I finished up. I pulled the curtain back. It was still my place. I took care of it. I wrapped myself in a towel and looked in my bedroom. I didn’t see him. I went downstairs and saw him getting dressed.
“You ok?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” said Alex.
“What are you up to?”
“I’m headed out,” said Alex.
“You going home?”
“Yeah,” said Alex, “Gonna go crash.”
“You can crash here, you’re welcome to.”
“Naw,” said Alex, “It’s ok. I feel like I need to crash for a while.”
“Then why drive? Just crash here.”
“The couch is too short,” said Alex.
“OK.” I stopped pushing him. If he wanted to go, he was free to go. He went.
“Do you call? Do you text? What do you do?”
“I call,” said Alex.
“Then do what you do.” I didn’t know what was up with Alex but he seemed nervous, with nothing to be nervous about. He went out the door and that was that. He had a wild side. I saw it for myself. I don’t know if that had anything to do with anything but his leaving was abrupt, to say the least. I tried not to focus on it but I did. It was a lazy Saturday. But my mind was busy. I did what any self-respecting woman would do. I turned on recorded episodes of American Horror Story. I turned up the volume. I turned the shades down. I turned my brain off. It was aided by vanilla bean ice cream. I thought about the saved contacts in my phone. They were there for a reason. Jessie was the go-to. I gave Jessie, Camille and even my grandma the night off. It was the witches coven that took the stage.
Chapter Nine
I didn’t hear from Alex on Sunday. But I heard from someone else. Monday came with two surprises--one at work and one that required a lot of it. At work, somehow all the senior managers in the company told me something that they could have told me earlier. They really should have told me earlier. Before Longboard left the office, he discussed the creation of a new management role. He didn’t leave too many details. But there was one senior managers’ meeting that took place. And there were a few guidelines to help narrow down the nature of the job. The role was as an investment manager. All of our investments were in funds. Each fund had its own manager. The investment manager would have different duties. There were basically four job duties:
Analyze periodic and annual reports and prepare a report detailing the performance of float investments and analyzing the accuracy of performance forecasts.
Maintain periodic and detailed communications with fund managers including one annual in-person meeting; and to update Key Way companies on the subject of such communication.
To research unsubscribed funds for potential investment of company float, capital and monies.
To stay abreast of the investment regulatory environment, at all times, and update Key Way companies on all regulatory changes to maintain the compliance and legal standard of all Key Way companies.
(a) Investment manager is expected to liase with Key Way legal department and/or general counsel to make sure legal department is on notice of all potential or future changes in the regulatory environment for all investments of all Key Way companies.
It was a lot to digest. It was a wonder they didn’t forward it to me sooner. It was more pissing off than it was a wonder. Still, I had to create the position from whole cloth. HR did the hiring but I had to scratch the surface. I had to talk to everyone in the office who would have input as to whom the ideal candidate would be and draft the proposed criteria. And there was the question of whether to get someone from the outside or internal. I did it the easy way. I spent pretty much my whole day on Monday, drafting a survey. I searched online for similar positions and I used a lot of the same language in the candidate job description. It wasn’t finished by the time I left. But it could have gone out. It just wasn’t formatted. But I could do that the next day. I stayed almost an hour later to reread my survey to make sure it was legit. Somehow, I thought the other managers were testing me. I didn’t think I could get any of them to admit to it. But it was probably Karen or Olina’s idea and the rest of them didn’t have any backbone to stand up to either of them. That was one reason I still had my protective cover wrapped around Camille. I knew David didn’t have enough backbone to support her. Carrying his baby probably didn’t make a difference. There were guys like Longboard who had the balls to start the fourth largest insurance company in the state. And then there were guys like David, who looked to guys like Longboard for a job.
After I left the office, I had to go to work. I went straight home. That was my usual ritual. To go out after work required planning. That’s why Fridays were best. I could save bits of energy during the week and exhaust it all on a Friday. But Mondays were hard to plan for. I would have been better off if I didn’t go straight home. When I got to my duplex, I saw a familiar sign, a classic. It was the ’68 platinum blue Firebird--America the beautiful. But it made me swallow nothing but air. That was Stefen’s car. He wasn’t supposed to be in until the weekend. That wasn’t the case, obviously. As I pulled into my carport, I didn’t know what to do. Dude said he would be in Honolulu on the weekend and now he was parked on my street. I guess I had to be thankful he didn’t park in my carport and block me. But there’s an oft crossed line between romantic and creepy. Just showing up at my place was creepy. I could imagine he was trying to surprise me. Surprises weren’t the best thing for a career woman. As I got out of my car, Stefen got out of his. The windows were tinted so I wasn’t sure anyone was in the car. I decided to be a big girl and acknowledge him. It would take an idiot to not recognize that Firebird.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” said Stefen.
