Page 23 of Beyond the Hedge Maze

Chapter 11

Jesse

Present

Camden High Street was desolate in the early morning as his feet pounded harshly against the pavement.

Without rowing, Jesse had heavily leaned into running as his way to set the tone for the day. He found on days when he didn’t exercise, his thoughts were more disorganized, a web of disorderliness. Every morning for the last two years, he’d jog the same familiar path around his neighborhood that he’d been taking since he first moved to the city.

When he had started his run, the light outside was dim, the August sun not yet fully risen, but it had brightened as he rounded the final corner back to his flat. He tilted his head back and tried to absorb as much of its warmth as possible while the week’s top hits streamed through his headphones.

He was determined that today would be a better day.

Jesse had started working at the family company two years ago, and he still felt unsettled. He knew he was doing a decent job, and was at the very least becoming competent in the work he was doing. But he wasn’t fulfilled by any of it. Competency wasn’t translating to happiness, and that was wearing him thin with each passing day.

He was rounding the corner back to his flat when his phone rang, and Jesse muttered a curse under his breath. It was 6:45 in the morning, and there was only one person who would be calling; even if it was past midnight where they were.

“Hello?”

“Son. Are you headed to the office?”

Jesse fished the keycard to his flat out of his pocket, kicking off his shoes as he crossed the threshold.

“It’s not even 7:00 a.m. Is there something you need?” He was already annoyed, and his father hadn’t even gotten to the point of his call.

There was a pause before his father spoke again. “Your grandfather got a call yesterday, and there’s a concern that you’ve become disengaged.”

He put his father on speaker and tossed the phone on his bed as he ripped his shirt off his back. “I’ve been researching the value of silverware for a lunatic of a woman. She insists they were once stuffed in the mouth of Queen Victoria. When I went to pick them up, she was surrounded by fifteen cats and had her hair piece on backwards.”

The Chicago office of Emerson Enterprises primarily catered to the business mogul, the new money, and tech geniuses. They were focused on growing through cash and investments, sometimes real estate, while always making sure they were aligned with that week’s flashy charitable organization. The work was fast and intense, and the account managers were on call day and night. His father didn’t seem to understand that the London office moved at a slightly slower pace.

In the UK, everything was a piece of history, even when it wasn’t. Money was tied up trying to simply keep the lights on. There were battles with historical societies, a resistance to change of any kind, and an unfriendliness to outsiders. The land and the assets had worth, but for everything else, it was debt.

The London office was in the business of problem solving.

“All business is good business that could lead to more, or help you earn future connections, Jesse. You’ve been given an opportunity that you’re clearly squandering. I wasn’t born into opportunity, I had to earn it. My parents had nothing.”

“Actually, you just had to marry into it.”

His jab was met with no response, and Jesse knew he shouldn’t have brought up his mom. He knew his father worked hard, even if he had gotten the job from his father-in-law. He scrubbed his hand across his face, knowing he should apologize.

“I’m sor—”

“Son…If you just gave this career a chance, you might find something worthwhile in the process.”

It wasn’t like his father to sound so defeated, but there was also no use in arguing with him. He didn’t have any interest in finding something worthwhile. He wanted to do his time and get the fuck out of there. Where he’d go next, what he was going to do next, he had no idea, but this couldn’t be it for him. “Enthusiasm wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Jesse, please. There’s a new account the firm is taking on, and—”

“I have to go. I don’t want to be late. It would be a shame if I gave anyone the impression that I was disengaged.” He was done with the conversation.

When his father spoke again, his voice was laced with a resignation that Jesse didn’t want to acknowledge. “I’ll call you next week?”

“Sure.”

The call ended without any fanfare, only swift goodbyes as Jesse sank onto his bed.

All he had wanted was for the day to start on a positive note. He had woken up refreshed, excited to get outside and get some exercise, and now he was back to square one. Last night in bed, he even had an epiphany on a lead for those blasted spoons, and that tiny spark of excitement had officially been extinguished.