Time Out For a Life - 1. Chapter 1

Time Out for a Life

My life has been on fast forward ever since I turned twenty-two; I graduated from college and found a job right away. Being single, I became super-focused on getting ahead and taking the corporate world by storm.

It didn’t take long for me to pass the guys who were getting married, having children, or taking time to have a relationship. While they took time off for events, I went full blast through weekends, holidays, and just about anything else, climbing the corporate ladder. Things probably would have continued that way if it wasn’t for Robin.

Robin had been my best friend since I was five. She was always there to keep me grounded, and keep me from losing my way. We went to colleges that were literally only a half hour from each other, so we saw one another all the time. It was nothing for one of us to finish our classes for the day, and then drive over to have dinner or spend the evening talking. However, after we graduated, we sort of lost touch. She met Mark while in school, and it wasn’t long till the two of them were an inseparable couple. It was only natural when they married that I was in her wedding party. It didn’t even come as a surprise that they married within that first year after we graduated. Seven years later, she was happy with her life in Connecticut, while I worked down here in Philadelphia.

My life was my job, and now that I was thirty, there was little thought of changing how I lived. Then came that invite from Robin.

Raymond,

I want you at my house. No excuses and I don’t want to hear about your job needing you. Save the date of October 6^th and be there by noon!

Robin

So I marked the date on the calendar and promptly forgot all about it. I was handed the Henderson Account on the first and told to have it done by the eighth. I was smiling, thinking about how easy it was going to be to get this done during the weekend; then I spotted the calendar with the date circled in red.

“Shit.“

I knew she was going to blow up on me, but I figured she would forgive me and let me out of whatever she had planned. I quickly dialed her number.

“Hello,” her voice chirped through the phone.

“Hi Robbie.” That was my nickname for her, and I used it whenever I wanted to her to do something for me.

“I know that tone, Ray. The answer is no!”

That is the problem with having been friends forever. What might work with someone else wouldn’t go over as easily with Robin. I figured the best defense was to play hurt.

“No? But Robin, I haven’t even asked for anything.”

“Right.” There was a pause and her sigh came through loud and clear. “All right, so what is it you called for?”

“I just wanted to check in with you.”

“Raymond, you haven’t called me since last year when you cancelled on my summer barbeque. In fact, the only calls between us have been when I called you. Face it, if I don’t call you, I don’t hear from you.”

I hated that she was right. I also knew she was getting pissed because I’d already progressed to Raymond.

“I give already. I was calling to find out…why I was coming? You just told me to save the date and not why.”

“Yeah, well that’s because I figured you would worm your way out of it anyway.”

I could hear the exasperated tones in her voice. I was used to hearing it when she talked about her parents not listening to her as we grew up, or the professor who only wanted a paper written restating the same facts back to him with no other point of view. I suddenly realized I was doing what she hated - dismissing her and her ideas, putting my own plans ahead of her. I felt like shit as I remembered how many times she’d come over while I was running a fever, or given up her own plans because I had been in the dumps. She rarely asked for anything and she was about the only friend I had left.

“Never mind, I’m coming. I promise. Do I need to bring anything?”

“Just you.”

I could picture her smile.

“I’ll be there.”

The only way this was going to work was if I handed over the Henderson Account to someone else. Shaking my head, I got up and walked down to Thompson’s office. He was my junior and I never used him at all. The poor man probably thought he was never going to get a chance to move up. I knew he had recently gotten married, but most of the work he got was the overflow from other seniors in the department. As his boss, I was sort of a failure.

“Angus, got a minute?”

The look of surprise was genuine as he nearly dropped the papers he was holding. The poor guy was probably afraid I was there to fire him. He slid into the chair as I sat down across from him.

“Sure, Mr. West.”

“Ray. Please, just call me Ray.”

“Ray.”

“You ready for a project?”

He nearly leapt out of his chair.

“Sure. What do you need help with?”

“I can help you with the Henderson Account till Friday, but it needs to be done by Monday. I have a prior engagement, so the project is yours. I’ll tell Mr. Tenor about the change. This is your chance to make a mark, Angus.“

The smile on his face was so bright, I felt like a heel for keeping him from really helping me. I had made sure he was fully competent before I hired him, and then I did everything myself. Well, he was going to have to work on this, and hopefully it would help get him noticed. He took the folder from me with a huge smile and began to make notes as I walked out of his office.

