Reed: Bowen Boys (2 page)

When he got home today, he was going to find himself a bed. He’d had a nice one at Caitlynne’s when he’d stayed there, and he’d even done research on it. Reed was nothing if not thorough. Thinking about trying out the different mattresses in the stores had him smiling at one particular memory involving a sales woman and her…commission. Reed opened his eyes when Caitlynne laughed.

“I don’t suppose you’re thinking about how much you’re looking forward to a hug from your mom and dad, are you?” She laughed harder when he flushed. “I didn’t think so. Is sex all you Bowen boys think about?”

“Most men in general, I suppose. What about you? You never think about it?” The two of them had had a great many conversations that would probably seem odd to others if they knew. “Women aren’t as visual as men, I’ve heard. Maybe we just are more…I don’t know, maybe we’re more romantic than you.”

She snorted at him and laughed. “I highly doubt that. Walker is. And I’ve seen Dylan be romantic, but the rest…? Not so much. George is; I’ve seen him bring home flowers for Corrine when he just wanted to. That’s really nice. And he takes her places he doesn’t enjoy.”

“Like the opera.” She nodded. “I actually think he enjoys it more than he says. I heard him telling Khan about the last one they went to, and he sounded like he had more fun than Mom.”

The pilot asked them to buckle up, that they’d be landing soon. He was putting his belt on when he thought of something. Well, he’d been thinking of it for several weeks, but only just now had her alone where he could ask her.

“Caitlynne, do you think that my mate will be something like the rest of you? I mean, will she be…?” He wanted to say bitchy, but was afraid of hurting her feelings. She seemed to get it.

“You mean a pain in your ass? Mouthy? How about not easy?” She nodded. “Yes, and so much more. And just so you know, we’re all taking bets on how hard she’s going to make you suffer when you do find her.”

“Gee, thanks.” He felt the plane touch down and closed his eyes. He hated this part of flying. He had no idea why it bothered him so much, but there it was.

When they were cleared to leave the plane, he wasn’t surprised to see his entire family there waiting for him. But the only one he had eyes for was his favorite girl.

“Hello there, love.” He picked up Abby and held her to him. She smelled like panther and baby powder. He smiled when she hugged him with her chubby little arms. Little Khan yanked on his pant leg and he picked him up too. George simply walked with them as if he didn’t want any part of the three of them. But Reed knew that the little guy loved him too. Monica took Abby and Khan when he started for his luggage.

“We’re having dinner at our house tonight, then tomorrow we’re going over to the new house and try to make some sense of the things Mom and Dad had delivered.” His dad huffed at Monica. “You’re the one that wanted us to help you. I would just as soon stay out on the deck and pester you from there.”

“I’ve never seen so much furniture in my life. I don’t know why we had to have all new.” Reed covered his mouth when his mother rolled her eyes. “We already had the bed and dressers. Why’d you have to go out and get something else?”

“Because, you old fool, I’m starting over. I can very well do that with a new mate too if you don’t learn to shut up. Now, grab that bag there and let’s get going. I, for one, am excited about tomorrow, and unless you want me to make you do something we both know you won’t care for, then you’d better start thinking before you speak. I’ve got my family here now and I’m ready to keep them here.”

They’d been having this same argument for years. If it wasn’t something new, it was something that Mom had bought because whatever it had been was broken. Dad, of course, thought that everything could be fixed eventually and stored it in the garage. Lately, Mom had been, he knew, simply tossing the broken whatever and purchasing a replacement. She’d told him that the garage was full enough, thank you very much.

As soon as they were all loaded up, he turned to Khan. “I have to go by the house first. I’ve got some stuff going on there and want to see how it’s progressing. I’ll drive over. It shouldn’t be but an hour tops.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll hang out with you.” He looked at his brother oddly. “I want to talk to you about something. I’ve got…I just need to talk to you about it alone.”

Reed nodded and tried to think what the hell could be so important that he wanted to speak to him alone. He watched his house come into view as they pulled into the drive, and smiled. Christ, this was going to be perfect.

Chapter 2

“What do you mean, I’ll have to figure it out on my own?” Kerry looked at the orders she’d been handed when they left the office, then back at Russ McCall. “It’s my first day. How the hell am I supposed to figure it out on my own?”

“You want to be a line person, you are going to have to figure it out by yourself. I’m not going to be a babysitter for you. You women should just answer the phone and let us men do the labor. Why the fuck do you want to be out here anyway?” He looked at her from his perch in the cab of the company truck. “I heard tell from Kline that you made a hell of a lot of money selling this shit. I’m thinking if you’re so high and mighty on selling, you should have no problems installing it for your clients.”

He’d made “client” sound like a dirty word. She stood there for a minute wondering why the hell she’d been assigned to him, when she knew that she was supposed to be with someone else. Marvin had called her last night and told her he’d set it all up for her. Now she had this man. And she knew for a fact, because she’d taken some of the calls, that he was the worst installer they had out there.

Gathering up the things she needed, or in this case thought she needed, she went to the house. There was a note on the door from the customer telling them to knock loudly, that they were in the basement. She looked back at Russ when he told her to get back to the truck.

