Photo credit: Ed Yourdon via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
“Hi honey,” Margot greeted her husband with a kiss. “How did your presentation go?”
Grant gave her a quick peck in return. “It’s too early to tell, but I think it went well. Mr. Yamamoto seemed happy, but it’s always so hard to tell with those guys.” He dropped his briefcase on the marble floor, next to the large, round, polished wood table that stood in the center of their lobby and headed straight for the black leather sectional in the living room of their Park Avenue apartment. “Man, I am wiped!”
“Poor baby,” his wife cooed as she brushed his hair away from his face. “But it’s all over now, right? Maybe now you can take some time off.”
“I can’t take time off now. I have to see this through until the deal is finalized. Besides, we still have that big project for Custom Baits. I need the specs from Brian, but I haven’t heard from him yet.” As he said this he pulled out his shiny new iPhone to check his email. “He still hasn’t sent them. Dammit, Brian, we need to get moving on this!”
Margot wrinkled her brow as she said, “What about our trip to Cabo next week? Are you going to make that?”
“I’ll try, but I doubt it.”
“The kids have really been looking forward to spending some time with you.”
“I know honey, but there’s nothing I can do about it. If the boss wants me here, I have to stay here. You and the kids can still go. You’ll have so much fun, you won’t even miss me.”
Margot sat on the couch next to her husband and folded her legs under her as she petted him. “That’s not true and you know it. It won’t be the same without you.”
“Well, if I don’t stay and work I won’t have a job and then no one could afford to go to Cabo. You wouldn’t want to be married to someone like Andy Solomon, would you?” Grant snorted. “God, now there’s a loser! Did I tell you I ran into him on my way to a lunch meeting the other day?”
Margot shook her head.
“We stopped for a minute to chat and get caught up. He’s still working the same job he had at the same company five years ago. Can you believe that? Only a moron spends that much time in one position without getting promoted.”
“Maybe the company just doesn’t appreciate him.”
“If that’s the case, then he’s still a moron for not getting out of there and working for a company that does appreciate him. Man he was one of the smartest guys I went to school with and now look at us. He had so much potential, but there he was, just sightseeing with his kids. Said he was taking some time off.” Grant snorted again. “I can’t remember the last time I took some time off.”
“Would it be such a bad thing if you did?”
“Only if you don’t mind having a husband with a stagnant career like Andy’s. I can guarantee wherever he lives, it’s nothing like this place. Man, what a loser!”
To be continued …