Starburst

by Jettie Woodruff

  Peyton followed Kay through the door, and she unlocked her office door. “I hope this is okay Peyton. I hate to bore you with all of this. I know you didn’t come here to follow me around work.”

  “It’s great Kay, I love it. I have never been in a factory before. What do you do here?”

  “What do we make here or what do I do here?”

  “What do you make? I can kind of see that you are very important around here.”

  Kay snickered. “I don’t know if I would say that and we make a lot of different things, metal products for furnaces, car radios, coffee pots, wells, restaurant equipment and a lot more. I will show you when we go out on the floor.”

  There was a tap on the door, and Kevin Montgomery stuck his head in. “Do you have a minute?” he asked.

  “Why Kevin, because you need something or you’re just dying to meet Peyton Paxton?”

  “I’m dying to meet Peyton Paxton,” he said honestly.

  Peyton smiled at the well-dressed man and shook his hand. “Hi,” she said, and he was so flustered he could barely speak.

  “I’m Kevin Montgomery, and it is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Paxton.”

  “Peyton, please,” she replied.

  “Can you get your tongue back in your mouth and pay attention to me for five minutes?” Kay asked Kevin.

  “Yes, I’m all yours,” he replied with full attention.

  “Good, is there a proposal for everyone in the conference room?” she asked.

  “There is one for all three of the people from ‘Wellington Brass’, and you and I will have one as well.”

  “I want Manny and Pete to have one too, and print one for Peyton too. She will be sitting in with us just so it looks like they are involved but tell them to keep their mouth shut during the meeting.”

  “I will have Jess print a couple more.”

  “And tell her to make sure there are coffee and refreshments as well.”

  Kevin disappeared with a smile toward Peyton.

  “Damn Kay, why the hell aren’t you chasing that? Did you smell that guy?”

  Kay laughed. “Kevin is the business manager here, and I don’t mix business with pleasure, it has never come out good for me, I steer clear of it.”

  “Wait, I thought you told me that your friend Ken worked with you.”

  “No, I told you he was a sales rep for one of the companies we buy metal plates from. He lives in Wyoming and is only here a couple times a month.”

  “I’m afraid I would still have to try that, at least once,” she said, still thinking about the handsome man who didn’t wear a ring.

  Peyton laughed and took out two pairs of earplugs and safety glasses from a filing cabinet drawer. “Come on, I will show you the plant.”

  They walked out the double doors that said, ‘Safety equipment required beyond this point.’ The floor was as big as four football fields, noisy with clattering metal and grinding of lathes and drills, shaping metal into its intended purpose. Kay politely let the workers meet Peyton and sign autographs for them as they walked.

  “Kay Evans to shipping please, Kay to shipping,” they heard over the loud speaker, and made their way back to the shipping department.

  “What’s up Charles?” Kay asked.

  “This is not what I have in my paper work that we are supposed to get. I didn’t want to accept it if we didn’t order it.”

  Kay took the clipboard and nodded at the trucker while they gawked at Peyton. She climbed up on the back of the truck in her skirt, inspecting what was being dropped. “I see the 2,100’s, I will take those but I don’t need the O-rings right now,” she said stepping down with the help of Charles’s hand. “Get with Ben right away Charles to find out what happened. I need the 6,100’s ASAP.”

  “Okay, got it,” he assured her, and they were once again on their way.

  “You are very important here Kay,” Peyton exclaimed.

  “I don’t know if I’m important or I hire incompetents,” she joked. “I’m only teasing, I’m very fortunate to have the employees that I have.” She looked at her watch. “Let’s go to a meeting.”

  “What is the meeting for?” Peyton wanted to know.

  “We are trying to get a contract with ‘Wellington Brass’ and manufacture a steel plate for a gas well component.”

  Peyton and Kay walked back through the door that led to the offices. Kevin was just getting ready to enter the conference room and stopped, holding the door for the two ladies. Peyton looked up and thanked him, and something extremely weird happened when their eyes met. Why did she feel very uncomfortable around him all of a sudden?

