to go over her most recent call recordings.
I told Fiona, reluctantly, that I had to go. At least she knows I’m totally jazzed about tonight. Just a few hours until I’ll meet her at the Franklin Chophouse for dinner with the gang, I assured her I’d be there by five-thirty, Friday night traffic willing.
As I prepared to sit down at my desk, Shakarra offered a wink and a seductive smile.
Damn I forgot my shades, and the flirtatious advances for the day were in full swing. I almost never perform a one on one session without em’. Left the suckers back in the conference room, I bet. Damned Mel Gibson blue eyes... such sapphire pools of illicit temptation. Forced to ignore subtle comments and not so subtle dreamy-eyed stares, five o’clock couldn’t get here fast enough.
Chapter Ten
“ I thought we’d get to see you all dressed up!”
Justin sounded disappointed, but his impish smile said otherwise.
“ I brought a change of clothes in my duffle,” I told him, moving over to the long table where everyone was seated. Our regular meeting place at the Franklin Chophouse. Great food and quiet ambience. “Sorry, dude, but I wore my clown outfit for as long as I could stand. Wish I could’ve left right after the circus left town.”
“ Jimmy looks just fine dressed the way he is!” gushed Jackie, who looked over at Fiona. My wife motioned for me to sit beside her, next to Justin, who commanded the table’s head spot.
Fine indeed. My chosen apparel tonight: faded Wranglers and a tight black T-shirt, and my hair set free, bouncing off my shoulders as I stepped through the room. My boot heels clicking along the wooden floor, I fancied myself for a moment as a modern-day cowboy, or better yet, a long-lost member of Metallica.
“ Well, shit-t-t-t ….I guess we ain’t gonna get no P.I.E. from Dog the Bounty Hunter tonight after all, huh?”
Justin laughed, his taunt pointed more at my employer’s fondness for silly acronyms that represent…well, corporate silliness. P.I.E. stands for ‘Performance, Image, Exposure’, and is what Senior Leadership uses to evaluate an employee’s promote-ability. Yep, there’s another word from corporate America that isn’t really a word, and it’s used to support a subjective concept to evaluate talent. Not to mention talking about how good or bad ‘pie’ is can get a dude in a lot of trouble when referring to the females I work with.
After a dexterous hand shake with Justin, I took my place next to my wife, sharing a warm kiss scented by the Zinfandel she sipped on. I nodded to the rest of the gang with Angie and Jackie across from me and Tony and Tom huddled at the table’s other end, apparently looking over the photos from last night’s investigation.
“ I’ve decided to try the smothered chop steak that Fi likes so much,” Justin announced, nodding toward Fiona.
“ Good choice!” she beamed. “We’ve already ordered, and I think you said you wanted the usual, too, when you called me from the highway.”
“ Yeah, I did.”
Just as big a fan of the Chophouse specialty my wife prefers, I wasn’t sure she’d heard me right. Garbled conversation for the most part, despite my Bluetooth connection on the bike, made me think I’d have to reorder once I arrived. That saves some valuable time …we should get out to the Carnton Plantation just before it starts to get dark.
“ So, Tom…Fiona told me earlier that you guys captured some pretty cool stuff last night.”
He looked up at me and then motioned for Tony to be silent. I guess he’s still smarting from last night’s upstage.
“ Maybe,” he said. “Another dryer-hose image showed up in a photograph taken near the back door at Johnny and Brenda’s place.”
“ What about the image of the face in the kitchen window?” asked Jackie, her tone a little indignant. “Fiona showed us the facial features, like a prominent nose and strong brow, remember?”
I assumed they must be talking about
I told Fiona, reluctantly, that I had to go. At least she knows I’m totally jazzed about tonight. Just a few hours until I’ll meet her at the Franklin Chophouse for dinner with the gang, I assured her I’d be there by five-thirty, Friday night traffic willing.
As I prepared to sit down at my desk, Shakarra offered a wink and a seductive smile.
Damn I forgot my shades, and the flirtatious advances for the day were in full swing. I almost never perform a one on one session without em’. Left the suckers back in the conference room, I bet. Damned Mel Gibson blue eyes... such sapphire pools of illicit temptation. Forced to ignore subtle comments and not so subtle dreamy-eyed stares, five o’clock couldn’t get here fast enough.
Chapter Ten
“ I thought we’d get to see you all dressed up!”
Justin sounded disappointed, but his impish smile said otherwise.
“ I brought a change of clothes in my duffle,” I told him, moving over to the long table where everyone was seated. Our regular meeting place at the Franklin Chophouse. Great food and quiet ambience. “Sorry, dude, but I wore my clown outfit for as long as I could stand. Wish I could’ve left right after the circus left town.”
“ Jimmy looks just fine dressed the way he is!” gushed Jackie, who looked over at Fiona. My wife motioned for me to sit beside her, next to Justin, who commanded the table’s head spot.
Fine indeed. My chosen apparel tonight: faded Wranglers and a tight black T-shirt, and my hair set free, bouncing off my shoulders as I stepped through the room. My boot heels clicking along the wooden floor, I fancied myself for a moment as a modern-day cowboy, or better yet, a long-lost member of Metallica.
“ Well, shit-t-t-t ….I guess we ain’t gonna get no P.I.E. from Dog the Bounty Hunter tonight after all, huh?”
Justin laughed, his taunt pointed more at my employer’s fondness for silly acronyms that represent…well, corporate silliness. P.I.E. stands for ‘Performance, Image, Exposure’, and is what Senior Leadership uses to evaluate an employee’s promote-ability. Yep, there’s another word from corporate America that isn’t really a word, and it’s used to support a subjective concept to evaluate talent. Not to mention talking about how good or bad ‘pie’ is can get a dude in a lot of trouble when referring to the females I work with.
After a dexterous hand shake with Justin, I took my place next to my wife, sharing a warm kiss scented by the Zinfandel she sipped on. I nodded to the rest of the gang with Angie and Jackie across from me and Tony and Tom huddled at the table’s other end, apparently looking over the photos from last night’s investigation.
“ I’ve decided to try the smothered chop steak that Fi likes so much,” Justin announced, nodding toward Fiona.
“ Good choice!” she beamed. “We’ve already ordered, and I think you said you wanted the usual, too, when you called me from the highway.”
“ Yeah, I did.”
Just as big a fan of the Chophouse specialty my wife prefers, I wasn’t sure she’d heard me right. Garbled conversation for the most part, despite my Bluetooth connection on the bike, made me think I’d have to reorder once I arrived. That saves some valuable time …we should get out to the Carnton Plantation just before it starts to get dark.
“ So, Tom…Fiona told me earlier that you guys captured some pretty cool stuff last night.”
He looked up at me and then motioned for Tony to be silent. I guess he’s still smarting from last night’s upstage.
“ Maybe,” he said. “Another dryer-hose image showed up in a photograph taken near the back door at Johnny and Brenda’s place.”
“ What about the image of the face in the kitchen window?” asked Jackie, her tone a little indignant. “Fiona showed us the facial features, like a prominent nose and strong brow, remember?”
I assumed they must be talking about
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