The Calling (42 page)

He pulled out his lighter and flashed it in front of Mike, the streetlight glinting off its polished surface. “Titanium.”

“I don’t give a crap about your stupid lighter.”

“You will.” He pinched the lighter between his thumb and index finger, the metal compressing, bending inward, until the lighter fluid spewed out the bottom.
Dammit
. The liquid dripped onto his long-sleeved tee and jeans. That smell was impossible to get out. When he snarled again, he bared all his teeth, his anger no longer an act.

Mike’s mouth fell open, his chin dropping to his chest. He glanced from the lighter to Constantine, then back to the lighter.

Constantine growled a deep rumbling sound that vibrated his entire body. “That’ll be your head if I catch you around Jessica again.”

Mike sneered, though a hint of panic showed in his wide eyes. “It’s plastic.” He swallowed hard. “I could do that.”

“Really?” He threw the lighter at Mike, a little harder than necessary.

Mike winced as he caught it and ran his finger over the smooth metal. His eyes fluttered in disbelief.

“You can keep it as a reminder to stay away,” Constantine said. With clenched hands, he lunged forward, just far enough to scare the kid.

Mike jerked back. “You’re crazy!”

He curved his lips up in what he knew was a psychotic smile. “Yeah, I am.”

Mike threw the lighter to the sidewalk, the metal clinking on the cement, and then took two unsteady steps backward. With his face as pale as bleached bone, he whirled around and darted to his car.

Constantine rubbed his hands together and chuckled as he watched Mike duck into a pick-up truck and burn rubber. Minus the ruined clothes, that was the most fun he’d had all week.

* * *

Jessica stared straight through her computer screen. In her mind’s eye, she lounged on a beach the color of sugar, running her crimson toenails through the silky sand. At her side, Mike, shirtless, sported a rare eight-pack of washboard abs that glowed golden under the warm sun. He gazed at her adoringly, leaning toward her with his lips puckered for a kiss. She lifted her face to his, their eyes locking as they inched nearer, their mouths so close to touching.

A wadded piece of paper smacked her in the back of the head. With a scowl, she swiveled her chair to face her office cubicle-mate. “What’d you do that for?”

Ben tilted his mop of blond hair toward the row of management offices. “Doug’s on his way over. Look busy.”

She wanted to fling the paper back at him, but instead chucked it into the trash and quickly turned to her computer. Part of her was furious with Ben for interrupting her Mike time, but another part was relieved. Daydreaming only got her hopes up, and with her track record, Mike would dump her before their next date. Besides, she had a crapload of work to finish by the end of the day, and her fantasy Caribbean vacation would just slow her down.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her paunchy boss make the circuit around the low-sided cubicles. She couldn’t help but crack a smile at the spectacle. It was like watching the engineering department’s version of ‘the wave.’ When Doug paused behind an employee, their backs stiffened, their eyes widened, and their fingers raced over the keyboard.

Obviously, everyone had heard the rumors of layoffs. From the strained expression on Doug’s face, the chopping block was coming to their department. Better look busy.

Jessica quickly finished the last dimension on a throttle quadrant drawing and prepared to send it through routing. She paused when she felt Doug’s eyes boring a hole in her head.

“You finished already?” he asked.

She hit send and twirled her chair to face him. She’d come in at six that morning to finish the drawing. “Your boss is always complaining he doesn’t have enough time between delivery and approval, so as long as you approve the throttle by this afternoon, he’ll have an extra day.”

Doug’s sullen face broke out in a wide grin, the skin around his eyes crinkling. “You’re making me look good.” He glanced at Ben, his face turning stern. “Take notes from this young lady.”

Jessica cocked her head toward her cubicle-mate, determined to give Ben some of the credit. He’d been her mentor since she started at Clyde Aircraft, and without him, she’d be lost. “I never would’ve figured out the dimensioning if Ben hadn’t helped.”

Doug’s shoulders slumped, his chest collapsing as if he didn’t have the will to breathe. “You two were a good team.” His cheeks instantly flushed crimson.

Her eyes widened, and when her jaw threatened to hit the floor, she snapped it back up. Did that mean they weren’t going to be a team much longer?

Doug cleared his throat and pulled at his collar as if he were choking. “The delivery’s in ten minutes. Meet me at my office.”

She nodded and watched as Doug scurried down the aisle, still beet-faced.

“Did he just say what I think he did?” Ben whispered.

“Maybe it didn’t mean anything.” Or maybe Doug had made a Freudian slip, and one of them would be getting cut.

Ben perched an elbow on the desk dividing their space and rested his cheek in his palm, his expression one of total dejection. “My friend in HR says one engineer from our department is getting laid off. I’m sure it’s me.”

“No, it’s not.” She tried to sound convincing, though she wasn’t sure at all after what Doug had said. One thing was certain. If the company laid off Ben, life wasn’t fair, because he had a two-year-old daughter and a pregnant stay-at-home wife.

It wasn’t as if Ben didn’t work as hard as she did, he just didn’t live at the office because he had a family waiting at home. She had no one at her apartment, so her job had become her life. Even though she entwined her self-worth with her job performance, if one of them had to be laid off, she hoped she’d be the one escorted out the door.

“I hate this stupid recession. The rich folk need to stop listening to politicians and buy million-dollar jets. It gives us little people jobs.”

Ben nodded as if he were paying attention to her rant, but the far-off look in his eyes told her he was probably calculating unemployment benefits in his head.

She scooted her chair from her desk and stood. “I’m going to be late for the delivery if I don’t get moving.” Once a month, an engineer was chosen to attend an aircraft delivery, and lucky her, it was her turn.

He smiled weakly, his brown eyes as sad as a puppy who’d lost its ball. “Take your coat. The wind’s blowing hard enough to knock down a barn.”

