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Midmorning,I reread my text conversation with Alexa from earlier for the fifth time.
The part about her broken vibrator aroused me every time I read it. She had named the thing Thor. Did that imply it was gargantuan?
With my curiosity piqued, I located an online store for such items and started browsing.Gargantuanwas certainly one of the choices, along with more variations than I would have guessed.
“Got a minute?” Martin asked from door, surprising me.
I quickly closed the window on my screen. “Sure. What’s up?”
In the three weeks since he’d gotten my job, Martin had been down to my office several times asking for advice. In the past, I’d always thought he had more self-confidence than his lack of experience warranted. But his questions showed more self-awareness, and I liked the fact that he now understood his limitations better. He was therefore less likely to get the company into a bad position by rushing into a deal.
He walked in and leaned on one of the chairs opposite my desk, but didn’t sit. “Are you really sticking around?” He glanced around the office. “If my dad had stuck me in a shithole job like this, I woulda quit already.” It wasn’t the first time he’d suggested I was foolish for staying.
“Family.” It was the only answer I felt he needed.
“Okay then. It’s about Northern Aerospace.”
“Okay.” I motioned to the chair. “How can I help?” It also helped alleviate some of the boredom of this job to be thinking about the kind of deals I’d been immersed in before that unfortunate fountain incident.
He remained standing. “Could you spare the time to sit in on a meeting with them and give me your thoughts?”
This wasn’t as good as spending time with Alexa, but it was the next-best thing. I’d trained myself to keep a neutral tone when it was called for, and this was one of those times. “It depends. When?”
“Ten to noon.”
I clicked open my calendar, which only showed a call scheduled at three, and scratched my chin. “Yeah, I can do that, but I can’t stay if it runs late,” I lied. I had way too much free time here and was still working on the company-reputation plan Jeffrey had insisted I needed to come up with.
“Great.” Martin grinned. I’d made his day. “Upstairs, conference room three, and don’t tell your dad. I don’t want him thinking I lack confidence or anything.”
I nodded. “Not a word.” Especially since Dad had been adamant about me only involving myself in this community-outreach position until he thought the time was right.
Martin turned to go, but stopped at the door. “We missed you last night at the Golden Nugget.”
I’d accompanied him and Jerry there numerous times. It was his go-to bar for picking up girls, and he rarely struck out.
He put a finger in the air. “Oh, I forgot, you’re not available right now. You’re seeing that girl, what’s her name? You know going out too many times in a row with the same girl is going to ruin your rep.”
“I’m doing fine, thank you.” Sticking with Alexa rather than a rotating cast of arm candy was meant to improve myrepas he put it, but Martin was oblivious.
“Do I know her?” he asked.
“No. She’s an acquaintance from way back.” Just the wordacquaintancemade her sound more sophisticated than some of my previous dates. Oddly, I hadn’t chosen to use the wordfriend, although that’s what we had once been.
“From the pictures, she looks scorchin’ hot. What’s her name? Are her tits real? Last night I scored this chick with the biggest rack.” He held his hands out in front of his chest to emphasize the point.
I checked my watch. “I’ll see you at ten.” I picked up my desk phone.
“If not chicks, then we can get drunk and ponder the universe.”
“Not this week.”When he got the hint and left, I put the phone down. A month ago I would have found his exploits entertaining, but not today.
His suggestion that he was available to bat around my problem had some merit, though. He had even more experience with women than I did, and he might have some insight on how I could come clean with Alexa and not have her hate me. We often came up with novel ideas while brainstorming together.
Diane had left a note on my desk to call my brother, so I picked up my cell instead.
“Hi. Hold on,” Noah answered. “Give me a sec. I’ve got to take this,” he said to someone on the other end. “Sorry, I’m back. What’s up?”
“I’m returning your call.” I felt like addingdipshitbut didn’t. My brother was easily distracted.
