52. Un-Ionized II

52

Un-Ionized II

KINGSTON MOORE

On the Wednesday before Christmas, Kingston stood at a makeshift podium of three stacked cardboard boxes with a clipboard taped to the top because he wasn’t going to spend anymore of Sidewinder’s or Last Chance’s money on a single-use grandstand.

“Okay, settle down, settle down. The sooner we talk about this, the sooner we can eat lunch.”

Couriers holding pizza boxes filed in through the front door at the other end of the lobby, stacking scores of hot boxes on the receptionist’s desk.

Nicole Lamb was in the front row, her right ankle crossed over her left and her left hand crossed over her right, his big engagement ring prominent on her ring finger. She was smiling at him, which sent a flush through his entire body.

Sidewinder’s seventy-some employees were looking at each other, nervous about what he was going to say but slightly reassured by the presence of pizza that it wouldn’t be too bad.

Bad news is usually disseminated from management to employees late on Friday afternoons, so the rabble won’t have time to discuss it before they go home. Good news traditionally hit on Monday mornings.

“Okay,” Kingston said as the chatter died down. “From how you guys have been ripping me for the last month, word of the bet seems to have leaked to the general population.”

Laughter. A lot of laughter. Kingston smiled even though he was cringing inside.

“We won’t know the outcome of the wager until January first, when I will be sending an email as soon I know anything, but I do know a lot about Sidewinder’s state of affairs. Sidewinder golf has gone from sucking money like the La Brea tar pits sucked baby dinosaurs down to their deaths to now being extremely profitable.”

A smattering of applause.

He glanced at Nicole for strength and then proceeded. “And as we don’t know the wager’s outcome, Sidewinder’s ultimate future is still up in the air. But we know exactly how much money is in our accounts, which means I can feel confident declaring a New Year’s bonus.”

Nicole was grinning. She’d known what was coming.

“Due to the odd circumstances of the bet with Gabriel ‘The Shark’ Fish, the bonus will be paid on New Year’s Day and equal to fifty percent of your current salaries.”

Shock.

Gasps.

Nicole laughed, and the joy was contagious. Laughter spread through the room as people fanned themselves and turned to each other to confirm that what they’d heard was real.

Kingston couldn’t help but laugh with them. “We are a family here at Sidewinder, and family takes care of family. Now let’s eat pizza!”

The crowd flowed toward the receptionist’s desk and the pizza boxes, and Kingston threaded his way through the people slapping his shoulders and thanking him to find Nicole, who hugged him around his waist.

Someone shoved a slice of supreme-topped pizza in his hand, and he folded it in and took a bite off the end, his arm around his fiancée, happiness surrounding him and looking forward to a barbecue that coming weekend and his wedding on Valentine’s Day, two months hence.

No matter what, Kingston had people around him who loved him, a family, and the love of his life under his arm, and a really good slice of pizza in his hand.

Everything was perfect.