Chapter 35

Grant

Split Bean was the same as always. It was a consistency in my life that I didn’t even realize I needed. But as I sat in that crummy little coffee shop, surrounded by mobs of angry, tired, and rude customers scrambling for their coffee, I realized that that was the reason I always went back. Life was so god damn hectic all the god damn time. Nothing was certain, and every time that I thought it was going to be, the rug would be pulled from under my feet.

I was still reeling from the previous night, of course. It was eight in the morning, and I had done nothing for the past ten hours but think about the events that took place in that little apartment. A part of me was sure that I had done the wrong thing. That part thinks that I should have waited until afterward. Maybe given it a day or two before broaching the subject?

But the other part of me knew that I did the right thing, despite how it may have turned out. It was an issue that had been flitting around my mind for some time, and one that I had to get out in the open. I just couldn’t have Kendra working there anymore. Whether we were together or not, she had to go.

If we were together, then seeing her in that store would have torn me apart every time I went in. Seeing her sell dildos and cock cream to people was something that no boyfriend should ever have to deal with. And if we weren’t together, well, the same thing really. Either way, she had to go.

I knew it was going to be a hard point to make, and I knew she wasn’t going to take it well. I just had no idea how bad it was going to be. I knew we would fight. But I didn’t think she would throw me out. I thought that I would be able to explain, and then she would understand. But no, and as a result, I honestly had no idea where the two of us stood anymore.

“Here’s your coffee, Mr. Marcus,” Sally said as she brought me my order. As always, she looked good, with those big brown eyes and warm smile. It was odd to think that she was as nasty and dirty as Jack had claimed.

“Thanks, Sally.” As I reached into my wallet to pay, I suddenly had a little premonition. I had been thinking a lot about lying lately and how people aren’t always what they seemed. It made me wonder if it was Sally or Jack who was the one hiding something. “Ah, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Sure thing,” she beamed, taking the very large bill that I handed her.

“It’s about Jack—” I began.

“Oh, he didn’t ask you to ask me to call, did he?” She scrunched her face up, and I caught her eyes darting around the café, as if she were expecting Jack to be there, lurking around somewhere in the shadows.

“What? No. Why?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. He’s a nice guy. Really nice. Just a little, I don’t know. He was a little clingy.”

“Really?” I asked, eyebrow raised.

“We had two dates. Both pretty casual, and then he started texting me just all the time. And when I didn’t respond, he turned up here, at my other job, at my college. You get the picture. It was a little odd, but no big deal. I haven’t heard from him in a few weeks so I figured he sent you to talk to me. Oh sorry, you wanted to ask me something?”

“Oh, never mind,” I said, trying to hide my smile as she bustled away. How interesting. It seemed that we all spun ourselves lies to make reality a little easier to deal with. But Jack, though? Who would have thought?

As I stepped out of the coffee house, I checked my phone–8:30 a.m. exactly. She would be calling me any minute. With that in mind, I crossed the road and headed into Central Park. Not only was it a little quieter there, but it was also a short cut to Luscious. I was pretty certain that following the call, I was going to need to be at the store.

It was just as I entered the park that my phone rang. Checking it, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Kendra’s name on the screen.

“Hello,” I answered.

“What the hell is your problem?” she exploded in the exact fashion that I thought she would. “Are you really that much of an asshole?”

“Kendra, what’s done is done. I’m sorry, but I told you that I can’t have you working there anymore. No matter what.”

“And what? Now I’m supposed to just leap into your arms, am I? Is that what you thought? How can you possibly think that?” She spat venom at me through the phone.

“Look, the new manager will be there any minute with the keys. And I’m not far behind, okay? I’ll be there in—”

“New manager! You have got to be kidding me?!”

“I’ll be there in five,” I said, hanging up the phone before she had a chance to say anything else.

I knew she was going to be angry, but even still, her pure rage made me wonder if I had done the right thing. Knowing that I was going to ask her to quit last night, I had gone ahead and had the locks to the store changed and hired a new manager, too. I hoped that in doing so, it would send a clear message to Kendra that I wasn’t messing around. I hoped that she would see what I was willing to do, and that maybe, she would see it for the act of love that it really was.

But based off her reaction and the vitriol that she spewed down the phone at me, my guess was probably not.

--

The store was open by the time I got there, so I guessed that my new manager had turned up. And, sure enough, when I walked through the front door, she was there to greet me.

“Mr. Marcus,” Sharon beamed when she spotted me. “I had no idea you were coming in today. Although, I guess it makes sense, being my first day and all. Although maybe you wouldn’t have come down, as like a test to see if I could handle things all on my own. But then, how would you know if I didn’t—”

“Hey, Sharon,” I said, hurrying toward her with a handshake in the hopes that it would shut her up.