“Will do.” She grabbed her wool jacket and hurried to Doug’s office.

By the time she got there, he was waiting outside his door, adjusting his tie and smoothing his navy blazer.

He studied her figure-hugging gray pantsuit. “Nice choice.”

“I assumed slacks and a button-up blouse wouldn’t cut it today. Plus, you told me five times to dress up.”

“Glad you listened.”

They took off toward the delivery hangar, their strides long and purposeful. As soon as they were out of earshot from the office, he slowed the pace, and his expression tensed. “Sales and Delivery wants you to greet the customer.”

“They what?” She stiffened so fast her back creaked in protest. He had to be joking. No one in their right mind would want her within ten feet of a customer. As she stared into Doug’s serious brown eyes, she realized he wasn’t teasing.

“Why?” she squeaked.

“They’re interested in you and want to see how you interact with a customer.”

Was he trying to transfer her so he didn't have to lay her off? Oh, heaven help her. He’d been talking about her job when he’d had the Freudian slip. "Are you going to axe me if Sales and Delivery doesn’t want me?"

“No! Now, keep your voice down.” He lowered his tone to a whisper. “I’m not supposed to discuss layoffs with anyone.”

She sighed with relief until she realized the futility of Doug’s plan. “I know nothing about sales.”

Doug picked up his pace again, and she scurried to keep up. “I know that, but they pay well, and you’ve got the right look.”

“Maybe I have the look, but I’m an engineer for a reason. I have no social skills.”

“You sell yourself short.”

“I managed to offend the entire accounting department with one email. Remember the bean counter comment?”

He chuckled. “Served them right for cutting our travel budget.”

“What if I screw up again?”

He shook his head. “There are things going on at this company I have no control over. I don’t want to lose any of my employees. You’re all exceptional, but that‘s not my decision. If I can find a spot for someone, I’m going to do it because, when things turn around, I’ll snag them back.”

Finally understanding, Jessica gnawed on her bottom lip. He wanted to move her to save someone else. “So the layoff rumors are true?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny.”

She rolled her eyes. “You guys in management suck at keeping secrets. The whole company knows.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny,” he repeated in a monotone. “And that’s the end of it.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.” He pressed his lips firmly together. “Keep that to yourself.”

A sick feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. If she didn’t impress Sales and Delivery, tomorrow would be the last day for someone in her department. But no pressure, of course.

She pushed down her panic and tried to compose herself as she stepped into the delivery hangar. The space was so cavernous, it felt like stepping out of a tiny cabin into the great outdoors. A mechanic at the far side of the building pushed a button, and twenty-five-foot tall doors moaned and creaked as they slowly rolled open.

The morning sun streamed in, momentarily blinding her as the rays bounced off the glossy epoxy floors. Funny how in Kansas it could look like a beautiful summer day and still be twenty degrees outside. A shiver ran down her spine, and she tugged on her coat. Blast the long winter. She’d give anything to find a good job down south where the wind didn’t suck away her last ounce of warmth.

Seemingly indifferent to the cold, Doug pointed outside. “There’s the Baron we’re delivering.”

A sleek, large-cabin business jet sat on the tarmac just beyond the hangar doors. Jessica admired the swept-back wings and chrome detailing, wondering what it would be like to fly in one. She’d probably never know unless Sales and Delivery offered her a job. Promotional flights were one of the perks of working in that department.

Rebecca, Director of Customer Delivery, sauntered to Doug’s side. She was an attractive woman in her mid-forties, with short blond hair and a gift for brown-nosing. It was no wonder that customers loved her.

She scanned Jessica from head to toe, and her face lit up. “Did Doug give you your assignment?”

Jessica nodded, sure her nerves showed as she fidgeted with her coat buttons. But fidgeting was better than chewing her nails like she usually did when edgy, though button fiddling wasn’t nearly as satisfying.

Rebecca smiled reassuringly. “You’ll do great. Just be polite, introduce yourself, and lead them to the hangar. Their names are Abel Karras and Brandon Hahn. They’ve come all the way from London, so if you can’t think of anything to say, just ask them if they had a comfortable trip to the States.”

Jessica’s heart skipped a beat before picking up pace and thundering against her ribs. “I’m doing this by myself?”

“I’ll be with you the whole time.” Rebecca pointed at her own eyes and then at Jessica. “I’ll be watching you.” She gave a coy smile with a warning behind it—‘Don’t screw up, newbie.’

If someone’s job wasn’t at stake, she would have put her foot down and refused the assignment, but she didn’t want to be the reason an engineer in her department lost their job. She squared her shoulders and swallowed hard. She could greet a customer. It’d be as easy as making toast. Except she burned toast more times than not. That clinched it; the assignment was doomed.

“Jessica?” Doug asked, breaking her from her nervous trance.

“Yeah?”

“Take off your coat.”

And just like that, she became a prop. She shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it to Doug. Cold and defeated, she stalked through the hangar with Rebecca by her side. Before they stepped through the door leading to the lobby, Rebecca’s phone rang.

Rebecca glanced at the number. “I’ve got to take this.”

“You’re going to make me do this alone?” Jessica’s voice raised an octave.

“I doubt the customers are here yet. Go stand in the lobby and wait for me.”

Jessica nodded with the sinking feeling that she would end up greeting them on her own. Without a shadow of a doubt, she knew that was a really bad idea.

* * *

Waiting for the light to turn green, Abel drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He’d never been so anxious to meet someone in his life, and his back muscles screamed with tension.

“Have you talked to Jessica yet?” Brandon asked.

Abel rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the kinks. “No, I’m still strategizing. I’ll talk to her after the aircraft delivery.” Twenty-three years he’d waited to meet her, and now that the day had arrived, he couldn’t get to her fast enough.