Joey arrived at the party alone and fashionably late. Not that he chose to be either, it just worked out that way. His date had last-minute babysitter issues and, of course, his car wouldn’t start. Now, at the front door, the light from the chandelier overhead illuminated the grease under his fingernails. “Great…just great.”
      When Karen, William’s wife answered the door, Joey was relieved he didn’t have to shake hands upon entering. Immediately excusing himself to the powder room, adjacent to the large foyer, he emerged with tidy hands and prepared to mingle.
Even in the thin, high-notched lapel black blazer and matching wool pants, Joey felt grossly underdressed. The majority of guests at this gathering were either wearing business suits or formal evening attire.
      "Damn that sales girl at the Kenneth Cole store. ‘Oh, this is what everyone will be wearing on New Year’s.’ I hope she gets her freaking finger caught in the cash register”
     Joey eased his way through the throng of partygoers and kept reminding himself why he hadn't just stayed at home tonight. After acquiring a drink from the bartender, he zeroed in on his boss who was standing beside the ornate marble fireplace, and made his way in that direction. With a clean right hand, he firmly gripped William’s palm and set to the sucking up at hand.
      “Thank you so much for inviting me tonight, William,” Joey said with a faux smile.
Raising an arm skyward toward the twenty-foot high coffered-ceiling, William replied, “Welcome to my humble abode.”
      'Stupid jerk doesn’t remember that I’ve been here before,' Joey thought as he took a sip of scotch. “Lovely…just lovely sir. But I’ve been here once before.”
      “Do tell. Can’t say as I recall that, but Karen keeps telling me that memory is the second thing to go.”
      As if he was the straight man to the geezer’s worn-out joke, Joey asked, “What’s the first then?”
      “Hell if I can remember.”
      Chuckling, because he couldn’t force himself to laugh, Joey guessed what the first thing was and his beautiful young wife, Karen, regrettably knew firsthand. Thirty-five years or so younger, he’d say. With all William’s obvious plastic surgery aside, he would still pass for anyone’s grandfather.
      Joey politely asked if they could have a word in private. William obliged and led him around the corner to his home office. Once the oak doors were closed, Joey had a seat on the leather divan, while his boss eased into the armchair behind his desk.
      “Would you like a cigar? They’re Cuban Cohibas.”
      “No, thank you.”
      “So what can I do for you Joseph?”
      Nobody but his mother had ever called him Joseph and he even disliked that. With more important fish to fry, Joey shrugged it off and said bluntly, “William, I’m curious if you have given any further thought to my promotion. The last time we talked was before Thanksgiving and you told me with the upcoming expansion of the company, I’d be moving up the ladder.”
      Joey’s boss clipped the end of a cigar and commenced to light it as he listened to the young man. Picking up his wine glass and taking a sip, he replied, “Well now, hold on there a minute. I don’t recall promising anything like that.”
      William’s selective memory was about to get the best of Joey’s patience. Taking a deep breath to regain the composure he was on the brink of losing, he responded, “Sir, I’ve worked diligently on several key projects. I completed the delineated algorithms for the Alpha-Omega projects and sent them to Shelly last week. Those systems alone will make the company a great deal of profit.”
      Cutting him off, the astute businessman leaned forward, and bellowed smoke in Joey’s general direction. “Infodyne’s profit margin shouldn’t concern you, Joseph. When I recruited you out of that second-rate technical school, I had high hopes you’d be management material. But now, I’m not so sure. You come into my home, demanding I promote you to a position of power and bring very little to the table.”
      Being shot down was one thing, but Joey was beginning to feel that he had made a grave mistake by coming here tonight. While it was true his training was not Ivy League caliber, he could hold his own with any MIT graduate when it came to his field of Technology Systems Analyst. Though most of Joey’s other life accomplishments at the tender age of twenty-five were less than stellar, he knew most all there was to know about intricate computer systems and how to design them.
      Joey took another sip of courage and stood to his feet. “I disagree with you William.” He placed the empty highball glass on the mahogany desk, intentionally missing the coaster. “I have plenty to offer and I’d hate to be hired away by another company because you can’t see that.”
      The young man’s brashness took William aback and he, too, rose from his chair. “I think that’s the whiskey talking, Joey. You might want to rethink your position.”
      'Well, at least he got my name right,' mused Joey as he relaxed a bit from his stern demeanor. “Maybe, I have said too much, but I wish you would reconsider and give me a shot at the new job. You know I won’t let you down.”
      “Well, at least I know you have some balls now,” William shot back with a tight grin. After giving the young man a long stare, he added, “I’ll give it some thought.”
      If nothing else, William’s statement was a compliment and a ray of hope, so Joey cracked a smile and stuck out his hand. His boss accepted the handshake across the desk, and they departed the office, again to enjoy the festivities.
      As the party progressed, William made his way through the French doors, out onto the fieldstone veranda which overlooked the swimming pool below. Taking a long drag from the Cohiba, he exhaled the smoke into the cool night air. Placing the contraband on the railing, the multi-millionaire removed a burner phone from his jacket pocket and speed dialed the only number programmed into the unit.
      “Yes?” spoke the thickly accented voice.
      “It’s time.”
      Pressing the end button, William Shuster placed the phone back in his pocket. As he peered out into the night sky, a sly expression washed across his taut, tan face. ‘By this time tomorrow, that cocksure young Joey won’t be a problem anymore.’ Retrieving his half-spent Cohiba, he contentedly strolled back inside to finish ringing in the New Year.
      Joey wasn’t in the mood for mingling at this highbrow affair, and with his meeting accomplished, he decided to leave. Thinking it possibly wasn’t too late to salvage his date, that is, if Julie was up for popcorn and a six-pack at her place, Joey ran his hands through the pockets of his blazer.
      “Damn,” he burst out, louder than intended amidst the mix of the crowd. Joey remembered his cell was right where he'd left it, at home on the kitchen counter. The half-hour trip back into the city was uneventful and on the

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: GlenMarcus ©2013
Bildmaterialien: Laszlo Kugler
Lektorat: Valerie Byron
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.03.2013
ISBN: 978-3-7309-8412-3

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Widmung:
For Andrew Breitbart, a bright light in a sea of darkness. You and your life's work will never be forgotten.