I strolled over and knocked on the boss’s door. It wasn’t something I did often, and again I was met with a look of surprise when he glanced up and saw me standing in his doorway.

“Hey, Ray. What’s up? Having a problem with the account?”

“Yes and no. I have something I have to do this weekend. I’m giving the account to Angus to work on. I’ll help him with it till Friday, but the project is going to be his.”

“Finally.” Tenor leaned back with a smile on his face.

“What?” I paused. That wasn’t the sort of thing he normally came out with. I slipped my hands into my pockets to keep from giving myself away.

Mr. Tenor smiled and stood up. He came around and leaned on the front of his desk.

“I’ve been worried you might never decide to use Thompson, never mind take a break for something. Does this mean you finally have a date?”

It worried me a bit that the boss had noticed I was doing it all on my own. It seemed even worse that he realized I had no personal life.

“Sort of. A friend of mine wants me to go see her and her family this weekend. So I’m leaving Friday to drive up.”

“No, you’re not. You haven’t taken a vacation in over a year. As of Thursday you are off. I don’t want to see you here at work till”- he grabbed the calendar off his desk- “till the fifteenth. Enjoy it.”

“But I still have to get Thompson up to date on the project. I have the Van Power Account due tomorrow as well.”

“Even better. Finish that one up and you’re done here. I’ll personally help Thompson with the Henderson Account.”

Mr. Tenor crossed his arms and stood there with a huge smile on his face.

I had little choice as I headed back to my desk and went to work on finishing up the Van Power Account. There wasn’t much left to do; I just liked to double-check, and make sure all the i’s were dotted and the t’s crossed. Whenever a client of mine got his project back, they knew it was as good as it was going to get.

The week flew by, and before I knew it Friday arrived, and I was packed up and headed north to see Robin. I had called ahead and rented a room at a bed and breakfast for a few days. My plans were to do some sightseeing and then play catch-up with Robin. I hadn’t been up to see Robin other than once or twice since she had been married. She lived in a very pretty part of Connecticut called Waterbury. With the leaves changing colors, I was able to drive around and take in the breathtaking views of the mountains dressed in shades of red, gold, orange, and brown.

Knowing I wasn’t really due to see her for another day, but having the time off, I pulled up to her house on Friday afternoon. There were only so many things you could see from a car, or things you could put off. I walked up to the front door, unsure of what I was going to be getting into.

I knocked, and a few moments later, a very pregnant Robin opened the front door.

“You’re here. I wasn’t really sure you would come. And you’re early. How the hell did that happen?”

“Oh crap! Little Miss Watches-Her-Figure is pregnant.” I leaned in and gave Robin a hug. “When did this happen?”

“When do you think?” Robin’s laughter filled the air as she stepped back into the hallway. “Come in you fool and tell me what on earth has been going on that you got here early for a change?”

I quickly filled her in, and found out that the “save the date” was for her baby shower. The baby was due in a month and she had hoped I would agree to be the godfather. I was so pleased. Mark came home from work later, and I went out to pick up dinner. I didn’t want Robin fussing over food, and I didn’t want her trying to run around either. While I waited for the food, I jumped on my laptop and ordered up a whole bunch of stuff for the baby; spending through the nose to make sure it would all be delivered before the party the next day.

The party actually turned out to be a turning point in my life in so many ways.

I enjoyed getting to know Robin all over again. We laughed, and I met the friends she had made since college. I couldn’t help but notice one in particular. Mark stood in the corner talking to Josh. Josh worked with Robin at the school where she taught. He was an English teacher, and he completely captivated me. I couldn’t tell you why at first glance, but the more I observed him, the more I liked what I saw. He was shorter than Mark and I, probably around five foot eight. He had dark blond hair, deep green eyes, and wore glasses. He was thin, but you could see it was a muscular type of skinny, and he moved with confidence. He joked easily with those around him, and even when one of the girls accidently spilled a drink on his lap, he just grabbed a napkin and wiped it off. It was like nothing seemed to bother him. I found that to be an admirable trait. I found myself stealing glances at him as I moved around the party talking to people. He was just so different from anyone I usually met.

Don’t get me wrong. I had on occasion picked someone up from one of the bars, but they were strictly one-night stands and no one I would want to see again. For me it was sex for the sake of sex, but that was all that I had really wanted. But, here I was just looking at Josh, and it wasn’t just sex I was thinking of. Granted he was sexy as hell, I mean the way that shirt stretched when he helped one of the women pick up her gift to set on the table showed what great shape he was in. We hadn’t talked to each other, but there was just something about him that I wanted to get to know. I was getting antsy that I might not get a chance to speak to him - or be his type. Which was sort of funny when you stopped to realize the fact that I didn’t have the slightest clue if he was gay or not.

