by Warren Cain
“You miserable slut. You destroyed everything I worked for because you couldn’t stay out of your boss’s pants.”
A surge of rage that had built up for the past two months suddenly gave in to all of its desires in light of the new revelations.
“YOU RUINED MY LIFE!”
Two shots fired into Gloria’s chest. Her eyes looked at Mike as if to say, “I can’t believe you just did that.” Her mouth opened as she slowly fell to the ground.
“Damn you!” said Jeff, hoping to catch Mike off guard.
The words instead provided the warning he needed to defend himself against his oncoming assailant. Mike swiftly stepped to the side to avoid Jeff. Mike put his foot out, causing Jeff to fall to the ground with Mike standing over him from behind. Jeff knew instantly it would likely be the last mistake he would ever make. Smoke followed the bullet from the pistol that confirmed Jeff’s final thought.
Jeff’s body lay perfectly still on the ground.
“I killed them. Oh . . . no.”
Mike’s intention was to scare both of them. To make them realize what they had done. Now the reality of the situation hit him. He had killed them.
They took away my dream, he thought, trying to justify his actions.
A sudden terror that he would get caught came over him.
I can’t face my classmates if they find out I did this.
He was suddenly filled with scenarios of what his life would be like after they found out he did it. He could feel the warmth of the gun and smell the fresh gunpowder as he put the pistol in his mouth and without emotion pulled the trigger.
Chapter 16
The sun’s rays moved across the floor of the forest at various intervals determined by the passing clouds and the thick canopy of the large oak trees that reached towards the sky. The dramatic effect was only increased by the strange quietness that now filled the area.
Jeff stood in the largest of the sun’s rays as it passed over him, watching Mike Hollister as he put the gun to his own temple.
What’s he doing?
A minute of confusion passed over him as he tried to recall how he got here.
“No,” he said, running towards Mike.
BOOM.
Oh, Mike, no.
He turned away from the horrible sight.
Can’t believe I saw that and didn’t lose my lunch.
He felt a wave of relief as it occurred to him he must have survived.
He must have missed me, he thought, recalling the shot. But what about Gloria?
Jeff turned to the spot where he saw Gloria fall. A growing pool of blood surrounded her in the dirt.
Oh, no.
Jeff looked away from the horrible sight, feeling a tug of responsibility for this mess.
No. It wasn’t my fault. He pulled the trigger.
As he turned, he noticed a third body on the ground. Only one thought came to his mind as he recognized the third body.
I’m dead. He shot me, and I’m dead.
Jeff walked over to his body and tried to turn it over to look at his face.
I can’t touch it. NO. I’m not ready to die. I’ve got more to do. What about all the things I was going to do when I sold my share of the company? I was going to travel and spend some time with my daughter I barely know. It can’t be my time.
“It’s time to go, Jeff.”
“Robert? Is that you?” Jeff didn’t know what else to say. He had envied his brother and resented the way everyone compared the way he ran the business, but now he was speechless upon seeing him.
“It’s good to see ya, little bro.”
“It was so hard without you. We were supposed to run the business together until we retired. You know, take our yearly fishing trip to Lake Latoon. I stopped taking that trip. Got too busy at work.”
“Yeah, I’m afraid the business was too much for you. You would do anything to save that business. You almost gave up your soul for it, Jeff. You’ve done some bad things. Unnecessary things.”
Try to defend what you’ve done, he thought, but deep down, seeing his dead body on the ground, knowing his life was over, he knew he had little defense. None of the things I thought were important matter at all now.
“Am I going to be able to stay with you?”
“You won’t be able to stay with me now,” answered Robert. “You have work to do. Come on.”
A bright light appeared in front of them, and Robert stood up and walked in. Jeff gave one last glance at his unmoving body.
Guess this is it.
Jeff walked into the light and disappeared.
Chapter 17
The sky was filled with dark storm clouds, and the wind blew fiercely across the green pasture where Jeff now found himself. A large figure wearing a suit of armor and riding a massive black horse rode through the tall grass toward him, stopping close enough to Jeff that he could feel the hot breath of the Belgian whose lathered appearance said it had traveled a long way.
“Jeff McCarry. I have much to show you. Mount the horse and ride with me.”
“What if I choose not to?” Jeff asked. The habit had been developed over his years as a businessman.
Find out why you should do something. What are the consequences if you do it or if you don’t, and can you get something better? This was the philosophy he learned to live his life by.
“Then I suppose,” stated the knight with a hint of a smile in his eyes, “as you watch me ride away from here in a few seconds you will be consumed by one thought: I wonder where he was going to take me?”
I don’t know. Jeff’s mind was racing. The businessman in him wanted to stay here and try to gain some advantage over this situation. But what? What advantage is there? he thought, trying to work this situation as though it were business.
“Have it your way.” The knight turned his horse.
“Wait! I . . . I’ll go.”
