by Bob Brown
“I see you met Sydney,” Karen said with a smile as Kyle joined them.
“Yea, she came up and introduced herself. Seems really nice. It appears we have at least one thing in common. She lost her dad to cancer last year.”
Kyle paused, then continued, “You sure you don’t want to attend the graveside service? It’s small. Just family. And there isn’t much of that left. I’d love it if you were there.”
Jason glanced briefly at Karen, wrapping his arm more tightly around her waist. Then he said softly, “Thanks, but I think we’ll pass. You know I thought the world of your dad. He was like a second father to me. But it’s been less than a year since I buried my own parents. I’m not sure I can do it again, not just now. I hope you understand.”
“No problem said Kyle. I understand.”
As Jason and Karen said their goodbyes and walked away, the magic of the Immaculata reached out and touched Jason once again. But this time, what Jason felt was anything but peaceful. Instead, Jason had an uneasy sense that Mr. Garrett’s death was just the beginning, that perhaps the worst was yet to come. The feeling sent a chill down his spine.
Chapter 39
Jason first noticed the change in Kyle during one of their runs on the beach. It seemed like just a small thing, nothing to be concerned about.
It had been six months since the death of Mr. Garrett. Kyle had completed the transition of ownership at the dealership and had settled comfortably into his new role. And he was pretty much doing everything himself, having come to the realization that the GM position he previously occupied was largely an administrative role his dad had created just for him.
Now as they jogged across the sand, Jason became aware that Kyle was no longer running easily alongside him, no longer matching his strides in the surf. Jason sensed that Kyle was straining, his breathing more labored than it should have been for the pace the two were taking.
“Hey, are you OK?” Jason asked as the two trudged along.
“Yea, I think so. For some reason I’m just a little out of breath today. I might be catching a cold or something.” Kyle labored just to get the words out and maintain his pace.
“How about we call it a day, then?” suggested Jason.
“No, really, I think I’m OK. It’s just a little harder today than usual.”
But five minutes later, Kyle pulled up and both he and Jason slowed to a walk. Kyle squatted down, trying to catch his breath.
“No point pushing it,” said Jason. “A couple of miles is plenty if you’re not feeling well.”
“Seriously, I must have a cold,” replied Kyle. “I’ve been feeling pretty tired these last couple of days. Last night I fell asleep on the couch in front of the TV. And it was only 7 PM.”
“I’m sure you’re probably right,” Jason said. “What do you say we just walk back to the car?”
*****
Jason and Kyle walked casually back down the beach toward the pier, just two fiends out for a stroll in the sand on a Sunday afternoon. Jason actually found it nice to have the time to catch up a bit. It was much easier to talk while walking.
“Any movement by the city Planning Commission on Garrett’s request for rezoning of the corridor along Grand Avenue?” asked Jason.
“Funny you should ask. After almost two years of nothing, all of a sudden I got a letter in the mail yesterday that says the issue is going to be on the agenda for the June meeting. That’s next month. It’s finally on the schedule.”
“Don’t they meet quarterly?” asked Jason. “Why has it taken so long?”
“Guess the agenda was full. Hey, I’m not complaining. It’s not like we need the rezoning for any particular reason. It would just be nice to get the code re-aligned so that it accurately represents the actual nature of business in the area.”
Jason and Kyle had had this conversation periodically over the past several years. It’s not entirely unusual for pockets of neighborhoods within cities to have outdated zoning ordinances which either fail to reflect the nature of businesses or the desired direction of development within a zone.
Garrett Motors happened to be in an area zoned for residential mixed-use. The zoning probably made sense in the days when Pacific Beach was a growing beach community occupied by small shops and family homes, all within easy commute to the beach.
But over the years, as the price of real estate continued to increase, selected neighborhoods had been sold to commercial developers, who had since replaced most of the homes with shopping centers, office buildings, and car dealerships.
For several years Garrett had been lobbying the city of San Diego for a zoning change. A change in the zoning would ensure that businesses in the area were legally protected for such things as parking density, vehicle access, and building height. It was mostly about safeguarding the future of Garrett Motors, just in case the dealership ever needed to expand. Or in the event that -- for some reason -- the dealership ever needed to change the structure or purpose of its business.
“Do me a favor and keep me posted if anything changes,” said Jason. “I’m trying to pay more attention to how things work in the trenches of business.”
“Why the sudden interest?” Kyle asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing really. Every once in awhile I get to thinking that maybe one of these days I should start my own agency. I figure if the terrible twosome at Jagged Edge can succeed, then it can’t be that hard.”
“You should totally start your own business,” Kyle exclaimed. “I hope you realize that the only reason Sam and Alex have succeeded is because of you. Left to their own talents, they’d have been run out of San Diego years ago and would likely be back in Boston selling seafood to tourists.”
Jason laughed at that. But he knew Kyle was right. Sam and Alex were successful not because of any keen insight they had or any great advertising or marketing skills. They had made it to where they were because they happened to have the money to get started and because they had been smart enough or lucky enough to hire people like Jason to do the real work.
