C'est La Vie Ch. 03

Amy scoffed. "With me? You're the one who's been fucking that whore, Melissa, behind my back!"

"That's fucking bullshit and you know it!" he yelled into the phone. "I haven't slept with Melissa or anyone else the entire time we've been dating!"

"Oh, is that right?" Amy asked, her voice laced with sugar and venom "Then how is it that I saw you kissing her in that club of hers that night?"

Her word stopped him cold and he didn't say anything for a moment.

"You were following me?

Amy started yelling. "Yes and I saw everything. I was standing in the crowd while that girl went down on your whore-"

"Stop calling her that!"

"-while she sucked off those two other guys! Then I watched you kiss her before you went into the back room and fucked her!"

"I didn't go to the club to fuck Melissa!" Michael exploded. "I went to do one last job and say goodbye, because you didn't want me to see her anymore! I gave up one of my closest friends because I was going to ask you to marry me and I knew it was always be an issue for you! I gave her up because of you, you fucking cunt!"

"Morningkill!"

The sound of Shep's voice was like a shotgun blast that brought him back to reality. He turned and saw the entire editing staff standing there, all of them staring at him in shock. All of them except for a man in an expensive looking suit who was just watching him and Shep, his boss, who looked furious.

"My office! Now!"

Shep turned and said something to the man in the suit and then waved his hands at his editors, who all turned and filed into the conference room. Then he glared at Michael before walking to his office.

Amy was saying something, trying to get his attention but he wasn't listening.

"I have to go, I'm at work." He said quietly "I'll get all your things you left at the apartment and send them to you in a few days."

"Michael, wait, I'm sorry let's just talk abo-"

He pushed the "END" button on the phone then turned it off completely before putting it in his pocket. Closing his eyes and rubbing his hand over his face, he contemplated just how much shit he was in. When he opened his eyes again, the man in the suit was still watching him. It was disconcerting because there was something about his stare that made Michael think that the man was making a decision about him. That's when he realized that whatever this meeting today was about, it was something serious and the suit was in the middle of it.

Knowing that Shep was going to have his balls if he kept standing there, Michael moved quickly across the office to Shep's door and went inside. He started to say something but Shep cut him off before he could get the first word out.

"Whatever your problem is, I don't have time to deal with it right now. I've already gotten a call from Brooke about you and you know I hate talking to that bitch. She left a message saying she was going to talk to the building manager about your behavior. Normally I wouldn't care but strike two was you taking my coffee."

The blood drained out of Michael's face as he remembered Billy trying to take the coffee back from him. Now he understood why the coffee was so good. Shep always took his a very specific way and when he didn't get his coffee, there was always hell to pay.

He started to apologize but Shep cut him off again. "Unfortunately for you, that isn't the worst thing you've done today, which should let you know just how bad you've screwed up. Do you know who that is out there?"

Shep pointed out the door and Michael turned to see the suited man watching them from the far side of the office. He was leaned back against a desk and was talking to Billy, who was offering him a cup of coffee. But his eyes were looking over Kid's shoulder and staring at the two of them.

"I'm guessing he's not our lawyer."

"No, he's not our God damned lawyer. That's Dan Clarkson. He owns all the magazines we print."

This could only be Hell. Maybe he was still having a nightmare. He could feel a monster crawling around in his stomach and its name was Dread. He could imagine the feeling was much like waiting for the executioner's axe to drop on his neck.

"Shit."

"Eloquently put" Shep said, "and absolutely right. This meeting is my priority right now and you are going to stay right here, in my office, until I get done. I'll deal with you afterwards."

Shep moved past him to walk out the door and Michael turned after him. "Shep, I'm sorry about what happened, but I've got a lot I need to do today."

Shep turned on him, causing him to step back before he could get out of the office door. "You've done enough for one day. If you leave, then you can keep walking and not come back."

Michael didn't get a chance to reply as Shep turned, went over to Dan and said something. Then the two of them went into the conference room together and Michael was stuck standing there, feeling as if his entire world was on the verge of falling apart. Feeling exhausted from his world exploding in a matter of moments, he lay down on the floor in front of Shep's desk and stared up at the ceiling.

"Maybe I should have gone on vacation after all..."