“I want to give her time to feel comfortable taking our friendship to the next level.”
“She’s just getting out of a relationship?”
Lamar shook his head. “Not quite. She broke up with some dude last November, but he’s still messing with her.”
“What he needs is a good ass-whooping to convince him it’s over.”
“I agree, but it’s been settled. He’s lucky her father and brother didn’t get involved, because her dad is a retired cop and her brother is currently NYPD.”
Cameron whistled under his breath. “That man truly likes living on the edge.”
Lamar didn’t want to disclose to Cameron his involvement in helping Nydia with her dilemma because his friend had admitted his wife did not discuss her friends with him. He turned his attention to the menu when he spied the waiter’s approach. He ordered grilled honey Cajun shrimp with a side dish of red beans and rice, while Cameron selected a bowl of Creole-Cajun jambalaya.
“I know you didn’t call me for lunch to talk about Nydia, so, my friend, what else is on your mind?”
It was a rare occasion that Lamar talked about work to someone other than his mother, but this time he needed an unbiased opinion. He told Cameron about Omar’s seemingly more and more erratic behavior and how it was impacting the partnership. “We’ve done quite well since going into business together, but for Omar it’s never enough.”
“Have you thought about buying out his share in the company?” Cameron questioned.
“No, and I’m not certain whether I want to raise the idea with Kirk, who is a lot more laid back than I am, so most times Omar’s outbursts don’t bother him.”
“If that’s the case, then why don’t you go into business for yourself? Of course you’ll be competing with them for projects.”
Lamar slowly shook his head. “That’s something I can’t see myself doing. We’ve been together too long to compete with one another. What Omar needs is a break from the business so that he can straighten out his personal life.”
“Why don’t you suggest that? We Singletons go through the same thing every once in a while. Right now my father is supposed to be semi-retired, but he still comes into the office four out of five days. And there are times when I have to tell him to go home and kiss his wife because he’s being an annoyance. My brothers and I finally got together to institute a four-day workweek, which gives everyone a three-day weekend. Everyone returns on Monday much less stressed.”
“That’s something to think about,” Lamar said. “We don’t have that many ongoing construction projects where we have to be in the office five days a week. We can alternate covering the office every third week. And if I have to inspect a site, then I could do that during the week I don’t have office duty. As for office staff we can change their hours to give them the option of taking Fridays or Mondays off.”
“Are you certain you haven’t been talking to Jasmine?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because she’s a human resources specialist, and it was she who gave me the idea of shortening my family’s workweek.”
“I can assure you,” Lamar said, smiling, “that I haven’t spoken to your wife. But you did make me think about a shorter workweek.”
The waiter arrived with their lunch order. The topic of conversation turned to sports as he and Cameron talked about the possibility of the Saints becoming Super Bowl champs with their newly acquired young talent.
The impromptu lunch ended when Lamar paid the bill, while Cameron left a generous tip. They walked back to their respective offices with a promise to see each other Sunday. Both had confirmed they planned to attend Gage and Tonya Toussaint’s brunch gathering.
As soon as he opened the door, the receptionist told him that Omar had taken the afternoon off. He thanked her, went into his office, closed the door, and dialed the number to Omar’s cell.
“Talk to me, Pierce.”
He smiled when hearing the familiar greeting. It took less than two minutes to outline to his friend and partner the plan Lamar had presented to Cameron. “It’s just something to think about,” he added. “I haven’t said anything to Kirk, but after I hang up I’ll talk to him about it. What do you think?”
“I like your suggestion, Lamar. I believe we’ve all been pushing too hard and perhaps even overextending ourselves. I do need time off to take care of my home, which is now in crisis.”
“Take as much time as you need, Omar. The company’s not going to go under if you’re not here. And plan to go away or do something with your wife and kids during the week of Christmas when they’re out of school. Think about booking a family cruise to the Caribbean.”
“I’m glad you called, because when we hang up that’s exactly what I intend to do. I’m going to research sites and then discuss it with Layla.”
“Let me know what you decide.”
“Will do. Thanks, buddy.”
Lamar smiled. “Anytime.”