“Well, it’s just a thought I have every once in awhile,” said Jason. “But it’s more a dream than part of my long range plan. I don’t have the financing to make it happen, and I suspect I never will. But it’s fun to think about sometimes.”
“Never say never,” replied Kyle. “You just never know what God has planned.”
Jason let it go. Truth be told, he was a little bit tired of hearing about God’s plans.
*****
Later, as Jason pulled up in front of Kyle’s condo, he made his friend promise to take some cold medicine and get a good night’s sleep.
As he drove away, something didn’t feel right to Jason. Kyle had never been sick in all the time Jason had known him. And except for the month he spent on crutches following the football knee injury back in college, Jason had never even known Kyle to need an aspirin. Still, he reasoned, even the strongest fall down once in awhile. Even Kyle.
Chapter 40
Jason walked into the conference room. Alex was already seated on the far side of the table. Sam was seated next to Alex, and next to her was a middle-aged man Jason didn’t recognize. He was well-dressed, distinguished looking. ‘Madison Avenue,’ thought Jason.
“Jason, come on in and close the door behind you,” said Alex.
Jason closed the door and sat on the opposite side of the table from everyone else. It didn’t sound like it was going to be a good meeting, and he wanted to keep as far away from the danger as possible.
“Jason,” Sam began, “this is Jack Barrett. He has recently been hired to be our new Marketing Manager. Alex and I thought it was time that we bring someone on full time to help market Jagged Edge and bring in new business. We’ll be turning most of our day-to-day sales efforts over to Jack so we can focus on long-term strategy and customer relations.”
Jason’s head was suddenly spinning, generating questions more r
apidly than he could formulate answers. What do you mean ‘recently hired’? What exactly does this have to do with me? Alex and Sam focusing on customer relations? Yea, right.
“Hi, Jack. Nice to meet you.” Jason extended his right hand across the table. He figured he should at least make nice until he knew exactly what was going on.
The answers came faster than he had expected.
“This meeting is really just a courtesy to you, Jason,” said Alex, as if Jason wasn’t intended to be part of the meeting at all. “Because you are going to be working for Jack. Jack will eventually fill you in on all the details.”
OK, there it was.
“Jack was actually hired a couple of weeks ago. He came from a large agency in Texas. Dallas to be exact. He has spent the last couple of weeks traveling around and meeting with our key clients. Jack felt it would be beneficial to get a feel for who our customers are, what they think of our services, and whether they have any thoughts about how things could be done differently. At the same time, he was also putting feelers out for potential new customers.”
Jason was still stuck a couple of sentences back. “Let’s back up to the part where I’m working for Jack.”
Jason was sure he must have misunderstood. He had been at Jagged Edge almost seven years. Why would Sam and Alex bring in an outsider and launch him into a position over Jason? And in any case, he couldn’t imagine why as Director of Accounts he would be reporting to the Marketing Manager.
“That’s correct,” Alex replied bluntly. “We realize that from an organizational perspective, it might seem odd. But Jack comes from a Sales and Accounts background. He’s done both for a number of years. And he’s previously worked in companies in which the Sales and Accounts functions were blended. It only makes sense in smaller companies like ours. It the short term, it allows us to take advantage of individual talents without the burden of hiring additional personnel.”
“No disrespect intended to you or Sam,” Jason said to Alex, “but why wasn’t I consulted about this? At the very least I should have been informed that Jack was out talking to my clients.”
“Alex and I felt that Jack would get the most candid responses from clients if he approached them without prior contact.” Sam stared at Jason across the table.
“So you were afraid I might somehow tip off my clients that Jack was coming and attempt to solicit favorable responses from them? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Jason was furious and having a hard time hiding it. This entire scheme was an insult to him, to his Account Managers, and to his clients.
“And while I’m thinking about it,” Jason added, I’d like to see any and all feedback received from conversations with my clients.”
“Let’s make a couple things very clear here.” Alex was now standing and glaring at Jason. “First, Sam and I are still running Jagged Edge. You can check if you like, but I think our names are still on the door outside.
“Second, the decision regarding Jack has been made. I trust you’ll be able to live with that. But if not, feel free to tender your resignation. I guarantee you a rapid acceptance.
“And third, the whole point of sending Jack without advance notice was to obtain unbiased feedback so that we could establish a baseline for improvement. You will not be seeing that feedback, unless Jack feels there’s a specific reason you should be given access.”
Once again Sam and Alex had managed to out-due themselves. Just when Jason thought he had seen it all, they always managed to come up with something more outrageous. Once again his mind was racing. It was clear that his once-rising star was destined to become a flaming meteorite. The best he could hope for was a survivable truce, so that he could buy time to consider his options.
Jason found it difficult to control his anger, but he weighed his words carefully.
“Fine. I can see that you were right at the outset. This meeting really was just a courtesy to me. Clearly, all the decisions have already been made. Is there anything else you need from me?”
“Not just now,” replied Alex. Then she turned to Jack. “Jack?”
