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Authors: Lynn Kelling
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beating its irregular rhythm when Jacen viciously snaps it in half.
“No one’s like you,” Jacen says. “Your perspective is... unique.”
“Thank you.”
“I mean, you and Val are like the definition of open-mindedness. This was a bad idea. Maybe there’s still time to call it off.”
“You’re not really naïve enough to believe that? That you can stop this now? Not even Liam can stop it. The arrangements have been made. Money is at stake. A lot of money. And guess who the collateral is?”
“Wow, Yash, you’re really making me feel better,” Jacen grumbles sourly.
“Oh, was that my job here? Sorry, I wasn’t clear on that. You want me to spit-shine your ass while we’re at it? Here I was, thinking we were having an actual exchange of thoughts and ideas.”
“You know what I mean,” Jacen sighs, biting the end off of a sprig of broccoli.
“Okay. You want me to tickle your balls for you? Here you go. What’s with your fucking attitude problem? You got your wish. You got a few of your wishes, if I’m not correct. Stop acting like a child.”
“This—” Jacen laughs maliciously, jabbing a finger at the house. “
This
is not my wish. This was never my
wish
.”
“It’s not exactly a punishment though, is it?” Yasha counters with a leading, crooked smile and a quick raise of his eyebrows, grabbing a cherry tomato and popping it in his mouth.
“Depends how you look at it,” Jacen says darkly, his eyes clouding over.
“Please,” Yasha scoffs. “There is no down-side here. This is the best possible outcome.”
“No,” Jacen argues, his voice getting lower, more resigned and forlorn. “No, it’s not.”
They sit in the dining room, directly across from each other in two of six chairs.
“You want a drink? We’ve got a bottle of vintage merlot open.”
“No, thanks,” Della smiles. “This’ll be quick. I have to be at Fourth and Main by six with a bright smile firmly in place and all of my wits intact.”
“New client?”
“Hopefully. If all goes as planned.”
“Great,” Liam says, settling into his chair. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Well, Jacen and I spoke this morning and some things were brought to my attention,” she starts. Immediately Liam sits up straighter, focusing with laser-like precision on his boss.
“What did he say?”
“I’d rather not get into specifics. Confidentiality and all that. You understand. But it all boils down to this. You convinced Jacen that he needed to get himself out of what could become a dangerous situation. Jacen was able to persuade us that there were lingering... risks. The problem is, we’re talking about losing a major account. That needs to be compensated for.”
“So....”
“So, Spencer has been informed that The Company will no longer be able to service his particular needs,” Della says slowly, trailing some of the syllables out.
“Spencer.” Liam echoes. “What about Patrick?”
“Patrick was a one-time incident and he was very apologetic for what happened. We have been assured that it won’t happen again, that Jacen is very important to him, and the last thing he wants is for Jacen to be hurt.”
“Bullshit.” He sits forward, hands splayed on the polished oak, and roars, “That’s fucking
bullshit
!”
Della’s heart-shaped face is the picture of composure, framed with perfectly styled, thick, recently-dyed auburn curls, her hands primly folded in front of her. Clearing her throat, she waits to see if Liam has anything else to scream at her; when it seems he doesn’t, she continues. “I’m going to let that go, only because I know it’s out of concern for Jacen’s well-being that you are so disturbed. But that’s your only free pass, Will. Got it?”
His jaw clenching, Liam grits his teeth together to keep from letting out a tirade of obscenities and possibly face some seriously unpleasant repercussions.
“As I was saying, Spencer was a major account, but luckily we
“No one’s like you,” Jacen says. “Your perspective is... unique.”
“Thank you.”
“I mean, you and Val are like the definition of open-mindedness. This was a bad idea. Maybe there’s still time to call it off.”
“You’re not really naïve enough to believe that? That you can stop this now? Not even Liam can stop it. The arrangements have been made. Money is at stake. A lot of money. And guess who the collateral is?”
“Wow, Yash, you’re really making me feel better,” Jacen grumbles sourly.
“Oh, was that my job here? Sorry, I wasn’t clear on that. You want me to spit-shine your ass while we’re at it? Here I was, thinking we were having an actual exchange of thoughts and ideas.”
“You know what I mean,” Jacen sighs, biting the end off of a sprig of broccoli.
“Okay. You want me to tickle your balls for you? Here you go. What’s with your fucking attitude problem? You got your wish. You got a few of your wishes, if I’m not correct. Stop acting like a child.”
“This—” Jacen laughs maliciously, jabbing a finger at the house. “
This
is not my wish. This was never my
wish
.”
“It’s not exactly a punishment though, is it?” Yasha counters with a leading, crooked smile and a quick raise of his eyebrows, grabbing a cherry tomato and popping it in his mouth.
“Depends how you look at it,” Jacen says darkly, his eyes clouding over.
“Please,” Yasha scoffs. “There is no down-side here. This is the best possible outcome.”
“No,” Jacen argues, his voice getting lower, more resigned and forlorn. “No, it’s not.”
They sit in the dining room, directly across from each other in two of six chairs.
“You want a drink? We’ve got a bottle of vintage merlot open.”
“No, thanks,” Della smiles. “This’ll be quick. I have to be at Fourth and Main by six with a bright smile firmly in place and all of my wits intact.”
“New client?”
“Hopefully. If all goes as planned.”
“Great,” Liam says, settling into his chair. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Well, Jacen and I spoke this morning and some things were brought to my attention,” she starts. Immediately Liam sits up straighter, focusing with laser-like precision on his boss.
“What did he say?”
“I’d rather not get into specifics. Confidentiality and all that. You understand. But it all boils down to this. You convinced Jacen that he needed to get himself out of what could become a dangerous situation. Jacen was able to persuade us that there were lingering... risks. The problem is, we’re talking about losing a major account. That needs to be compensated for.”
“So....”
“So, Spencer has been informed that The Company will no longer be able to service his particular needs,” Della says slowly, trailing some of the syllables out.
“Spencer.” Liam echoes. “What about Patrick?”
“Patrick was a one-time incident and he was very apologetic for what happened. We have been assured that it won’t happen again, that Jacen is very important to him, and the last thing he wants is for Jacen to be hurt.”
“Bullshit.” He sits forward, hands splayed on the polished oak, and roars, “That’s fucking
bullshit
!”
Della’s heart-shaped face is the picture of composure, framed with perfectly styled, thick, recently-dyed auburn curls, her hands primly folded in front of her. Clearing her throat, she waits to see if Liam has anything else to scream at her; when it seems he doesn’t, she continues. “I’m going to let that go, only because I know it’s out of concern for Jacen’s well-being that you are so disturbed. But that’s your only free pass, Will. Got it?”
His jaw clenching, Liam grits his teeth together to keep from letting out a tirade of obscenities and possibly face some seriously unpleasant repercussions.
“As I was saying, Spencer was a major account, but luckily we
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