"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll make sure it's done by tomorrow, Mr. Blackwell" I said, irritation thick in my voice.
"You better, or you’re fired!" he said in a vile, disgusting tone.
I took my files to my office down the hall, trying to act calm and completely unstressed. Maybe he wouldn't notice how badly I wanted to tell him off, or how irritated I was at him. As manager of four districts in the state, I would surely have guessed that the "babying" that bosses do, would have been over by now. Yet, here I stand, about ready to explode.
My office phone rang, the shrill tone interrupting my thoughts.
"Oh, what the hell is it this time!" I exclaimed, walking over to my desk to answer the ever so annoying phone. I grabbed the device angrily, venting my frustration on the helpless little machine.
"Yes, this is Derek Wagner speaking." I tried to restrain the annoyance in my voice, but I wasn’t sure how effective it was.
"Hey Derek...it's me, Tracy…" she said, with a slight hesitation in her voice. Shocked, I ran a list through my mind of all the ‘Tracy’s’ I knew. I groaned inwardly. I only knew one, and news from her couldn’t be good news.
"Tracy, how did you get my work number?" I questioned. Last time I spoke to her, I made sure she didn’t have any of my contact information.
"Well...you won’t answer your cell, so I asked a few friends, and I eventually found this. Look Derek, before you hang up, just listen, please..." she said, sounding like she was almost in tears. I rolled my eyes.
"Okay...." I wasn’t really sure what to say at this point. I mean, how often do you get calls like this? Tracy…that name rung in my ears like the buzzing of a fly.
"Derek, I miss everything okay. The phone calls, the love letters, the US! I miss the way you used to hold me at night too... Derek I miss you. Could we see each other again? For lunch or something? I promise I've changed, it’s been 3 years Derek! Just give me one last chance..."
I just stood there, stunned that she would even bring up such an offer. How could she still miss me after three years? No, I couldn't give her another chance. She became clingy, and frankly, quite scary. There were the pestering letters, non-stop phone calls, and text after text with her asking me what I'm doing and how my day went. Don’t get me wrong though, I did still miss everything we had before all of that...But this was the last thing I expected today. Hell, she was the last person I ever expected to hear from again. When things ended all those years ago, I made it very clear that we were over. Apparently she didn’t get the message. Then that tiny little part of me burst into my mind.
"Okay, pick a day." I said, more on impulse than anything else. I silently cursed at myself for saying it. Was I going crazy?
"Thank you Derek, thank you! You won’t regret it, baby, I promise" she chattered before pausing, "Wait, I'm sorry...it's just, we used to call each other those things, remember?"
Oh dear God, here we go again....I decided I’d let this one slide. Maybe it’s not as bad as before.
"It's fine, let's just talk okay? I don’t want anything brought up about the past Tracy. It's gone, but I'm giving you one last chance." I insisted. The last thing I wanted on top of dealing with my boss was dealing with Tracy. At least dealing with the way she was before. She did say she had changed…
"Thank you!!" she said again, "Next Tuesday, 4:00 PM at the Old Lion's Den in Downtown Parliament."
"That's right around the corner from me, so that will work out perfectly" I said, not feeling so bad about my decision now.
"I know that Derek, you silly goose. I used to live with you remember? Anyways, see you then!" and with that she hung up the phone. I sat in silence for a moment, the phone still pressed against my ear. I must be crazy if I was willing to go through that again…
‘Well, here it goes...I really hope this isn't like last time…’ I thought. I put the phone down and sat in my office chair, letting myself sink into the soft cushion. Everything was quiet. The only sound I could hear was the slight ticking of my clock as it counted down the minutes as I sat, absorbed in my thoughts.
A snap like a balloon brought me back to reality. My boss had come smashing into my office, rage flaming in his eyes. This definitely wasn’t a social call.
"Now son, I told you to put an end to this nonsense in District 2. There's been another bank fraud made by one of YOUR Reps. You better fix it now or your ass is as good as gone." His voice was angry and raspy and I winced before regaining my ground.
"But sir, you honestly cannot blame me for their childish mistakes! I'll take care of it right away, but sir, do not take your anger out on me, when I can't control these people’s minds!" My tone was harsh and critical, and definitely not one should use against their own boss. He glared at me, brewing over what I had said. I felt as if my heart was going to pound itself right out of my chest. I might have just gotten myself fired because of that little spiel.
"Well Derek, you have a point, take care of it immediately, and see to it that that man is fired." he turned and left the room.
"Well..." I whispered under my breath, "that went well".
Editor's note: I’m Brandon’s NEW editor and it doesn’t take me very long to edit these chapters. ^^ He’s also a fun guy, you should be his friend or his fan.
Also, now he wants me to co-write this with him, so my description will make an appearance. XD He has to check this chapter out before I continue, though, so let's see if he likes it. :P
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There's a Reason She's My Ex (Watty Awards 2012)
Mystery / ThrillerWhen his boss shows anger torwards him, Derek becomes agitated by him, wishing he would just stop... But when his life seems to be going down, an Ex girlfriend from many years ago calls, things begin to get interesting. He decides to take his "cling...
