She was eager, which put the power in their hands. It was quite fun for Green as he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Senator Miller was used to getting what she wanted — and she wanted Green. The fact that she wasn’t getting exactly what she wanted when she wanted it was humorous to them all. She might talk a big game, but she was about as useful as a cotton ball in a rock fight.
Green waited . . . and then waited a bit more as call after call went unanswered.
After the fourth day of waiting, the senator had one of her lackies call Green to check on the status of their meeting. He ignored that call too.
After a solid week passed, a new lackey called, this one leaving a stern message stating that a meeting needed to be solidified. He ignored this call too, all the while grinning.
When ten days had passed since her first call, Green got a call from the president of the political action committee, saying there were issues needing to be addressed immediately. He didn’t answer that call either.
“Well, guys, I just got a call from the chief operations officer for the shipyard. He’s the father of the idiot kid who thinks he’s my boss there.” He paused and grinned. “You know the senator has called, then had two lackies call, then the president of the political action committee was unleashed on me. They’re all eating out of the palms of my hands, and none of them can stand the fact I’m not responding — especially the senator.”
“What did the COO have to say?” Chad asked.
They were all sitting around their table in their operations center, food getting consumed, Brackish typing away on his computer, and Eyes and Sleep cracking jokes. Smoke seemed bored, and Chad was rolling his eyes as he tried to rein in the unruly group. Although they might be unruly, they knew exactly when it was time to get serious.
Green looked smug. “The chief said there’s nothing on my schedule to prevent me from meeting with the senator. He didn’t threaten, but he made it clear I would meet with her.”
“Interesting,” Brackish said, looking up from his computer.
“Yep, he said I could take the time off work whenever, day or night, since she is a VIP,” Green said.
“Day or night?” Eyes said with a laugh.
“Yep, looks like someone’s gonna take one for the team,” Sleep injected as he leaned back and smiled.
“Whatever, Sleep,” Green said. “I’m not taking anything anywhere for the team.” They all busted up.
“Is it putting out, or putting up?” Smoke asked between breaths of air as he held his stomach.
“How am I the mature one here?” Green asked, refusing to crack a smile, though it was difficult to hold back.
“None of us are the gigolo in this situation,” Sleep said.
“I do have to say the pressure for us to meet is insane,” Green said.
“That’s because she wants your hot bod,” Eyes told him.
“It is an incredible body,” Green said as he flexed.
“It’s nothing like this one,” Smoke said, standing up and doing a full spin for them before he flexed and kissed his massive bicep.
“Oh, Smoke, how I want you,” Sleep said in a girlie voice as he fluttered his lashes.
Eyes stopped laughing long enough to get serious. “Okay, okay, enough of Green’s bedroom tangles. We’ve made Senator Miller wait long enough. Go ahead and schedule the meeting.”
“You got it,” Green replied. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to the two lackies who’d been repeatedly dinging him; Friday between five and eight will work. He smiled. Senator Miller would be ticked that he was dictating the time as if he was busier than she was.
Brackish looked up, his face now serious as well. “They’ll pat you down and wand you before you’re allowed to meet the senator. I have the perfect undetectable devices they can’t possibly find with their shitty equipment.” His total disdain of anybody else’s technology was amusing.
“Perfect,” Green replied as his phone dinged. He looked up with a satisfied smirk. “They are hot to meet. I already have a reply from both of them. We’re confirmed for Friday at 1900 hours at The Pink Door downtown.”
“Mmm, isn’t that next to a nice cozy hotel?” Smoke asked.
“Yep, he’s definitely taking one for the team,” Sleep replied, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back.
“Bite me,” Green said.
“Nope, I think that’s the senator’s job,” Smoke said. “I have much more sophisticated tastes than your leathery skin.”
Before Green could reply, Brackish piped in. “What if your boss makes you work late?” His mock serious tone made the men chuckle and Green growl. He hated that kid. “Has there been a weekend yet that he hasn’t tried to get you to work? I think he might also have a crush on you. Maybe he, the senator, and you can all go out together.”
“I’ll hook you up with that if you want,” Green said, turning it right back on his teammate. “I’m pretty sure I’m getting a promotion. Now that the word’s out that I’m being courted by a US senator, it seems my talents are being requested in other areas of the company. I think this goes even deeper than we imagined.”
“Yeah, this is going to be fun to bring down. I like leaving nothing more than a pile of ashes,” Eyes said, the glint of combat in his eyes. They’d all served a lot of missions but doing this one without their hands tied was their favorite.
“My lovely boss, Andrew, told me the other day that he didn’t think I was ready for a move as there was so much more for me to learn,” Green scoffed. “As if there’s an art to stacking boxes.”
“Hey, don’t knock a good job,” Sleep said. “I stacked many boxes in my younger days and a paycheck is a paycheck.” He was still smiling but there was truth to his words. They’d all done their share of less than desirable jobs. They were all grateful to have had employment.
Chad chimed in next. “You do have a lot to learn about this business,” he said, smiling.
“What?” Green asked, confused. Chad knew this was a fake job. Chad knew what Green’s bank account was — and it was large.
“Yep, if you work hard and put your nose to the grindstone, you might just make it from assistant management into senior assistant management. There are rungs on the ladder you can’t skip so take your time and don’t do everything at once.”
The room went utterly silent for a moment as Chad’s words processed. He normally didn’t joke with the team. He let them blow off steam but when he spoke it was almost always with a purpose, so they were stunned into silence before they erupted.
“Good one, Chug,” Smoke said. “I didn’t think you had a sense of humor.”
“I could school all of you,” Chad told them.
“That’s because you’re ancient,” Sleep said. “Unlike us young, strapping studs.”
“I’ll take you on any day of the week,” Chad said with a laugh.