you never know what the future will bring.” Apparently, hot pink was my color.
“Maybe you’re right, but at the moment, I think I can stick it out with him as long as he doesn’t get any worse,” I commented shocked by the nail color as she painted it on the first nail. “I’ll keep my options open, but as I said to Jefferson, I’m not making any rash decisions at the moment. It's better the devil you know than the devil you don’t!”
“Oh well, just be careful and don’t end up in bed with the devil,” Mandy said with a devilish grin.
"Once you have sold your soul, there is no going back,” she laughed.
“Fill my glass, and stop being such a philosopher,” I said. “I’ll have to make this my last one. I have to get home to Bo, and I’m driving. I don’t want to be over the limit."
“So, that is your final decision. You are going to stick it out for a while?” Mandy asked as she concentrated on my left-hand creation.
“For the time being, yes, I’m going to tough it out and show my true mettle. I can put up with the crap because at the end of the day they are only words, and words can’t break bones, they can just be a little hurtful sometimes.”
“You’re right, I suppose, just think of yourself and your dog!” she laughed.
“Speaking of dogs, I need to get home to him. He’ll be wondering where I’m,” I said.
I finished my glass and grabbed by things, I waved to Mandy as I reversed from her driveway and carefully drove home, and all the time, the conversation went through my head. My nails looked like they belonged to a call girl. Wow!
I arrived home, and Bo was waiting, I quickly let him into the garden so he could do his business. He was a big dog, a big, lazy, beautiful dog. Great to cuddle with and a good listener.
I fed him his favorite dinner then I had a shower and got into some nice relaxing pajamas, it was a long day, and I had already started to feel a little drowsy, or maybe that was the wine that had started to affect me? I couldn’t be sure.
I jumped into bed and waited for Bo to join me, he always slept on the end of the bed and protected me. I wasn’t sure if he would be too lazy if anything did happen, but for moral support, he was always there for me.
“Come on Bo,” I said patting the bed. He jumped up beside me.
“So, how has your day been then eh?" His eyes followed my hand waiting for a pat, “I hope you have had a better day than I have, it was full of work related things. Yep, mainly conversations about finding another job. What do you think?” I asked the nearly asleep Bo.
He looked at me with his big sad eyes. I’m sure he thought I should rough it out and give Elijah the benefit of the doubt too, at least for the time being. He wriggled his big brown and white body closer to mine, and I put my hand on his belly as we slipped into a deep sleep together. Thank goodness, the weekend was here. I was exhausted.