Page 15 of The Handyman
“I’m gonna kill someone, that’s what I’m gonna do. Damn— fucking— you know what I hate really,reallydeep down? People that don’t move the fuck out of the way when they get their coffees then stand there and take all the damn time in the world.”
My smile tenderized as his grumbling beat against my cheek.
Reece huffed into the receiver before clearing his throat. “What’d you do today? You sound excited.”
“I quit all my writing jobs. I just got the last confirmation email. I’m officially unemployed.” I practically chirped my excitement and twirled around in my chair as my happiness and relief over my decision expanded my chest. “Are you doin’ anything tonight?”
“I’m glad you’re happy, Riley. Unfortunately, I have somewhere I have to be tonight, and I won’t be done until late, I don’t think. My boss, Vanessa— she’s a slave driver. She won’t shut the fuck up until I do the job.”
He was in such a crap mood and I paused in my chair to purse my lips thinly.
Maybe, my silence in itself was a question, drawing a deep, tired sigh over the line, he said, “Sorry, Riley. I don’t want to take it out on you. It’s so stupid, though. I got put on this job last minute, and no one’s done what they’re supposed to, but they act like it’s my fault that the whole thing is a mess.”
“No, no….it’s totally okay. Bitch all you want. I’m happy to listen, Reece.” All I knew about Reece’s work was that it paid a lot, and he had worked for the same person his entire adult life. His questioning me at the restaurant about Brandon floated through my mind’s eye…maybe, Brandon’s resume had popped up, and the hiring manager asked if they knew each other?
“I mean, not to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty damn good at my job, right. I swoop in, make all the problems go away, some idiot gets promoted….all is good. But this is really getting out of hand. As much as I appreciate Vanessa’s faith in me, I really wish she’d fuck off. If she can’t find people that are at least putting effort into it, wanting to learn and advance, then she needs to rehaul her whole operation. I’ve tried to give her some recommendations, but she always hires these fucking idiots.” His tone became gruff again.
I hoisted myself from my computer chair to head down the short hallway.
“I work for her because my boss told me to, but Vanessa can honestly choke on a dick. Sometimes, she’s bearable and ever since my mom died, she’s been okay-er than usual, but. . .”
“She’s the one that asked you to be a guard dog for that guy in December, right?”
Reece groaned loudly.
I crossed the carpet onto tile to stand in front of the refrigerator. “You did it, though. Why don’t you just tell her ‘no’?”
“Because if I tell her ‘no’, she’ll just get someone else to do it, and I need the money. New York City ain’t cheap, baby. It’s not like what Vanessa wants is specialized or anything. All I do is basically research, check that everything’s in line, and press a button. The Network isfloodedwith people that can do that. I just happen to be first in line for jobs because Vanessa and I work for the same dude.”
My lips parted in an O.
Reece cleared his throat of its roughness before the whipping wind suddenly disappeared from the background of the call. “I skirt their weird line between independent contractor and salaried employee. I have a non-compete, which means fuck me if I quit or get fired, but there’s also certain types of jobs I’m allowed to take that don’t come from my boss. My contract is like 11 fucking pages long. It’s longer than my mom’s categorized will.”
“Does this ‘dude’ hire people often?” The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Reece snorted roughly at this.
Opening the refrigerator, I cocked my head to hold my phone to my ear with my shoulder. “I’m just sayin’ it’s worth a shot just to ask. I’ve got a ton of marketing experience, and just because I got tired of being my own boss doesn’t mean I won’t like doing it for someone else. That’s what killed me, anyway, the stress and stuff. But if I’m an employee, it’s a lot less stress.”
“I’ll ask, but I can’t guarantee anything, Riley. I’ve heard rumors that there’s gonna be an expansion, though. But hey, you should really take your time. Quitting is great, but you’ve been through some shit recently. It’s not gonna kill you to take a few days and like, go to a spa or something. “I can recommend a place, if you want. It’s upstate, though.”
The concern in his tone warmed my cheeks and made my heart skip a beat, and I smiled wide. “That’s really sweet of you, Reece, but I’m just gonna stay home. I have a personal spa thing I bought last year and I can probably convince Hannah to come over when she gets back from work. She’s always down for wine.” Hannah easily drank in a week what took me a month to get through, but I didn’t have her over often. If she did have a problem, I wasn’t going to enable her, of course. . . there was no indication she was an alcoholic, though. “Do you want to text me when you’re done, and you can come over?”
“Ah…chances are it’ll take me until the early morning, at least. I’ll text you, but I’ll probably end up just heading home and passing out. Night work fucks me up really bad.” The speaker crackled as Reece spoke, “Has your mom tried to contact you at all?”
I moved my phone to my other ear before reaching to grab a package of bacon and the eggs. “No. Which is great, but also not so great, you know?” A fury of emotions raged war in my chest and I set my armful on the counter to reach into a lower cabinet for a pan. My mouth dried, but I could only get so upset about it at this point. “Honestly, it feels like shit, but that still is better than when she was calling me.”
“I think the thing that sucks the most is when it ends up see-sawing, Riley. If you think talking to your mom is doing more harm than good, don’t talk to her. Don’t even call her to wish her a happy birthday or whatever. It’s like trying to get back together with a—”
The fine hairs on my cheek bristled when Reece caught himself, but he was right.
He sighed in audible frustration. “Sorry. People don’t change, Riley, unless they acknowledge they’re wrong in the first place. And I seriously doubt your mom will ever admit she was wrong.”
“Yeah. I’m starting to realize that. I don’t want to be that person that cuts her parents out of her life, but…” Trailing off, I sighed softly while my heart ached in my chest from the very notion. “It’s like being an orphan— worse, in some ways.”
“If you were raped, would your mom be upset?” Reece’s tone darkened.
My heart nearly stopped at this question as goosebumps washed down my arms.