Jeff was in awe at the feeling of power that came from riding on such a beast. The scenery flew by, giving him a sense of tremendous speed, yet the horse looked as though the run required little effort.
The knight pulled up to an area that didn’t belong among the green pastures they had been riding through. A group of palm trees and white sand surrounded a pool of the clearest blue water Jeff had ever seen.
Even the weather seems different here.
The knight dismounted and made a motion indicating Jeff should do the same. Jeff dismounted, and the knight took the riding equipment off the horse.
“Go on, play.”
The horse turned and ran as though he understood. The ground shook as the horse took off at a speed that more than doubled that which had brought them here.
“How come we didn’t ride him here that fast?”
“Because I like to stay on the back of him when I want to get somewhere,” the knight laughed.
“Jarod,” he said, simply holding out his hand.
“Jeff McCarry.”
Jeff took his first good look at the knight. His face was that of an old man, but his eyes were full of youth. There was energy in them that Jeff had never seen before.
Jarod looked at the small lake. The sun reflected onto his face, giving it a leathery texture. His beard was white minus a gray area just below his lips. His smile faded and a thoughtful expression crossed his face.
“What was J&R McCarry Company’s greatest flaw this past year, Jeff?”
“That’s easy. We couldn’t get the projects done in time and had to pay liquidated damages, which ate up most of the profits we would have earned.”
“What were you doing about it?”
“We were evaluating our production flaws. Man, machinery, and management. Top to bottom. We were making changes the way we always do when we come upon a problem.”
“And the busines
s’s greatest strength?”
“We grew the company when we took over GH Logan, an up-and-coming firm. Our stock was worth roughly ten percent more with the addition.”
Jarod paused for a second. “What about you? What was your greatest weakness this past year?”
“What do you mean?”
“You. What was your flaw that hindered you the most?”
Jeff tried to think of an answer, but nothing came to his mind.
“You kept such a close eye on the company, but you couldn’t take the time to see what your own flaws were. Life is always changing, Jeff, and sometimes flaws work their way into our characters if we don’t take time to look at ourselves and see what we’re becoming.”
“I . . .”
“How about greed, Jeff. Were you a little greedy this last year? Or maybe you were too willing to do anything to keep the company going, too willing to cheat and lie to get what you wanted, too busy stepping on people who were under you. Did you stop and look at yourself, Jeff? DID YOU?” Jarod’s tone was harsh and quickening with each word.
The truth of the knight’s words hit Jeff like knife.
“I . . . I didn’t—”
“NO. YOU DIDN’T, DID YOU,” the knight interrupted, cutting off whatever Jeff’s words might have been. “YOU WERE TOO BUSY BEING AN ARROGANT, SELF-SERVING EXCUSE OF A MAN. YOU GOT MIKE AND GLORIA KILLED.”
“NO . . .THAT’S NOT TRUE.”
The thought that he was to blame for Mike and Gloria’s death had crossed his mind, but to hear someone else say it was too much.
Jeff screamed as he flung himself at the knight.
The knight stood and dodged the oncoming attack. Jeff was caught by surprise that the old man could move so quickly. Jarod grabbed the back of Jeff’s neck with one hand and pulled his right arm behind his back. Jeff struggled but could not overcome the old knight’s strength.
“You need to take a look at yourself.”
“Let me go or I’ll—”
Jarod ignored whatever futile threat Jeff was about to make as he pulled him over to the edge of the water.
“LOOK!” he said, pushing Jeff’s head into a position to allow him to see his reflection in the water.
“Let me go!” As Jeff strained to free himself, he caught his reflection in the pool. He ceased struggling.
Something strange about the reflection. It’s looking at me. A chill ran through him.
Jarod released his grip and backed away.
I didn’t move my eyes, but my reflection’s eyes are moving.
“What . . . What do you want from me?”
His reflection slowly moved his hands from his side. Jeff’s eyes widened in amazement.
Without warning, the reflection broke the surface of the water and met Jeff face to face. Jeff tried to back away, but the reflection, now as real as himself, grabbed him.
“Why don’t you take a closer look, Jeff?” The reflection went quickly back under the surface, pulling his confused counterpart down with him.
Chapter 18
Jeff struggled against his reflection now pulling him down through the water with an alarming amount of force.
NO. It was the only thought that came to his panic-stricken mind.
He had swallowed a fair amount of water from the unexpected plunge, and despite the fear that overcame him he found it impossible to escape the grip of his reflection.
I’m going to die.
“You’re not going to die. Well, at least not again, for a while, anyway,” his counterpart said, smiling.
Jeff looked up to find himself sitting at the large oak table in the J&R McCarry conference room. He was surprised to see himself sitting at the side of the table instead of taking his usual place at the head.
Just forgot about it. It’s a dumb idea. Jeff heard the thought in his mind, but knew it didn’t belong to him. I can’t even make myself move. It’s like someone else is in control, and all I can do is watch.
“Well, where is our arrogant boss when you need him?” said a short slender woman with dark hair and glasses sitting across the table.
