Chapter 7: Jack

Jack drummed his fingers on his desk as his gaze flicked from the numbers on his computer screen to the window across from him.

Only another hour until the work week was over.

Judging by how slowly the minutes were ticking by, it was going to be the longest hour in the history of mankind.

He’d made it through the rest of the week, though, so one more hour shouldn’t be too bad.

Shouldn’t be.

“You’re still here?”

Jack nodded, giving the window one more longing glance before turning his head toward the doorway where Kevin, an intern from Boston College, was giving him a bemused look.

“Where else would I be?” Jack asked, straightening up in his chair a little. “Still fifty-seven minutes until it’s time to go.”

“Not that you’re counting or anything,” Kevin grinned. “But seriously, you’re like, one of the only people who even bothered coming back after lunch.”

Jack didn’t doubt it, but also didn’t really care. He wasn’t responsible for anyone else’s time, and he hadn’t picked up major accounts by leaving early on a Friday. Still, though…

“Really?” Jack quirked an eyebrow. “Everyone is gone?”

“Mostly,” Kevin shrugged. “McGuire took lunch out at the country club with the rest of the partners, so you know he’s not coming back until Monday morning. And after he left, everyone else sort of disappeared, too. Except for you and me.”

“Why did you stay?” Jack asked. “There can’t be much for you to do without anyone else around.”

“You’ve never been an intern, have you?” Kevin laughed. “That’s the best time to be here. I might not get paid much, but it’s hourly—and those hours count the same whether or not someone is here to give me busy work.”

Jack grunted. It was a fair point. Jack may not have ever been an intern himself, but he did know that the few who actually did get paid—Kevin and a couple of others—didn’t make much. An afternoon without anyone looking over their shoulders was a rarity, and Jack couldn’t begrudge the guy for making the most of it.

“So…” Kevin nodded toward Jack. “Why are you still here? I’d guess you’re good on hours for the week.”

Jack flashed a wry grin. “Really good on hours, thanks. They’d go broke if they paid me hourly. But there’s still work to do, so I’m still here.”

Even as he said it, Jack considered the fact that there really wasn’t much work to do, and nothing that he couldn’t pick back up from home later—preferably with an ice-cold beer in hand. He couldn’t really confess all of that to the intern, though. Someone had to set a good example.

“Well, I won’t keep distracting you from your work,” Kevin said with a knowing grin. “I’ll just say that it’s too bad more people around here don’t have your work ethic—not that I can blame them. What do you suppose the odds are that McGuire would even notice if half the office didn’t show up for work on Monday?” He gestured toward the empty corridor behind him. “Or if nobody showed up after lunch on a Friday?”

He shrugged and backed out of the doorway, thankfully disappearing around the corner without waiting for a reply.

Which was good, because Jack didn’t have an answer to that question. Not a good answer, anyway.

The truth was that McGuire and the rest of the partners wouldn’t notice, just like Kevin had implied. They wouldn’t even ask any questions as long as the numbers kept going up.

Kevin had hit the nail on the head. Nobody else put in the time because why should they? Sure, Jack’s own personal work ethic meant that he wasn’t a fan of cutting out early, but he also knew there wouldn’t be any consequences if he did.

On the flip side, part of the reason why he did stand out in the office was because he put in the extra time. He worked his ass off, both in the office and at home. He cared.

And he would probably make partner in the next five years because of it. And then he could take long lunches at the country club.

Jack grimaced and turned his attention back to the window, back to the freedom he’d get in just fifty-two more minutes.

Was that really what he was working so hard to get to? Endless rounds of golf and martinis with a bunch of old, rich guys?

That thought didn’t even appeal to him now. Maybe his metric for success would change, though. Maybe he’d be the exception, the guy who actually stayed in the office and worked, just like he was now.

Not a problem he had to think about today, though.

Today, all he had to do was make it through the next forty-nine minutes.

Not that he was counting.

###

“Hello, dear,” his mother’s sing-song voice drifted through the speaker of his phone as Jack unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside. “I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time.”

“No, not particularly.” He closed the door behind him and paused to take a breath. Getting home from work on a Friday was supposed to be the high point of his week. It was supposed to be the start of two relaxing days. Being on the phone with his mom at the official start of his weekend was definitely not the way Jack preferred to relax. “I just got home from work. What’s up?”

He usually tried to call his parents at least once a week, and occasionally his mom would beat him to the punch with some kind of important—even if their definitions of that word were somewhat different—news, like she had just a couple of nights ago.

So the fact that she was calling again so soon already seemed a little… off.