“Who are you looking at?” Robin stood at my side with a glass of water in her hand.

“No one,” I said quickly and focused on her.

“Right. As if after all this time I wouldn’t know when something or someone caught your eye.”

I tried to look innocent, but Robin knew me too well even; if she hadn’t seen me in a few years.

“Give me a break! Romeo you aren’t. Your charms won’t work on me. Besides, I’m the wrong team for you. I mean come on now, I remember the time you had it bad for Robby Andrews.”

“Oh lord. You would remember that.”

“Remember it? Boy, do you remember the bad dye job you gave yourself because you heard he liked blonds?”

“So, there is nothing wrong with red hair.”

“Red, my ass. It was pumpkin orange and you know it.”

“You just want the credit for dying it back to my usual shade.”

“We were just lucky your hair didn’t fall out with all that we put it through that night.”

I began laughing and had to try not to snort. Robin was still Robin. She wasn’t one to play games.

“Considering there are so few men here, I take it you noticed Josh.”

I blushed but managed to keep my mouth shut.

Robin looked at me and batted her eyes. She took a drink of water and waited.

“All right, so I noticed Josh. Are you going to tell me anything about him? Like is he married with children, or is he single? And by any chance, does he play for my side?”

Robin smiled and shook her head.

“Just tell me honestly, are you looking for another one-night stand?”

That stopped me. Robin used to laugh and say I would need a new headboard due to all the notches I was going to accumulate. Granted I didn’t have someone in my bed every night, but at least once a month I usually ended up with one.

“I don’t know, to be honest Robbie. I never wanted anyone to stay beyond a night. My job is …”

“You need to forget the job, Ray. You need to take time out for a life. You’re thirty now, not eighteen. Work is important, but if you aren’t careful you’re going to be facing the rest of your life alone.”

I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation. I didn’t have to play at being hurt. Robin had cut through the fabric of my life and told me what I needed to hear; even if I didn’t want to hear it.

“How many friends do you really have Ray? I know you. You always get this way. I bet you don’t even go out with any of the people you work with.”

“I go out with them.”

“For fun, or for something job related?”

I didn’t want to answer that. Robbie and I might not have seen each other often, but she still knew me too well and I couldn’t lie to her.

“That’s what I thought. Josh is a sweetheart. He’s been watching over me at work, and when a fight broke out last week between the students, he waded in and made sure I was safe.”

As she spoke, I couldn’t help but watch Josh. He was joking with Mark and a few of the women who stood close to them.

“Yes, he is gay. His partner left him just before school started. Evidently the jerk thought he should move on to a younger model.”

I turned at the anger in her voice. Her red face and trembling hand made it clear how upset she was.

“It shook his confidence.” Robin took a sip of her water and then pinned me with her eyes. “I love you, Ray, but if you are just looking for a bed warmer while you visit, keep looking and leave him alone!”

It surprised me. Robin had evidently adopted him as she had done me, but I was the one she was warning off.

“And this is Ray.” I heard Mark’s deep voice beside me. “He’s been friends with Robin since they were kids.”

“Well, she did live right next door,” I began, and suddenly there was Josh. I found myself subconsciously swallowing whatever else I was going to say.

“It’s so nice to meet you. Robin has talked about you ever since we met.” Josh reached out to shake my hand.

I felt like an idiot as I took his hand and shook it. His grip was strong and I could smell the sandalwood soap he had to have showered with. I was completely off balance, which was a new situation for me.

“So I understand you work down in Philadelphia. Do you enjoy your job?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve never been there. Home of the Liberty Bell and all.” Josh smiled and I could feel my face color.

“Yes, it is.” I couldn’t seem to get out more than a few words before my mind froze and I stared into his eyes.

“Josh, you will have to forgive Ray. He seems to have forgotten his manners,” Robin said with a smile as she smacked my ass.

Mark laughed and guided his wife over to the food, leaving us alone.

To say it went smoothly would be a lie. There were a lot of false starts, awkward pauses, and times I was absolutely sure Josh was going to walk, but somehow that never happened. I was up there for the rest of the weekend, and we even went out for lunch on Sunday together. Not once did I take him back to my room or do anything that would upset Robin.

