WE GATHER TOGETHER by Edward L. Woodyard

We Gather Together Chapter Twenty-Four

Jack Drexler parked his car in front of a two-story glass and steel building and entered its lobby. He headed for a set of glass double doors marked 'Redfield and Stanton Media Consultants.'

He slipped off his suit jacket as he entered. He still hadn't calmed down from his altercation with Annie.

He stared at Michaela Martino as she swiped a cell phone app while sitting at her desk in the company lobby. The firm's new receptionist, she was a recent college graduate who had been a communications major; however, she was hired more for her interpersonal skills than her editorial ability. As she had planned, she tossed her brunette hair to the side as soon as she saw Jack enter.

Having watched him park and come in the building, Michaela readied herself; she thought Jack Drexler was just about the most handsome man she'd ever seen. Knowing that he was separated from his wife, she wanted her chance with him.

"Everything okay, Jack?"

"It will be. Is Louis back from lunch?

"I think he's getting a cup of coffee."

"Thanks."

Jack hurried down a side hallway and stopped at an open office door. He tossed his suit jacket on a chair in front of a desk and headed toward the company lunchroom. He hadn't been included in the lunch meeting Louis had with the client but had worn the suit to work nevertheless, in case he got a last-minute invitation -- which didn't happen. Jack hadn't decided yet if he would confront Louis about the intentional oversight when he saw him.

Louis Stanton was getting hot water from a single-cup coffee machine on a utility counter by a refrigerator. He unwrapped a tea bag as hot water dripped into a mug under the spout of the machine. His suit jacket was off and his bow tie loose at the neck; his being overweight made his face jowly and his breathing labored for someone not yet thirty.

Jack didn't want to appear overanxious or nervous to Louis. He and Louis were not exactly friends; they didn't go out drinking together after work or socialize with their wives. Louis had given Jack his job as a favor to a mutual friend when Jack came east from Colorado to take care of his father. Louis had not taken pity on Jack's situation; he didn't want to lose the lucrative account controlled by their mutual friend.

In the meantime, Louis had come to see Jack as a threat. Louis was two years younger than Jack and did not possess Jack's natural charisma. However, Louis did possess a controlling interest in Redfield and Stanton Media which he had been given by his wife's father, Morton Redfield. Louis couldn't conceal his arrogance, a personality feature displayed by those who are inadequate and incompetent. While Louis also thought he was smarter than he was, what actually had made Louis Stanton smart was surrounding himself with people who were more talented than he was, as well as paying them well. However, as with any effective ruler or executive, he wanted fealty and loyalty, giving him the ability to keep subordinates exactly where he wanted them: subordinate to him.

"So, Louis, how did the Worldwide meeting go?" asked Jack.

Sensing Jack's anxiety, Louis was going to make him wait. "It was an interesting lunch, Jack."

Louis purposely played with Jack's apprehension. He calmly threw away the tea bag wrapper and diddled the tea bag in the mug. "For now, we still have the account. But Pamela Milstead's been put in charge of a major move by the company."

Jack was now concerned. "That means she wants to switch agencies."

"I told you what I know, Jack."

Louis heard the ring of his cell phone. He took it from his pocket and recognized the caller. He smiled to himself, glimpsed at Jack, and spoke into his cell phone, "Pamela Milstead. I was just thinking about you. Let me go into my office to take this."

Louis grabbed his mug of tea and exited down a hallway toward his office. Louis was still talking on his cell phone as he shuffled past Jack, failing to acknowledge him. "No, I haven't checked my e-mail yet, Pam. Is something happening that you need us to blast to the world?"

Jack stared at Louis as he left the lunch room and closed the door to his office at the end of the hallway. Jack slowly returned to his own office. Before entering, Jack saw Michaela standing beside her desk in the company lobby eyeballing him. She waved to him. He shrugged his shoulders and closed the door to his office.

Jack sat at a computer on top of his desk. He scrolled down e-mails on the screen until he stopped at a news alert. When he read it, he became very worried that he was about to lose his job.