Taming the Master

Everyone's fighting demons of their own.

He stood up and walked towards the ceiling-high windows, staring out of them, arms behind his back as his left eyebrow twitched.

"Did you take the photos I asked you to?"

"Yes sir."

"Keep tailing them and tell the photographer I'll pay him double if he does a good job."

"Yes sir."

"You may leave." The man left the office while the chairman had his hands in fists, extremely angry with his thoughts all over the place.

"Charlie. You have best be careful."

At the bar...

"Here we are." I said as we got down from the car hands pointing towards the building.

We walked in and Freddie, the bartender called out to me. "Hey, Lou. Been a while since I saw you here. How have you been?"

"I've been well Freddie. How are you and your wife?"

"We're good. We're actually expecting." He couldn't hide his excitement.

"Wow! Really? Congratulations Freddie, I'm happy for you." And I really was. He and his wife had been trying for a child for years and now they're finally making some progress.

"Thank you, Lou. How's your mom?"

I signaled to him with my eyes and looked back at Mr. Charlie who looked at me with confused eyes.

"She's doing well. We're gonna take a seat over there. Bring us your finest beer." I winked at him and led my boss to the seating area.

He sat down opposite me in the booth and folded his arms across his chest not saying a word, but I knew the exact thought he had.

How was I so chummy with the bartender.

"My parents used to come here together often and that's how I know him. He's also the owner of the place."

"I see." He removed his arm from the folded position and set his hands on his thigh.

One of the waitresses brought two huge glasses filled with beer that foamed at the top and set them on our table.

Mr. Charlie took a sip and set his glass down, looking at me. "Used to?"

I took a big swig of my glass and my boss's eyes widened in concern. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and sighed. "This is pretty good beer. My mom and dad are no longer together, divorced basically. How do you find the taste?"

He looked at me for a couple of seconds before speaking. "It's quite alright. The ambiance here is very decent too."

I nodded and rubbed my palms together.

This...was awkward.

I had never been out with Mr. Charlie like this so it was all so foreign and weird. But the way his eyes looked at the office was so sad.

I wanted to help my boss out and let him unwind just for today. He had been working himself to the bone for these past couple of weeks.

"I-"

We said at the same time and laughed. I could tell he also found the air thick and wanted to clear it up but I spoke first.

"On a scale of one to ten, how good are you at pool?" I stood up and took off my jacket, folding the sleeves of my shirt to the crook of my elbow and resting my hands on my hips.

"Now now. Don't tell me you think I'm just a pretty face. I can do a lot of things. He got up from his seat and took off his jacket as well, mimicking my gesture and rolling his sleeves up equally.