The Big Boss

It’s worth a little bit of sweat.

Especially for Rose.

Finally, I drag the last of the of the bags to her door and knock.

“It’s already open, honey.”

Rose is in the kitchen when I open the door. Her walker is next to her, and she’s got a cup of tea for each of us ready to go. Like the badass she is. “How are you doing, Rose?”

“I’m fine—” She looks at me. “Maybe I should have made iced tea today, looking at that load.”

I smile. “Nah. That looks great. It’s just a little hot out there. The weather can’t make up its mind.”

Lugging the rest of the bags in to blessed air conditioning, I get started putting the cold stuff away before it all completely melts. And then the rest of it. “You sure you don’t need help?” Rose asks, already sitting down at the table. She says it sarcastically because every time she asks me, I vehemently tell her no, that this is what I get paid for. She still asks now, but with a smirk on her face because she already knows what’s going to happen and what I’m going to say.

“What tea do we have today?”

“Mint. I felt like something lighter was in order.”

“Sounds yummy.”

I finish putting the groceries away just the way that she likes them and then flop into the chair across from her.

“You work too hard, you know that?”

“On the contrary,” I smile. “I think I work the exact right amount.”

Rose rolls her eyes. “You say that now, but you’ll get to be my age and think that you should have worked a little less and lived a little more. You’re still doing all that activism stuff?”

I raise an eyebrow and add a little sugar to my tea. “Well, for now I’m fine. And yeah, got some of that coming up this week.”

Rose looks at me closely. The woman misses nothing, and is sharper than any ten people that I’ve met put together. She’s my favorite, but all my clients are like her. Hidden gems forgotten by the busy bustle of a city increasingly obsessed with luxury and money and everything that’s new.

It makes me sad. What are we all missing by just continually going to the next thing and the next thing and the next instead of slowing down and enjoying the world a little bit? The stories I’ve heard from Rose and my other clients are worth far more than I could earn with a much larger paycheck at some corporate job.

I’ve always known that I wouldn’t be happy in those circles. Helping people and standing up for what matters is where I’ve always been the happiest. And I’m pretty sure that it always will be.

“You’re different today,” Rose says.

I tilt my head. “Why do you say that? I don’t feel different.”

“No, you are,” she says. “Your energy has shifted.” There’s a long pause, and then her eyes go wide. “You met someone.”

“What?” My response is way more shrill than I would like. “No, I didn’t. I mean, yes, I did. But trust me when I say that he’s not the type of man that you would approve of.”

Rose smirks. “Try me.”

So I do. I tell her all about the encounter with Keenan in his office and his frustrating wealth and ridiculous attraction and the fucking chemistry that still bothers me. I shouldn’t have any chemistry with someone like that. And how I don’t understand why he would give me that kind of tip as anything other than an insult.

When I’m done, my friend is just looking at me and sipping her tea. After a moment, she says, “You should fuck him.”

I nearly choke on the sip of mint I’d just taken. “Oh my god, Rose. You’re trying to kill me. What? No!”

“Why not? You said it yourself that you’re attracted to him.”

I make a face. “He’s everything that I stand against. I met him for five minutes, and I’ll never see him again. Was he hot? Yes. But I don’t need anything more than that. There are plenty of hot men in the world that aren’t him.”

“But chemistry like that is hard to come by, trust me. I’m not saying you have to date him, but if there are that many sparks flying between you, do yourself a favor and fuck him out of your system.”

I sit there for a moment, completely stunned. Rose is witty and sharp and fierce, and I have never seen this side of her before. It takes a few moments of me frozen in utter shock before she starts laughing. “My god, Justine, don’t act like I’m a sexless nun. I’ve got children. How do you think I got them?”

I laugh. “I know, I just wasn’t expecting you to tell me to fuck someone today.”

“No matter your principals, Justine, there is a shortage of truly excellent cock in this world. If you have the chance for it, take it and don’t look back. You won’t regret it later.”