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  “Yep, that’s how we train you.”

  Jeffrey nodded. I was doing the right thing. They’ll back me up.

  Donovan leaned forward, very serious now. “But…we have to remember the customer is always right too. You remember that golden rule in business, don’t you Walls?”

  “Well yeah but…”

  “Because if the customer does not feel taken care of they will not spend money with us and they will not come back to spend more money with us and they will not tell all their friends and family to come spend money with us.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So do you think that gentleman felt like he was being taken care of out there?”

  Jeffrey paused. What the hell? I was doing the right thing.

  Donovan raised his eyebrows, questioning.

  “Did you want me to take the double coupons? If we changed the policy, no one told me that,” Jeffrey replied.

  “Hell no!” Donovan’s chair squealed on its small plastic wheels.

  “Oh God no” came from Darryl.

  “What was I doing wrong?” Because I have no flippin’ idea what you are expecting from me. A headache formed in the front of Jeffrey’s head, compounded by the dreadful sound rolling in his ears.

  (tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick)

  “I want you to take care of the customer because they are always right.” Donovan flashed a mighty grin and ran his hands back through his thinning hair.

  “Even when the customer is wrong?”

  Darryl piped up from behind Jeffrey. “Especially when they’re wrong.”

  “Yes!” Donovan slapped his hand hard on the desktop. “Right on, Darryl.”

  He turned back to Jeffrey.

  “That’s when you show how strong you are, how hungry you are. That’s when you become the fucking animal.”

  Jeffrey was quiet. He wasn’t sure what to say. So he said: “I don’t understand.”

  “You see, Walls, I want every customer to feel that they’re always right when they walk into my store. If they feel they are ‘safe’, they will be more willing to open their pockets and dig deeper for that big money we want.” Donovan waved off Jeffrey’s objection. “Now we both know a customer being right all the time is complete bullshit. But a salesman who can impose his will on a customer can turn bullshit into gold. Right, Darryl?”

  “That’s right, boss.”

  “A salesman who has the ferocious, confident nature of a beast can silence the questions and insecurities of a paltry little piss ant customer. A customer would never ever question a beast. They would only accept what they are told, and trust that the beast is going to lead them to the promise land. Because, fuck it, customers are the weak animals. They are the ones coming to us for their needs. And I’ll be damned if they are going to dictate to us the terms of a sale.” Donovan pointed his finger at Jeffrey. “You must become an animal.”

  What the hell are they talking about? Jeffrey gazed at Donovan.

  Donovan reached into his desk and brought out a small folder. He flipped it open and began studying the contents.

  “You’ve been here going on six months, Walls. And you have been the bottom salesperson every single month.” The big man glanced up at Jeffrey and leaned back in his chair again. “Now I know you went to college and got a fancy pants engineering degree in whatever. But that don’t count for shit around here. They don’t teach you about the real world in college, about human nature. Look at me and Darryl. We didn’t go to college and we’re your boss, son.”

  Jeffrey nodded in agreement.

  Donovan continued. “College makes men into sheep. And sheep are weak animals. We have no need for sheep around here.” He leaned forward again. “I’m going to help you, Walls. I’m going to make you into something better. Because I don’t think you want to be a sheep all your life, now do you?”

  Jeffrey shook his head no.

  “No one ever does. It’s just the hand we’re dealt,” Darryl added solemnly.

  “That’s right, Darryl. It’s just the hand you’re dealt. I know you have had a hard couple of years, with your parents and all. But you can change all that. You can make yourself into the beast.”

  Donovan clasped his hands in front of him on the solid oak desk. “Look at Griffin. That young man is a tiger. Relentless and smart. He controls the customer’s whims from the get go and they have no idea what is happening to them. He’s a machine. He’s even fucking that good looking broad, whatever her name is.”

  “Allison.” Darryl again. Jeffrey perked up at the sound of her name.

