by Lauren Wood
“I was thinking that I wanted to promote a few people. Someone is going to need my job and I will need someone managing things on my side that I trust. I also want to let a few people go.”
It was a lot of changes for the first day, but I was sure that there was going to be a shake up soon enough. The staff were paid during the stoppage, but they didn’t know what was going to happen. Everything had been left up in the air after my dad got hurt. I’d been running it the best I could, but now there wasn’t anyone to run things by when we had a question. It was just us.
“Well, you run the factory, so do what you think you have to do. I’m not going to stand in your way if you want to hire or fire staff. You know those on the line far better than I do David and I trust your judgement.”
He grinned, and I saw my dad in his expression and it made me tear up a little bit. It still came on so suddenly, the grief of it all and I didn’t know what to say. I missed him, and David looked so much like him. I don’t know why I didn’t see it when I’d first seen him at Mr. Lumpar’s. Now it was as clear as day.
“Thanks. I just want to make sure.”
“This is your show too. You most likely know what needs to be done down there far more than I do. I’ve been with the company awhile, but only the last couple of years. I was estranged from our parents for a while and I was just getting back into the business the last couple of years.”
“It’s so weird.”
“What?”
“A week ago, I was an employee and now I’m running it. I was adopted and had no family, but now I have a sister. Everything has changed in such a short amount of time. It’s truly amazing.”
I agreed. I could only imagine what was going through his head. This was a whole new life for him. For both of us really, but especially for David. I was sort of used to the money now. But I wasn’t used to running the factory. That was going to be a new challenge and I hoped we are up for it.
“Are you ready?”
He said that he was, and I looked out to the factory floor where people were coming in and congregating. There was a tense whisper that ran through the place. I knew that we were going to have to go out there together and there was going to be a stirring. At least one of their own was going to be in charge. I felt a little bad for David because he was the one that was going to have a lot of explaining to do. He of course hadn’t known that he was the boss’ kid.
“I guess I’m as ready as I will ever be.”
“Well if someone gives you a hard time, just fire them.”
He chuckled like I was joking, but I was only partially joking. I didn’t want him to dread coming to work, so I wanted him to do what he had to do to make it okay for him. David was going to be here with me for the indefinite future and I wanted my brother’s transition to be as smooth as possible. It didn’t have to be more difficult than it already was. There was no point in that, not really. So, if he had to get rid of a few low-hanging fruit on the tree, I was just going to have to be okay with that.
“I’m serious.”
“I don’t think it will come to that. I hope not anyways. I’ve worked with these guys a long time.”
“Well do what you think you have to do.”
We were about to go out there and make the announcement that we were both so worried about. I was sure that there was going to be some backlash, but I really hoped not that much.
“Before we go out there. I want you to meet someone. He’s going to be my second down here on the floor and I thought that it would be good for the two of you to meet.”
I didn’t think nothing of it and turned when I heard the office door opening. I don’t know who I thought it was going to be, but as soon as I saw the face, I stopped in my tracks.
“Teddy?”
My brother looked from me to his friend and didn’t say anything. I’m sure that I had a shocked look on my face because I was sure the hell shocked. I don’t know how the hell this was coming to be real. How in the hell was Teddy standing in front of me? Talk about a blast from the past.
David finally asked if we knew each other. I didn’t answer because I still wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. We did know each other, quite well in fact. But that wasn’t a story that I was ready to tell my brother. That much is for sure.
Chapter 6
Theodore
For a second, I thought I was seeing things. Why did David’s newly found sister look like a girl I used to know so long ago? I’d heard the name and thought of her, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would see her again. She’d been gone in the night so suddenly, but now she was standing in front of me. I was in shock and when I heard her call me Teddy, I knew that this was the Callie from so long before.
David kept looking between us and I knew that he was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I of course wasn’t going to say that I fucked the shit out of his sister one-night years back. So how was I supposed to answer that type of question? Was there a right answer? I really didn’t think there was.
“Hello, what is going on with you two?”
I had to get it into gear and get the slapped look off my face. I was shocked to see her, but I was not too out of it to understand that I had to get it together.
“Sorry, I uh, we met a while back. Years ago. I didn’t think I would see you again Callie. It’s good to see you. You haven’t changed a bit.”
She told me that it was good to see me as well and we both just kind of held each other’s eyes. I could see her body as clear as day in my mind. I’d caught her on a bad day and good things, very good things had happened to me. It was hard to think of much else with her in front of me, but how she’d looked underneath me as I made her scream as I’d promised. What I wouldn’t give to be in that position again.
“Great this is going to make it all so much easier than if you know each other already.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about or why I was here, or why everyone was gathered. What was I missing?
“So big news Ted. You get a promotion today.”