Sharon was very good looking. There wasn’t a man alive that would argue against that point. She had a glamour model’s body, with big round breasts and tiny hips, while somehow still managing to sport a very big and perky backside. She also had big plump lips, bigger doe eyes, and long blonde hair that swept down her back and seemed to glimmer in the light.

But she was also dumb. Like really dumb. She was very chatty, personable, and an excellent sales assistant, but she was dumb as a post. I’d hired her more out of desperation to fill the spot than anything. Plus, I was certain that she would be able to sell the merchandise like nobody’s business.

“Sharon, when you arrived this morning, was there a woman here? Blonde hair, curvy hips, looked like she wanted to kill someone?”

“Yup,” Sharon said, nodding her head. “Oh yes, she was very mad when she saw me. I’ve never seen someone so mad. Expect this one time at a bar. Or was it by the pool? Okay, there was a bar in the pool.”

“Sharon, is she here?” I interrupted, grabbing her by the arms in an effort to make her look at me and hopefully concentrate for just a moment.

“Oh, yes. She’s in the staff room, collecting her things. I had no idea she was the old manager. I thought she was a crazy homeless lady. Although, what she had said kind of led me to think that maybe—”

Shaking my head, I stormed past Sharon toward the back room. But before I was able to walk inside and finally confront Kendra, my phone rang. The call was from Jack, and I knew that if I ignored it, he would just keep calling and calling until I answered. The last thing I wanted was a vibrating phone in my pocket while I tried to talk sense into Kendra. So, I answered.

“What?” I said curtly. It was a little rude, but I was in a rush, and Jack really wasn’t at the top of my list of people I wanted to talk to in that moment.

“Hello, to you, too. How are you? How have you been? What’s good? These are but some of the acceptable greetings that people use when they answer the phone.”

“I really don’t have the time, Jack. So you can tell me why you called or we’ll talk later.”

“Okay, okay. God damn. If I knew that you were going to be such an asshole, I wouldn’t have bothered. Look, I was just calling to let you know that the new club is a go. The papers are ready to sign, and the spot has been found. All you need to do, my friend, is find management.”

“Management?” I asked, an idea suddenly striking me through the brain like lightning. “What kind of management?”

“I don’t know. Someone with experience. Someone who is good with numbers and all that crap. Luckily, they don’t have to be on the floor either. They’ll be in the back most of the time, so you don’t have to limit your choice to some babe. But having said that, if you do find one that can count past ten I would always recommend hiring her first.”

“I’ve got to go Jack. But I actually have someone in mind. Thanks.”

I hung the phone up, slipping it back into my pocket.

Jack had actually just given me an amazing idea. One of the better ones I had ever had, and one that might just save my relationship with Kendra. I just hoped it wasn’t too late.

I managed to catch her in the back room just as she was packing up the last of her things. When I burst into the room, she spared me a glance before looking back down at the box in front of her that she was packing. I’d never seen her look so mad.

“Kendra,” I said.

“Save it,” she fumed, shoving something else into the box. “I don’t care what you have to say. Nothing you say can make it better. Nothing! Understand?”

“I’m still going to try. First, I want to say that I had no idea that this job was such a big deal to you. Seriously!” I said, seeing her about to cut in.

“Then what? If you had known how much I cared about this job, you wouldn’t have fired me and hired Sharon the bimbo? Can she even spell her own name?”

“I realize that what I did was wrong. Understand? I do. And I want to make it up to you.”

“Are you going to give me my job back? Oh, kind boss, how generous of you to restore me to my job. Should I blow you now or later? Just say the word?” The words dripped off her tongue like acid as she picked up her box, making to storm passed me.

I jumped in her way, blocking her from leaving. “Just hear me out. You can’t have this job back. But I want to promote you. The hours will be better, and so will the money, and you will still be a manager.”

“You don’t get it, do you? It’s got nothing to do with the job. I could have been a cashier at Hooters for all it mattered, and I would still be just as furious with you as I am now.”

“But don’t you want to hear about the other job? It’s the manager position at the new club. The one owned by me and Jack, where we combine Luscious and his night clubs.”

“Get out of my way, Grant.”

I didn’t try and stop her that time. She went to push past me, and I stepped aside, letting her. And as she walked away, through the shop and out the door, she didn’t bother to turn back and look at me. She didn’t care if I was watching, or what my reaction was. She didn’t care about me at all. It was in that moment that I realized that I had lost her. It was in that moment that I realized that I had made a terrible, terrible mistake.