“Come on, we’re done here. We don’t have to do anything special for them. They want it, they should have put it on the order.” She knocked hard on the door. “Mother fuck. Do you know that if they aren’t home or don’t answer we can get off early? And still get paid? Well, you little bitch, you really are on your own.”

He started the truck and pulled out of the drive. She was still staring at him when the woman came to the door. What the fuck was she supposed to do now?

“Hello. Thank so much for knocking so I can hear you. You’ve no idea how many times I’ve set this appointment up only to have missed the man.” She opened the door. “Oh my, you’re a girl.”

“Yes, ma’am, I am. I’ve just…I need to make a call.” She reached into her pocket only to remember that she’d left her things in the truck. She turned back to the woman and smiled. Now what?

The line had been delivered yesterday, so she had that. And thankfully the books she’d been given were an easy read for her…all of the manuals and such to take her test after her first week. She was glad now she’d taken the time over the weekend to read them over so she’d have at least some idea what she was doing.

The line was a lot heavier than she’d thought it would be, but she managed to get it up the pole, only dropping it twice. By the time she’d gotten herself up the stupid thing three times, she was glad that she’d taken everything from the truck with her, because she was going to die if she had to do this again.

After an hour she finally thought she had it hooked up. Coming down the pole was a great deal scarier than going up, as she had to make herself hold tighter because she was getting exhausted. Moving to the side of the house, the customer, Mrs. Mills, came out with a bottle of water.

“I saw you up there and couldn’t believe how amazing you looked. How long have you worked for the cable company?” Kerry looked up at her and smiled. “A while I bet. You look like it.”

She nodded and told her ten years. “It was my first job and I loved it. There’s something so satisfying about helping out customers with their issues.”

After draining the bottle, she set to work hooking the cables to the house. Lucky for her the house had had cable before, so all she needed to do was hook up the house and make sure that the jacks were hooked to the televisions. This order had nothing but the basics on it, and she was thankful.

After another hour and a half, she was just checking the last television when another truck pulled into the drive. She didn’t bother seeing who it was because she thought it was Russ. When she started for the truck she saw Marvin leaning against it, frowning. Kerry turned back to Mrs. Mills.

“If you have any questions or concerns, please call the number on the order. And don’t forget to call and ask about the phone service we talked about. I think you might save a bundle with having that over the one you have.”

Mrs. Mills nodded and smiled, then looked at Marvin. “You her boss?”

Kerry looked over her shoulder, not realizing that Marvin had come up so close to them. He nodded and smiled.

“She did a great job today. I’m sure when you send her out on these new services that you know she’s going to do so, but I always try to make sure when I’ve had exemplary service I let someone know. I’m telling you now that I’ll get the rest of your products too because of her. Never had anyone so proud of their job before.”

“Thank you very much, ma’am. It’s always nice to hear good things about our employees.” He shook Mrs. Mills’s hand, then walked with Kerry back to his truck. “Where is Russ? And where is the truck?”

“I don’t know to either question.” She rolled the large roll of wire to the side of the house and began gathering her tools. “He said that he had…fuck him. I’m not going to try and cover for him. He left me here when we first got here. Said that Kline told him that I was making great money, and that he couldn’t figure out why a woman was trying to do his job. I’ve not seen him since.”

Marvin nodded. “So you did this all on your own without calling anyone? I don’t suppose it occurred to you to call the office and let someone know.”

She dumped her bag on the back of the truck and turned to him. “And just how was I supposed to manage that? By smoke signals? I wasn’t worthy of touching the precious cell phone, and he took mine with him. My lunch and my water too. I don’t know what the fuck I would have done had she not given me….” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’d like very much for someone to tell me if I’m fired or not.”

“Why would I fire you?” She shrugged and got into the truck. He started it up and moved out of the drive before he continued. “Russ showed up at another site this morning, bragging to the other tech that he’d left you high and dry. He told the other man that he hoped you’d fail and then him and Kline were going to celebrate. What did he say about Kline?”

“He said that I had to figure it out on my own, that he wasn’t a babysitter. He said that as a woman I should just answer the phone and let the men folk do the labor. He said that he’d heard from Kline that I was a top seller basically, and that since I sell so much that I should be able to install it.” She leaned her head back against the seat. “I’m done and starved. I only had the one install today that I’m aware of.”

“It was all I wanted you to do on your first day with David. But since you were with Russ, he had a great many more. I’m taking you to the office so you can report him.” She started to shake her head when he told her to hush up. “You’re not the first tech to have him do this to them. The last female we hired simply quit, and it wasn’t until a month later that we heard he’d done about the same to her. I don’t want him out here any longer, and I would like it if you’d help me with that.”

She leaned back against the seat and thought about it. When she looked up again, he was pulling into a restaurant. Kerry had no money, but a fat juicy hamburger with all the trimmings sounded so good. When he pulled into a parking place, she reached for his hand when he started to get out.

