Once again, I'd like to thank blackrandl1958 for inviting me to her
"legends day" event
. I know I always say it but only because it's true, it's a real honor to be included.
I hope you enjoy the read, and as always, I enjoy reading your comments.
Dreams VS Nightmares... Joy VS guilt.
"You'll never guess who was just in my office."
Charlene was at work and didn't have time for twenty questions. "I don't know, Brad, and I don't have time for guessing games. Who was just in your office?"
"Ahh, you're no fun but I'll tell you anyway, your husband."
"What!" Panic shot through her body like a bolt of lightning. Immediately she assumed the worst, how could he know? My God, it was only once, how did he find out? Brad could almost feel her anxiety through the phone.
"Relax, he doesn't know anything."
"What! Then wh... why was he in your office?"
"Our ad agency hired him to take the pictures for our new sales campaign. I think it's kind of funny," he said with a chuckle.
"It's not funny, Brad. Connie's not a stupid man. The slightest slip, something you said or did, could've tipped him off."
Brad found her statement a little insulting. "I'm not a stupid man either, Char."
"Oh, I know you're not, Brad. I... I'm just worried. God, there must be hundreds of photographers in Chicago, what are the odds of them hiring him?"
"I guess the old man saw his work someplace and requested him."
"I still don't get why he was in your office. He usually works directly with ad agencies. What do you have to do with your company's advertising?"
"Nothing, really, but I am the top sales coordinator here. This new campaign is a big deal. Dennison wants to start selling overseas and he's willing to spend the money to make it happen. I sat in on several of the meetings and offered some ideas here and there. That's probably why they thought it was important that I meet the guy who'll be taking the pictures."
"Well, I don't like it, Brad, not at all. I think we should cool it anyway; I'm ashamed of myself and I don't like feeling this way. I think your one-on-one with my husband is an oman; I don't like it."
"Char, don't be silly. I doubt very much I'll ever see your husband again. This was a one-time thing, a meet and greet, that's all. Relax, it changes nothing."
"No-I'm out. If Connie ever found out he'd be destroyed and I would never purposely hurt him; even worse would be hurting Richard. He's only eight, Brad; he'd be devastated if his dad wasn't living with us, and he'd probably hate me when he got old enough to understand why."
"Jesus, Char, in the first place, your husband hasn't a clue that we even know each other. He was in my office for ten minutes. Take it easy, I didn't say or do anything to tip him off or make him suspicious in any way. I thought last week was great; I look forward to getting together again, I don't want to quit."
"Brad, If Connie ever found out, he'd divorce me for sure, I know he would. Holly would probably do the same to you. I really think we should just cool it."
"You're right, Holly would divorce me, but I'm telling you everything is fine. If I thought for one minute that there was a chance of us being discovered, I'd agree, but no one knows anything, not Holly and not Connie.
"Now--are you ready for the really good news?"
"What's that?"
"Last week, before I even knew who we hired, Dennison was talking about sending the photographer to Europe for a couple of weeks to scout locations and get a feel for that market. Holly already knows about the campaign so I'll tell her I have to work late several nights over the next few weeks and you and I can spend some quality time together."
"He's going to send Connie overseas? Where?"
"I'm not sure, what do you care anyway? This'll be a great opportunity for us."
"What do I care? Listen, stud, if I get the opportunity to spend two weeks in Europe with Connie, you're going to be left choking the chicken."
That was disheartening to hear, it also made him angry and he lashed out. "Well, don't get your hopes up, Dennison would never pay for a spouse to go along. He considers it a business trip, not a vacation. Besides, who would look after your kid... you couldn't even get that much time off from work."
Charlene had already been half-daydreaming about Europe and missed the angry inflections in her lover's diatribe. "Yeah, you're right about work. Maybe I could go for a week and come back. I'll see what Connie says."
Without realizing it, the more she talked the more Charlene pissed him off. "Fine," he said curtly, "I've got to go, let me know what you decide, bye," and he disconnected.
She looked at her phone when the line went dead but wasn't concerned; she was more concerned with how to talk her husband into taking her to Europe with him. She knew she had a week's vacation coming at work, the biggest problem, as she saw it, was Connie himself.
When he was on a job, he was all business. From what Brad told her, this campaign could be a game-changer for her husband's career. She was sure he'd want to center all his concentration on the job and not have to worry about what his wife was doing on the streets of Europe. He also had a very protective nature; she'd not only have to convince him she wouldn't get in the way, but that she'd be safe in a strange land without him constantly by her side.
She was sure he'd give her the news as soon as he got home that night. That didn't give her much time to come up with a plan. She forgot about work and started writing down some ideas.
She started by drawing a line down a sheet of paper. On the left, she listed all the objections she knew Connie would bring up. On the other side, she wrote every rebuttal she could think of for each objection. She crossed out some of the weaker ones and focused on the strongest. If that didn't work, she'd get down and her knees and beg.
Just then she heard a knock and looked up to see Diane, one of her co-workers. "Ready?"
"Ready?" She asked sounding a little perplexed.