  “Yeah, he has it all because he’s not a sheep. Now Darryl, Darryl is a bear. The wise old bear. Mean when he has to be but always watching and waiting. And when one of the cubs gets out of hand, he whacks the shit out of them and they get straight quick. And me…” Donovan grinned. “I’m the king. I’m the lion. And this store is my jungle and I control all of it. The lion is the boss. I bring all of you under my wing and protect you here in my store. But the store is only as strong as its weakest link. And you don’t want to be the weakest link, do you Walls?”

  Donovan clapped his hands together. Darryl stood up behind Jeffrey.

  “What kind of animal are you, Walls?” Donovan asked.

  (tick tick tick tick tick) The headache was getting worse. Jeffrey looked up at his boss and shrugged his shoulders.

  “I’m not sure, sir,” he squeaked.

  “Well, that’s okay. That’s fair. It’s a big step. A brash move, especially when you’ve been a sheep most of your life.” Donovan looked sympathetic. “Why don’t you think on it a bit? Observe Griffin and Darryl out on the showroom. Sleep on it. We can talk more later.”

  Darryl opened the door and Jeffrey got up to leave.

  “Oh one more thing, Walls,” Donovan added. “I hate asking this of you, but you are the lowest on the seniority ladder. The shitter is clogged again. Take care of it please.”

  Jeffrey nodded his head and looked at the floor as he walked out the door. Darryl clapped him on the back as he closed the door behind him.

  “Tick, Tick.”

  V.

  The showroom was quiet. Usually in the middle of the day, business slowed down as many people were on lunch breaks. Jeffrey was leaving the bathroom with the cleaning supplies and met Donovan heading in with a magazine under his arm. Donovan spent much of his lunch break on the can, reading whatever he could find, which usually consisted of whatever nudie book was lying around in the rear warehouse.

  Jeffrey walked towards the front of the store. It was time for his break but he had no appetite. Lack of sleep had also led to lack of hunger. Besides the protein shakes and what little bit of dinner he nibbled at home, he hardly ate anything throughout the week.

  He was getting ready to hop in his car and go for a drive when he heard his name being called.

  “Jeffrey!”

  It was Allison. She walked up to the car, a kind smile on her face.

  “Hey. Do you want to go to lunch with me?” Jeffrey was not sure if he heard right.

  “What about Griffin?” He shuffled his feet back and forth.

  “He said he has to run a bunch of errands and won’t have time for lunch today. We can go wherever you were heading. I just don’t have a ride and I’m starving.”

  “Okay.” Jeffrey opened the driver’s door and got in. He thumbed the lock switch and Allison jumped in next to him.

  “Wherever is fine,” she said. Jeffrey nodded and pulled out of the parking lot.

  They had Chinese for lunch. He wasn’t that big on Chinese but it was close and Allison had mentioned before how she loved it. They sat waiting for their orders. Jeffrey stirred the straw in his drink and looked at the paper placemat. He wanted to talk but had no idea what to say. Allison looked around the restaurant and waved at a few people she knew.

  “Work is so boring today.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” He did not realize she had spoken.

  “I said
work is so boring today.”

  Jeffrey nodded. “I think it’s boring every day.” Allison giggled at this and sipped her water.

  “I heard you studied architecture in college.” Her eyes were so blue and Jeffrey tried hard not to fall into them.

  “Yeah, fat lot of good it did me. I’m still paying off student loans for knowledge that I’m currently not using.”

  “I know how that feels. I studied art in college. I was going to be the world’s greatest painter. Now I’m the world’s most mediocre secretary.” Their food arrived and Allison dug into her beef and broccoli with relish.

  “I don’t think you’re mediocre.” Jeffrey hadn’t touched his food yet. He just sat looking at this beautiful woman who he very much wanted to hold.

  Allison smiled. “That was sweet of you to say. Whoa, Jeffrey Walls has got a sweet side.”

  Jeffrey smiled down at the table. “Don’t get an occasion to show it much.”

  Allison reached over and touched his hand lightly.

  “You should. It’s nice to see a man who knows how to treat a woman.” Jeffrey kept looking down at the table, hiding his blushing cheeks.

