"Bryan, this is going to be as difficult for me as it is for you. With business the way it is, we need to let you go. I mean sales are getting obliterated by Amazon. We can't keep you on."
"But how about Justin? He's the new guy in town and I've been here for over a dozen years. Why me?"
"I don't make these decisions, Bryan."
"But can't you put in a good word for me?"
"I already have. I told the boss that you are a dedicated employee, but Dominic only looks at the numbers. Your numbers aren't good, Bryan.
Justin's numbers are no better."
"Yes, but he is a bachelor," Bret, the manager said.
"What does that have to do with it?"
"He has nothing to offer."
"And I do?"
"Look, Bryan, we need to make these decisions based on all of the available information and everyone's situation."
"What kind of information?"
"One of them is you have a beautiful wife. Justin doesn't, so as I said, he has nothing to offer."
"And my wife has something to offer?"
"Yes. She has something to offer and the kind of woman that can save a man's job. It's not for me. As I said, I don't make these decisions."
"I don't speak for my wife either. I can't imagine she would understand that my job depends on her."
"I understand. Maybe the two of you need to talk. After you have discussed your options with her, we can have a sit down with Dominic and work out your situation. There's not much else I can do."
At home, it wasn't going to be an easy conversation for Bryan. After dinner, he said, "Dear, I'm on the bubble."
"On the bubble?" Sheila asked. "What does that mean?"
"Yeah," he started nervously. "It's a term they use in sports when the team might not make the playoffs. In my case, I might not keep my job."
"Why?"
"The recession and Amazon are taking big bites out of our sales."
"But you are one of their best employees."
"Apparently that doesn't matter. It's the numbers that count and mine haven't been that great."
"But we have a mortgage and the country club is expensive. What are we going to do without your income and the year-end bonus? We're stretched pretty thin."
"I know dear. Maybe you could get a job at the hair salon," Bryan suggested.
"I haven't done styling for years. I don't even know the latest fashions in hair."
"Well, Bret suggested an option. It's not what I'd like but it could save my job."
"What's the option?"
"Bret said I had something to offer that not everyone else has."
"That would be?"
"A beautiful wife."
"You have me to offer? Are you kidding?"
"Bret was deadly serious, darling. I know it goes on like this in corporate life, but I never thought it would involve us."
"So, you want me to be someone's whore."
"Not me and not someone's, Sheila. He mentioned, Dominic, the owner."
"I've never met Dominic and I don't want to. They're going to have to find another whore for him."
"Look, let's talk about this in the morning. Maybe we can find a way around it."
Bryan and Sheila tried to avoid each other the next morning over coffee. Bryan took the 6:42 into the city, as usual, the same train he had taken to work for a dozen years. He had time to think but he knew without Sheila's help, this could be his last commute. He decided to string Bret along and make promises he might not be able to keep.
At the office, Bryan told Bret to set up a meeting with Dominic. Sheila would decide after meeting him. "However, I need to be there as well," he told Bret.
"I can't promise anything, Bryan, but I'll see what I can do."
It took a week before Bret handed him an envelope with his name on it. Inside was an invitation that read, "Mrs. Beloit and I would love to meet you and your wife at Perkin's Bistro at eight-thirty Friday night."
"But why with his wife?" Bryan asked.
Bret shrugged, then said, "I don't know but Dominic is a family man."
Now Bryan needed to sell the idea to Sheila. Finally, she agreed to go but said, "It's only because I'm curious. It gives us some time before you are fired and another month to pay the mortgage. Maybe I can sweet-talk him into keeping your job."
But Bryan felt he heard a weakening in her voice. Maybe she had rethought the consequences. Sheila loved the neighborhood, the house, and her friends who all meet at the club. It was her social life. Giving it all up was a lot to ask. And one night with the boss didn't seem too much to ask.
The bistro was busy, but Dominic and his wife were not hard to find. They were the best dressed and the oldest. Dominic had a shock of silver-white hair and looked very much like an executive. His wife, Dorothy, was a natural blond and wore an elfin-style haircut making her look younger than in her mid-forties. She was attractive if not beautiful.