Chapter Seven

Flashback

The coffee warms my throat, the next morning I sit in my morning meeting. Eleanor was so excited to hit the shops downtown. I know our whole hotel room will be filled with bags. I make the money and she spends it, the key to a happy marriage. 

"Please take your seats," I told my employees who were just walking in. 

Everyone looks thrilled to see me. I laugh at the sarcastic voice in my head. They know when I show up to conduct a meeting, it's because things are going wrong. Somebody fuck up somewhere, and that mess costs me money. 

Grabbing a stack of papers that show data on sales for the months, I passed one out to each employee. Sales wasn't necessarily their fault, but returns were, and I take my name and reputation very seriously.

"Sales this month or lower than expected, we are looking at 70%."

I see everyone just nod. I know nobody would say anything they never do. 

"In school, that's about a C that's average, and I'm A guy."

I let out a sigh of frustration that has been trapped inside my chest. "Promotional teams step on it, and these returns are ridiculous. I want no mistakes in manufacturing. It cost me money. For now on, we're going to track returns. We will know what shift it was made on, and the whole line is getting fired."

I hear the gasp from the workers. Clearly not expecting that reaction from me.

"We make furnaces, which is a dangerous item. I want these made safely, and I take my name very seriously, and I won't have my name associated with faulty items. 

Hours later, I see the friendly face of John, who I leave my factory in his capable hands. He is head supervisor, and I thought about one day making him a co-owner. He does a splendid job, making sure orders get fulfilled on time and helping me hire acceptable employees. It's not his fault people are making mistakes on the line. I guess we have to weed out a few bad seeds.

My eyes see Eleanor walking towards us. Her face lights up like a Jack o'lantern on Halloween, her smile so big it nearly doesn't fit on her face.

I see John watching her, he seems fascinated. I can't seem to blame him. My wife is a beautiful woman, that's certainly certain.

"What are you doing here, her love?" I kiss her cheek as soon as she's by my side.

Can't a wife visit her husband?" She eyes me with an eyebrow raised. 

I laugh. "Certainly."

"AB, you never said your wife was so pretty?" John eyes Elenaor. I notice her cheeks turning red. The way they use too when we first meet. 

I feel Eleanor's eyes on me. She had her hand on her hip. Clearly, she thinks I should tell everyone I meet how gorgeous she is. I chuckle to myself. 

"That's because I don't want any competition."

"Right, smart man," John says with a smile.