Chapter 38: Audrey
I was then thirty-two. I had married at twenty-four and divorced at twenty-eight. My ex and I mistook lust for love. When the lust was satisfied we had nothing else so we went our separate ways as friends. We had talked about having a family but realized early neither of us wanted children; which turned out to be a blessing.
Every once in a while my ex and I had fucked until she re-married.
I had concentrated my efforts on my career and had risen in the company hierarchy within three rungs off the top.
Then I was fired.
I was stunned. I had made more money for the company than anyone. I got along well with all except one but I still treated her politely.
Her name was Audrey, an intense, humorless redhead with no tits.
She also made a lot of money for the company but was always second to me in that regard.
I wondered if she had somehow engineered my firing.
I immediately decided that was unfair, she did not have a mean bone in her body and we got along well outside the boardroom.
It had been almost a year since I admitted her proposal had a better chance to succeed than mine. She was first shocked then elated.
It had been the only time I had seen a real smile from her. I had decided I liked her smiling at me and had backed her ideas on occasion; she began to back mine on occasion. I saw her smile at me at least once each day from then on.
Somehow that made me happy.
Happier than it should have, I thought.
Our boss, Randall, was a nice guy that had no business running a multi-million dollar company. However a conglomerate owned our company and his father owned the conglomerate.
Randall did not try to hide that he was in over his head and simply relied on Audrey and me to steer him straight. We seldom agreed on what straight was but Randall did have the ability to see both paths clearly and pick the right one.
He was an excellent administrator.
The two people that ranked between him and me were corporate lackeys for his father. We seldom saw them.
On my way to his office it occurred to me Randall would never fire me. He depended on me and we were friends.
As I walked in his office I said, "I take it you had no say in me being fired."
He gave me a look of great relief and nodded. "Correct and I am very happy you could see that. That was my father's idea. George convinced him that you were usurping my authority. I know you were not and would not but they saw my defense of you as proof you needed to go. Sorry. "
"You got fired too?" we heard from the doorway.
Randall and I nodded yes.
Audrey had come to his office to tear him apart but suddenly understood it was not his doing.
"What are you going to do?" she asked him in sympathy.
My opinion of her rose considerably with that question, she was more worried about him than for herself.
"I have both of your cell numbers and have you listed under A & J Consulting Firm. You need to incorporate it, I have already hired you."
"You are going to get in trouble when George finds out," I said.
"Nah, George knows less about this stuff than I do and he would never equate you to the consulting firm. Go collect your severance and clean out your desk. And please look upset when you do.
"By the way your first check as consultants is also in the envelope. Use the money to set up."
"Right chief," Audrey and I echoed.
We suddenly had the same perverse thought and kissed each of his cheeks.
"Oh, you are both so fired," he said as we laughed our way out of his office.
We stomped our way through the offices and to the elevator. Once the doors closed we began to laugh.
She looked cute. I had to fight off the urge to kiss her.
As we got to our cars in the parking garage and loaded our stuff she suddenly stopped and asked, "Do you mind having me as a business partner?"
"Well, I had not thought about that, I mean what do business partners do?"
"I don't know but I have a cousin that's a lawyer, actually I have several cousins that are lawyers, but I have one I could call and make and appointment for us."
"Do that."
"Now?"
"Yes, why not. We are unemployed, it is just barely nine in the morning and we have time to see him now."
"Her. OK but her office is seventy-eight miles away."
"Lets go to the coffee house around the corner, you can call her from there."
We found a quiet table in a corner and I went to get us coffee and kolaches as she called.
As soon as I sat she said, "She wants us to go down now and take her and her partner to lunch. They will be going to Las Vegas for a concert this afternoon."
"Where are they?'
"Felicity. Its straight down the freeway to the coast then a right then a left, it should take us about an hour."
"Like I said, we are poor jobless people, we have the time."
We were not poor people and we were not jobless but it was the appropriate line.
"Do you have your pay envelope with you?" she asked.
"Yes, in my jacket."
"See if the set up check is in it."
It was and it was much larger than expected and so was our severance pay. She was just opening her envelope and just stared at hers.
"This is more money than a teacher makes in a year. I need to show this to Helen."
"Who is Helen?"
"A teacher cousin. Are we going to keep the money secrets from each other?"