Quarantine Pet - His Pet

“You have access to the network, Pete,” I reminded him. “There are still hundreds of files to go through. You can do it at home via your computer.”

“I guess,” he said skeptically. “We can’t come into the office at all?”

“Nah, not now,” I relayed. “Oh, and Sandra, I’m going to need some help to sort all the documents. You can work from my home office with me.”

“Uh, really? Couldn’t I just Skype in?” she suggested, looking a little pale.

“No, I need someone to go through this mountain of paper,” I explained. “The AI didn’t get everything inputted into it yet. C’mon, are you game?”

“Yes, I suppose,” she reluctantly agreed. “Not sure how I’m going to bill this.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I assured her. “If I have to, I’ll compensate you out of my bonus. It’ll be like a little weekly bonus for you.”

I wrote my address on a card and slid it over to her.

“Here’s my address. The doorman will be apprised of your arrival, but call me first, okay? I don’t want you waiting on the street.”

“You live here?” she said in surprise, noting the address.

“Yep, and yes, it is very fancy.”

Sandra seemed to hesitate again, as if searching her mind for some excuse to say, “No.” But she couldn’t. The clients wanted this merger to move forward, and if one the lawyers had to be inconvenienced for a bit, so be it. I wasn’t sure how her cousins were going to react, but maybe she’d do the smart thing and not even mention it to them. Then, later when they looked at the bill, if they realized Sandra had been working out of my place, it wouldn’t matter because the merger would be over.

“All right then,” she agreed. “Normal time?”

“Well, I think we all could use a day,” I suggested. “Wrap up whatever you’re doing, go home, and try to relax. Make sure you can get access to the network from home, and it’s probably a good idea to restock your food supplies if you haven’t already.”

“I don’t think I could go into a store right now,” said Sanjay shaking a little. “This is really freaking me out.”

“Hey, buddy, it’s just as bad as the flu,” assured Pete. “I read that on Slate or Buzzfeed or something.”

“Look, if you’re uncomfortable going to a store, I understand,” I said sympathetically. “You can try ordering your food off of Amazon. Might take a few days to get, but I assume you have something at home, right?”

“Screw that, I’m going to the store,” insisted Pete. “Look, I get that it’s bad, but it can’t be that bad. If it were, the hospitals would be filling up. I think this will probably blow over by the weekend.”

“I doubt it,” I countered. “This virus has a two-week incubation period. We could all have the virus and not even know it. Worse yet, we could be spreading it to other people and not even know it.”

“Well, should we all work out of your penthouse?” suggested Pete. “I’m just an Uber ride away.”

“I don’t think you’re going to see too many Uber drivers, unfortunately,” I stated. “You’re better off staying at home. Besides, Sandra knows the case pretty well. I really only need one of you.”

“If I get sick, you’ll be the first one I call,” suggested Sandra.

We all got busy shutting down the office. It was a bit surreal. We had barely even started working there. Things were just starting to click, and now here we were, closing for who knows how long? I couldn’t imagine this being a permanent thing.

I had to give the same speech for the lower-level staff. Those poor guys were mostly temp workers. I didn’t know how long they were going to be able to survive if this pandemic lasted longer than a few weeks. I mean, jeez, New York can be pretty damned expensive.

Sometime around three, the last employee left, and I locked the doors behind us. I wondered when the next time we’d see the office.

Chapter Five – Sandra

“Hey, Jack, what’s up?” I asked, answering my phone in the Uber home.

“Change of plan,” he explained. “This virus is a lot more serious than we thought. I think it would be best to get out of the city. I’m having all the paperwork sent to my house in the Hamptons.”

“Hamptons? But I don’t have a car, and that’s kind of a —”

“Not to worry. Pack a bag. You can stay over. Consider it an extra bonus since you won’t have to pay for the food,” he assured me. “Trust me, it’ll be a lot safer out there.”

My heart started to flutter. Alone with Jack? Would I be able to handle that? Was this even a good idea? I had fantasized about the man, but he also made me very nervous. I was a virgin. There were a lot of guys interested in the past, but none of them seemed good enough to lose my innocence to. Jack was so sexy. I didn’t know if I could resist him. I also didn’t know if I wanted to.