“I thought you were coming in this weekend.”
“I called a buddy of mine and he set me up with this lawyer here,” said Stefen.
“Why do you need a lawyer?”
“I don’t need a lawyer,” said Stefen, “I need legal advice.”
“For what?”
“It’s just compliance stuff,” said Stefen, “I think I’m ok but I just want to make sure. My business is the only thing I got going at the moment. So I gotta protect it.”
“That’s true.”
“So how have you been?” asked Stefen.
“I’m good, busy.”
“That’s good,” said Stefen.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” said Stefen.
“Why did you come meet me like this?”
“Like what?” said Stefen.
“You drop by like this afterwork. No notice.”
“I wanted to see you,” said Stefen.
“You could call first. I didn’t even know you were on the Island. I thought you were coming in this weekend.”
“Well, I guess that explains it,” said Stefen.
“Explains what?”
“Why you were out with some other guy?” said Stefen.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean Saturday,” said Stefen, “At Local Location. You were with someone.”
“You were there?”
“Yeah,” said Stefen, “It was crowded. I thought about coming to say hi. But then I saw you had company.”
“Are you upset or something? I don’t get it.”
“I don’t know. It was just a surprise,” said Stefen.
“Why would it be?”
“Well, you were at my place a few weeks ago,” said Stefen.
“Yeah, and then the case turned cold.”
“What do you mean?” said Stefen.
“I didn’t hear from you. I had nothing on you. I didn’t know what was up with you. You were cold casing.”
“I was busy,” said Stefen.
“I give you that.”
“I had things to take care of,” said Stefen.
“If something’s important to you, you put in the work. I guess that explains why you don’t have a real job. You don’t want to pu
t in the work.”
“That’s messed up” said Stefen, “I’m being an entrepreneur. That means I have to bust my ass.”
“Yeah, aren’t they all. Go ahead dude bust your ass I’m not stopping you.”
“What does that mean? said Stefen.
“Every dude’s got a story on this Island. Every dude’s about to get signed to a surf team or record label or modelling. Those are the kinda guys I’ve met in a lifetime on this island. And I know nuts roll downhill. If you wanna lose at life, might as well lose in paradise. That’s why so many come this way. Explain to me how you’re different?”
“Cuz my business turns a profit,” said Stefen, “Not where I wanna be yet but I’m building something. I’m not sitting around making excuses.”
“That’s good for you, Stefen.” I went to silence. It was the easiest way to shake guys up. He looked at me but didn’t say anything. Guys who lose their tongue or can’t handle silence annoyed me. He could’ve had the floor but he didn’t take it. It was just annoying. How big do your balls have to be to say something--anything?
“Bye Stefen.” As I turned around, there was a yank on my right wrist. It felt like my grandma yanking me when I was a kid. There was a quick flash of her when I was a kid. But I was taller than her as an adult. It was the last time someone had yanked me by the wrist. It took me half a second to turn back around and see Stefen with his outstretched arm tugging on my wrist. Yanking back would have caused injury, so I relaxed my whole arm. He was in control like on top of the pool table. But his energy was different. It wasn’t mutual. It was binary--ones and zeros. I guess I was the zero because nothing I said or did mattered to him.
“Stefen, be a gentleman and let me go.”
“Gentleman,” said Stefen, “You just said I’m a loser.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah you did,” said Stefen.
“No, I did not.”
“So now you wanna call me stupid,” said Stefen.
“Once again that’s not the word I used. Let me go. It’s late and I’ve been at work all day.”
“See there you go again,” said Stefen, “You trying to hang that work thing over me. You think I’m not busy or something just cuz I don’t wear a suit?”
“I don’t know if you’re busy or not Stefen because you don’t call me up. That’s my point.”
“OK,” said Stefen, “But I’m here now.”
“Now is not a good time. That’s the whole point in calling in advance.” I turned toward the stairs up to my duplex. I thought turning around would drop a bigger hint. But he yanked me back, closer to him. I folded my left arm in from of me. I could smell his breath and it smelled like before. But this time I was paying attention and recognized he had been drinking. I realized he had the same smell when I first met him, when he took me to the clinic. But I was wounded. At that time, I wasn’t about to pick up on something like that. But his eyes looked different. There was an aggression there. It wasn’t the aggression of a predatory animal. It was the aggression of a wounded animal. He was hurt. It was weird to think of someone that strong on the outside being so easily undone. I could feel the strength in his grip and I could feel him holding back. His biceps were bulging. Veins were popping out of his skin like parasites.
“Stefen, are you trying to hurt me because you are.”
“I’m trying to explain something to you,” said Stefen.
