Sidetracked by Lola Karns

Author:Lola Karns
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lola Karns
Published: 2020-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

JAMES DROVE TO THE hardware store over lunch to purchase a second fire extinguisher. After paying, he walked to his car. A weird gleam on the driver side door caught his eye. Abraham Lincoln’s shiny copper head judged him from the spot where his key should go. He touched it, but the penny refused to budge. A clear drop trickled from below. “Glue. On the rental.”

He spun on his heel and walked back in for rags and a bottle of something the clerk promised would remove sticky goo, and possibly the car paint too. He fussed with the stupid coin and rags for way too long, especially since he could have used the remote to open the door, but better to do the clean up before the glue fully set. The remover stunk up the car. His gag reflex kicked in and his forehead grew clammy. Not only did he not have time for lunch, but he’d lost his appetite anyway. Mostly. He managed to chop down a handful of Tums.

In the office parking lot, a woman in a red suit shoved a microphone in his face as soon as he closed the car door.

“Jenny Patricio, Channel Ten. Why did you cancel the train display?”

“No comment.” Not the cleverest retort. He picked up speed as he spied another person walking toward him. The security tag worked to let him in the building, but in case some clever person tried to sneak in behind him, he pulled the door closed. At the click, his shoulders relaxed. In another day or two this would all blow over.

In his office, he spread files on his desk to prepare for next in-depth departmental review. But the phone kept ringing and Grace kept putting people through. She didn’t vet his calls well. He tried calling the home office PR staff, but the secretary informed him everyone else was at a training seminar. She promised to pass on the message. Clearly no-one in the home office understood the urgent level of chaos he faced. If he got through this smelling like a rose, he deserved to become partner, no matter what the numbers looked like. He flipped through the report, unable to focus. He had to go to the top, even though on this matter he supposedly was the top. Nope. He needed his father.

“James, what can I do for you? Did you find a buyer this soon?”

“No, Sir. Did you see the press release I sent out?”

“Let me pull it up.” A pause stretched out. James bounced his leg to the tapping in the background. “Looks like a good cost cutting move.”

“It is, but the locals are up in arms. A camera crew accosted me in the parking lot.”

“So you say ‘no comment’ and keep walking. I don’t understand the problem.”

“The blowback is— “

“Settle down. I’m disappointed in you. You sound like a whiny child and frankly, if you can’t handle a bunch of unhappy people in a hick fly-over town, you’ll never be able to run with the bulls.

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