TWENTY FOUR: SWEET JUSTICE

Fuck.

I had room full of eyes boring into me, and about a millisecond to explain that bitch’s warped mindset. I’m killing the contract- I’m saying what I want, when I want- stuff Brian.

“What is the meaning of this, AJ?”

If I knew, I wouldn’t be sitting here, would I?

I still don’t get why they’re asking me these questions. I may be the topic, but I sure as hell didn’t cause it.

“She had a bad case of PMS, what can I say?” I shrugged.

A cough from Brian. Smirk on Nick, disappointment on Kevin’s brooding features and I can’t even begin to describe how D looked.

“This isn’t a free for all, Mr McLean. You’re career is at stake”

Why the fuck do you care what she says about me?! I didn’t do jack to her, she brought it on herself”

“Unless you can rectify this situation with some sort of reasonable explanation, there will be no career!”

Silence. Now that’s definitely something unheard of. I could feel each set of those eyes piercing into me, sort of like they wanted me to die a long-winded and painful death.

“Look, I’ve got better things to do than discuss a stupid article that some reporter wrote about me, ‘cause she had PMS, okay?”

Of course I didn’t tell them she had PMS 366 days a year, eight days a week, twenty five hours a day. But then, who the hell cared?

Eric leaned over, smoke rings spiralling out of the cigar he clenched in his mouth; I could almost hear his teeth grind the cigar, his rage, controlled and lurking beneath his authoritarian figure.

What? Am I supposed to be intimidated? Get real.

“Unless you want to say goodbye to your career, I suggest you talk less crap and more sense”

More sense? I wish it made sense. Just as I was about to offer my two cents worth on where I thought he should put his mouth- Kevin spoke up.

“You slept with her, didn’t you?”

Know it all. I just know he was one of those goody-two shoe jocks who were celebrated for adding one and one together.

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business”

“Fuck, AJ”

A profanity from Kevin’s mouth- Ohh… dangerous. Geez, I’m shaking.

“Give it up, man, we know you slept with Minerva”

“What business is it if I did or not?”

“You didn’t did you?” Geezuz, even Brian’s on my fuckin’ case now. Doesn’t anyone mind their own goddamn business anymore?

“Okay, so I did, does that make me criminal?”

I could hear the cogwheels in their minds turning, their eyes burning with fresh fury, tearing into me like I was a witch to be burnt at a stake.

“We were fuckin’ drunk, okay, it’s not like I wanted it- it just happened…“

Here we go- launch the taunts. Murmurs all around, Nick slapped me on the back, Brian shook his head in disappointment, Kevin muttered under his breath (I know he’s gonna fuckin’ blow in a minute) and D- he just walked right out.

He fuckin’ walked out. I couldn’t believe it.

“Why? What possessed you? Were you insane? Don’t you kno-“

“Look, I still don’t see why it’s any business of yours- we fucked, big deal”

“This is different, Alex”

“Don’t you go parental on me, only my mother-”

“Fuck, AJ, don’t you see?” Kevin reprimanded like I was ten. I hate that about him. “Thank god she wasn’t a fuckin’ whore, but-“

She sure could be, if she wanted to- wait, she couldn’t- with her dirty attitude, she wouldn’t be able to get any business.

“…she was an employee, it’s that simple. What did management tell you about sleeping with goddamn employees?!”

“She was a reporter n-“

“Then that should have been the signal, AJ! For a goddamn minute, stop thinking about your fuckin’ libido and take some damn responsibility!”

Well. That shut me up. I had no words of retaliation, no words of remorse. I was numb with thought, robbed of dialogue.

Gawd, I needed a smoke.

So I lit one up.

Eric emerged from the dark all of a sudden, his face placid. I could almost taste the bitter cigar he had crushed with his decaying teeth while he glanced at Kevin, now pacing up and down the room, then back at me. He was not happy to say the least.

“Well, I feel we could have dealt with that differently, but it looks like Kevin’s taken the problem in his own hands”

Kevin’s blue eyes flickered over at Eric, then at me; he looked so damn disappointed, like I was his son and I had started rooting for the Giants instead of the Green Bay Packers.

It didn’t last a moment more- he walked out, just like D did, the slam of the door chilling the hostility in the room.

“Well then,” Eric leaned forward and examined me, like I was some sort of parasite under a microscope. “Management needs to deal with this issue, so I suggest you speak up, Mr McLean” the smoke stung my eyes as he continued to tear me apart with each word. Determination etched on his squinty eyes, and I knew my days of denial were numbered.

Deck the bloody halls- Minerva, the witch is freakin’ dead.


I dialled the digits.

“Ritz Carlton, how may I help you?”

“Put me through to Prescott, Minerva” I growled.

“Please hold”

Fuck. Did I tell you I hate waiting?

“Sir? A Ms M. Prescott checked out early this morning”

Shit. I stubbed out the cigarette. “Thanks”

“Have a good day sir”

Lousy hotel.

“Yeah”

Epitome of a bad man? Epitome my ass- she’s fuckin’ insane!

I dialled another number. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Four rings. Four and a half.

“Jake Reed, Orlando Herald”

“Put me through to Minerva Prescott”

I heard a snicker, followed by a snide chuckle.

“You must be the jackass that pissed her off”

Dirty bastard.

“And you must be the dirt bag who wants his shit kicked”

“Ooooh, I’m scared… a Backstreet Boy is going to kick my ass”

“Put me on to Prescott”

My patience has had it- it was a thin line between ‘mad’ and ‘rage’, and at the moment, it veered toward the extreme red.

“Can’t. She’s been fired”

Fired? …the hell?

“What do you mean, she’s fired?”

“Laid off, sacked, retrenched-“

Smart arse, eh? “I know what it means, dickhead”

He chuckled snidely. Again.

“You two are made for each other- something must have crawled up both your asses and died” he commented, laughing before I heard the dial tone.

Dick.

But Minna fired, eh?

Serves her right.

Guess justice does prevail after all. 

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