Cancelled (3 page)

Eric mouthed “What are you doing?” but Alex shooed him with her right hand.

“That'll be fine, Alex. We'll talk again after the New Year. Monday at 9. If we don't have a projected budget and design in spec, you understand we'll have to move on to another developer?”

“I do, Bob. I have my own vendors that I hold to an equally high standard. But I promise you, AJE will deliver.”

“Alrighty, I hope so.”

The conference call over, Alex collapsed into her chair. This was an utter disaster. Eric's design was not only too intricate for the subcontractor's machining specifications, he was grossly over-budget. Worse, he didn't see a problem.

“They don't understand quality.” Eric paced the small area of Alex's office between her desk and book case.

“War zones, Eric. War zones. Half of them will probably get blown up!” She unwrapped a granola bar from its noisy, foil wrapper. Taking a bite, she remembered compensation for this contract only locked in at the prototyping stage. If she couldn't save this contract, the company was out the costs of the design process. Labor hours mostly, but some of the equipment Eric convinced her to buy for testing purposes was pricey.

“You know I don't worry about the technical side of the house. I go by what the client says," she said. Alex pulled her planner out with Johnathan's travel information in it. "Fax whatever paperwork you can to Johnathan's hotel. I'm calling him now.”

“We can't fax anything. Defense contract. Send the files encrypted. If you want to call Johnathan, go ahead." He leaned in on her desk. "But I'm not pandering. They don't like what we have to offer–Hedis can walk in my opinion.” Eric pushed off the desk with both hands and stormed out of Alex's office.

Sighing, Alex took a minute to regroup. She finished her poor lunch substitute and pulled all of the files on Hedis she had in her desk. She hated calling Johnathan back home when he took such little vacation time. She tried his cell phone first.

As the international connection took a few extra seconds, she toyed with the silver dragon sculpture on her desk. The dragon glistened with blue jewels for eyes, and the head and tail moved thanks to dozens of individual metal joints. She turned the head towards her, and opened its jaws into a roar.

Eric would get over it. This was her job: make the tough calls. Not an engineer, but a lawyer, she made sure things ran smoothly. Hedis was a business decision, not her personal feelings about Eric's brilliance.

“I'm working on your shopping list as speak, m'lady," Johnathan said, answering the call.

“Hedis is ready to walk.”

“What?!?” People standing around Johnathan in Printemps Haussman began muttering in French about rude Americans and their cell phones. Johnathan looked around, slightly embarrassed at his outburst. "Hold on," he said, putting the clock he was considering for Alex down and walking to the nearest doors. The street sounds of Paris cued her to keep talking.

“Eric is over budget and Bob said the design can't be machined.”

“Dammit, I told him we had to keep those specs in mind. Hedis doesn't manufacture anything in-house.” Johnathan walked to the taxi stand on the corner and waited in line for the next available car. He caught a shopping bag the young woman in front of him mishandled, saving the contents from a small puddle of grime near the curb.

“Merci.”

“Je vous en prie.” Johnathan flashed her a smile and silently held a few more of her bags for her. Once she was comfortably arranged in her taxi, he handed them to her and closed the door.

“I need you to come home,” Alexis interrupted Johnathan's Parisian flirtation, bringing his attention back to the very serious problems at home.

“Yeah, I'm heading to my hotel now. Book me the early flight out tomorrow. I need to eat dinner with Anna and Buck so I can explain.”

“You realize you'll miss New Year's Eve? Won't Anna be upset you're cutting the trip short?”

Johnathan laughed. “Hell no," he said, exaggerating the phrase to make her giggle. "I spend most of the day alone, as far away from Buck as I can. The Louvre is still in one piece and Versailles is ostentatious. The most famous temporary structure in the world still stands and Sainte-Chapelle's windows sing the gospel. And if I have to sit through one more Mass in Latin...”

Alex smiled. Paris was a place she had always wanted to visit. Her only visit to Europe was a trip to Spain in college for spring break.

“One day I'll have to join you.”

“Name the day and we'll go.”

Neither party knew what to say, creating a brief awkward moment. Johnathan cleared his throat and collapsed into the next taxi to arrive at the stand. “Can you send me Eric's files through the secure network? I'll login here and get started on fixing his mess.”

