Chapter 1

The idea of going on a date this evening made Blake want to vomit.

He looked in the mirror in the office gym only to

find that, as usual, he looked great. His dark hair sparkled under

the florescent lights reminding him of a demigod in a picture book

he used to love to read as a child. As always, Tanya had made magic

with her scissors; his hair was amazing. The black jacket he wore

was a little dressy, but the white shirt buttoned down two buttons,

and the jeans that were just tight enough to let people know that

he was in shape, toned it down a notch, and added a sexy edge to

his appearance. At home whitening treatments, and frequent dental

appointments had paid off. His teeth were just about the whitest he

had seen anybody’s ever get, and Blake was actually kind of glad

that his parents had made him get braces in high school. If he

didn’t know what a horrible date he was, he would probably date

himself, and the fact that he looked amazing stressed him out more

than anything ever had.

Blake turned in a circle, trying to look over

his shoulder as he scrutinized himself a little harder this time.

There had to be something wrong with him, something that would make

someone not want to sleep with him, but no matter the angle, he

looked fabulous. What could he do that would make him look bad

enough to not want to sleep with, but still good enough to keep

dating? As he moved around the mirrors like he was in a fun house,

Blake was grateful that for once he was the only person in the gym.

With over seven hundred people working in this building, it was

rare that he ever found himself in the free office gym alone, but

at a little after five on a Friday, most people were joyfully on

their way to happy hour or out with someone special. As the big

metal gym doors suddenly opened, Blake quickly moved away from the

mirror and tried to appear nonchalant.

“You look great, Mr. Durkeson,” a voice

said.

Blake turned, relieved to find that it was

Jerome. Jerome cleaned Blake’s office every night, and Blake had

spent many an evening talking to Jerome before going home to

Snowpetal. Blake felt a whole lot more comfortable talking to

Jerome than he did to most people in the office, and although

Snowpetal always acted as if she understood, Blake seriously

wondered if she wasn’t one of those pets that would purr for

anyone. What Blake liked most about his conversations with Jerome

was that he knew Jerome wasn’t out to take his job or steal a

client right from under his nose.

“What’s the special occasion?” Jerome asked.

“You don’t normally do jeans around here. As a matter of fact, in

the three years I’ve worked with you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen

you this…relaxed.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t get to relax much around

here, Jerome. You know how it is.”

“I sure do, but you’re one of the few people

who keeps his sense around this place. You do a much better job

than I ever did.”

“What do you mean, Jerome?”

“I mean, I used to do your job. I lasted

about five years, and then I decided that I didn’t like who I had

become. I wasn’t like you. You keep your cool. You’ve stayed a nice

person in a stressful job.”

“You used to work in finance?”

“Right here. You see, deep down, I always

wanted to be a writer, but my parents wouldn’t hear of it. My

mother is a physics teacher and my father is on Wall Street. We

didn’t even have novels in my home. Anyway, I let them push me into

pursuing a dream that wasn’t mine. I even got an MBA from

Wharton.”

“Wharton is pretty impressive, Jerome.”

“They thought so, but I wasn’t impressed with

myself after five years. What did impress me though was hearing

this really neat author speak one night. His partner had died and

he lost his mind. He also lost his job and his house. He ended up

cleaning on the night shift somewhere and he said it was the best

thing that ever happened to him. He finished his novel, and it was

a great one. The day after I heard him, I went into Mr. Beechum and

told him he could make me a custodian or I was going to

resign.”

“What did he say?” Blake asked.

“He laughed for about a week, and then one

night on his way out he came by my office and asked me about it. I

told him what I’m telling you. He also saw that I had packed a few

boxes. The next day I started doing this. I have an agent trying to

sell my first book now, I’m working on my second one.”

“You’re really impressive, Jerome. Maybe I

should switch jobs.”

“No, you shouldn’t, Mr. Durkeson. You are

happy with what you do. I think this is your passion. When I did

it, I acted like Mr. Burlington.”

“You don’t like Mr. Burlington, Jerome?”

“Well, I didn’t say that. I wouldn’t say that

when I’m working here. Let’s just say, he’s not you.”

“Well, thanks, Jerome. I appreciate

that.”

“So what’s the big plan for the evening, Mr.