  Kay sat at the end of the table, and Kevin pulled out a chair for Peyton to her right and he sat across from her as the other two men sat across from each other on the same end. They had twenty minutes or so before Jess would lead the guests to the same room.

  “Kay does this mean our poker game is off Saturday?” Kevin asked, wondering if Peyton’s visit was going to cancel their monthly poker game.

  “I don’t know. I kind of forgot about it. Can you play poker Peyton?”

  “I can play good enough, sounds like fun,” she replied, letting them know that they shouldn’t cancel their plans for her.

  They all stood when the two men and one female were guided into the room by Jess, the secretary. They did the introductions, and the three were astonished by the presence of Peyton Paxton, joining their meeting.

  Kay stood and started the meeting after they had all declined coffee. She went through the whole spill of the proposal, and the three business guests, passed notes and whispered periodically at each other and then she opened it up for questions or discussion.

  “This all looks good on paper Ms. Evans, but we do have another proposal that we are considering as well, and quite frankly their quote came in quite a bit under yours,” the man at the very end of the table spoke.

  Kay didn’t answer right away and discreetly wrote something down on one of the papers in her well prepared folder. “Can I use you?” it said, she slid it to Peyton, who scribbled “Yes.”

  “I’m sure you did Mr. Piars. I have seen that proposal myself, and I have to say that I wasn’t as impressed as you seem to be. First of all ‘Camdon’ is an eighty year old company with eighty year old equipment. I’m a seventeen year old company with new equipment. I can push twice the material out as they can in one shift, which leads to another benefit for using my company. Do you really think you are going to save money by taking twice as long to manufacture your part? I’m sure you have seen the recall that ‘Camdon’ had, just three months ago,” she continued not letting him answer. “They shipped over seven thousand parts before the defect was caught. Mr. Piars, my quality control inspectors spend their day going from part to part, recording precise measurements of every part manufactured here. And we are also ISO 9000 certified, I assure you, they are not. I run three shifts per day, they run one. Are you sure your part is going to get top priority?” she again didn’t give him time to answer. “Not to mention they are not giving you an autograph or a photo with Peyton Paxton.”

  “So you are saying that I don’t get to get my picture taken with Peyton Paxton if I don’t sign your contract?” he asked amused.

  “That is exactly what I’m saying,” she smirked.

  He laughed. “Can we have a few minutes?” he asked.

  “Yes, absolutely,” she replied and her clan, including Peyton stepped out into the hall.

  She took a deep breath and tried to relax. “You did great Kay,” Kevin tried to reassure her.

  She shook her head and Peyton could tell that she was nervous about the whole deal.

  “You two can go,” she told Pete and Manny, not needing them to go back in and they disappeared back to their offices.

  After a very short time, the female of the three opened the door and beckoned them back in.

  The leader of the pack, Mr. Piars stood and shook her hand. “I look forward to working with you Ms
. Evans,” he smiled, and told her that their attorney would go over the contract, and he would have the signed one back to her by the end of the week.

  “Thank you very much Mr. Piars and I look forward to doing business with you as well.”

  “You do know that the only reason I chose you over ‘Camdon’ is because you promised a picture with Peyton Paxton, don’t you?”

  Kay laughed, “I highly doubt that, but Peyton has agreed and is more than happy to fulfill your request.”

  All three of them got their pictures taken with Peyton and her autograph. As soon as they were gone and the door was shut, Kevin threw his hand up in the air, and she high fived him.

  “Yes!” she yelled excited. “Tell me what those numbers were again,” she requested from Kevin.

  “Eighty three thousand in profit,” he said, emphasizing the word profit.

  Peyton had no idea what was going on but assumed they had just made a very good business deal.

  “Let’s celebrate Kevin,” Peyton exclaimed. “We’ll go to the Warehouse; it’s always dead on Wednesdays.”

  “I have to be in here at seven in the morning while you get to sleep in and entertain Peyton Paxton.”