“Email me instructions? Eric's sulking and I don't want to screw up.”

“Yeah, I'll be at the hotel in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, I'm ordering lunch in.”

“Bullshit, you ate a granola bar.”

“How do you know that?” Alex asked, truly surprised at his clairvoyance.

“You never order lunch in unless I make you. And since we aren't guaranteed any payment until we are approved to prototype, I'm willing to bet you won't spend a dollar out of the slush fund.”

Alex toyed with the black cord on her phone, realizing Johnathan was pitching in to help the situation from thousands of miles away while Eric was a liability. “You're right," she admitted. "I'll kill time by walking down to the sub guy on the corner. Vegetarian with meat, everything on it.”

Johnathan loved their agreement on weight management. Both claimed “vegetarian sub” on their calorie tracker software for the company's wellness program. Participation cut their company's health care premiums by 20%.

“Sounds good to me.” He waved his hand at the cabbie to turn down change before exiting the car.

Planning to meet Anna and Buck in the lounge in an hour, Johnathan sent the email to Alex and then jumped in the shower. He trusted she followed through on the sandwich when he didn't have an email back before he tossed his laptop back into his bag and took the short elevator trip down to the lobby.

After explaining the situation to Anna, he left not long after dessert. On his way out, he asked the concierge to make a purchase from the department store he left earlier, paying extra to make sure it arrived before he left in the morning. The hotel assured him they would have it packaged and ready for him at check out.

Back in his room, Johnathan gaped at the cost of materials Alex sent over. Why in the hell was Eric inflating the hydraulic cables to three times the cost when the cheapest ones available through their vendor were in spec? Just a few quick adjustments brought the project in budget, but Alex's summary of the conference call made Johnathan think that wouldn't be good enough.

Knowing how companies like Hedis worked, AJE wasn't the only company competing in the design process, despite a
no compete
clause. Bob sent a message when he told Alex they'd have to jump ship on Monday: someone was able to do this cheaper. Johnathan knew he'd spend most of the flight tomorrow pinching every penny possible.

The next afternoon, Johnathan followed a line of time travelers to the baggage claim area. He fixed his watch to Eastern Standard. Twelve hours of flying and it was only six hours later than when he boarded the plane. He felt wrecked.

He stood with a slightly wider stance than normal waiting for his industrial strength luggage with reinforced corners and thick, metal zipper toggles. Doing so helped combat the mental and physical exhaustion that weighed heavily on every muscle in his body. A familiar voice pulled his attention away from the carousel.

“Yes, Zachary, fax those plans
and
send them by courier. I know it isn't what we usually do, but Johnathan wants to make sure their engineers have the weekend holiday to review the cost savings and design.” Alexis greeted Johnathan with a tight hug. “I think you've saved us.”

“It's the least a knight in shining armor can do.”

They both turned their attention to the annoyingly loud buzzing from the luggage carousel. An over-sized bag clogged the track and luggage ceased to appear from the dark hole in the middle.

“I'll run and grab you some coffee.” Alex patted Johnathan on the shoulder. He nodded assent.

“Not extra hot!” He called after her, and she held her hand up. He didn't know if that meant she understood him or disagreed with his wishes. He flipped out his cell and texted Anna he was safely on U.S. soil. Quickly, he used his duty free plastic bag to cover Alex's Christmas gift in the big Printemps shopping bag. He hadn't expected her to pick him up.

The carousel began moving again, and Johnathan continued his vigil. Another ten minutes and his bags made their own tumble down the ramp.

“Watching it like that, I might buy myself some of that luggage.” Alex handed Johnathan his coffee.

Connecting his luggage to all roll together, he followed Alex out to the parking area. How in the hell would all of this fit in her Z-series? The answer appeared as Eric's yellow Wrangler came into view. He gave Alex a surprised look at the car.

“I gave him the Z for the night. We'll switch cars back tomorrow. Our favorites from Kitchen Number 1 are on their way. You can eat, shower, and sleep.”

Johnathan felt slightly taken aback by Alex's micromanaging, but also grateful to relax. He yawned, keeping his lips as parallel as possible to minimize it.