“Oh, nothing, really…” she answered, hesitating a little and just confirming even more that something wasn’t quite right. “I was just wondering if you had spoken with Calvin Berry lately…”

Jack quirked an eyebrow and grimaced. “You were wondering? Or you already know that I have?”

She sighed. “Don’t be like that, dear. You know I only want to help where I can. So did the two of you have a good conversation?”

“It was okay,” Jack said, trying to sound non-committal. He wasn’t sure what his mom was up to yet, but she obviously had something going on. “Was a little weird talking to him again after all this time.”

And that was putting it mildly. It had almost been surreal, as if Jack had been talking to Calvin in a dream or something. But that conversation had really happened, and that was… weird.

“Did Calvin tell you about all of the trouble he’s been having? Bless his heart, I just wish there was something more I could do to help him.”

Okay. She was definitely up to something.

While he didn’t doubt she had nothing but the best of intentions, he didn’t love that she had taken such an interest in his friendship with Calvin.

“He did tell me…” Jack said, hesitantly. “I told him I’d see if I could find some resources that would be helpful, and that was the end of our conversation.”

“You didn’t offer to come down and help at all, though?”

Was this conversation really happening right now?

Jack held the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen.

Yep. This was happening.

“Why would I need to do that?” he asked. “Calvin didn’t ask for that kind of help, Mom.”

“No, he wouldn’t, would he?” She sighed. “The bigger question is why wouldn’t you want to come and help? This is your home, Jack. Nobody should have to twist your arm about saving it.”

He had paced from the door to the living room, to the patio door, to the kitchen, and still hadn’t come close to burning off the anxious energy he could feel building inside of him.

“I guess I don’t understand what you want from me, Mom.” He shoved a hand back through his hair and took a deep breath. “I mean of course I want to help however I can, but it’s a little unrealistic for me to just up and leave. I have a job here, an apartment… a life.”

“I’m not asking you to give any of that up, Jack. But I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think you could come spend a little time here, especially when you’re so obviously needed. You’ve been so busy lately—you couldn’t even come down here for Christmas last year. Surely you have some vacation time saved up.”

Jack walked back over to the patio door and looked out over the balcony. Normally it was a calming view, one that made him breathe easier and could put a smile on his face.

Right now, though, all he could see was a city he didn’t have time to know, a place that didn’t feel like home even after living there for years. And while he was pretty sure his mother hadn’t intended on laying a guilt trip on him, her words had stung.

But those words still only served to highlight the fact that none of the people he cared about—and who cared about him—were here. They were all in Silver Lake, where they had always been.

“I do have some vacation time saved up,” he said, quietly. “But I still don’t know how much help I’d be there. I don’t know if Calvin would even want me to be there in person.”

Or if I’m ready to be there.

“Listen, sweetie,” she replied, her tone softening noticeably. “I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life—although I would if I thought I could get away with it.” She laughed and he snorted, though his lips did turn up a little at the corners. If only she had actually been joking. “But I’d like for you to at least think about it. I know you’ve been unhappy there in Boston, and I think a change of scenery could do you some good. Plus, you’re needed here. I want to see you, of course—I’ll never lie about that. But Calvin actually needs your help.” She paused, then sighed again. “I won’t keep you, dear. I’ll support whichever decision you make, but I wouldn’t have been able to sleep without at least making my opinion known.”

“Okay, Mom. Thanks for calling. I’ll… talk to you soon.”

He hung up the phone and tossed it over to the couch, then closed his eyes and massaged his temples. Jesus, how had his life suddenly become so complicated?

At least his mom would be able to sleep tonight, because God knows he wouldn’t.

Still, he couldn’t really dismiss the things she had said. While he wouldn’t have said he was necessarily unhappy, he did have to admit that the excitement he’d once felt for his job and the overall direction his life was going had pretty much vanished.

And he couldn’t really think of the last time he’d felt needed or even really appreciated at work. If he was being completely honest, Jack knew he was mostly interchangeable with the other people in his office, at least as far as his client was concerned.

Which was… not the best feeling.

He opened his eyes again and stared out over the balcony, the “harbor view” still failing to soothe him.

Maybe he did need a change of scenery. Maybe it would be nice to go where he was needed, at least for a little while.

But could he handle seeing Calvin again? Could he deal with dredging up the feelings and memories that he’d mostly kept buried for the past ten years?

Would going back now only make things worse?

Jack didn’t know.

He wasn’t sure if there was even a way to know, aside from just doing it. Just going.

Not tonight, though. Tonight was Friday, the start of his weekend. All he really had to do was relax.

Maybe after the weekend was over, he’d make a decision.

Maybe.