Flashback 1981

“…I just can’t take care of him anymore. He’s too much to handle.”

“You’re doing the right thing, Lisa. I’m sure when he’s old enough, he’ll understand.”

Five-year-old Joshua looked around the office space where he was sitting obediently on a brown pleather couch. The pleather stuck to his thighs and he shifted some to get comfortable. He watched his mother as she spoke to someone behind a big desk next to him. She thought she was being quiet enough where her son wouldn’t hear her. But he’d heard every word.

Lisa looked over at her son and grimaced at him, then forced a smile. Joshua gave her a toothless grin back but it only seemed to irritate her more. She shook her head and then looked back at Karen Chasez.

“Everyone keeps telling me that. I’m twenty-years-old and I’m missing out on life because of him,” she said.

Karen looked over at the little boy. His expression had turned from hopeful to puzzled in a short matter of time.

“I’ll call you tonight and let you know what happens.” Karen was assuring in her response and Lisa smiled, standing to her feet.

“Let’s go, Josh.”

Her tone was cold and harsh. Joshua obeyed. His mother didn’t want to be his mommy and he knew it.

They got into the car and Joshua watched his mother irritably turn on the ignition and then sit in the parking space while she lit up a cigarette.

“Your dad was a piece of shit, Josh. I hope you don’t end up like that.”

Joshua had been used to her always snapping at him this way. He’d not known a day where his mother didn’t speak ill of his father or take out her frustration on him. He had enough bruises to prove that. He began to wonder if he should’ve pulled up his shirt to show the most recent bruise to the nice lady his mother had been talking with a moment ago. But that was silly. He deserved those punches. He had to be better about picking up his toys.

“I won’t, Mommy.” Joshua spoke softly so as not to disturb his mother anymore.

“Let’s go home.” Lisa let out a sigh, blowing smoke along with it, and pulled out of the parking lot.

Joshua watched the landscape roll past him. There was the Showbiz Pizza Place he’d always wanted to eat at, the go-cart place he’d wanted to try, the big Toys-R-Us store that he’d heard his friends at school talk about. He’d not been to any of these places. His toys at home had consisted of an old Tonka truck that his mother had found in someone’s junk yard sale a few years ago, a teddy bear from when he’d been a baby, and a few matchbox cars that had been salvaged from a neighbor’s move a few years back.

They were poor and he knew it. The fact that they were actually in a house at all right now was only because Lisa had managed to find a job that allowed her to work while Joshua was in school. But sometimes she wouldn’t go into work, which meant she was too sick to drive. She was sick a lot. Joshua wondered if it was because of all the beer she drank after dinner. 

And then there were the men that were always in and out of the house. Once, there had been two men and Joshua had watched as they’d kissed all over his mother. She’d screamed at him to go to his room and Joshua did as he was told, locking his bedroom door and hiding under the covers. There had been something about those men that he’d not liked. He knew he’d been right when he’d woken up the next day and found his mother on the couch crying and then telling him how bad men were to her.

Once they were home, Joshua ran to his room and began to quietly play on the floor until he was called for dinner. He was starving and his stomach was making grumbling noises. They’d had to skip lunch that day because Lisa told him her work didn’t pay her enough and they’d have to miss it in order to have dinner. In reality, Lisa had spent the allotted money on a carton of cigarettes.

Lisa sat down at the card table she was using for their kitchen table. She sorted through the mail and gulped when she saw the late notice on the electric bill. She tossed it aside. It would have to wait along with the rest of the bills. She lit another cigarette and watched as the smoke drifted up into oblivion.

Six years ago her life had been a completely different story. She was fifteen, a freshman in high school, and had caught the attention of a senior baseball player. Ben Jacobs. She still remembered the first time she ever had laid eyes on him. He was tall, dark brown hair, blue eyes, and very charming and sexy. On their second date they’d had sex in the back of Ben’s truck. It hadn’t been romantic and if anything, Lisa hadn’t enjoyed it at all. But it had happened and Lisa was in love. Two months later when she found out she was pregnant, Ben dumped her, her parents put her in a home for troubled teens, and her life was over.

