Safety and Secrets

          The original version of this short story with the potential to grow was written during a store wide meeting. There wasn't a lot of editing done to it since then, mostly a mixture of cleaning up my handwriting (I was writing in my sloppy penmanship at an awkward angle) and color coding the dialogue because that's how I roll in my notebooks. I forget what exactly the meeting was for, something about functioning before noon not being my thing at the time (as if I have a thing). However, I do recall being asked during the meeting if the filled up pages of chicken scratch had been done just that morning and saying yes. So yea, good job meetings, way to give me productive writing time and paying me for it, =P. Anyway, without further ado, here is the actual story. Enjoy.

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          Play it safe and plan ahead, those were the lessons driven into Jacob Reynold's head during the years of his youth. Continuous advice he had taken to heart as time saw him transform from a young boy to a young man. Gifts bestowed on his younger, ill equipped self were used and understood later on in his life to increase his presence in the world at large. Few of those wise family members were alive today to see the result of their advice, of their gifts. The reckless boy was now the king of a self made empire even though he could have settled away as a hermit from inheritance alone.

          This empire was beginning to drain on him and rob him of his remaining youth. Between meetings, paperwork, travel, and acting the part of a gracious host at social functions he rarely found time for himself. Over exertion that was steadily starting to worry his staff that had been with him since the start. Some worried due to their own increased hours, others from genuine concern, and some were merely hopping on the band wagon. Not that it mattered much as Jacob never seemed to heed the advice that came with the worry.

          "You buzzed sir?" Rosalyn asked as she strode into Jacob's office, interrupting his current train of thoughts. As she awaited a response she rested her hands against her heather gray trousers, nervously picking at the fabric.

          "Huh?" Muttered Jacob as he glanced up from his current pile of paperwork. While brief in length he still registered the way Rosalyn still had her left foot near the door to his office and the way she kept pinching the fabric of her trousers as if she would rather be somewhere else. "Oh, yes," he started firmly, the rest of his office swimming back into focus. Folding his calloused hands on the mountain of paperwork before him he smiled. "Can you take care of the office for the rest of the day?" He asked, sure that the answer would be a yes as he had hand picked Rosalyn for her drive, for her loyalty.

          Rosalyn pursed her lips for a split second before smiling brightly, sparkling white teeth showing for a moment before she dialed it back. Originally toady had been her day off to attempt to spend time with her boyfriend to mend their shattering relationship, but that would have to wait another day it looked like. "Not a problem at all sir," she stated in reply slowly as to keep her voice level and not reveal her true desire to do anything but that today. "May I ask why Mr. Reynolds? You don't have any outside meetings scheduled today." Rosalyn asked, glancing towards the vaulted ceiling composed of light gray planks of wood that gave the office and summer home vibe as she recalled her boss's busy schedule.

          Jacob noticed the shift of emotions and shrugged his shoulders forward. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do to remedy that situation today. Drive and loyalty could only carry someone so far, eventually his push for excellence would tire even his best employee out. "Thank you. It's nice to know that I can always count on you," he declared, leaning back into his plush brown leather wing back swivel chair. "Private meeting with someone off of the books. I may be back tonight to catch up with work."

          "Okay sir. Should I let the rest of the crew know?" Rosalyn asked before she took a moment to adjust her thick framed glasses that had begun to slip down the bridge of her nose.

          "If you want to, otherwise don't worry about it. If anyone absolutely needs to get in contact with me they're more than welcome to call me," Jacob answered, his gray eyes not missing a single one of Rosalyn's reactions. Observing people had always been a hobby of his. The skills gained from it, such as how to recognize split second emotional reactions, had served him well over the years when it came to how to best handle his employees.