Page 15 of The Bathhouse
Chapter Three
Reed yawned, stretched, propped himself on an elbow, and looked at the empty space beside him.He missed Joseph, but it couldn’t be helped.How would it look if Joseph were seen leaving his room?Impossible.Reed had an image to keep up.His reputation had to be maintained.People thought of him in a certain way, and he wanted to make sure they continued to think of him in that way.
The clock said 9:00 am.Cursing himself for oversleeping, Reed called Dave Torres, the supervisor at Barton Call Center, and arranged a meeting for 11:00 am.His next call was to room service.By the time he finished his breakfast and showered he had just enough time to get to the call center.
All the cubicles were occupied with representatives providing support to customers.Reed passed Joseph’s workstation without acknowledging him and went straight to Torres’ office.Reed’s usual M.O.was to get unpleasant tasks over with as soon as possible.He took a breath, knocked once, and walked in.
Torres hurriedly hung up the phone and stood to greet Reed, who nodded curtly and took a seat.
Torres shifted some papers on his desk.“After yesterday’s meeting, I took the initiative to --”
“How long have you been working here, Dave?”
Dave looked up surprised.“Two years as a representative.Three as manager.”He offered up a toothy smile.“I used to work at a paper business, but it folded.”
Reed ignored the joke.“What are your responsibilities as manager?”
Torres’ smile disappeared.“I recruit and train employees, as well as oversee their work.”
“Go on.”
Torres’ reply came straight from the employee handbook.“Well, it’s my responsibility to maintain systems and procedures that will ensure a safe, secure, and legal work environment.”
“And do you consider keeping the office open during the pandemic maintaining a safe environment?”
“Who told you that?”
“It doesn’t matter.You disobeyed orders.”
“Business would have gone down the tubes.”
Reed tried to remain calm.It wasn’t easy.“We would have come back better than ever.”
Torres started to stutter.“It wasn’t just my idea.The reps wanted to work.They needed the money.I did it for them.”
Now Reed smiled.“To err is human; to blame someone else shows management potential.Now that’s a joke.You’re fired.”
* * *
Dave Torres’ jaw dropped.He had never expected this, not in a million years.Torres had gotten used to running things as he saw fit.And why not?Barton spent most of his time in the States.He didn’t have to deal with the everyday bullshit.
I’m the one who kept things going during the pandemic and made a nice profit for the company, and myself.The arrogant bastard should be thanking me and giving me a bonus.
The employees and team leaders weren’t complaining.Of course, they were too afraid of losing their jobs.So who the hell let the cat out of the bag?
Suddenly it hit him.He’d seen Barton talking to Joseph Castro.It had to be him.Bastard.Walking around here like he was better than everyone else.Well, we’ll see about that.
* * *
Most of Joseph’s day was going fine.He wasn’t happy that Reed had walked by his station and ignored him, but he understood.Sighing, he got up and went to the restroom.He stopped in the break room for coffee, and one of the men asked him a question.Before he knew it, his entire break was gone.
Annoyed, he returned to his cubicle.It appeared that Reed had already left.Torres had gone, as well.He hoped they hadn’t left together.It would be just like Torres to try to ingratiate himself with the boss.Yes, he was doing the same thing, but he and Reed had a history.
He didn’t have time to think about it.Service calls were already waiting for him.He answered the next several calls and then had a free moment, so he went for his phone.Maybe Reed had texted or called.
The phone wasn’t in the drawer where he usually kept it.Maybe he’d left it in his backpack.No luck.He looked in his pockets, and then checked all the desk drawers.
Damn.He’d definitely brought it to work, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen it.Had it fallen out of his pocket on the way to the office?Or maybe it had been stolen.
