“No, so like I said, drop it.”
He ignores my request. “So, is this like a ‘girl that got away’ syndrome thing, a ‘I gotta fuck her’ thing, another Tammy situation, or is this the real fucking thing, man? Because I’ve only got so much manpower for this place, and we’ve got the deal of a lifetime still ahead of us.” He sits down on the guest chair and rests one leg over the other, propping his feet up on my desk. He’s got that serious look on his face that warns me not to fuck with him.
“Look, I’m not about to fuck anything up. Give me a little credit. I just agreed to fire Tammy. I hired two of the best staff on yours and Halen’s recommendations, and Bowie is not putting any moves on me. She’s not there. I’m not there. Nor will we be there. This is about business.”
He’s still staring at me. His expression is blank, which means that his wheels are turning. “You’re lying to yourself.”
“About what.”
“Jagger, you’ve got to be straight here. You’ve got to decide where you’re going with all this.”
“What do you mean, man.” I ask calmly, hearing him out.
“I’m not about to tell you how to run your life, Jagger.”
“It sure sounds like it.”
He rises. “Fuck you.”
“Fuck you, too.” I seethe as he walks out.
“That was the best dismissal I’ve ever done.” Jinny brags, walking into my office.
I smirk. “You enjoyed that, did you.”
“Sure did.”
“You know that you could have gotten Margaret to do that, right.”
“And miss all the fun?”
I snort a laugh. “You are something else.”
“I am. Now, give me someone else to fire. I love it.”
“I can tell. But unfortunately, there isn’t anyone else. Unless you’re not telling me something.”
“Nope. Margaret sort of sucks but I’m stuck with her until Halen can find me someone better. Until then, I steer this ship.”
“And you’re doing a good job, too.”
“Thanks.” She says, walking towards the door. “And not just for letting me fire the whore, either.” A wink.
I wink back at her. But neither of us says anything else.
Numbers are flying through my head as I try to sleep. I thought I got everything down on paper, but I guess I’m wrong. From all the conversations with Bowie, I can guess that she’s doing the same thing, so I text her. Sure enough, she answers right away, saying that she’s still up, but not just because of work. Then the phone rings. “Hey.”
“Hey. Sorry to call, but I hate explaining this type of shit over text.”
“What’s up?”
She sighs. “Let’s just say that Jinny has a guest over. And despite the fact that I’m in my own suite, I can still hear her.”
“It’s like high school all over again.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You wanna crash on my couch?” I hear it before it even comes out.