“Nothing now,” said Jack. “But I’ll be asking to meet with you early next week to talk strategy and potential clients.”
Jason excused himself and left the conference room, closing the door behind him. Déjà vu, he thought. Seems like every time he left the conference room any more he was closing the door behind another bad situation.
*****
As he exited the conference room and headed down the hall toward his office, Jason had the sudden urge to call Karen. She seemed to be about the only thing that was still right in his life. Except for Kyle. He just wanted to hear her voice, to be reassured that something was still in a proper orbit in his little corner of the universe.
But glancing at his watch, Jason realized Karen would still be in class. They had an agreement that Jason would never call during class hours unless it was an absolute emergency. Karen had said it was school policy. As bad as he felt, Jason knew this was not the kind of emergency excepted by school policy.
So Jason did something he had never done in all the time he had been working at Jagged Edge. He grabbed his coat, offered some lame excuse to his secretary, and rode the elevator to the ground floor. Then he walked around the corner and down two blocks to Bernie’s.
Bernie’s was the kind of bar you found in every city. Most often, they seemed to be around office buildings. It was like the owners knew that every day of every week there were going to be meetings like the one Jason had just attended. And right afterward, the people who had sat on the wrong side of the table would be looking for someplace like Bernie’s.
So the bars were always there. And they were always open.
Jason figured he must have hiked past Bernie’s a hundred times, coming or going from lunch or to a meeting within walking distance from the office. But he had never once thought about going in. Now, as he entered through the grimy glass-front door, Bernie’s looked exactly as he would have imagined it, had he actually taken time to imagine it.
Bernie’s was a dark, dusty, dank hole-in-the-wall. It was just what Jason was looking for.
There was a beat up old bar, half a dozen stools covered in torn, red vinyl, five tables, and an odd collection of chairs that could have come from anybody’s garage sale -- and probably did. There was jukebox along one wall. Jason assumed it must be broken, since the electrical cord was dangling across the top of the machine. Above the bar hung a classic Budweiser sign, the one with the Clydesdales pulling the oversized wooden wagon. Not surprisingly, this too was broken, intermittently flashing on and off as if to somehow underscore that only the broken ended up at Bernie’s.
On the far wall was an odd assortment of old briefcases, unceremoniously nailed directly to the dark plywood paneling. Some were autographed. Others had logos of companies Jason didn’t recognize and which he assumed had long since gone out of business. Still others were scrawled with parting shots from their unhappy owners. One in particular caught Jason’s eye: ‘Take this job and shove it.’
‘Must have been a Jagged Edge employee,’ thought Jason.
Jason sat at the end of the bar. It just seemed like the right place to sit. Not that he had competition for seats. He was the only one at Bernie’s at 2:15 PM on Thursday afternoon. He tried to order his favorite beer from the bartender, but Bernie’s didn’t have Pacifico. So Jason ordered a Budweiser. Then he ordered a couple more. Eventually he lost count.
*****
Jason wasn’t sure how he got home, much less when. But when he awoke at 1 AM to the sound of his cell phone ringing, Jason somehow managed to recall his afternoon at Bernie’s. He was still wearing most of his work clothes. Absent were the coat and tie, but he’d only managed to remove the shoe and sock from one foot.
The call was from Karen. And there were four other missed calls. All from Karen.
Jason debated
whether he should take the call. He wasn’t thinking clearly enough to weigh all the options in his mind, so he just went with the notion that he’d probably have an easier time explaining why he was half-drunk than why he hadn’t answered any of Karen’s calls. Jason had learned that -- for some reason -- women get suspicious when their late night calls aren’t returned.
“Hi, hon,” Jason said in a voice that even he thought sounded like he had been drinking.
“Jason, where are you? Have you been drinking?” Duh.
“Look, before we have an argument, which is the last thing I want or need right now, let me first say that I’m sorry for missing your calls. I know you’ve probably been worried about me.”
“Damn right I’ve been worried. Where have you been?”
In the humblest, most sober-sounding voice he could manage, Jason spent the next ten minutes telling Karen about the meeting he had had at Jagged Edge. At least the parts he could remember. Then he described in no particular detail his afternoon at Bernie’s -- mostly because he couldn’t remember any detail.
“You could have been killed driving home,” Karen said, clearly disappointed in Jason's behavior. But it was late and there was no point trying to talk reason to her half-drunk boyfriend.
“Jason, I’m just glad you’re home safe,” Karen continued. I’m worried about you. But we can talk about it in the morning."
“Thanks, Oz. I really just need to get some sleep. I’m sorry for having worried you. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
*****
After Karen hung up, Jason just lay there on the couch, trying to find some order for the puzzle pieces that represented his life. Corner piece: Karen. Corner piece: Kyle. Piece with the torn edges: That would be Jagged Edge. Missing piece: His parents.
Jason reasoned he at least still had two out of four corners intact. He knew from experience that once the corners were good, the rest of the pieces were easier to fit. He suspected that with a good night’s sleep and a handful of aspirin, maybe the pieces would appear to fit a little better in the morning.