The Boss (4 page)

It is the first day back at the office after the plane crash. The door opens. Late as usual, Jake walks through the main office area. There are employees working at their desks. Three enclosed offices line the windowed wall off the main area. Everyone stops what they’re doing and stares at Jake as he walks by. Jake’s closest friend, Erika comes out of her office and approaches him.

“Jake.”

“What?”

“What did you do?”

“Did I just walk on to the set of the Twilight zone?”

“My office, Jake.”

Jake points to the desk in his office as they pass by.

“My desk, Erika.”

“Get in here, Jake.”

“OK, OK. What’s so important it can’t wait till I’m sober?”

Erika and Jake walk into her office and close the door. The others go back to working at whatever they were doing.
 
Erika walks into her office and stands beside her desk. Jake stands opposite her.

“You’re completely clueless, aren’t you?”

Erika sits down.

“Not completely. I have a clue I’m about to become your boss.”

“My boss? You must not have been kidding when you said you weren’t sober yet.”

“In case you didn’t know it, Abbey agreed to make me a partner.”

“I just spoke to Abbey.”

“Really? She tell ya how much fun we had on fantasy island?”

“That’s not quite her memory of it.”

“So she didn’t show ya the pictures, huh?”

“Jake, talk to me. What happened out there?”

Abbey arrives. The office workers try to look busy and avoid eye contact with her. She addresses the group.

“Anyone see Jake this morning?”

Susan looks up from her desk.

“He’s in Erika’s office.”

Abbey rushes to Erika’s office and opens the door.

“I want to see you in my office, Jake.”

“Sure thing, partner. But until I get in there, would ya settle for a nice eight-by-ten of me on your desk?”

“Why do I even bother?”

Abbey rushes back to her office and slams the door. Jake struts out of Erika’s office, walks over to Abbey’s office and pokes his body in the door.

“You can see me in your office now. Happy? Bye.”

Jake starts to close the door.

“Get in here, Jake.”

Jake enters Abbey’s office.

“Sit down.”

“Easy does it, partner.”

“You’re not my partner. You’ll never be my partner. Not here, not anywhere. In fact, I don’t even want you as my employee.”

“Are you still upset about our magical night on fantasy island?”

“That’s over. And don’t ever bring it up again. To anyone.”

“That was the best time I’ve had in a long time.”

“Then revel in the memory. Because that’s all it’ll ever be.”

“Too bad you’re so mad.”

“Mad? I trusted you to do one thing right. And what did you do? You ruined my business. You jeopardized our lives. And for what? Some silly twisted joke?”

“Is that all you think I see this as, Abbey?”

“There’s no more to see. In fact, clean out your desk right now. I don’t ever want to see you in this building again.”

“Whoa, now partner. I can take a hint. I’ll pick you up for dinner at eight and we can talk then.”

“Get out of my life!”

“Right.”

Jake leaves Abbey’s office. He turns back to look at Abbey one last time, remembering how close they came to falling in love just a day and a night ago.

Abbey yells, “Go, already!”

His heart heavy from his loss, he doesn’t even go to his office. Nothing there is important to him at the moment. He walks out the front door empty handed and broken hearted as everyone stares at him, stunned at what they heard through Abbey’s closed office door.

Jake arrives at the office earlier than usual the next morning. He still has a key to the front door. He opens the door and walks to his desk. He begins emptying his personal items into a box, some of which include squirt guns and other silly toys. He hopes to get out before anyone else arrives, but Erika comes in just as he’s leaving. She approaches Jake.

“Want to talk about it?”

“What is there to talk about? I don’t work here anymore.”

“
I
need to talk about it.”

“For you, OK.”

They go into Erika’s office and sit down.

“So what happened?”

“I got canned yesterday. Didn’t the whole building hear it?”

“I mean what happened on the island, Jake.”

Jake fumbles a moment, not sure of how much he wants to share with Erika at this time.

“Broken fuel line. We ran outta gas. I mean the airplane did. I think we may have, too, but I hope it’s just temporary.”

“There was a town on the other side of the island, Jake. With an airstrip. As a pilot, you must have known that.”

“I did.”

“Why did you hide that from Abbey?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

“It’s complicated.”

“How complicated could it be? You saw an airstrip. You landed in the water on a deserted beach.”

“I couldn’t get the landing gear down, alright?”

“It was a Cessna 172, Jake. The landing gear doesn’t go up and down.”

“You really wanna know?”

“Yes, I really want to know.”

“I’ll send ya the NTSB report when it comes out.”

“That’s not what I want to know.”

Jake gets up and heads to the door.

“So that’s it?”

“That’s it, Erika.”

“Nothing else to say?”

“Nothing else.”

Erika rises from her seat.

“In all the years we’ve been friends you’ve never kept a secret from me. I don’t believe you, Jake Harris.”