I kept wondering what he was doing up in the boss’ office. I’d heard rumors, but David had been busy the last week or so and I hadn’t gotten a real good answer of what is really going on. His phone had been off half the time.
“How’s that?”
“Well because your boss is giving you one.”
I didn’t know if he was being for real or not. I didn’t like to assume, but he was he saying that he was now my boss? What sort of game was this and what did Callie have to do with all of this?
“So, you know that this is my sister. She now runs this place.”
“Well you do too, David.”
I looked from one to the other and I was speechless. Now I didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to say about all of it. How could this be? How could we have all been here and worked together in different capacities and never met? It was a lot to take in and it was even more to digest when he told me what kind of promotion he was talking about. I was now the floor manager, just below him. I was getting a doubled salary and more perks than I could have imagined. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn’t just making it all up in my head. It felt like it was too good to be true. I wasn’t sure if it was or not.
Callie rushed us, telling David that he needed to wrap it up because now they had to announce it to everyone else, which was apparently the reason that there was a couple hundred people waiting downstairs. Things just got real and when Callie asked me to stand with them, all I could do was agree. What else was there to say? I mean, this was far better of a day then I thought it was going to be.
I followed them out and tried to stay in the back a little bit. This was not going to go over too easy for some people and I knew that it was going to be hard for people to take a new boss. David got along with most people, but there were a few that were going to be jealous. I could name a few already and I looked at everyone’s faces when they looked up and saw us standing there.
/> Callie took the initiative because several knew that she was Christopher’s daughter. She was a non-familiar face to many, but at least she had some authority. Me and David were a different story because before the stoppage, we were both down there on the line with then. How things were going to change.
“Thank you all for coming. I have a few things to talk about before we get started today. We’re back in business and everyone will have their job here. I want to thank you for this time to grieve and figure some things out. I hope everyone enjoyed their vacation.”
There was a unified yes to that and she smiled. “I know that a lot of you weren’t sure when you left a couple of weeks ago how this was going to turn out. I wasn’t sure either, so I would like to let you know what’s changing and what’s new.”
This was when Callie touched David’s arm and pulled him up towards her a little bit, nudging him along. I could see that my friend didn’t like this sort of attention and I can’t say that I blamed him. I really hoped that she didn’t do the same thing with me, though I doubted it. The two hadn’t met but a week ago, but here was already a bond between them that was easy to see.
“This is David, which you all know. Funny story, he’s also my brother that I never knew about and now co-owner of the factory.”
She stopped for a dramatic pause that didn’t need anything to make it so. The murmurs that I had he heard from before when I first got here were even louder than before. Everyone was dying to ask questions and they would, but right now wasn’t the time.
Callie put her hand up and the noise settled down. “He will take over dad’s job of running the factory. Teddy… I mean Theodore will be the new lines managers. I want to thank everyone once again for your patience during this hard time. If you have any questions, please speak up now. We have about a half an hour before I turn the machines on. I want this to be a smooth transition.”
I think that a lot of people had a lot of questions, they just didn’t know it yet. Everyone was still in shock, much like I had been, maybe still was. My life had changed in a matter of minutes and I wasn’t just talking about the job and money. I’d wondered about Callie for many years and now she was back, in a place where I would have never guessed to find her. It seemed to make perfect sense though. It really did, in some weird and strangely wonderful way. It was like the universe was giving me all these gifts and I would have been a fool to have ignored it.
I had a feeling that everything was going to change now, not just with the job.
Chapter 7
Callie
The first day was one that I was never going to forget. The man that was now my second in command in the factory was none other than a man I used to make myself feel better a long time before. We’d had an amazing night, best sex of my life I would presume, but at the end of the day, I was still trying to wrap my head around all of it. It was quite shocking to say the least and I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it. He hadn’t said anything to David, which was good, but some of the looks that he was giving me didn’t leave anything in the way of wonder. I knew what he wanted.
I sat up in the office after I announced the changes to everyone. I didn’t like talking in front of crowds, but I’m glad I did. There were a few questions, but I think everyone was happy to still have a job. It could have went a different way and I’m so glad that it was turning out the way it was. I wouldn’t want to run this place by myself and now I had a brother. I started to think that everything was going to be okay. I really wanted to believe that too. I wanted to believe that though painful, this was all happening the way it was supposed to.
A little while later, a couple hours into the workday, I heard a loud screeching metal on metal sound downstairs on the floor. My eyes popped open in an instant and I waited to see if there was any other sounds that would indicate that someone had been hurt. It was the biggest fear in any factory and when I was satisfied that no other sounds were to follow, I walked out onto the catwalk and started towards the gathering group and the smoke coming up from one of the machines.