That’s Kim Manchester, Jeff thought to himself.
“Be on time . . . I need your ideas,” she continued with a sarcastic voice. “Hell, why doesn’t he just tell us to come down here so he can shoot down our ideas and then tell us what we’re going to do?”
She’s talking about me.
“I thought you liked Jeff,” replied a short, well-dressed man near the head of the table.
“It’s called sucking up to the boss, Louie. I thought you of all people would recognize sucking up.”
The group at the table seemed to enjoy the comment. The woman relished the attention she was getting at Jeff’s expense and decided to continue.
“There’s only one person that really likes him, Louie.”
“Who, me?” mumbled Louie, trying cautiously not to become the butt of another joke.
“No, him.”
I didn’t have any idea they viewed me this way. I just wanted to keep the business running, and I tried to include them in these meetings so they would feel involved.
“What about you, Matt? You’re the NEW guy. You got any NEW ideas?” said Kim, looking directly at Jeff.
Don’t tell them what you’re thinking. Jeff could hear the thought. I’m Matt . . . Matt. What was his last name? He was supposed to be a financial genius. Thought maybe he would help pull our fat out of the fire. Never had any good ideas as far as I could tell. I don’t think he stayed with us very long.
Jeff McCarry burst into the room with a loud bang of the door. The room fell silent at his entrance.
“All right, people, we need to get some ideas to cure our financial situation. We’ve been in a slump, and right now I’m open to suggestions.”
Wow. I’ve never sat back and took the time to listen to how I sounded. Where was the “Good morning . . . how is everyone today?”
Say it. It’s a good idea.
What’s this kid thinking? Jeff’s curiosity was getting the better of him.
“I have an idea.” Jeff could sense the nervousness Matt was feeling and the courage he had to find to even speak.
“What’s your idea, Mike?” A wave of uneasiness swept through the room at the realization that Jeff got Matt’s name wrong.
It’s Matt, you jackass.
Sorry, Jeff thought in response to Matt’s harsh thought.
Wow, that made him even more uncomfortable. Jeff could feel Matt’s pulse quicken and his heart pounding as his blood pressure escalated.
“As best as I can figure Mr. McCarry, J&R Construction owns approximately $15 billion worth of equipment.”
“That might be true,” said Jeff with a look as though he wanted Matt to hurry up and spit out whatever it was he wanted to say.
“For the six months I’ve been here, at any given time there is about $8 billion worth of equipment just sitting in our yards gathering dust.”
“Don’t even think about selling it. We need that equipment for backup in case our other equipment breaks down.”
“Why can’t we just rent if that happens?”
“If we have it in our yards, we know we can use it and don’t have to waste time trying to figure out where to rent it from.”
“But we can—”
“NO. Now does anyone else have any ideas that will actually work?”
As Jeff heard himself say no he felt the disappointment Matt was feeling. He could also see the memory of Matt checking on the cost and availability of rental equipment.
That would have saved us money. He would have gotten the money from the sale of the equipment and we would have saved even more on property tax for the equipment we didn’t use. This kid had it all worked out, and I wouldn’t listen.
I need to
find a company that can use me. Hell, I’ve got enough ideas on how to save this company money to put them well into the black if he could keep his arrogance out of the way.
The room disappeared before Jeff’s eyes, and he was thrust into the center of a room surrounded on all sides by full-length mirrors.
Not my reflection again, thought Jeff, remembering the last glimpse of his reflection.
“Not pleasant to look at, is it?” Jarod asked.
Jeff turned to see one of his reflections that failed to mirror the image he was projecting, but was the old knight standing in front of him.
“I don’t think I want to see any more of myself.”
“It’s not up to you, but you are done seeing the negative aspects of your life.”
Jeff found himself sitting on the shore of the pond sitting on the bank line near the knight. Next to the knight stood a small girl he estimated to be about ten years old. Her eyes were shining, and a warm smile gave a sense that she was extremely happy.
The smile failed to penetrate the shame Jeff was now feeling in light of the scene he had just witnessed.
“I . . . I can’t believe I paid that guy money to help us out financially and then I wouldn’t take the time to listen. He would have kept the company from being in the distressed situation we were in, the situation which caused me to go to extreme measures to save it.”
The memory of Gloria getting shot suddenly came back to him.
That’s strange. I had put that out of my mind.
“Sometimes the little things we do or don’t do end up being the major turning points in our lives. You might think you shouldn’t have tried to blackmail Gloria, and you shouldn’t have, mind you. But the situation would have not presented itself if you had taken the time and listened to Matt and he would still be happily employed at your company. That was the goal you and Robert started the company with,” said Jarod.
“To provide a work environment that was supportive and didn’t overlook anyone. That was our agreement after we left Carter Construction. They forgot about the employees and worried too much about the money. I lost sight of that. Robert never did. If I had stayed focused on them, they would have taken care of the company.”