The door to his office was closed, but outside he could hear the hustle and bustle of his employees as they started their morning work. Their future was on the line just as much as his. He worried for them, he worried for himself, but mostly he worried for Kat. Since she worked for the company, the legal ordeal affected her as well.
Beautiful Kat, he thought, the image of his lover flashing into his mind.
For the first time that morning, AJ smiled. Just the thought of Kat caused his face to lighten. He thought of her lips and the way she tasted when they kissed. He remembered the incredible sex they had enjoyed on the day of the wedding reception and the way she turned him on more than any woman ever had. The image of Kat, if only for a fleeting moment, caused all of AJ’s worries to dissolve. She was his only relief.
When he opened his eyes, the stack of papers was still on his desk. They hadn’t magically disappeared, like he had hoped they would. Nope. They were there, along with everything else that troubled his mind.
He groaned and picked up the top sheet of paper. As much as he would rather do anything else, he needed to continue damage control. A knock on the door drew his attention before he could start.
“Come on in,” AJ said, grateful for just about any distraction.
The door opened, and in the doorway stood George, his personal assistant, looking anxious as usual. George shot him an apologetic look that didn’t bode well for AJ’s day.
“What is it?” AJ asked, his patience already running thin.
George stepped into the office and closed the door behind him.
“Well, I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news. I think this is where I ask you which one you want to hear first,” George responded.
A sigh escaped AJ’s lips as he motioned for George to sit down in the chair across from his desk.
“I was really hoping you were only going to have good news,” AJ said. “But I’m always a fan of saving the best for last. So give me the bad news first.”
George held up an envelope and then set it on the desk in front of AJ. “We received another letter from the lawyers. Sounds like they’re going to take this whole thing to court. They denied our offer for an out-of-court settlement. They obviously think they can get more money this way. Or maybe they think they can just scare you into a bigger settlement offer.”
AJ chuckled as he set the letter on top of the pile of papers. It was either laugh or cry. George was right. It was bad news. But it wasn’t worse than anything else that was in that stack of documents. Besides, there was always a chance they could win if the issue got taken to court.
“Do me a favor, George,” AJ said, as he brought his elbows to his desk and leaned forward. “From now on, anything that comes to our office that’s related to this issue, send it straight to my lawyer. I pay him a lot of money to read this stuff and make decisions. He’ll know what to do with all this far better than I will.”
George nodded affirmatively. “Will do, boss.”
George stood up from the chair and started to walk toward the door. He grabbed the handle right when AJ stopped him. “Hold up, George. You didn’t tell me the good news.”
George spun around. “Oh, yeah. The board actually approved everything you asked for on the latest project. Things are moving along very smoothly in that department. Mr. Chavez actually sounded excited about the project.”
“Can’t ask for more than that,” AJ said, leaning back in his chair once again. “That is good news. Thanks, George.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” George responded. “Is there anything else you need me to do today?”
“Well, I lost something and there’s this dumpster...” AJ teased.
“No,” George said, glaring at AJ. “You still need to reimburse me for my shirt. Not to mention the two bottles of shampoo I had to use to get rid of the stink.”
AJ raised his eyebrow. “Two? Last week it was one bottle.”
George shrugged. “Inflation costs are brutal. Dumpster diving isn’t cheap.”
AJ chuckled. If not for his staff, he would have lost the will to run this business a long time ago. “Buy three as a token of my appreciation.”
“Thank you, sir. Your generosity boggles the mind,” George replied, picking up the letter from the lawyer and taking it with him. He flashed AJ a grin before he turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.
AJ stared at the closed door for a moment, procrastinating again on getting to work. The letter from the lawyers was bad, but expected. Unfortunately, it meant that this nightmare of litigation was nowhere near from over for him.
He sighed and picked up a piece of paper to get started, but his thoughts strayed again. This time, they strayed onto Kat’s project. The board’s approval only brought limited relief to AJ, but he knew Kat would be thrilled. Her happiness meant as much to him as his own.