Page 26 of Gross Misconduct

“You’ve known Jill a long time. What’s the deal with her family situation?”

“Did she actually tell you about that?” he asked, dipping a spoon into his oatmeal.

“A bit. I’m guessing it’s not something she talks about?”

Ethan shook his head. “Nope. Everything I know about Jill’s family came from Tang. Jill has never told me a thing, and it’s not like we’re chummy.”

I waited for him to elaborate, but he kept eating so I punched him in the arm. “What do you know?” I loved the guy, but he could be a bit dense.

“Right. Okay. Her dad left when she was two or three. I don’t think she remembers him at all. Her mom sounds like a piece of work. One of those types who didn’t want to be a mom. Tang seemed to think she got pregnant to keep the dude, but when he bolted, she got bored with being a mom. But who really knows. Tang met Jill in middle school, and they clicked immediately. After that, I think Jill spent more time at the Kildare house than she did at her own. Tangi’s family was good to her, but she still had to go home to her shitty mother. By the time I met Tang, they were already friends, and Jill didn’t like me much, though she doesn’t like many people.”

My parents couldn’t have been more different, and I couldn’t understand why her parents had been so bad. “Damn. Why do people do this to their kids?”

“Don’t know. But I do know Jill got a job the minute she could, would work full time and even worked full time when she was in high school. Guess she didn’t want to be around her mother. I think Tang told me that Jill’s mom had her paying bills and shit when she got that job, so the second she turned eighteen, she got a shitty apartment, but she was happy. Iremember helping her move some secondhand furniture, and the Kildares helped out with pots, pans, dishes, that kind of stuff.”

While he spoke, I ate my eggs and slice of whole-wheat toast, and digested what he was telling me. It squared up with what Jill had said. “That’s a rough life. Having no one who cares about you.”

“Tangi’s mom was like a second mom … or a real mom. She was a good influence on Jill. If she hadn’t been around, who knows how Jill would have turned out.”

“Yeah, but the damage was done.”

Ethan thought about that a moment and agreed.

We finished up breakfast, and a few of the guys started playing cards. It passed the time on flights around North America. Ethan and three other guys were playing a season-long Rummy tournament. Whoever had the most points by the end of the year won the pot of money they’d wagered. Sometimes I joined other card games, but most of the time I liked to read the paper, a good book, or take a nap. But today I was wide awake with Jill on my mind. I knew better than anyone that you couldn’t fix people, but maybe I could make things better for her. Maybe I could get her to have more fun. That’s if she would let me.

As our flight was beginning its decent into Denver, Ethan took the seat next to me and buckled in.

“How’s the game going?” I asked.

“I’m in second place, but it’s early days. Ask me in three months.” When I didn’t react, he spoke up again. “You still thinking about Jill?”

“No, not really. Maybe a little.”

Ethan sighed dramatically. “Do you like her?”

“No, of course not,” I said. “I’m just trying to figureit all out.”

“I get it. She’s hot. She’s also a mess. She’s a lot to deal with. You really want to get mixed up in that? You’re playing make-believe. It’s probably a good idea if you keep it that way.”

I had no idea what I was feeling. More confusion than anything else, and getting into a relationship with Jill was the last thing I wanted to do.

Chapter Fourteen

Jill

Ihad lunch scheduled with Tangi, but I had about an hour to kill, so I called Whitney into my office. My post about Jeremy had gone over well for the most part. There were a few negative comments, but that was to be expected. People would always find what he’d done despicable. But what surprised me most was that I’d quadrupled my following in less than a week, not that I’d had much of a following to begin with, but still. I kept up posting a few things here and there, all unrelated to Jeremy. I didn’t want to flood my content with him, and it was working. I added a few hundred followers a week. But now it was time to move into the next phase.

Whitney came in with a smile. Perhaps her recent raise helped with that. John, my predecessor and Mark’s bitch, hadn’t approved or sought any raises for the PR staff in two years. Two damn years! I’d gone to HR and demanded it, and it hadn’t taken long to come through, and that had me wondering if Clay had a hand in that. Was he telling all the Kodiak staff to keep me happy? If that was the case, someone needed to send the memo to Mark.

“What can I do for you, boss?”

She’d started calling me that in the sweetest way, and I’d grown to really appreciate Whitney. I closed the door behind her, and we sat down. “I have an idea that I’d like to run past you. I’d like for our team to write up a piece about me. Just a small thing to post on the website. It doesn’t need to be anything special. Just a way to introduce me as part of the team. In that piece I’d like to plug the rest of the PR staff. I’d like Meghan to write it, but I’m sure it will get to Mark. But do we care?”

Meghan, one of two staff we shared with the marketing department, was easily the most talented writer on the team. She wrote promotional material for the Kodiaks along with Gene, the other staff member we shared with marketing.

“I don’t see why not. I know Meghan pretty well, and she doesn’t even like Mark, so I’m sure we can get her to write a great piece. And it’s not something Mark can stop if it’s for our team.”

“Great. Would you mind talking to her about it? Maybe it’s something we could do next week.”

---