Neanderthal Seeks Human(77)

Maybe it was because his father had been able to end my employment with a phone call.

“What are you going to do?” Kat was twisting her hands in front of her, looking nervous and anxious on my behalf.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head then said it again, “I don’t know.”

It didn’t seem fair that Jon should be able to, on a petulant whim, decide to make a call which made me lose my job; a job, mind you, that I was quite skilled at but which I didn’t miss. I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do. Part of me wondered if it even mattered. Jon couldn’t do anything to me now; I wasn’t dating him anymore; he, and his father, had no influence with my current employer. I breathed a sigh of relief at the realization. I felt secure at my new job, I felt confident and safe.

Maybe Jon had done me a favor.





CHAPTER 15




On the Thursday of my third week I experienced the first tremor of uncertainty about my new job, and by tremor of uncertainty I mean lightning strike of horror.

Quinn had been gone since Sunday night but he was still sending me text message jokes. I read them, enjoyed them, but didn’t respond as I was also starting to feel silly about my behavior. When he dropped me off that night I gave in to my see-saw of self-doubt and it made me nauseous.

Why would he continue to text if he was trying to avoid me?

Additionally, on Wednesday night, he texted me a reminder about our phone call for Thursday. I promised myself that I would talk to Quinn on the horrid cell phone and I wouldn’t participate in any playground equipment emotional dramacoasters.

However, the incident on Sunday and subsequent time apart on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday allowed me some time to reflect: I didn’t really know much about Quinn. I didn’t even know what his job was and I worked with him. I didn’t understand Quinn’s role or title in the company, no one really spoke about him, and, when they did, they always called him Mr. Sullivan.

Therefore, I gathered the nerve necessary to ask Steven about Quinn.

Steven and I were having lunch in the break room, which was more of a long hallway also along the perimeter of the building with a window view of the city, and discussing my upcoming first official business trip and client meeting.

Steven and I would be flying to Las Vegas next Monday. He explained that the client owned the club Outrageous, which made me think of Quinn, and wanted to use Guard Security for another club in Las Vegas. The client also wanted to discuss arranging personal security through Infinite Systems.

“Does Cypher Systems have an office in Las Vegas?” I was eating a taco salad and dipped my chicken in sour cream before taking a bite.

Steven shook his head mid chew-swallow.

“What about New York? Do we have any office other than in Chicago?”

Steven just finished dipping his spicy tuna roll in soy sauce and answered before he ate, “Sweet Pea, can I call you Sweet Pea? No. It’s just us lunatics.”

“Don’t call me Sweet Pea. What about Quinn Sullivan? Where is his office?” I tried to sound ambivalent; I watched Steven over a forkful of taco salad as I tried to suppress the blush threatening to overwhelm my cheeks. I hoped he didn’t notice.

He shook his head, “Mr. Sullivan has an office here, in the building, but, as you’ve likely noticed, doesn’t use it much during normal business hours. I think he prefers to be out in the field.”

“Why does everyone call him Mr. Sullivan?”

Steven placed a generous portion of shaved ginger on his sushi and lifted his eyebrows at me, “What do you want me to call him? Sully? Quinning the winning?”

“No, what I mean is, we call Mr. Davies ‘Carlos’ and everyone else here goes by their first name. Why don’t we call Mr. Sullivan ‘Quinn’?”

Steven shrugged, “I don’t know. I’ve worked here for three years; we’ve just always called him Mr. Sullivan.” Steven seemed to think about the issue as he chewed his sushi; then, with a half full mouth, added, “The only time I usually see him is for the client meetings and it just makes sense to call him Mr. Sullivan then, in front of the client I mean. Maybe it makes him seem more important in their eyes.” Steven shrugged again and swallowed, “Well, I guess he is important... strange but important.”

“What do you mean ‘strange’?”

“Well, you spent time with him last Friday, right? When you had to work late? So typical. He insisted on taking you out personally to-” Steven used air quotes, “‘train you.’ I told Carlos I thought he just wanted someone to glare at. I can’t believe you’ve been so nice about it.”