Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4 by Claudia Hall Christian Page B

the hamper.
    “ When I heard, I still
don’t think anything bad about you,” Pete said. “Bad things happen
to people. Doesn’t make them bad.”
    “ Thanks,” Sandy
said.
    “ I bet you could use some
help here,” Pete said. “I could help you. You wouldn’t have to pay
me but I…”
    “ The boys were helping me,
Pete,” Sandy said. “Nash and Teddy but they’re back in school. I
could use some help. I really need someone here at night. It’s not
the greatest neighborhood.”
    “ Like live here?” Pete
asked. “I could do that. Molly let me stay in the basement last
night. She’d be glad to have me gone for a while.”
    “ I don’t want to be in the
middle of you and Molly,” Sandy said.
    “ Molly made me sign divorce
papers,” Pete said. “But she didn’t file them. She’s really mad at
me, hurt. The kids don’t trust me. I’ve really fucked
up.”
    “ I’ll talk to Molly,” Sandy
said. “Why don’t you come back around five? I can show you what I
need done. You can look at the space and see what you think. If we
agree, we can call probation and set up an appointment.”
    “ Thanks Sandy,” Pete said.
“I won’t let you down.”
    “ Let’s just take it one day
at a time.”
    Pete hopped to his feet. He hugged
Sandy.
    “ I’m not going to be your
girl, Pete,” Sandy said. “Just your boss.”
    “ I only want Molly,” Pete
said. “But I could really use a friend.”
    “ Friend? I can do
friend.”
    ~~~~~~~~
    Thursday afternoon — 3:30 P.M.
     
    “ I think you know why we’re
meeting,” Aden said to Evette. “We’d like you to clear out your
desk. Ms. Roberts has your last check.”
    Aden nodded toward the director of Human
Resources.
    “ Mr. Norsen, I have no idea
what you’re talking about,” Evette said.
    “ Today will be your last
day at Lipson Construction,” Aden said. “We have a number of
offenses, but more than anything, you’re not qualified for your
position. Ms. Roberts?”
    “ We find your typing and
general secretarial skills to be insufficient for our
staff.”
    “ Jake doesn’t need me to
type,” Evette said. “He uses me for other things.”
    “ Such as?” Ms. Roberts
asked.
    Evette batted her eyes in the direction of
the Human Resources director.
    “ Are you suggesting that
you and Jacob Marlowe have been intimate?” Aden asked.
    “ Intimate is a word for it.
Passionate is another.” Evette flipped her hair. “He’s amazing. So
you can’t fire me.”
    “ Colorado is an ‘at-will’
state,” Aden said. “Your employment is not working for us. We are,
in fact, firing you.”
    “ Suit yourself,” Evette
said. “I’m sure the world would love to know about Jakey and my
relationship.”
    “ What relationship?” Ms.
Roberts asked. “There is no...”
    Evette winked at Ms. Roberts.
    “ I’ll take thirty,” Evette
said. “To stay silent.”
    “ Thirty what?” Aden
asked.
    “ Thirty thousand,” Evette
said. “That’s the going rate.”
    “ Get out,” Ms. Roberts
said. “Now.”
    Evette took the check from her hand and
flounced out of the room. Aden and Ms. Roberts stared at each
other.
    “ You don’t think…” Ms
Roberts said.
    “ I don’t,” Aden
said.
    Aden’s secretary looked in the open door.
Aden made a motion and she closed the door.
    “ Lawsuit?” Aden
asked.
    “ Worse,” Ms. Roberts said.
“Women like her make big bucks making accusations against wealthy
men. It’s disgusting. I’m sure the media will eat it
up.”
    “ Any way to protect Jake?
Lipson?’
    “ We’ll just have to hold on
through the storm,” she said. “That’s what we’ve always done for
Valerie.”
    “ Should we tell
Jake?”
    “ Jacob Marlowe could not
care less about this kind of tripe. This is not the first time some
woman has gone to the papers about her fictitious relationship with
him.”
    “ Yes but it’s the first
time since he’s been married and had a child.”
    “ I’ll talk to him,” Ms
Roberts rose to