Now, she lived in a duplex in a shitty part of Bowie, Maryland and she was headed down the path of being an alcoholic. Joshua had been nothing but irritating to her since he’d been born. She had no idea how to be a mother and her own mother had more or less stopped talking to her. When she was angry, it was Joshua who got the brunt of it. The first time she hit him, she’d cried the rest of the night. But each time got easier and easier. He was little and helpless and Lisa was finally in control of something.

This was why she had to get rid of him. She didn’t want him. She’d never wanted him.

“Mommy?”

Lisa looked up and stared at her son without any sort of expression.

“What?!”

 He was used to her snapping at him all the time and cowered as he spoke again.

“Mommy, can we eat dinner now?”

Those eyes were Ben’s eyes that looked into her own and it only reminded Lisa of how Joshua had been the reason that Ben had left and why her life now was the way it was.

“Shut up. It’s only four o’clock, Josh!” Lisa rubbed her temple with her free hand. With her other hand she flicked away the ash of the cigarette onto the floor.

“I know but I’m hungry and-“

Lisa reached over and slapped him across the face. “I said it’s only four o’clock, you little bastard. Go to your room and I’ll call you when it’s ready!”

Joshua didn’t hide his tears and held his cheek as he ran down the hallway and into his bedroom.

Lisa shook her head and took another drag on her cigarette, then jumped up as soon as she heard the phone ring. It was Karen.

“There aren’t any placements, Lisa. But we feel your situation is quite dire so my husband, Roy, and I have decided to take Joshua in for now. We can take him as soon as tomorrow morning.”

Lisa didn’t hesitate. She agreed wholeheartedly and after stuffing out her cigarette in the kitchen sink, sprinted down the hall to Joshua’s room. She found him face down on his mattress, sniffling and holding his cheek.

“Get up. We gotta pack your shit cause you’re getting a new mommy tomorrow.”

Joshua looked up at his mother. He didn’t question, only did as he was told. A wave of excitement rolled through him. He was getting out. He was leaving the monster.

“Mr. Chasez?”

JC snapped to attention and looked up from his desk. Morgan stood in the doorway, looking at him with a lustful expression. He’d almost forgotten he’d called for her.

“Huh? Oh hey, Morgan.”

“Should I close the door?” Morgan bit on her lower lip and grinned at him.

JC, normally turned on immediately by Morgan’s advances, found himself responding almost mechanically.

“Yes. Close the door.” He stood up and walked around to the front of his desk. Morgan sauntered towards him and draped her arms around his neck. She began to bite at his neck and had it been any other time, JC would have been all about her. The flashback had thrown him off. He hadn’t thought about that day in years. Tossing his thought aside, he began to undress with Morgan and soon they were on the floor bucking against each other.

Delaney clicked on the e-invite from the International Hotel and Restaurant Association. It was the annual weekend getaway invite for those in upper management. It meant that she, along with JC, Chris, and anyone else in their category at The Chancellor would be going to spend a weekend in a five star luxury resort in the Bahamas. Delaney had always found it a little ridiculous at how they would disguise it as a “getaway” when it was really nothing but a series of meetings and breakout sessions crammed together. The only people on the trip who got a “getaway” were the spouses or significant others that came along.

Delaney groaned and clicked on the “Yes, I will be attending” box, then hit “Send” before shutting off her laptop. It was getting close to five and she’d come in early specifically so that she could leave a few minutes early. She and Ashley had planned to meet at Chancey’s for drinks since Chris had to work late. Delaney hoped Ashley would join Chris for the getaway weekend. It would be a nice change of pace to have a friend along. And in the last few weeks, Ashley had definitely become her friend.

“What’s up, Delaney!” Joey greeted her from the bar as Delaney walked into Chancey’s. Delaney waved at him and went over to take her usual spot at the end that faced the window. Ashley had yet to arrive and Delaney went ahead and ordered a martini.

“How’s life in the big leagues?” Joey teased as he began to stir her martini.

“Same old shit.” Delaney placed her elbow on the bar and rested her chin in her hand. “How’s Aamya?”