I knew that something was going to go wrong. It always did and even being idle for a couple of weeks, the older machines were not happy. It was the dust getting in where it wasn’t supposed to. Something. I wasn’t sure what, but by the time I got down to where all the commotion was, everyone had backed up and was giving someone some room.
It was Teddy that was getting into the machine with his shirt off. I don’t know why his shirt was off, if he was hot or it was safer, but I enjoyed the view very much. The man was built like an Adonis and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, hell I didn’t want to. It had been a long time since we were together, but that didn’t stop me from remembering everything about that night. It had been a wild and crazy time for me, I’ll admit it. I was getting out of a breakup that I’d really thought was going to work. Teddy had helped me forget everything but him. He’d given me the confidence to go on when I didn’t think I was going to be able to. I would never forget what he did to me, even if he never realized it.
Teddy was in the machine with only a couple of legs sticking out of one side. I knew that this was dangerous and that I should have said something, but I was gawking like the rest of the crew. I wasn’t looking at him in the same way as everyone else though. I was thinking about a time, not too long ago when he’d made me feel things that no one else ever had. It was hard for me to deal with it and I was more relieved when he was done because he’s ass was no longer sticking in the air when he backed out of it.
He started the machine back up and more boxes started to come down the line. He’d fixed it. I don’t know why I doubted him. That man seemed able to do pretty much anything. He had a determination that was hard to match and such skillful hands.
“Thanks Teddy. I appreciate you stepping in.”
“It’s my job Miss.”
I don’t know why, but I didn’t like him calling me that. I wanted him to call me by my name. I was more than Miss to him, whether I was his boss or not.
“Well it’s a new job.”
“No, this is my old machine. I’ve probably been in there many times too many. It always does this when it’s idle for a couple of days.”
I hoped that he was right, and I thanked him again before I walked back up to the office. I had work to do, but I couldn’t get my mind off the man that I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about. I still couldn’t believe that we were all going to be working together. My brother was a new fixture in my life, but it was really his friend that had thrown me off. I’m not sure what I was supposed to do with this feeling that came over me every time I was around him.
***
Later, my friend Eve called and wanted to meet for lunch. She didn’t get a lot of time away because of her new baby, so I was ecstatic to hear from her. I really needed a woman’s perspective. I had to dump this on someone and I knew that Eve was up for the task. She’d put everything into place for me, so I wouldn’t stress about it so much. She was going to tell me that I was being silly. I knew it, but then maybe I would be able to move on.
I met her uptown for a drinking lunch. That’s what we called it when we had more drinks than food. It wasn’t what I should have been doing on my first day as the new co-boss, but it was what I did. I had a lot on my mind and I was a little tipsy halfway through lunch. Then, I knew I had to slow down a bit or I wasn’t going to be able to concentrate the rest of the day. I didn’t want to give off that I was a drinker on my first day. I really wasn’t, but Teddy was in my head and I wanted him out of it.
“So, when are you going to tell me what this is really about?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that this isn’t about your dad or the company or even your mother. The fact that you have a brother is a good thing, so what has you drinking at noon?”
I set the glass down and frowned. I didn’t like how she had that down pat. She knew me too well sometimes, but in truth, that’s what I was here for.
; “Do you remember after me and Qing broke up…”
“Wait, you’re not going back out with Qing, are you? How is that even possible when he’s in Cambodia?”
I shook my head. She wasn’t listening. “No, it’s not about Qing, it’s about the guy I met after I broke up with him. His name was Teddy. Do you remember me talking about him?”
“The guy that had a crooked dick at the condo?”
I laughed because of what it was that she remembered. She didn’t remember much else but the condo and how I’d describe his manhood. That’s about right.
“Yeah, that one.”
“Okay, so what about him?”
“He’s my new brother’s best friend and he works at the factory. David just promoted him to manage the lines.”
She sat back and made an expression. See, now she got it and now I had her attention. I just needed some sound advice for what in the hell I was supposed to do about all of it.
“Damn Callie. I don’t even know what to say to that. It was one hell of a mouthful though.”
“Tell me about it. That’s why I’m drinking at noon.”
“Indeed. I think I’m going to have another one for you.”
Chapter 8
Theodore
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to throw a party over there? I mean, didn’t you just move in and you’re going to trash the place?”
“It’s not like that Ted and besides, I was thinking of doing it outside so if they get too drunk they won’t be able to wreck anything. You must see this place. It’s, well, I don’t know what to say about it. It’s like a place that an NBA star would live in, plus there is a staff. I have maids, dude, like what the hell?”
I just rolled my eyes and he asked me again if I would make it. I didn’t think it was a good idea because I know how David got when he had too much to drink, but at the same time, I was sure that I was going to be able to see his sister, something I wanted very much. She might not want to see me, but that didn’t matter. She was playing it cool, but if I got her alone, things would be different.