“And you have to do that while crushing my wrist bones?”
“I’m not crushing anything,” said Stefen.
“That’s easy to say when it’s not your wrist.” He let go and took a step back. I didn’t want to run. He’d catched me before I made it to the stairs. It was a black-and-white feeling--bittersweet. I was in my carport, twenty-feet from my front door. But I was on the wrong side of my front door. I didn’t say anything I just stood there. I felt safer near him than trying to get away from him. I wasn’t sure if it was alcohol or his own frail psyche. But it seemed that running away would be another insult to his ego. So I just stood there, hoping for a resolution. It came. An old 90s silver-toned Mazda RX-7 came up the street. It wasn’t moving fast, as if it had been parked. The car pulled up into my carport, behind my Protege. I was blocked in. It wasn’t a commotion. But it was a surprise. As Stefen turned his head to look, the idea came to me to run. But my instinct didn’t support my idea. My instinct took the form of curiosity. Something told me wait and see. I didn’t have to wait long. The car parked without cutting off the engine. I heard the door open without seeing it happen. But I saw who came out. It was Longboard, my boss. He had a black leather jacket and looked very much the mob enforcer. He had grown his hair out a little. Before, he had it cut religiously. But he was recognizable. As he got closer I could tell his leather jacket was good quality. It wasn’t a suit but it was probably Italian. He always wore Italian. He walked directly toward Stefen. He didn’t even seem to recognize me. He walked straight up to Stefen and grabbed him by the shirt.
“This island’s not that small,” said Longboard, “Don’t let me see you around again.”
“We’re having a conversation,” said Stefen.
“And now it’s over,” said Longboard.
“Who are you?” asked Stefen.
“Stefen, just do what he says. He’s not the guy to be messin’ with.”
“Listen to her,” said Longboard. Stefen was clearly taller but Longboard was bigger. His frame was wider. It wasn’t male peacock versus male peacock. They were two different species--one a drifter; the other a doer. I couldn’t see the look in Longboard’s eyes. But he was a hunter. It’s how he built his business empire. Stefen was a scavenger. He set up shop in Kaua’i and waited for tourists. Stefen didn’t have the DNA to stand up to a creature like Longboard. Stefen turned. If he had a tail, I knew where it would have been. He walked toward his car, turned the engine on and drove off. He did it like a robot, like he was programmed. Despite standing a few feet away, Longboard didn’t do anything for me, neither bad nor good. I had the most neutral feeling toward him, I could ever imagine having. He was there. I was there. That was it.
He turned and looked at me, less than four feet between us. I should have had a lot of questions. But I didn’t say anything. I don’t know why.
“Could I ask a favor?” said Longboard. That was out of left field. What would a billionaire need from me?
“I’ve been doing you favors all day. I’m your office manager. You left me a lot to manage.”
“Yeah I know that I tossed you into the gladiator ring,” said Longboard.
“More like the circus ring. You’ve got everything including the bearded lady.”
“You mean Karen,” said Longboard, “She’s not so bad.”
“She’s not so low on testosterone either.”
“She gets her point across,” said Longboard.
“Why are you here?”
“I need help,” said Longboard.
“So does the guy you just chased off. There’s a lot of that going around.”
“Mine goes a bit deeper,” said Longboard.
“Then why should I get involved.”
“Honestly,” said Longboard, “You shouldn’t but I know you’re not with them so you’re probably one of the few options I have.”
“With who?”
“I’ve been watching you,” said Longboard, “I haven’t been gone. I’ve just been around trying to take notes.”
“Notes on what?”
“Someone is trying to destroy my company,” said Longboard, “They’re doing it from the inside.”
“That’s the best way usually.”
“Yeah but I’m pretty sure you’re not one of them,” said Longboard, “Am I right?”
“How can you be sure?”
“Why do you think I promoted you,” said Longboard, “I put you in a better position to do damage to Key Way. And as far as I’ve noticed you’ve been trying to fill the big shoes I made you try on. If I’m go
ne and you’re office manager, that’s the best time to screw things up. You can get away with it longer. But you haven’t been doing that.”
“And I haven’t blackmailed you about a video file like Malia.”
“And that,” said Longboard, “How do you know about that?”
“Did you do anything to her?”
“No,” said Longboard, “All I did was pay her. That was the deal she offered me. I only gave her one condition, to leave Key Way. I didn’t want an employee bribing me. But it’s bigger than her.”
“I know. She told me.”
“Why would she do that?” asked Longboard.
“Loud mouth. But how can I help you?”
“I’ll tell you what. I’m a deal maker. I’ll make you a deal,” said Longboard.
Choppy (Desk Surfing Series Book 2) Page 11