What was odder was the fact we exchanged numbers. I found myself thinking of him my whole drive back home. To say I was distracted would be an understatement. When I got home, I still had time off from work, but I was unable to focus on much as I found myself constantly fantasizing about what Josh might be doing.

My first day back to work showed just how distracted I was. I wandered into my office, sat down and stared out the window. Mr. Tenor came by and stood in my doorway and I wasn’t even sure how long he was there.

“All right, something finally happened. Did you meet someone?” He closed the door behind him as he took the seat across from me.

I felt like an ass. I mean I hadn’t exactly hidden I was gay, but I hadn’t come out and told anyone either. My occasional one-night stand never interfered with my work, and I was not one to be late or talk about my sexual escapades at work. Now here was my boss of seven years, sitting down and asking me about my personal life.

“Look, you realize you are the only one in this office who doesn’t seem to have a life. I mean Marsha has had three girlfriends in the last year, Barbara just got married and I think I might lose her when she goes on maternity leave. Matthew just got married this year and his wife is also expecting. Hell, Sidney is getting married next month to that guy whose name I can’t even pronounce. You, however, I think are the best kept secret in the office. No one knows who you date, if you date, or anything.”

I blushed. Robin was right. I didn’t go out socially with the group from my office. I barely knew the real lives they led outside of work. I’d been invited to all the weddings, and I’d gone, but it was more duty to the work than because I really knew any of them.

“Look, I hate to put you on the spot. It’s just I’ve never seen you take time for anything. I expected since I had forced you on vacation that you would come back and work twice as hard. Instead, I come in to find you looking out the window. That isn’t like you.”

“Yeah. I guess you can say I met someone. Just not use to being off my game.” For a moment Josh’s face came clearly to mind. The blush on my face felt red-hot, but I just focused on Mr. Tenor and what he was doing in my office instead.

“Well, there is a reason I came to talk to you.”

That got my attention. I figured he must have another project for me to work on.

“Ray, we have the opportunity to open a second office. The partners and I have been looking for someone to head it.”

“You want to open another office here?”

“No. Actually, we want to open one in either Connecticut or Massachusetts. Some of the partners think Boston might be great, but some are leaning toward Connecticut so they can be close to New York City and steal some of the clients across the state border.”

They were thinking of an office in Connecticut? That would put me right there with Robin and Josh.

“We know you have been to both states, and we would like you to head it up. The question is, do we do Boston in Massachusetts, or do we go to Greenwich or possibly Stanford in Connecticut?”

“Well has anyone done the research to see what is available, how crowded the business is there, if we can grow in any of those places, and what the talent pool is like?”

Mr. Tenor smiled. Then he reached into his briefcase and pulled out two thick files.

“Yup, at least you still act like you. Here is all that you asked for. Look them over and give me your suggestion when you’re done reading through it all.”

I looked blankly at him for a moment.

“You’re serious?”

“Yeah. You are one of the few single people here, and if we are going to open another branch we want to be able to send someone we could trust to do it. We were hoping not to have to uproot a family. The only thing is, we are going to want you to lead by example, and that means having a life outside of work. We like to see well-rounded individuals in positions of leadership. I’m finally seeing signs of that happening, so that is the real reason I’m offering this to you.”

I was floored. Mr. Tenor stood up and headed toward my door.

“Ray, I’m glad to know you do have a life outside this building. Just remember, the people you work with can be friends, too.”

He opened the door and walked out into the main office. I looked at the papers on my desk and was just about to start going through them when there was a knock on the door. I looked up to see Angus standing there.

“What’s up Angus? Did you have an issue with the Henderson Account?”

“No, Ray. Actually everything went really well and Rick, I mean Mr. Tenor, was a great help to me. He told me I do fantastic work and was pleased to see I was ready to take on such a major project.”

I smiled. It seemed my assistant was getting noticed and the boss was happy with his work.

“Great. Well, come in and have a seat and let me know what’s going on.”

Angus came and sat down. He kept picking at his slacks so I knew he was nervous. It took a few moments for him to work up the courage and face me.

“Is there a reason you don’t want me to work for you?”

I dropped the paper I was holding and focused my attention completely on Angus.

“Where did that come from?”

Angus barely looked at me. He continued to pick subconsciously at his pants leg. Finally I got up and walked around the desk. I leaned against it and reached out to touch his arm. He slowly looked up into my face.