Jake turns around and comes back in.

“OK. OK. You really want to know? I mean, I thought you’d have it figured it out by now. I thought you girls all had an insight to this sort a thing.”

“I’m a little short on insight as to why you would spend a night on the beach when you could have simply walked to a hotel in twenty minutes.”

“I did it on purpose.”

“You what?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Every day but Halloween. Or maybe that’s Halloween and -”

“- Please tell me something that’ll make me believe I shouldn’t call you a shrink.”

“You can call me a shrink if you want, but I never went to med school.”

Erika sits down, her attention focused on Jake. He sits down.

“Seriously, please continue. I’m all ears.”

“No, you have hair, lips, a nose and arms -”

“- Come on, Jake, get serious.”

“Were you ever in love, Erika? I mean, crazy in love with someone so far out of your league you couldn’t find the courage to say hello?”

“No.”

“Then there’s no way you’re gonna understand what I did.”

“You mean - Abbey?”

“Give that lady a vowel, Vanna White.”

“So you put yourselves in danger - to prove what? Were you even really out of gas?”

“That, we really were. The fuel line popped and we lost all the fuel in a matter of minutes. I couldn’t make the south side of the island.”

“And Abbey couldn’t see the south side when you landed.”

“Ding, ding, ding! The lady just won the bonus round.”

“So how was it?”

“Pretty smooth until we hit the water.”

“No, I mean with Abbey.”

“I was just a nobody to her. Havin’ her find out I could fly was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“There’s one thing I don’t get.”

“The Sunday edition of the Post?”

“The village was only two miles away. Why not just get a room there?”

“Abbey would have wanted her own room and we never would have - you know -”

“Never would have what, Jake?”

“I think we’re done here.”

“You’re just gonna leave me hangin?”

“For now.”

“I know how
you
felt. But Abbey too?”

“What do you think?”

“Abbey? Really? I just don’t see that in her.”

“Under all the bullshit, she’s not so bad. No one here knows her, really.”

“No one here wants to know her. There’s lots of other girls, Jake. Girls who would love to be with you, well, just because, you know, you ain’t half bad to look at.”

“It’s just something about her. I mean, I know who she is and all, but I can see through it. She’s the one. What can I say?”

“Wow. Who’d have ever thought?”

Jake gets up and goes back to his office, picks up his box of his personal belongings and walks to the front door. He turns back to Erika.

“Jake?”

“Yeah?”

“Where you gonna go?”

“Home.”

“I mean for work?”

“I got a job as a travel photographer.”

“Really? That quick?”

“A friend of mine owns a business. I told him what happened. He’s been tryin’ to get me to do this for years.”

“Well, good luck. I’ll miss ya.”

“I’ll call ya later.”

A few weeks pass. Abbey has had to cancel a few of her meetings. Without Jake, she either has to pay much more to fly, or drive herself which takes much more time. The business is beginning to feel the adverse effect of Jake not being there. Abbey won’t admit the reason is Jake’s absence, but Erika knows better.

Jake is traveling to exotic locations taking pictures for his friend’s travel magazine and web sites. He is making much more money than he made before, and having the time of his life. Tonight he’s in a hotel in Alaska when his cell phone rings. He answers it.

“Hello.”

“Jake, how are you?”

“Erika. Great to hear from you. How’s Abbey?

“Sure. I’m the one who calls you, and it’s Abbey you care about.”

“I love you too, sweetie.”

“Sure you do.”

“If you were into guys, I’d be all over you. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know that. If I ever change, you’ll be the first one to know.”

“My luck, I’ll be married then.”

“Abbey’s hurting.”

“Business is down?”

“That, too.”

“I’m not coming back. This job is great. They fly me around in a private jet.”

“Wow, you lucky dog.”

“Four star hotels, expense account, first class all the way.”

“Must be nice.”

“Beats havin’ a cheapskate bitchy boss.”

“That cheapskate bitch misses you, ya know.”

“She said that?”

“Not in so many words.”

“Not in any, I bet.”

“A woman can tell, though.”

“Even a gay one, huh?”

“The core is still woman, Jake. She misses you. I know it.”

“Well she had her shot. I’m over her.”

“Really? That isn’t the impression I got when you answered the phone.”

“I was just curious.”

“Feel like a pizza tonight? My treat.”

“Love to. Too bad I’m in Alaska.”

“You bastard! I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“Come on up. I’ll be here another couple days. Gotta shoot the glaciers tomorrow.”

“Don’t tempt me. If Alaska wasn’t on the complete other side of the globe, I would.”

“If Alaska wasn’t on the other side of the globe, you’d have been here before.”

“You got a point.”

“Tell Abbey I said hi. I’ll take you up on pizza when I get back.”

“You can always call her, ya know.”

“I know. But she’d only hang up on me.”

“Luv ya, kid.”

“Luv ya, too.”