The Crew by Andrew Barrett

Author:Andrew Barrett [Andrew Barrett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Ink Foundry
Published: 2022-04-26T00:00:00+00:00

PART FOUR

Chapter six

The Groupie

I couldn’t help myself. I said to myself, “Shannon, grab him with both hands!”

Ever since the first day I met him – in a Starbucks car park – I’ve known that he was the man for me. He wasn’t the best-looking man I’d ever seen, not by a long way. But he had something that none of the others had: he had presence, and he had something I struggle even now to put my finger on; I think it’s something like selfishness but it’s not quite, if you see what I mean.

He knows what he wants, and he goes balls-out to get it.

He told me, over the course of the next few weeks, that he was a builder and I saw no reason to suspect otherwise – I always thought he was being honest with me. He had a wonderful southern accent that held me captive, and I just wanted to be with him every minute of every day.

And the days when we were apart turned me into some kind of rubber woman – wait, that sounds completely wrong! Not a rubber woman, as such. I mean I was turned to jelly; I was useless, couldn’t concentrate on anything, and was practically paralysed until the next time I saw him. And this was a regular thing – I only came to life when we were together. Yes, I’m aware how pathetic that sounds. I’ve never been a romantic, but it only takes being with one person, the person you’re meant to be with, to change how you look at life and how your brain functions.

I work for the police as a personnel officer. It’s a shit job no matter how glamourous it might sound. I look after timecards for officers and staff and I monitor our computer programs to make sure time off and annual leave has been correctly implemented. And I take internal calls from those officers and staff and I become their doormat as they vent their anger at me.

I hate my job.

I always thought I’d join the force just so I could jump into CSI one day. I always fancied wearing those white suits and going into murder scenes and… well, whatever it is they do. I longed for the status, I suppose, maybe the glamour too – that job really is glamourous!

I know there’s a long queue to get in there, but I had the advantage over most of those who’d apply for a CSI role – I worked with the police already, had been through vetting and knew the structure, the procedures, and the policies. All I had to do was book some time with CSI as an attachment and it would bump my application up another couple of levels.

When I met Nelson all thoughts of a stupid fucking career vaporised.

And it was inevitable that we’d get around to talking about careers. That particular conversation happened a lot later than I expected it to. He seemed content to be with me whoever I was and wherever I worked.

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