The Pursuit of Other Interests: A Novel by Jim Kokoris

Author:Jim Kokoris [Kokoris, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Family Life, Humor & Satire, Humorous, Literary, United States, Humor, Contemporary Fiction, American, General Humor, Literary Fiction
ISBN: 0312365489
Amazon: B003WUYEDE
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2010-08-03T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The next day at the morning networking meeting, Charlie began to detect some not-so-subtle physical changes in Bradley Smith. While he was dressed in his usual 1980s standard-issue dark blue suit and statement-making tie, this time an eye-popping bright gold, he looked different. His face, usually ruddy and rough, had a pronounced orange tint, as if someone had applied a thin coat of paint to it but had run out around the ears. His hair also seemed to be transitioning from silver to an odd reddish brown and looked, very much, like a squirrel’s fur in autumn. His eyes too were different. While Charlie had never noticed their color before, he was almost positive they had never been emerald green.

“Morning, there, Charlie!” Bradley said when the meeting broke up. His voice was miraculously the same, deep with the hint of a West-Texas-oil-fields twang.

“Morning, Bradley.” Charlie gathered his things, not sure if he should comment on this new look.

“I’d say it was a pretty good morning.”

“Why would you say that?” Charlie asked. They walked down the hallway to the kitchen, where Charlie poured himself a cup of terrible coffee.

“Got something cooking. Think it’s hot,” Bradley said.

Charlie deliberately trained his eyes on Bradley’s gold tie, which featured a series of tiny brown stains at the bottom, near the tip. He could not bring himself to look at his face. “Something cooking? Where?”

“Confidential. Don’t want to jinx it.”

“How did you get the lead?”

“Believe it or not, a recruiter set me up. First time he’s come through.”

“Good luck. I’m happy for you,” Charlie said, surprised that he meant it. Based on how he was disfiguring himself, Bradley, he deemed, had suffered long enough. He poured Bradley some coffee, then watched as he mixed in powdered creamer.

“You know, I have a good feeling about this one. I can feel this one, feel it,” Bradley said. “It feels right.”

“That’s great. Think you can feel me up a lead too?”

“Ha! You just got here. Let me go first.”

“Hey, when you get back to the real world, don’t forget your old buddies in the jungle.”

Rather than laugh, Bradley fell wistful. “Don’t worry. I won’t forget anyone,” he said quietly. “Or anything.”

Charlie studied him and noticed that the collar of his starched shirt was beginning to fray. “It’s been a long road, I bet, huh?”

“You have no idea. There’ve been times…” Bradley stopped and looked down at his coffee. “This is the one. It has to be. This one is mine. I’m going to get this no matter what. No matter what.” He broke out of his trance, smiled, and slapped Charlie on the back. “Maybe we’ll do lunch later,” he said.

“At the deli.”

“The deli is for losers,” Bradley said. “Someplace else.”

“Someplace else, then.”

Motivated by Bradley’s news, Charlie impulsively decided to relocate from the small salami office to the nicest office at Rogers & Newman, Office A. Charlie had had his eye on it for some time. It was large and airy, with a parquet floor, a leather couch, and an immense and gleaming old-fashioned mahogany desk.

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