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I’ve never met Hazel, yet I don’t like her. I’ve fielded plenty of her condescending messages, that’s for sure. This email is written in her usual tone: polite but passive-aggressive. She made the point that she could do the work without me, but she sugar-coated it so as not to come off rude.
There’s been a rumor going around that Devina might be fired soon. That means one of the Sales Leads will get the Sales Manager position. Hazel must have figured out—like I did—that the promotion would go to either her or me.
“Yo, bro, what’s wrong?” My brother Brett sips the latte he purchased not long ago at the airport Starbucks. He’s been nursing the thing like it contains medicine vital to his survival. It’s the third latte I’ve seen him drink since we left Utah this morning. I guess traveling with two kids makes a guy dependent on caffeine. I wouldn't know—never been a dad myself.
“Work stuff,” I grumble before shoving my phone into my pocket. “No big deal.”
“Man, you looked salty about something.”
“My manager’s just tough to work for, and she’s been worse than usual lately. I think she knows she might get canned soon. I knew she’d bug me this week; I just didn’t figure it would start on day one.”
“Dang, dude. What’s she want?”
“Another salesperson from the company won this trip, too. My manager wanted us to meet, but this Hazel woman nixed the idea quickly. It’s better that way, but still gets under my skin.”
“Why?” With trained reflexes, Brett catches his youngest daughter—my niece—Ophelia, as she flings herself at him.
“Daddy, there are dolphins right outside!” Ophelia squeals. “Come on, I’ll show you!”
“Baby girl, Uncle Jack and I are talking. Hang on a sec, and then I’ll go look.” He talks over her head. “Jackie, bud, can’t you forget about work for the week? You earned this trip. Still can’t believe you managed to talk your way into letting us tag along.”
“Better having you guys here than being here on my own. Dolphins aren’t as cool if you’re on your own.”
“That a fact?” Brett grins. He holds Ophelia’s hands as she walks her feet up his legs like some gymnast on monkey bars. “I wouldn’t mind solo travel one of these days.”
“Daddy!” Ophelia squeals. “That’s mean.”
“I’m teasing. I love traveling with my girls.” He flips Ophelia, and she lands nimbly on her feet. “Go check on your mom, will you?”
Ophelia skips over to the ladies’ room. Brett’s wife disappeared into it with their oldest, Jasmine, a few minutes ago to freshen up before we ventured to the bungalow.
“Seriously, bro,” Brett says before taking a long drag on his latte. “A solo beach vacation sounds like heaven. I’d take day naps on the warm sand. Day naps. You know I haven’t had a day nap since Jasmine came along? That’s thirteen years of being tired.”
“Yeah, right. I walked in on you snoring in front of the Packers-Lions game last Sunday.”
He tosses me a guilty smile. “Okay, whatever, maybe for like five minutes. But I’m talking about the life-changing kind of nap, where you pass out, sleep the sleep of the dead, and wake up with a clear head and a whole new outlook on life. That kind of nap. Anyway, it was cool of you to get us in on this trip.”
“No big deal.”
“How’d you do it? Corinne says your influencer status worked in our favor, but she didn’t know the details.”
“I may have sweet-talked the resort agent. She liked my jokes… and my promise of daily posts about what a family-friendly establishment they have here. You cool with it if I share a few snapshots of you and Corinne and the girls with the dolphins and stuff?”
“We’re at your mercy, man. And the next time, if you can get airfare included, we’ll let you shoot a video. We’ll go on reality TV. We’ll give live testimonials.”
“No need to take it that far.”
“I’m serious, though. You need some contacts in the airline industry. Imagine a pic of me and Corinne flipping on the in-flight Disney movie while Jasmine and Ophelia sip cranberry juice and giggle. Maybe you could get some kind of discount for that. Anyway, we appreciate this. Corinne wants to give you money for the bungalow.”
“No way. I’m not paying, and neither are you guys.”
He loops his arm around my shoulder. “I gotta say, there are serious perks to having a big-shot Instagram personality in the fam. Star salesman, too, judging by the fact that you earned this trip and haven’t even been with them for a year. What’s the job again? Buzz Something?”
“Buzzy Digital Marketing.”
“I like ‘em. You should stick with this gig.”
“You’re saying that because you want a repeat trip next February.”
