Chapter 16
JEREMIAH
The golf course stretched out ahead of me, a stark green reminder of the hours I was about to spend walking after a little white ball I didn’t give a shit about. I understood golf was an important game for networking and all that, but I had never learned to enjoy it.
Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at what blasphemy that statement would be considered as by all the men out on this course with me today. They played every Sunday, religiously. If I wanted to see them come after me with pitchforks and fire, I would tell them what I really thought of their boring game and their fancy country club.
The place was old world, over-the-top grand. Built and operated to keep the plebs and ordinary folk out, the club was surrounded by mile-high triple thick walls with state-of-the-art security and a jungle’s worth of plants around the perimeter so the high-end members wouldn’t feel boxed in.
Though with the kind of money floating around this place, I had no doubt many of the members probably ought to have been boxed in and locked up in a federal penitentiary years ago. There were the men like my father, institutions in the city who paid the thousands in membership fees from the coins in his back pocket, then there were the others. The ones hanging on in this economy by the skin of their teeth. Those were the ones who often resorted to doing underhanded deals just so they were able to keep frequenting places like this.
Fuck only knew why. When I was a kid, Jack and I enjoyed coming here. The sheer opulence was lost on us, common in our world. The vast grounds, the fountains and the fact children weren’t often allowed and when they were, were kept far away from the adults that was the fun part.
As I grew older, I came to realize just how long and wide the sticks were the members had shoved up their asses. They didn’t even hold or carry their own umbrellas to shield them from the harsh sun.
They sat in their luxury golf carts waiting their turn and then relied on their caddies to lug their gear into place, ready their oversized golf bags and return to the cart to usher them to the tee while holding their umbrellas and spritzing them with canisters of water.
Neil hopped out of the cart we were in with my father, selected his club and positioned his feet, waving away the caddy who was trying to keep him in the shade of an enormous blue umbrella. At least I had an ally out here when he played with us.
Squaring his shoulders, he took a couple of practice swings before bringing his driver home. We were quiet watching the little ball fly through the sky, always observant of the decorum on the course. Fun, fun, fun.
“Good shot, Neil,” My father praised, going through the motions with the caddy as he readied himself for his own shot. “Tell me, boys, how’s our latest acquisition coming along? You’ve had a week. What updates have you got for me?”
Neil looked at me and I nodded, giving him the silent go-ahead. He launched into detail about what we started on and listed what we had planned for the week ahead. The guy was like a walking, talking progress report.
My father listened carefully, nodding and directing questions at both of us until he was satisfied we were on top of it. With the appropriate pauses for the game to continue, it took about an hour before dear old dad was convinced we were on the right track.
Neil turned to me then, pulling out clubs and sliding them back into his bag until he was happy with his selection. “How’s the hiring process going, Jer? Any luck yet?”
“Not yet.” I was readying my own club. I moved my hips with my shoulders, just like I’d been taught about as soon as I could walk and followed through before answering him. “I’m waiting to hear back from Stephanie Donavan. She said she would give us an answer by tomorrow.”
Neil frowned, pushing his sunglasses to the tip of his nose to look at me over them. “Seriously? Did you tell her about the health insurance benefits and the gym membership?”
I bit back my eye roll. “I did. I gave her the full offer we discussed and the dummy paperwork from human resources to demonstrate the package. She still didn’t bite.”
“Maybe she’s the dummy then,” my father mused. “Who is this woman?”
“A girl Neil and I both interviewed to replace my secretary,” I told him.
He narrowed his dark eyes, a stormy expression crossing his features. “You haven’t taken care of that yet?”
“We’re working on it,” I assured him. “But the interview process didn’t turn up as many viable candidates as we were hoping for.”
My dad sighed, leaning his elbow on his club like he was doing some kind of photoshoot for Golf Weekly as he took a deep sip from a bottle of water handed to him by his caddy. “Public advertisements for positions with us always bring the crazies out of the woodwork. Why didn’t you use … our agency?”
Clicking his fingers together, he clearly forgot the name of the agency. Neil helped him out. “Executive Placements didn’t have anyone suitable for us right away. Only temps. We thought it prudent to conduct interviews for a permanent secretary now, before Jer has to train someone in the middle of the project.”
“I understand that, but I hope you two know what you’re doing. You cannot afford to fall behind on this acquisition. We’ll lose the deal like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Why are you waiting on just this one woman? Surely there were others who were capable.”
“Perhaps,” I said. “We made the offer to this one first because both Neil and I think she’s perfect for the job. Can’t make another offer while we’re waiting for her answer. But we won’t fall behind on the project, we’ve got it covered.”
“I hope so.” Dad lined up for his next shot.
Neil leaned onto his own club, looking between my father and me. “I must admit, I hope she takes the job. She’s the perfect fit, and she stood out head and shoulders above the other applicants. Her motivations also weren’t only limited to getting Jer into bed.”
Unfortunately. I sure as hell wanted to get her into bed.
Who got hard during an interview?Me. When the interview was with Stephanie Donavan. Just because I wouldn’t be able to fuck her if she took the job didn’t mean I wanted her any less. Or that she wanted me any less, judging by her behavior when the interview was over.