  You can entertain Peyton Paxton, Peyton thought.

  “Come on Kevin, you pansy ass,” Kay begged.

  “Oh, pansy ass uh? I think I had to drive your drunken ass home last month at Pete’s wedding so I wouldn’t go there if I were you.”

  “Peyton tell him he needs to come and celebrate with us,” Kay pleaded for her help.

  “Kevin,” she began with her head tilted. “How many chances do you think you are going to get to party with Peyton Paxton?”

  Kevin looked at her and looked at her and looked at her. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her and the television and magazines that he had seen her in did nothing for her. She was absolutely gorgeous, and he had never seen such green eye in his life.

  “Kevin,” Kay called snapping her fingers, and he shook his head.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said, still looking at her. “Fine I will meet you as seven,” he agreed and got out of the room as fast as he could.

  “I don’t know if I should be around that man Kay,” Peyton explained.

  Kay laughed. “Why Peyton?”

  “He is so freaking sexy it drips off of him.”

  Kay laughed again. “I have never seen anything sexy drip off of Kevin Montgomery,” she admitted.

  “You’re blind, and what the hell is he wearing? It’s like a trance scent.”

  “Hey… what happens in Utah, stays in Utah,” Kay said putting her hands in the air and letting her know that she is not saying a word.

  “Yeah right, that guy is terrified of me.”

  “Yes he is… which kind of mystifies me. Kevin has more backbone and strong persona than anyone I know. I have never seen him be nervous around anyone like he is with you. It’s kind of fascinating,” Kay responded in awe of Kevin’s attitude.

  *****

  Peyton and Kay went to the little bar early because Kay told her how wonderful their food was and had supper before Kevin arrived. They sat in a corner booth and had the best burger and fries Peyton said she had ever tasted. A couple of people did come up to them and ask for autographs and politely left them alone.

  “This just perplexes me,” Peyton said as the young couple took their signed menu and left them. “I mean it’s like I’m no big deal at all here. I could get used to this.”

  “You can come here anytime you want Peyton. Come on, let’s get a drink, I’m stuffed.”

  “Oh God, me too,” she replied, following Kay to the bar.

  “What are you drinking?” Kay asked.

  “I don’t know. Are you drinking liquor or beer?” she asked, wondering how drunk they intended on getting.

  “Oh my God,” Kay exclaimed when she saw Kevin come in. “He dressed for you,” she teased Peyton when she saw him in jeans that fit him well, bright white sneakers and a tan, longed sleeve knit shirt that fit tight and had the only three buttons undone and showed a bit of his chest hair. His light brown hair was messy, and the cowlick at the top right of his forehead was the cutesiest thing ever.

  “Holly shit Kay,” Peyton also exclaimed, seeing how hot he looked. “I need to stay far, far away from that man.” That lasted for about as long as it took him to get to them and she smelled how delicious he smelled.

  “Ladies,” he nodded.

  “Kevin,” Kay said, looking at him in a peculiar manner, and he gave her a dirty look.

  He waved the bartender over to them and asked them what they were having.

  “I want a mixed drink,” Payton requested, but wasn’t sure if this small bar made the same drinks as the clubs in LA.

  “What would you like?” the bartender asked, and of course had to ask for a picture with her too.

  Kay took his phone. Peyton stood on the little stoop and leaned toward the young bartender, and Kevin almost had to sit down when he saw her shirt pull up, showing her midsection as she leaned over the bar.

  Kevin got a bottle of beer and waited for Peyton to decide what she was having.

  “Do you know how to make a screaming orgasm?” she asked, and Kevin almost spit his beer out.

  “No but I’m happy to make it for you if you can tell me what’s in it,” the bartender offered.

  “I know it is vodka, Bailey’s Irish Cream and Kula Coffee, but I’m not sure how much,” she explained.

  “We will try it until we get it right,” he said, smiling at her, happy to do anything for Peyton Paxton.