“Growing up too fast.” Joey shook his head and set the martini down in front of her. “I always heard that happened but until I had one of my own, I didn’t get how much truth was behind that.” He began to wipe down the spot next to Delaney where a guest had spilled some wine. “Anyway. She’s adorable. I miss her when I’m here. Then again, I’m making too much money for her so I gotta keep working.”

“If you need some days off, let me know, Joey. You work really hard and I’m sure we could arrange for more time off.” Delaney took the olive out of her martini and popped it in her mouth.

“I’m sure Janelle would appreciate that.” Joey smiled as he began to wipe down the bar and took a beer stein out to pour a Budweiser for another guest.

“Hey guys.” Ashley sat down next to the empty spot by Delaney. She looked at Joey and said, “Gin and tonic. It’s been a day for sure.”

“What’s wrong?” Delaney asked her friend as she turned to face her.

“One of the new girls double-booked a massage and we had to turn a guest away for another time. It was fine but then on top of that the computer was down after lunch so we had to do all of the appointments by hand. It was just really stressful. I haven’t seen Chris at all since I left this morning but he texted me saying they were super busy in food and beverage and he would probably be working overtime.” Ashley gratefully took the gin and tonic from Joey and sipped it slowly, then let out a breath. “Sorry, I just realized that was a lot to spew.”

“No need to apologize.” Delaney smiled at her assuredly. “We all have shitty days. Though mine was pretty nice. I didn’t see JC at all.”

“Well there you go.” Joey chuckled and leaned against the bar. “That makes it an even better day.” He looked at Ashley. “Any word on the roommate fuckery?”

Ashley shrugged. “Beats me. All I know is that when I make a coffee run and see Morgan, that chick looks sluttier every time.” She looked at Delaney. “Hey maybe you can say something to her about her shirt being unbuttoned too much. Because I’m pretty sure if she undoes one more button that her breasts will be all over the counter of the coffee shop.”

Delaney laughed out loud and shook her head. “Maybe I’ll drop by tomorrow and see. I wonder if JC knows he’s doing two roommates?”

“If he does, I’m sure he’d use it to his advantage,” Joey said with an amused expression. “Hey girls, it’s Happy Hour. Drink up. You’ve still got another drink on its way.”

Flashback 1984

“Joshua, no, that’s mine!” Heather Chasez chased her brother down the hall as he darted ahead, clutching her Barbie doll in his fist.

“Ha ha! You can’t ru-un!” Joshua turned on his heel and immediately pushed Heather to the ground.

“Mo-om!” Heather wailed, and looked down at the rug burn on her knee. “Mom, Joshua pushed me and he won’t give me back my Barbie doll!”

Karen looked up from the book she was reading in the recliner and let out an exasperated sigh. “Come here, Joshua!”

Joshua glared at his sister and threw the Barbie doll at her. It bounced off Heather’s arm and landed on the floor. He wandered into the living room and folded his arms across his chest, daring his mother to say anything to him.

Lisa had let him get away with anything but that was because there was no one to share his toys-what little he had anyway-with him. He had had to share everything with Heather and Tyler, his two younger siblings, since the first day he moved in with the Chasez’s and he hated it.

“Joshua, did you take Heather’s Barbie doll?” Karen asked him, gently.

“I don’t have it.” Joshua retorted.

“That’s not what I asked. Did you take it from her?” Karen leaned forward and went to touch her son’s arm. He backed away quickly. He didn’t know what to do with affection.

“Maybe.” Joshua wasn’t going to relent that fast and he wanted his mother to know it.

“Well, I guess if you can’t give me an answer, you’ll need to go sit in your room for a while until you figure it out.” Karen sat back in her recliner and looked at her son, waiting for him to respond.

“She took my stuff first!” Joshua exclaimed.

“What did she take?”

“She…she took my, uh, my He-Man stuff!”

He was lying and Karen knew it.

“Heather?” Karen stood to her feet and walked down the hall to Heather’s bedroom. The little girl was sitting on the floor playing with her Barbie dolls in the Barbie corvette.

“What?” Heather looked up from playing and right at her mother, then stiffened when she saw Joshua standing behind their mother.

