might never be able to taste. Sit back, allow your mind to open to all possibilities and enjoy a sinful feast for the soul. After all, there’s nothing wrong with dark, dangerous and delicious. After all – we all crave being controlled…
Take Down
“I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you can take your attitude and your business and shove it up your tight ass. Jerk off! I’m going to fucking take you down!”
Slam!
“Ouch!” Marcy cringed as she stole a look at the door. “Bart’s in a particularly nasty mood today.”
Michael Simon exhaled slowly as he clenched his fists. Marcy had no idea how often this was happening as of late. Bart’s outbursts were getting completely out of hand. Take them down? Right now he could beat the man with a switch. His partner, the aggressive Bart Winston, was constantly turning back and forth from Jekyll to Hyde and their customer base was dwindling because of it. “Do I want to know who he just sent out the door and no doubt to our rival firm?”
“Um, I hate to tell you this, but Murphy Manufacturing.” Her voice was sheepish and she eased back from the desk, her face flushing.
“Goddamn it.” Said mostly under his breath, Michael attempted to control his building rage. His employees certainly didn’t need to see the bitter discord developing between he and Bart. The man was a walking time bomb, his explosions becoming more frequent as of late. Now their entire business was suffering. There was no doubt it was time to take control, show the haughty and opinionated man who was really boss in the organization. “What is wrong this time?”
“Oh, I think the argument Bart had with the owner on the phone yesterday about the television campaign finally did it. They were screaming for a full thirty minutes. Let me tell you the words used were…”
“And Mr. Murphy?”
“Well he did call me this morning and told me in no uncertain terms if they couldn’t come to some understanding, with someone else in charge, then they were gone,” Marcy stated, her eyes flashing. “I think he mentioned our competition in fact.”
Ah fuck. That’s the last thing they needed. Michael gripped the edge of his desk and rose to his feet. He wanted to bite her head off for not telling him, but one hothead in the company was enough. Without a doubt he knew what he had to do. He just needed the strength to follow his unconventional idea through to the end. This had been a long time coming. Making a decision this strict would change the course of their relationship, both personally as well as professionally. Sucking in his breath he counted to ten then made the decision. “Marcy, do me a favor and hold all my calls for the rest of the afternoon. There’s something I need to do.”
“You mean Bart?”
Michael remained quiet but could tell she was thrilled he was doing something. Anything. How many employees had threatened to quit over the last weeks? One too many. ”Marcy.”
“Yes, sir. Good luck.” Giving him a look, she rose to her feet and sashayed toward the door. “Oh, and give him hell for all of us.”
He could see glee in her step and oddly enough he almost answered her. Well, there wasn’t any doubt all the employees were waiting for him to take charge, try and control a man who was hell bent on taking their very profitable business down the tubes. Rubbing his temple, he was tired of every day ending in a headache. Sadly, he knew the entire situation stemmed from their breakup almost nine months before. Not a single person in the company knew they’d been lovers. Maybe if they’d allowed their relationship to hit the streets so to speak their advertising firm wouldn’t be in such a difficult place.
Maybe. Michael held his head in his hands for a full five minutes before he finally rose from his chair and moved out of his office. As he walked down the long hallway toward the back of their offices, he couldn’t help but think about every aspect
Kate Baxter
Eugenio Fuentes
Curtis Richards
Fiona McIntosh
Laura Lippman
Jamie Begley
Amy Herrick
Deborah Fletcher Mello
Linda Byler
Nicolette Jinks