“I can’t do this. Not only do I have no money but….” She looked out the window. “I went to see my dad yesterday. He’s broke again. Well, he’s not now, but now I am. The power guy showed up as I was getting out of my car and I told him that this was it. I mean it this time. I’m buying me a house and keeping all my money for me.”

“It’s about time you learned to tell them to screw off.” She shrugged, and he got out and told her to come with him. “This is my treat. I missed your birthday this year and I’ll buy you lunch. Oh, by the way, I have your bag and phone.”

“I didn’t have a birthday yet this year.” He handed her the cell phone as well as her bag. He didn’t stop walking, and she had to run to keep up with him. “Marvin, I can’t afford this even if I just got paid. Come on, I’ll let you buy me a burger at the place down the street.”

He stopped so suddenly that she bumped into him. When he turned to her, she knew that something more than lunch was going on. She looked at the front of the place then back at him. It took her a few minutes but she got it.

“Christ, they’re here, aren’t they? The big wigs are here and I’m going to report him now?” He nodded. “Damn it all to hell, Marvin, this is not fucking funny.”

“When the prospective owners found out what happened today, I had…damn it, Russ was bragging about what he’d done to you in front of the lawyer and one of the family that bought us. Mr. Bowen immediately called his brother. He was not a happy person. We were supposed to be out on a grand tour and I was going to show them what an amazing group we had out in the fields and on the phones.” He moved to the door and stood holding it open. “Kerry, I don’t have to tell you what happens if this deal falls through. We’re about the only independent cable company in the world, and they want to own us. Without them, we’re toast. And they want to talk to you.”

She looked at him, then back at the truck. She knew that the equipment they had was going to shit. Hell, she’d had to pay for most of the things she’d used on her own desk because there had been no money. She nodded at him, and they entered the very nice restaurant.

~~~

Khan glanced at his brother as the man and woman came across the room toward them. Sebastian had met the man and Khan had only spoken to him. Marvin seemed to be a good man and had been very pissed when he’d figured out that a new hire had been left on his own.

He stood up, realizing that maybe this person was the tech that was left on her own. “I thought you said his name was Kenny. She does not look like any Kenny I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s because I said her name was Kerry. Kerry Stephens. Do you ever listen to me?” Khan shook his head and put out his hand for the two of them to shake. The girl looked at his hand a long while before she took it.

“This is Kerry, the woman that had been left to finish the job on her own. I can’t tell you again how sorry—” Khan lifted his hand and asked them to have a seat. “I spoke to the customer and she said that Kerry had done a fantastic job, and that she was going to get the rest of our services as well. I’m happy to report that even though it could have been very bad, it turned out very well. This time.”

Khan nodded. “I’m Khan Bowen and this is my brother Sebastian. He’s the one that convinced the family to buy your company and try to make a go of it.” He looked at the girl, who seemed more interested in her phone than him. He cleared his throat and she handed the cell to Marvin.

“I’ve been working for Friendly Cable for ten years, and I’ve never worked for a better company. What happened today was a mistake, plain and simple.” They both glanced over at Marvin when he said “fuck” very quietly. “I’m sure that Russ McCall thought he was doing me a favor by having me do this on my own, and I’m grateful to him for the experience.”

Sebastian laughed and Khan had to try really hard to keep from joining him. He wasn’t sure how long she’d been practicing that, but it was the biggest pile of bullshit he’d ever heard.

“I see. And right now you’d go right back out there and work alongside this man again?”

She glanced at Marvin and took back her phone. When she stood, so did the three of them. “Look, I know he’s a fuck up. When I was a customer service rep, I’d get four or five calls a week on his shitty attitude as well as his work. But you shouldn’t let that keep you from buying out this company.” She picked up her bag, and he nearly asked her where the hell she was going when she spoke before he could. “I’m…I have to give you my notice as of right now. I’m sorry, but…I’m sorry.”

She was out the door before any of them could comment. Khan nodded to Sebastian, and he took off after her. Marvin looked like someone had hit him between the eyes with a large two-by-four as they both sat down.

“I don’t know…well, I know but I don’t understand.” Marvin looked at him. “She’s the only person that’s kept us floating for the last six months. Her sales have been nearly three quarters of what everyone else in the office sells. Her family…she has had to deal with her family for all of her life and they are getting worse all the time, and now she’s gone.”

“Her family? What is it they are doing to her that she’d need to quit this job? I thought…it was my understanding that she loved working for you.”

“She does, and I’m sure that hasn’t changed, but….” Marvin looked to the front of the restaurant when the door opened and the shouting started. “You’ll understand in a moment, I’m sure.”

The older man was simply standing there. Khan’s first thought was that he looked like a beaten dog with his tail between his legs. But the woman and the younger man standing there had his full attention when he realized that Sebastian was holding the woman back as they both tried to get to Kerry. He stood up and went to them and whistled. All of them stopped shouting and looked at him.

“What the hell is going on here?” He flushed when he realized the entire restaurant was staring at them. “Let’s take this to my office, where we can get this settled.”

“She won’t fucking give me any money to pay the rent.” Khan looked at Kerry and back at the screaming woman. “She’s selfish and mean, and I don’t understand why she just doesn’t give it to me.”