“Or maybe just eat and sleep,” Alex laughed as she paid the parking bill and merged onto 267.

“Thanks. I stayed up all night fixing the plans.” Johnathan meant to close his eyes for a second, but ended up conking out for the ride home.

Alexis throwing the Jeep's parking brake woke him up with a start in the parking garage of his apartment building. Groggily, he smiled at Alex and pulled his bags out of the back. He gave her another mildly surprised look when she followed him up.

“I told you, I ordered us both lunch. I figured you could use an extra set of hands to get settled, then I'll jet.”

“You got plans for tomorrow?” Johnathan pushed a yawn to the back of his throat, making his voice sound hollow.

“Eric invited me out, but I'm not really in a mood to celebrate out in town. It's just another night, you know?”

Johnathan's eyes softened. He felt the exact same way. Lunch arrived, interrupting his thoughts for a moment. He tried to pull out his wallet from his carry-on, but Alex jumped to take care of the man before Johnathan could really move. Running on zero sleep meant his reaction times were like moving in Jell-o.

As Alex expertly found his plates and glasses, serving them both a healthy portion, he tried to remember what they were talking about before.

“Right, so tomorrow. If you don't want to go out, why don't you come over here? I'll pickup a few bottles of wine for you, scotch for me, and we can ring in our own private New Year.”

Alex made a tsking sound with her mouth. “You don't think Eric will be upset I turned him down but hang with you?”

“It's not an exclusive party. Ask him to come. We both know he won't.” She continued to eat her lunch and remained quiet. Johnathan felt a need to push the decision in his favor. “Besides, then I can properly give you your Christmas present.”

Alex lit up at the mention of a souvenir from France. “Why wait until tomorrow?” She naturally gazed at his luggage for hints and clues. Johnathan laughed.

“It's not even wrapped! I did have to get it through security and customs.” Just a few bites of food made him feel more alive and less zombie-like.

“Oh fine. I'll be here tomorrow with noise makers and my pajamas.”

Johnathan didn't say anything and instead shoveled more fried rice into his mouth. It wasn't even the New Year yet and so far his resolution to win over Alex was going well.

After seeing Alex to the door, there was one thing Johnathan had to take care of before hitting the sack. Pressing the LEGAL contact on his phone, he waited for an answer.

"Johnathan Michaels for Theodore Simms please." He waited through the elevator transfer music until his lawyer picked up. "Yes, hello Mr. Simms. This is Johnathan. I'm back in the country and wanted to see if the paperwork I requested was sent to my sister Jenn."

"Johnathan! Good to hear from you, son. How's Anna?"

"Living it up in France when I left her."

Simms chuckled. "Good. Good. I'm looking at your file and as you requested, we sent the letter and a check for the full amount requiring dual signatures. Though I'd like to reaffirm my advice about the check. I think a letter would have been enough."

Johnathan sat at his desk in his bedroom, looking at the three pictures he had of his half-siblings. "I'm sure it would have been, but I want to make sure she uses it. I was lucky to get out. College is the only way I can get her out of there, too."

"Well it's mighty nice of you to look out for her."

Johnathan confirmed a few pieces of data for his lawyer in anticipation of tax season and then hung up. He thought about setting his alarm, but decided to just let his body rest as long as it needed to. Besides, a long nap today would help him stay up all night with Alex tomorrow.

“5.....4.....3.....2.....1. HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The wide-screen plasma TV made both Johnathan and Alexis feel like they were in New York, without the bitter cold. Without even asking for permission, Johnathan leaned over his best friend snuggling on his shoulder and gave her a brief kiss on the lips. If he hadn't nervously anticipated this moment for the last fifty-five minutes when they finally tuned in Dick Clark's countdown show, he might have recognized the chemistry between them.

After a few seconds of nothing but the crowds singing “Auld Lang Syne,” Johnathan cleared his throat causing Alex to throw off the blanket she used to snuggle against him. She stood up and stretched in her blue flannel pajamas, then turned to him and gave a smile.

“Happy New Year.” She lifted her champagne glass from the table and passed him his. She gave his a small clink before drinking.