1 Chapter 1
The idea of going on a date this evening made Blake want to vomit.
He looked in the mirror in the office gym only to
find that, as usual, he looked great. His dark hair sparkled under
the florescent lights reminding him of a demigod in a picture book
he used to love to read as a child. As always, Tanya had made magic
with her scissors; his hair was amazing. The black jacket he wore
was a little dressy, but the white shirt buttoned down two buttons,
and the jeans that were just tight enough to let people know that
he was in shape, toned it down a notch, and added a sexy edge to
his appearance. At home whitening treatments, and frequent dental
appointments had paid off. His teeth were just about the whitest he
had seen anybody’s ever get, and Blake was actually kind of glad
that his parents had made him get braces in high school. If he
didn’t know what a horrible date he was, he would probably date
himself, and the fact that he looked amazing stressed him out more
than anything ever had.
Blake turned in a circle, trying to look over
his shoulder as he scrutinized himself a little harder this time.
There had to be something wrong with him, something that would make
someone not want to sleep with him, but no matter the angle, he
looked fabulous. What could he do that would make him look bad
enough to not want to sleep with, but still good enough to keep
dating? As he moved around the mirrors like he was in a fun house,
Blake was grateful that for once he was the only person in the gym.
With over seven hundred people working in this building, it was
rare that he ever found himself in the free office gym alone, but
at a little after five on a Friday, most people were joyfully on
their way to happy hour or out with someone special. As the big
metal gym doors suddenly opened, Blake quickly moved away from the
mirror and tried to appear nonchalant.
“You look great, Mr. Durkeson,” a voice
said.
Blake turned, relieved to find that it was
Jerome. Jerome cleaned Blake’s office every night, and Blake had
spent many an evening talking to Jerome before going home to
Snowpetal. Blake felt a whole lot more comfortable talking to
Jerome than he did to most people in the office, and although
Snowpetal always acted as if she understood, Blake seriously
wondered if she wasn’t one of those pets that would purr for
anyone. What Blake liked most about his conversations with Jerome
was that he knew Jerome wasn’t out to take his job or steal a
client right from under his nose.
“What’s the special occasion?” Jerome asked.
“You don’t normally do jeans around here. As a matter of fact, in
the three years I’ve worked with you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen
you this…relaxed.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t get to relax much around
here, Jerome. You know how it is.”
“I sure do, but you’re one of the few people
who keeps his sense around this place. You do a much better job
than I ever did.”
“What do you mean, Jerome?”
“I mean, I used to do your job. I lasted
about five years, and then I decided that I didn’t like who I had
become. I wasn’t like you. You keep your cool. You’ve stayed a nice
person in a stressful job.”
“You used to work in finance?”
“Right here. You see, deep down, I always
wanted to be a writer, but my parents wouldn’t hear of it. My
mother is a physics teacher and my father is on Wall Street. We
didn’t even have novels in my home. Anyway, I let them push me into
pursuing a dream that wasn’t mine. I even got an MBA from
Wharton.”
“Wharton is pretty impressive, Jerome.”
“They thought so, but I wasn’t impressed with
myself after five years. What did impress me though was hearing
this really neat author speak one night. His partner had died and
he lost his mind. He also lost his job and his house. He ended up
cleaning on the night shift somewhere and he said it was the best
thing that ever happened to him. He finished his novel, and it was
a great one. The day after I heard him, I went into Mr. Beechum and
told him he could make me a custodian or I was going to
resign.”
“What did he say?” Blake asked.
“He laughed for about a week, and then one
night on his way out he came by my office and asked me about it. I
told him what I’m telling you. He also saw that I had packed a few
boxes. The next day I started doing this. I have an agent trying to
sell my first book now, I’m working on my second one.”
“You’re really impressive, Jerome. Maybe I
should switch jobs.”
“No, you shouldn’t, Mr. Durkeson. You are
happy with what you do. I think this is your passion. When I did
it, I acted like Mr. Burlington.”
“You don’t like Mr. Burlington, Jerome?”
“Well, I didn’t say that. I wouldn’t say that
when I’m working here. Let’s just say, he’s not you.”
“Well, thanks, Jerome. I appreciate
that.”
“So what’s the big plan for the evening, Mr.