  “What kind of art do you do?” He looked at her now, wanting her to really see him.

  “I paint. I like drawing too but painting is my passion. I can really release a lot of things through my painting.”

  “That’s good,” he said. “It’s good to have something that is just yours and yours alone. To be able to….express yourself.”

  Allison licked her lips and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Yeah well, I need something. Working at Hi Tech isn’t the most emotionally rewarding thing ever. Especially with Darryl and Donovan running the show.” They both laughed. It was easy to laugh together. Comfortable.

  “Griffin hates art. He thinks it’s a weird hobby. He prefers video games and football.” Jeffrey shook his head.

  “He doesn’t strike me as the emotional type.”

  Allison smiled.

  Allison’s phone started to chirp from her purse.

  “Hello….Yeah, I’m having lunch…..with Jeffrey.” She paused while listening to the response. “Stop it, Griffin. That’s mean.” Jeffrey pretended to study his food.

  “Yeah, we’re at Chow’s. Okay, that’s fine. I love you, too.” He winced at the last line.

  Allison flicked off the phone. “That was Griffin. He’s going to swing by and pick me up.”

  “Hmm.”

  “This was really nice. We should do it again.” Allison smiled again. So beautiful. “Oh, I have to leave some money for the food.”

  “No, no.” Jeffrey waved her off. “I insist. It’s my treat.”

  Allison reluctantly put away her wallet. “Okay, but next time it’s on me.” There was a loud growl from outside as Griffin pulled up in his new Charger. He had bought the car a few weeks back with his largest commission check yet. It was bright yellow with black racing stripes. Jeffrey had to admit it put his Altima to shame.

  Allison got up from the table and headed out the door. “See you back there.”

  He watched as she ran to the car and jumped in the passenger side. Griffin kissed her hard, giving her a little bit of extra tongue just for Jeffrey’s benefit. Then he turned and pointed his fingers into a gun and shot it through the window at his nemesis. They both waved and Griffin drove off in a wail of rubber.

  Jeffrey pulled his wallet out and threw down some bills. He got up from the table and headed back to work.

  He never touched any of his food.

  (tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick)

  That night Jeffrey sat in front of his television. He flipped through the channels, stopping briefly at every one, not really seeing what was on the screen. He looked up at the clock hanging in the small kitchen. It was a little after 2 am.

  Jeffrey got up and pulled the weights and medicine ball from the closet. He began to do bicep curls in the middle of the room. Dressed in only his underwear, sweat began to drip down his lower back. He dropped the weights and started mountain climbers. His breath came in strong huffs as he pushed his body to the limit.

  Back off the floor, now it was jumping jacks. His head was pounding but in a good way. He could feel the blood pulse in his temples, almost in time with the sounds.

  (tick tick tick tick tick)

  He plopped back down to the floor and began pushups. On and on and on past 30, now 50, finally out of breath when he reached a hundred. He grabbed the towel from the floor and wiped the sweat from his face and chest.

  Back to bicep curls. He began noticing changes in his physique about two weeks ago. His arms were becoming muscular and more defined. His chest was also bigger and he began to see the beginnings of a six pack around his stomach. It made him feel good, these physical changes. He was a skinny, gangly kid in high school which carried over to college. Besides gaining the “freshman fifteen” his first year, he was still the same kid from earlier. His skinny build stood awkward when he was next to girls and especially next to other guys. The guys were all bigger than him, all athletes, the type the girls found attractive.

  Like Griffin.

  Jeffery began to shadowbox, something he only started doing this week. He punched his way around the living room, throwing jabs and overhands at imaginary opponents. And the opponents were always the same.

  Ulee’s face floated up in front of Jeffrey. He dispatched it with two left jabs and an uppercut. Peirce followed and was taken care of the same way. Donovan came into view and Jeffrey unleashed two strong left strikes and an uppercut to his boss’ chin. The big man slammed backwards and was replaced with Darryl.