“All right Angus let me fill you in on a few things. When I started here I was, and pretty much still am, driven to succeed. I never bothered to ask for help. I worked harder, longer, and more furiously than anyone else here. I was hungry for promotions and to be noticed. You might have observed that nearly everyone here is married or dating. They talk about their lives outside of the job.” I paused as I realized everything Robin had been telling me was true. If I had been dating or married to anything, it had been my job. I noticed Angus’s dark brown eyes watching me. “Anyway, I didn’t have those distractions. I had work. When I was promoted to this position, I was told I needed an assistant. I searched through dozens of applications and held interview after interview. When I hired you, I knew I had the best person for the job. What didn’t change however, was my stubborn desire to do it all myself.”

“So you do think I am capable?”

I nodded and stepped away from the desk and over to the window. The room suddenly felt stuffy so I opened the window to the cool fall air before turning back to my assistant.

“Angus. I wouldn’t have hired you if I didn’t think you could do the job. The problem is I haven’t let you. I know the rest of the staff has gratefully passed their overflow to you, which you have completed consistently, quickly and above all, well. My life,” I began as looked at the two folders that sat on my desk, “well, it has been going through some changes lately. I don’t think you have much to worry about. Your work is already well-liked, and you are going to see more and more projects coming your way.”

Angus smiled and stood up.

“Thank you, Ray. I had been afraid I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to and that the Henderson project might have been a test to fire me.”

“No, Angus. The company doesn’t work that way. Sorry for making you feel like you weren’t being appreciated or your work wasn’t valued. It is. I promise.”

We shook hands and Angus seemed more relieved as he left the office.

I spent the rest of my day reading through the files, first on the possible Boston office. The folder there was smaller, so I knew I could get through it. The files containing everything on the possible Connecticut offices were huge. Locations of local colleges, existing companies, growth potential, best possible locations for offices, trends in growth and decline, housing, schools districts, and other things I couldn’t figure see relating to our business were listed for all three sites. As I slowly dug through the files and cross-referenced different bits and pieces, I noted that while Boston on the surface seemed to be a great choice, it was also pretty saturated already. We would be entering into a town where most of the existing companies would have been there for years and already established their reputations. Greenwich, while offering the most opportunities, was also going to cost us the most to set up. Stanford by default sat in-between. The more I read, the more I knew Stanford was our best choice. By the time I had all my facts straightened out and ready to present to Mr. Tenor, I glanced at the clock to see it was now six and I had worked through lunch and dinner. It was definitely time to go home.

I had just started down the stairs when my cell phone rang.

“Hey, Ray. Figured I would check to see what you were up to. I’m not disturbing you, am I?”

His voice energized me as I nearly ran down the stairs and headed toward my car.

“Nope. Was just heading home after a long day.”

“You sound tired. Do you want me to let you go?”

“Don’t you dare hang up on me, Josh. I was going to call you when I got home.”

His deep laughter rumbled across the phone. I liked knowing it was me who made him laugh.

“So how was your day, anyway?”

“Well, I just had a day of dealing with teenagers and their hormones. So, it was just a regular day for me.”

I ended up sitting in my car, just talking on the phone with Josh for the next hour, about everything and nothing. It was the happiest I’d been since I had left Robin’s.

Things moved quickly after that day. I sat down and talked to Mr. Tenor, and presented him with what I thought would be the best option for the company and why. He ended up saying he agreed with me, having gone through the paperwork himself before he had given it to me. He had me deliver the pitch to the board before the week was over.

A week and half later, I found myself up in Stanford looking at possible office sites. Then I was busy shopping for an apartment, and trying to get my place back in Philadelphia packed up. You don’t realize how much crap you can collect until you have to pack it up to move. I finally decided to donate a load of clothing and stuff to the local Salvation Army.

Robin was thrilled I was going to be living so much closer. With her up in Waterbury and me in Stanford, the drive was no longer going to be killer. It ended up being so much better when Mark called two nights after I moved into my new place to tell me Robin was in labor at the Danbury hospital. Seems she had gone to work to leave the sub some more information while she was on maternity leave, and her water broke before she even left the building. Considering my office wasn’t even open yet, it didn’t really matter that I grabbed my jacket and rushed to be with them. I ran into Josh in the waiting room.

Josh and I began dating full-time shortly after that. Within six months we were inseparable, and a year later we were sending out invitations asking people to save the date for our wedding. My whole life changed so much, and it really was all because of Robin. I can never thank her enough for helping me to see what was really important.