Illicit Affairs

Chapter 5

Staring at my watch yet again, I tapped the toe of my high heel onto the pavement outside of the drivers/owners lot.

"Has anyone heard from William?" I asked my three remaining drivers.

"No. Not since this morning." Chase replied. Alex and Kyle just shrugged their shoulders noncommittally.

"What about Jeff?" I asked, getting basically the same response.

I was really getting fed up. The level of disrespect was unbelievable. Knowing that I needed to get on better footing with my drivers, I made a good will gesture of inviting them all to dinner at an upscale steak house. My treat. The response I got was rather lackluster.

Alex reminded me he doesn't eat red meat. Kyle stated he was on a lean protein low carb and low fat meal regimen. I replied that there were several seafood options to which William stated he was allergic to seafood. Through gritted teeth and a tight smile I told him he could always order the grilled chicken and to alert the server of his food allergies. Although I was tempted to throw back that he could probably order chicken tenders off of the kids menu since he was being such a child, but I kept that snarky thought to myself. Hell, they were all acting like children. Except for Chase anyway.

The restaurant I chose had a private dining room that I specifically requested. I thought it would be nice if we could air out our grievances in a nice, relaxed, neutral setting. I was willing to put my personal feelings aside and focus on keeping the team running like a well oiled machine. I had even arranged for a limo so that we could all ride together and if anyone wanted to indulge in a few cocktails, there would be no issues especially considering there was no on track activity for tomorrow.

I got my phone out and found William's contact information. He answered after several rings.

"Where are you? We are ready to go out to dinner." I asked him.

"I have a headache so Jeff said I didn't have to go." He replied.

I was fuming. How dare he.

About that time Jeff finally made his appearance looking about as excited as everyone else. I told William to hold on then turned to Jeff. "Why did you tell William he didn't have to come tonight?"

Jeff shrugged. "He had a headache."

"And you didn't think to let me know?" I asked.

"Sorry. I got busy." He replied with another shrug.

"Too busy to shoot me a quick text?" I was so tired of this disrespect.

"He has a headache." Jeff spoke slowly, as condescending as if he were speaking to a child.

"Oh man up and take some Tylenol. You would never survive as a woman. First sign of a menstrual cramp and you would be knocked flat on your ass." I snapped, my comment was mainly directed at William, who was still on the line.

"Give me a few minutes to shower and change, then I'll be ready to go." William said sullenly.

"Never mind, forget it. We will never make our reservation. Scrap the whole dinner idea. Mandatory team meeting on my bus in one hour. I suggest you find something to eat between now and then because it's going to be a long night. And by mandatory, I mean show up or you will be fined. Now William, do I need to bring you some Tylenol or Excedrin?" Ugh I was so angry right now.

He muttered a no, so I disconnected the call, then turned on my heel to catch up to Jeff, but not before I heard Kyle whisper to Alex "the little princess got her panties in a twist", to which Alex snickered.

I would address that later.

I finally caught up to Jeff.

"Don't ever try to undermine me again Jeff, especially in front of my team." I snapped.