Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Tammy and I have been going on our secret dates for a few months now. It’s crazy to think about. We haven’t made anything official yet, but it feels like she’s my girlfriend.
Given the amount of time we spend together and how happy she makes me, I’d like to think we’re in some kind of a relationship.
Jesus Christ. I’ve never analyzed any of my relationships this deeply. I’ve only had one other real girlfriend before Tammy, and that was when I was a teenager. Everything else has been casual. Deep relationships have just never been a high priority for me.
In the beginning, when I was planning our dates, I make sure it was a big to-do. But then Tammy told me that I could slow down a little. Not everything we did had to be spectacular. That’s when I realized I was putting a whole lot of energy into us.
It’s been nice, though. So I really have nothing to complain about.
On top of this brand new relationship, I’ve got a whole new deal I’m working on with Brick Productions. If it all works out, it’ll be huge.
“Knock, knock.” I look up to see Robert standing by my door.
“Hey, Robert. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to check in and get ready for our meeting.”
“Isn’t that tomorrow?” I pull out my calendar. Maybe I’ve been a little distracted lately, but I don’t think I would get the date of such an important meeting mixed up.
“It is, it is,” Robert holds up his hands to reassure me. “Sorry if I freaked you out.” He steps into my office and closes the door. “I just know I’m going to be busy tomorrow before the meeting, so I thought it would be a good idea to talk things over today.”
“Yeah, of course. Sit down,” I motion to a chair. Robert takes the seat in front of my desk. I’m waiting for him to start, which he usually does, but he has this funny look on his face. “What is it?”
“I did come here to talk about the meeting tomorrow, but there’s something else I was hoping we could discuss too.”
“What else do you want to talk about?” He’s got me a little worried now. Robert rarely comes to me so serious. Usually when he does, it’s because something has gone very wrong. Occasionally, it’s because something’s gone very right.
“You’ve been rather different lately.”
“Different?”
“Your mood. I’m not the only one who’s noticed. A lot of the employees have noticed as well.”
“Is my mood bad?”
“No,” Robert states rather deliberately. “You’re actually quite cheery. I would say happy even.”
“Is that a bad thing? I’d say a happy CEO is good, right?” I haven’t noticed anything different around the office, but I guess if it’s me that’s different, I wouldn’t notice. People have been throwing me weird looks recently, but I hadn’t thought much of it.
“No, I wouldn’t say that it’s bad. But the reason it’s been weird is because not everything has been going super smoothly with this deal, yet you’ve been pretty high in spirits throughout all of it.”
“I just want to keep a cool head. It’s not good to always be down, right? I have to stay positive.”
“Sure…” Robert doesn’t sound convinced. “But it’s not just that. There have also been some delays that were caused by entirely avoidable circumstances. Once again, George had a misstep, and you showed quite a bit of mercy. You even managed to stay cheerful. Is something going on, Brick?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Well, what about that girl you were seeing?”
“What about her?”
Robert rolls his eyes.
“Are you still seeing her? Are things going well between the two of you?”
“Yeah, we’re still together. Things are going well, I’d say.”
“Are you going to tell me who she is?” I don’t say anything, just look at him. I wasn’t expecting so many questions about my relationship today. I knew eventually Robert would find out; I just didn’t think he’d get curious so quickly. “What if I guessed? Is it Tammy Thompson? George Thompson’s daughter?”
I’m shocked, not sure how he figured it out.
“Um, yeah.”
“Are you wondering how I figured it out?” Robert only waits for a second, not giving me a chance to answer. “In the beginning, you were being rather sneaky, but lately, you’ve gotten a little sloppy, and I picked up on the clues. Plus, I remembered the whole not firing George deal. Basically, I connected a bunch of dots.”
I rub my eyes. This is added stress I do not need. If Robert was able to guess who I’m seeing, has anybody else? Could this all get back to George?
“Look, Brick. I don’t think anyone else has found out what’s going on between you two. You guys just need to be a little more careful is all. If the goal is to not be found out, that is. I’m not here to police your relationships. I’m just here to make sure everything on this side of things stays good.”