“See? Our friendship is special. We’re practically family.”
“You’re like a brother to me. I know I can trust you with anything that comes up, and I don’t have to be a hard ass to get results. That’s how family works; we just pick up where the other leaves off. I wanted the people we work with to be family, too.”
“We are. Just not Garret.”
That coaxed a laugh out of her, then she let out a heavy sigh. “What I didn’t want was to tell off my graphic artist because he spent all week watching dog videos on YouTube instead of nailing down the talent’s vision for the album cover.”
“Garret always waits until the last minute, which throws everyone off their game. I’m not the only one that can’t stand him. Maybe it’s time to give him an ultimatum.”
“I thought about that, but I had a better idea.” She bit her lip.
“What did you do?”
“I only called a meeting to get him away from his desk. Danny installed parental controls on his computer. He can only access the programs he needs for his work. Nothing else works.”
I guffawed, clapping my hands over my mouth in shock. “Laura, you didn’t.”
She nodded. “I had to do something. Not everyone can self-regulate, but I’m not paying him to play online all day.” Laura pulled her feet away and slipped them back into her heels. “Thanks, Jeremy. You always know how to make the worst days better.”
“I do my best.”
She smiled. “When you’re done for the day you can head home. I don’t see Garret finishing today and I don’t want you wasting your day waiting for him. Besides, he’s probably going to pout about his computer for a few hours.”
“I have some side projects I can work on when I’m done. I’ll stick around in case Garret gets out of hand.”
She hugged me quickly, then stepped back. “Don’t let Garret get you down. He might be a genius, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior, you know?”
“I do.” And I did. I flashed her a smile. “Things are going to be awesome with this new singer, and Garret is going to straighten out because you’re an amazing leader and mentor. We’ve got this. Dis-chord Records is going to be a household name soon. You’ll see.”
I decided to take a longer lunch than normal, just to get away from the sounds of discontent coming through the wall of Garret’s cubicle. He hadn’t said a word, but if I knew Danny, there would be a graphic wagging its finger at Garret every time he tried to access and off limits program. Garret was fuming, but he was making it known in the most on brand way. Grumbling, moaning, and shifting in his chair every few seconds, he was more annoying than usual. I lasted until four, then I decided to call it a day. Garret could wallow in his self-made misery alone. I needed a drink.
When I left the building I decided to check by the koi pond to see if the feral cat was there. He wasn’t, but to my delight, the turkey was gone and all the fish in the pond were accounted for. It seemed my new friend accepted my offering after all. For some reason it made the day that much better, though I was still tense. If the feral kitty could find a way to make life work despite his challenges, so could I.
I decided to stop by the pet store before I went to the bar. I wasn’t sure turkey was okay for a cat, and even if it was, he was better off with something that was made for him. After walking around the cat food section for a while, I picked the most expensive dry food they had and bought a small bowl with two reservoirs in it. He’ll probably want some fresh water with that food, I thought as I picked it out, then I grabbed a gallon of spring water and carried my purchases to the car.
For a moment, I considered going back to the office first, but I pushed the idea aside. The cat food bag was much too big to store at the office, so I would need to divide it at home and just take a little bit.
“Damnit,” I said, running back in and buying two pet food storage containers from the same clerk who only smiled at me. Armed with one large container for the bag and another smaller one that would hold a week’s worth of food, I got on the highway and headed toward the bar. Tomorrow was a new day, but tonight, I needed to let loose a little and forget that I worked with Garret Tucker.