Read Online I'll Be Your Everything by J.J. Murray - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: J.J. Murray
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not a polluter.” That would tick off everyone who drives, though. Um ... songs! “You Spin Me Round”? No. Too monotonous. “Proud Mary” has something about wheels, but you don’t go rollin’ on the river on a bicycle. Didn’t John Lennon have a song about spinning? “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel”? Geez, I’m spinning. I hum “The Wheels on the Bus” and envision a scene of a biker passing the bus, the bus not seeing him—ouch. I need something vibrant, um, something alive. “Live dangerously”? No. There aren’t any air bags on those things. “Live by the seat of your pants.” Yeah. Like I’m doing now. “Live ... something something.”
I check the clock. Eleven on the dot.
My phone lights up.
“Corrine Ross’s office. This is Shari Nance. How may I help you?” That’s not what I wanted to say! I am such a creature of habit.
“This is Woody Peterson. Miss Ross is expecting my call.”
“One moment.”
I take the deepest breath I’ve ever taken. Corrine said not to bug her, so it’s her fault I have to do this. I exhale. Okay, Shari, you’re ready for this. This moment has been five years in the making. This moment has been your whole life in the making. You can do this. And stop tripping. You’ve done this before, and you didn’t get caught.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Peterson,” I say in a southern version of Corrine’s voice. I can’t help it! “This is Corrine Ross. How are you?”
“Did Mr. Dunn give you the skinny?” he asks.
I smile. Mr. Peterson is country. I can deal with a country man. This may just work out. “Yes sir.”
“Did he tell you how soon we wanted this thing turned around?” he asks.
“No sir, but I am confident that we’ll meet your deadline. Sometime in the spring perhaps?”
“Nope. The deadline’s the day before Thanksgiving.”
No ... freaking ... way! That’s ... twelve days from now! He has to be kidding! And if Corrine is going to be gone for two weeks—
“Miss Ross, I’d like to meet with you today at ... what’s the name of this place? Thank you, honey. That was my waitress. I’m at the Church & Dey restaurant, third floor of the Millennium Hilton.”
He’s not kidding. He wants to meet with Corrine Ross at the famous misspelled hotel across the street from the World Trade Center rebuild. That’s just three blocks away from me! And he wants to meet with me today! No Friday should be this stressful.
“You know where it is, Miss Ross?” he asks.
My heart is threatening to leave my chest and bounce over to Ted and his bobblehead. “I’m only three blocks from you, Mr. Peterson.” And my legs won’t stop shaking. “When would you like to meet?”
“I’m already here,” he says. “How soon can you get here?”
This is happening way too fast! He wants to meet with me now! “Um, I can meet with you in about fifteen minutes, Mr. Peterson. I have just one more task that requires my attention.” And that task is screaming and then pulling myself together! “I’ll be there directly.”
“I’ll be waiting. See you soon.”
Click.
The receiver falls out of my hand, bounces on my desk, and rattles a little.
The whispers at MultiCorp stop.
I replace the receiver.
The whispers continue.
All is well in their self-satisfied, silent worlds, while my world has just gotten very interesting.
I can’t do this. I just can’t. It’s payday. I want to get paid. I want to eat. I’ve never even thought of impersonating Corrine further than a few phone calls. What if I get caught? I could lose my job. I don’t want to go back to Virginia a failure. I just ... I have to let Corrine know what’s going on. That’s what I have to do. I have to keep being the good little MultiCorp soldier. I’ll tell her that a client wishes to meet with her, and Corrine will leave Delmonico’s and go to the meeting, and all will be blissfully crappy ever after.
I call Corrine’s cell, and it doesn’t even ring, sending me straight to
I check the clock. Eleven on the dot.
My phone lights up.
“Corrine Ross’s office. This is Shari Nance. How may I help you?” That’s not what I wanted to say! I am such a creature of habit.
“This is Woody Peterson. Miss Ross is expecting my call.”
“One moment.”
I take the deepest breath I’ve ever taken. Corrine said not to bug her, so it’s her fault I have to do this. I exhale. Okay, Shari, you’re ready for this. This moment has been five years in the making. This moment has been your whole life in the making. You can do this. And stop tripping. You’ve done this before, and you didn’t get caught.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Peterson,” I say in a southern version of Corrine’s voice. I can’t help it! “This is Corrine Ross. How are you?”
“Did Mr. Dunn give you the skinny?” he asks.
I smile. Mr. Peterson is country. I can deal with a country man. This may just work out. “Yes sir.”
“Did he tell you how soon we wanted this thing turned around?” he asks.
“No sir, but I am confident that we’ll meet your deadline. Sometime in the spring perhaps?”
“Nope. The deadline’s the day before Thanksgiving.”
No ... freaking ... way! That’s ... twelve days from now! He has to be kidding! And if Corrine is going to be gone for two weeks—
“Miss Ross, I’d like to meet with you today at ... what’s the name of this place? Thank you, honey. That was my waitress. I’m at the Church & Dey restaurant, third floor of the Millennium Hilton.”
He’s not kidding. He wants to meet with Corrine Ross at the famous misspelled hotel across the street from the World Trade Center rebuild. That’s just three blocks away from me! And he wants to meet with me today! No Friday should be this stressful.
“You know where it is, Miss Ross?” he asks.
My heart is threatening to leave my chest and bounce over to Ted and his bobblehead. “I’m only three blocks from you, Mr. Peterson.” And my legs won’t stop shaking. “When would you like to meet?”
“I’m already here,” he says. “How soon can you get here?”
This is happening way too fast! He wants to meet with me now! “Um, I can meet with you in about fifteen minutes, Mr. Peterson. I have just one more task that requires my attention.” And that task is screaming and then pulling myself together! “I’ll be there directly.”
“I’ll be waiting. See you soon.”
Click.
The receiver falls out of my hand, bounces on my desk, and rattles a little.
The whispers at MultiCorp stop.
I replace the receiver.
The whispers continue.
All is well in their self-satisfied, silent worlds, while my world has just gotten very interesting.
I can’t do this. I just can’t. It’s payday. I want to get paid. I want to eat. I’ve never even thought of impersonating Corrine further than a few phone calls. What if I get caught? I could lose my job. I don’t want to go back to Virginia a failure. I just ... I have to let Corrine know what’s going on. That’s what I have to do. I have to keep being the good little MultiCorp soldier. I’ll tell her that a client wishes to meet with her, and Corrine will leave Delmonico’s and go to the meeting, and all will be blissfully crappy ever after.
I call Corrine’s cell, and it doesn’t even ring, sending me straight to
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