Read Online Out Bad by Janice M. Whiteaker - Free Book Online Page B

hoping Richard's intense love of his job would rub off on
her.  Get her priorities back in order.  “Yup.  Come in and sit
down.”
    He almost skipped into the room.  Sitting down in the
chair across from her desk, he scooted it as close to the other side of the
table as he could, smiling at her the whole time.  She watched silently as
he laid out all his papers and went into an unhealthy level of detail
explaining what he worked out.  Fifteen minutes later he was only on the
third of eight pages of information and her hopes of enthusiasm transfer were
smothered out by frustration, definitely with Richard, but mostly
herself.  It was time to put a stop to this.  All of it.
    “Richard.  I just need to know the basics.  I
don’t need a line by line recap.”
    Disappointment flashed in his eyes.  "I just
wanted to be sure I was thorough."
    She needed a drink and an Excedrin.  This week was
making her feel like she was losing her mind and right now Richard’s wounded
puppy dog eyes were about to push her over the edge. 
    “Your job is to be meticulous with your analysis, however, I
do not need or want to hear every piece of information you have.  I want a
summary.  A very brief summary of your findings.”
    Richard stood and collected his papers.  “I will go
work on that then.” 
    “I would appreciate it.”  She waited as he left,
shutting the door quietly behind him, feeling a pang of guilt.  Richard
was a nice man and a good employee, even if he was a little much
sometimes. 
    She needed to get out of here.  She pushed the home
button on her cell, the screen letting her know it was after six-thirty. 
When she opened her laptop to send one e-mail before she left for the night,
the results of her search were still displayed on the screen.  She hovered
the arrow of her mouse over the x in the upper corner, but curiosity kept her
from pulling the trigger.
    The third entry down caught her eye.  It was a website
for Parker’s Plumbing, a local business owned by Josiah Parker.
    ****
     Joe had just packed up the last of his tools in the
back of his van when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.  He fished
it out as he walked to the driver’s door, waving at the rest of the guys who
were also packing up and heading out for the night.  A number he didn’t
recognize displayed across the screen.  It was after seven on a Friday
evening, probably someone with an emergency repair.
    “Parker’s Plumbing.”  He turned over the van and kicked
up the air, trying to get cool after a long day working in the heat.
    “Is this Joe?”  The woman on the line sounded familiar
and he struggled to place the voice.
    “It is.  Can I help you?”
    “It's Gwen.  The drain on my bathtub seems to be
clogged.”  She spoke so quickly, almost blurting the words out, he worried
he didn’t understand her.
    His hand froze on the vent he was shifting to direct cool
air at his sweaty face.  “Gabbi's Gwen?"
    "Do you know more Gwen's?"  The almost
accusatory tone in her voice surprised him.  Made him wonder why she would
care how many Gwen's he knew.  There was only one reason he could think
of.
    He grinned into the phone, suddenly feeling refreshed. 
"You say your tub drain is clogged?
    “Yes.”  She sounded tense making him think it was more
serious than a simple clog.  Maybe it overflowed and she was standing in a
pool.
    “Did it overflow?”
    “No.  It’s just not draining.” 
    He tipped his rear view mirror and took a good look at
himself, wincing at his reflection.  “Do you have another bathroom? 
I could come out early next week.” 
    He was filthy and exhausted.  He’d been up late every
night this week trying to get his own bathroom in working order on top of an
over-packed schedule at work.  Not that he would ever complain about
that.  He spent a few lean years trying to get to this point, taking every
job that came his way.  It was turning out to be a hard habit to