  Jeffrey quick jabbed Darryl twice above the eye bringing blood into the older man’s vision. He stepped back and ducked in with two hard body blows and another round of jabs to the head. He was toying with Darryl, leading the man back and forth, directing him with his punches. And with each jab, with each crossover thrown:

  “Tick.”

  An audible sound escaping from Jeffrey’s lips. He was as unaware of the vocalization as before.

  “Tick.”

  Jab.

  “Tick.”

  Jab. Jab.

  “Tick, tick.”

  Huge uppercut and Darryl was knocked out. Jeffrey flicked sweat from his face and went in for the last round.

  Griffin danced his way in front of Jeffrey. This round was different. Griffin was harder than the others. He knew how to fight back and deflect Jeffrey’s shots. Jeffrey pushed in.

  Straight jabs to the face landed, but Griffin shrugged them off. Jeffrey ducked and weaved as Griffin answered with jabs of his own. Back and forth, they exchanged punches looking for an opening in the other’s defenses.

  “Tick, tick.”

  Jab.

  Jeffrey cut to the right and landed a body shot to Griffin’s kidneys. Griffin’s guard came down for a split second and Jeffrey landed three rights to the body and followed with a left crossover to the face. Griffin staggered back and Jeffrey closed with a flurry of punches. One two, one two, the furious onslaught staggered the bigger man.

  Jeffrey bent at his knees and brought up a stupendous right uppercut that floored Griffin.

  “BOOM!”

  Jeffrey’s voice thundered throughout the small apartment. A neighbor began pounding on the ceiling from downstairs, yelling for the noise to stop. Jeffrey swayed in the middle of the room. His mind was fogging up and his eyes were stinging with sweat.

  Slowly, his head cleared. Jeffrey brought his hands up and wiped his eyes clean. He was drenched with sweat, but his body felt cool in the late air.

  “Boom,” he whispered to no one.

  The apartment was still and quiet in the early morning. After a few minutes, new understanding dawned in his thoughts. The apartment was quiet. Why was it so quiet?

  The ticking had stopped.

  Boom.

  VI.

  Sleep still did not come even after the noise had l
eft. Jeffrey used the rest of the morning to shower and sit comfortably on the couch. He did not feel fatigue, only a numbness that pervaded his body from head to toe. The images on the television floated by his eyes, helping time pass as if in a slow moving dream. Girls Gone Wild ads, penis enlargement infomercials, and old episodes of Andy Griffith flickered on the screen.

  The sun peeked over the horizon and the apartment was bathed in natural light. Jeffrey got ready for work. He looked in the bathroom mirror, shaving cream slathered across his face. The ticking was gone, but behind his eyes he could see a pulsation, a nervous energy forming. He could feel it moving around in his skull. His eyes were still hollow looking, but this morning they seemed very alive. Predatory.

  He did not know where that thought came from and shook it away.

  He dressed in his shirt and tie, and combed his hair in the mirror.

  His stomach rumbled. He realized he was hungry. But not just simple hunger. He was ravenous.

  Jeffrey walked to the fridge. It was pretty empty. The milk had gone bad a few weeks ago. And the only other thing on the shelves was a container of leftovers which he really did not want to open.

  He glanced at the clock. Plenty of time before work. I’ll stop somewhere and load up with a big breakfast.

  He grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.

  To his disappointment, Ulee and Pierce were not out this morning. It was a little odd since they rarely missed an opportunity to mess with Jeffrey. He looked around the apartment complex and saw no sign of them. Shrugging he walked to the car and punched the unlock button on the key chain. The locks clicked and Jeffrey grabbed the handle.

  His hand clamped down on something squishy and wet. There was cloth material stuck to the underside of the handle and when Jeffrey pulled his hand away from the door, he noticed blood covering his fingers. The object fell from the door to the parking lot, hitting the asphalt with a tiny splat.

  It was a tampon.

  A used tampon.

  Jeffrey looked at his fingers. He slowly turned around, staring down the surrounding apartment buildings. Nothing moved but a few birds chirping in the trees. But he could feel them. They were watching him right now. Probably yucking it up real hard. Ulee and Pierce. My two best friends.