He relented. “It’s a good thing I’m not an undercover agent. I’d rat myself out the first day. Yes, but say nothing to anyone, okay? We didn’t want to tell anyone we were trying since she’s in that ‘geriatric pregnancy’ category, and we weren’t sure if she could get pregnant.”
“Congratulations, Trip. I’m so happy for you. You’re going to be an awesome dad.”
He beamed. “Thanks.”
Normally the broody one in their circle of friends, she was thrilled to see him so openly happy.
“Do you know what you’re having yet? I’m not sure how that all works.”
“She just had a blood test done because she couldn’t wait. The result says we’re having a boy.”
“Aww… Another little Tripoli. Bet he’s a caretaker, just like his daddy. Gonna hafta beat girls off with a stick.”
“Better than a girl and having to show boys the guns in my safe,” he joked. “So, birria quesadillas, margaritas, and a healthy distance from my other half?”
She shook her head. “I’d love to, but I’m gonna pass tonight. I need to get up early tomorrow. I’ve got a contractor coming to look at my roof. Apparently, the inspector wasn’t as thorough as he should have been, and I have quite a leak. Just what I need before I start the new job.”
His brow furrowed. “Do you need someone to come sit at the house while he works to fix it?”
“Cosmos already offered. Something about schedules to plan for upcoming jobs and other paperwork. Said it’s a good excuse to get that kind of stuff done.”
“Okay. Francesca or I could help if he can’t. Just let us know.”
“Will do.”
“I’ll walk you back through the labyrinth so you don’t get lost.”
When they got to the exit, she hugged him tightly around the neck. “Tell Cosmos and Triumph goodbye for me. I’ll have to catch up with everyone soon, without all this craziness around us. And I loved meeting Francesca, by the way. She seems perfect for you.”
“See you soon, E. Don’t be a stranger, and use that VIP card. You and a guest have an open invitation here, even if we’re sold out. I’ve already told the box office staff.”
“Thanks. And congratulations. The you-know-what, your engagement, and all the clubs. You deserve the success.”
With a wave, she went out the door.
THE PLUS-ONE PROBLEM
LUCAS
“It was actuallymy restructuring of the audit that got me recognized for this position. I’m very proud to say that since taking over the role of regional director, our six locations have been at optimum safety regulation level, and we’ve received monthly commendations from industry leaders for our innovations.”
For the bulk of the dinner party, they had avoided Brianna Bostwick. Not being seated at the same table for dinner had brought an audible sigh of relief from Jess, but now that the dinner itself was winding down, the woman’s hyena-like laugh and shrill voice unintentionally carried over the sounds of other guests mingling and the ambient music.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Jess’ newly promoted boss. Platinum-blonde hair sitting precariously atop her head, teased up into some weird combination of Tammy Faye Bakker and Marge Simpson. More makeup than a caller at drag queen bingo. Bloodred talons playing with her wineglass stem. Was she trying to look provocative? If so, she probably should have chosen something less trashy than the pink-and-black leopard-print dress that barely confined the canyon of cleavage on display.
Wishing he could rub his forehead to relieve the pressure of the major headache he had, he took a larger-than-usual swallow of his drink. Was it too much to hope that the alcohol would numb him to where the conversation wasn’t so painful? He’d rather be home spending hours crunching ACT data than listening to this shit. That at least would be useful to him.
However, he owed Jess a favor for being his plus-one at the teacher-of-the-year banquet three months ago, so here he was.
Shifting his attention back to the other couple Jess chatted with, his ears refused to let go of the conversation happening behind him. “Our previous regional manager really had no idea how to run the offices.”
He recognized the voice from introductions earlier in the evening. It belonged to a balding, portly man who wore a poorly fitted suit, complete with a food stain on his tie. He barely held in a snort of derision, although his shoulders still gave a slight jerk in response. The guy was a total sycophant. Good grief, how did Jess put up with these people?
“He truly didn’t,” Brianna continued. “His boss actually called me directly and asked me to do a complete overhaul of our training manuals to bring us into compliance. They assigned me a team to assist, but they were less than useless.”
His ears perked up at the comment, which was a load of horseshit no shovel could ever hope to remove.
“No one could ever be bothered to come to a meeting I put together, and even when people said they would do things, they wouldn’t follow through. They were always ‘too busy’ with their day-to-day work to complete the tasks they volunteered for, and despite being salaried employees, no one would work outside of office hours. Incredibly unprofessional. I ended up picking up all the slack. They were more than happy to let me do everything,but when the project was done, all they did was complain about my work. I should have done this, or I should have done that. If they could have been bothered to do even a tenth of what they promised, I would have been more than happy to give them a voice.”