  “I need a screaming orgasm too,” Kay decided, and Peyton laughed.

  “Oh lord Kay, don’t say stuff like that around me,” Kevin groaned with a frown. “I have to work with you every day.”

  His first try wasn’t bad, and they drank the drinks, but Peyton told him, she thought it needed more of the Irish Cream and less of the Kula Coffee. By the third drink, he had it perfect. and she and Kay both were starting to feel it.

  They sat a table close to the pool table and had a blast laughing and talking. The bar did get a little more crowed but not too bad, and nobody seemed to bother them except for the occasional autograph or picture request. Peyton was extremely nice to all of them and didn’t mind a bit. She was used to a lot more crazy fans than that, and it felt like a breath of fresh air.

  Kevin had even loosened up after a couple of beers and his nerves had calmed down around Peyton.

  Once when Peyton got up to go to the bathroom Kay drilled him.

  “Kevin she is way out of your league,” she demanded.

  “Yes, I know this Kay. I don’t need you to tell me that, but my God, she is stunning, and I would be more than happy to give her a screaming orgasm,” he said, which sent Kay into a laughing frenzy.

  “Go to hell Kay,” he said, and she laughed harder.

  “I’m sorry Kevin. I just can’t picture you that way without laughing,” and she shut up when Peyton rejoined them, and her phone rang.

  She looked down to see that it was her friend Ken and knew that he must be in town, which was the only time he ever called. She hesitated on whether or not to answer it, knowing that he couldn’t stay at her house.

  “Hey,” she finally answered, holding her finger over her other ear to hear him from the loud country music playing.

  “Where are you?” he asked, also hearing the loud music.

  “At the Warehouse.”

  “Are you going home soon?” he asked.

  “Probably not, I’m here with my friend Peyton and Kevin. Where are you?”

  “Just pulling into town, but I’m only passing through, I have to be back on the road by seven in the morning.”

  “Oh,” Kay replied, not really knowing what to say. She knew he was fishing for an invitation to stay with her, but she wasn’t biting.

  Peyton took Kay’s phone right out of her hand after Kevin told her who it was.

&
nbsp; “Is this Ken?” she asked, laughing.

  “Yeah, who’s this?”

  “This is Kay’s friend Peyton, and you should come to the Warehouse, and have a screaming orgasm with us.”

  Kay took the phone back, “You’re not getting any more screaming orgasms,” she demanded, and Peyton laughed.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Ken asked.

  “That was about my drunken friend, but you can come over and have a drink if you want.”

  “What is she talking about screaming orgasms?”

  “It’s a drink, and she has the whole bar drinking them, and I would say she started something that will leave her mark for a very long time.”

  “I’m not sure I’m in the mood for drinking. I was kind of hoping to make you have a screaming orgasm.”

  “Well that can’t happen tonight. Peyton is staying with me,” she explained, but wished he could take care of her womanly need before he left.

  “You’re going to make me get a hotel?” He asked.

  “Probably,” she answered, not wanting to decide right at that moment. “Are you coming or not?”

  “Yes, I will be there in a little bit,” he answered reluctantly.

  “Come on Peyton, shoot a game of pool with me,” Kevin requested.

  “I don’t know how,” she admitted.

  “You don’t know how to shoot pool?” he asked, not believing her.

  “No, I mean, I know you use the stick thingy and knock the balls in the holes.”

  “Then you know how to play,” Kevin replied amusingly.

  He racked the balls and told her, she could break, explaining what to do.

  She hit the white ball with the pool stick and barely loosened the tight balls.

  “That sucked,” Kay told her, watching them play.

  Kevin broke up the balls on his shot and knocked in two solid balls. “You have stripes,” he explained.

  “Shoot that oddball right there,” Kay told her giving her pointers.

  “I have oddballs?” she asked, and Kevin shook his head at her.

  “You have the striped ones.”

  “I like having the oddballs,” she joked.

  “But it’s not going to come out like that. Not all of the odd numbers are stripes.”