"Well, that didn't go as planned," Jaxx shook his head as he drank water from his insulated tumbler.
We were back at the Green Room with Chino. I told them about what happened with Jacob over dinner. Jaxx also told us with his talk with Leon, which also was not in our favor.
"Not at all," I agreed, pressing my second ice pack on my shoulder. "But the tiny bits of info Jacob said and the long, unsafe walk back here gave me the clarity that was so elusive for the past months. It suddenly dawned on me how this thing would end. The ace of spades is still out there. I think I know who he is."
"Oh, hell, here we go. St. Joseph of Cupertino, I beseech you, helps us with this new 'enlightenment' Ace is talking about," Chino said sarcastically, making air quotes.
"Shut up, you whiny chingk," I rolled my eyes at him. He pitched a half-empty water bottle at me, hitting me squarely at my chest.
"That's rude, confused Indio," he retorted.
"What the hell?" My eyes almost popped out as I gasped. "No, that was rude!"
"Okay, children, that's enough," Jaxx intervened.
It was not the first theory I threw at them, all of which had loopholes, but isn't that what brainstorming is about? Throwing in ideas and then discussing them to come up with a plan?
He gave me a bored look and a small condescending smile. "Okay, Ace, let's hear it. It's not like we have any alternative anyway."
But I already had a plan. I was pretty sure that this time, it was airtight. I leaned forward and looked at Jaxx hopefully.
What I was about to ask was going to hurt, but it had to be done. His smile dropped as he turned his head slightly, already regretting that he asked me to talk. He expected the worst would come out of my mouth, and he was not wrong.
"Jaxx, I need you to ask for a favor."
♤
Tuesday morning, I received another resignation letter. This time, it was from Karen. When I asked for her, HR informed me that she had taken an emergency leave starting yesterday afternoon.
Jaxx also went on leave as part of our plan. Chino, who was initially doubtful of my theory and plan, finally came around and agreed to pull some strings and do some dirty work for me, too.
I still could not reach Brigs, and I was more than confident that wherever he was, he was in trouble. The news did not bring up his death yet. But then again, why would they?
I had been restraining myself from going down to IT, but IT came to me in the form of Bart.
"Ace, dude. You need to convince that idiot Joe to stay," he said as he made himself comfortable on the sofa.
"What about Karen? What should I do with her?"
"What about her? Is she resigning, too?"
"Yep. Got her resignation this morning. What's going on down there?" I frowned.
"Aish! Karen, though I like her bubbly personality, just let her go. She's causing too much drama. Did you know she hates Felicity because she's jealous that Joe spends too much time with her? She's a freaking diva, man, and she's not even that hot," he grumbled, shaking his head in disapproval.
"So if she were that hot, it would have been okay?" I raised an eyebrow at his reasoning.
"It would have been okay for a couple of months. But she's been at it for what, two years?" he clucked his tongue. I chuckled.
YOU ARE READING
Of Kings and Aces
RomanceWhat does it take to change the course of a person's life? One small, seemingly trivial decision. For Jacob, it was when he decided to play a game of poker in a new city he was supposed to call home for the next few years. But he was at the wrong...