“Did you take Joshua’s He-Man toys?”

“No!” Heather shook her head.

“Yeah you did!” Joshua yelled and ducked under Karen’s arm and into Heather’s room. “Don’t lie, Heather!”

“I’m not!” Heather was the good one and Joshua had spent years trying to figure out how to best get her back for all the perfection she seemed to endow to their parents.

Karen rubbed her temple and watched her son as he hovered over his sister. She knew Joshua was lying. He seemed to think he was good at it but he got caught every time.

“Joshua, go to your room,” Karen said in a soft but firm tone.

“But Mom-“ he began to argue.

“Joshua. Go to your room. Now, please.”

Joshua kicked the air and grunted as he stormed out of Heather’s room. He hated girls. He hated them a lot.

“You’re not even into this at all!” Morgan pushed JC off of her. “You can barely get it up.”

JC rolled onto his back and rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry, Morgan. It’s just been an off day, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Morgan began to quickly dress as JC stood to his feet and followed her to the door. She turned around and kissed him before she walked out. “My roommate’s gone tonight. If you wanted to continue it later, I mean.”

JC had sworn to himself he’d never go to any of these girls’ apartments but after what had just happened to him, he wondered if tonight he should break that promise to himself.

“Where do you live?”

Morgan smirked and sashayed over to his desk, grabbing a pen and a sticky note to write down her address. When she handed it back to him, she pressed her body against his and kissed him hungrily. “Just let me know. No pressure, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” JC nodded and looked at the address as Morgan turned and disappeared out of the doorway. He let out a shaky sigh. What the hell was going on? Why all of these flashbacks now? Today? He needed a drink. It was time to take advantage of that employee discount at Chancey’s.

“…so then I was like ‘um sir, the sauna’s not a nude sauna’ and the guy turns around and I’m seeing everything just hanging out there in the open!” Ashley was laughing loudly with Delaney about a recent guest encounter at the spa and Delaney could barely get down her martini without spewing it onto the bar.

“Oh my god what did you do?” Delaney managed to ask.

“I tried to not look, you know, down there, but I mean, there it was. In all its saggy glory!” Ashley was giggling and trying her best to not spill her second gin and tonic.

“Ew!” Delaney covered her mouth to keep from laughing too hard.

“I know! So then-“

“Shit.” Joey interrupted the girls’ laughter and they were still giggling when they turned around to see what Joey was lamenting. There, standing in the doorway of Chancey’s, was JC.

“Damn. I bet he found out about the double-booked massages.” Ashley groaned and put her head in her hands.

“He can’t do anything. I’ll take care of it anyway.” Delaney put an arm around Ashley’s shoulder, and kept one eye on JC. He looked over at them and nodded, walking over to the bar.

“Shit shit shit shit.” Ashley muttered under her breath as she watched JC sit directly across from her and Delaney.

“Hey.” He greeted them as though he always came to Chancey’s with them after hours. As though they were all work buddies gathering at the watering hole after work.

“Um, hi.” Ashley cleared her throat and gulped down her gin and tonic. “Joey, I’ll have another. Make it a double.”

Joey raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you driving home?”

“I’ll make sure she gets home.” Delaney told Joey, then looked over at JC. “Hi.”

“I’ll have a beer.” JC looked at Joey as though Joey waited on him all the time and knew what beer he wanted.

“Which type, boss. Which brand? And did you want on tap, bottle, can?” Joey waited for JC to answer while he mixed another gin and tonic.

“Oh, yeah. Um. You got Blue Moon?” JC wanted to know, looking behind Joey at the beer options.

“On tap or bottle?”

“Bottle’s fine.”

“Coming up.” Joey turned and reached down into the cooler to pull out a cold bottle of Blue Moon. He handed it to JC and JC took it, nodding at him in appreciation.

Delaney and Ashley grew silent and Joey crossed to the other side of the bar to wait on two guests who’d just walked in. He knew the other two bartenders could handle it, but there was suddenly so much tension in the air that he didn’t want to deal with it.

“How was your day?” JC asked, looking from Ashley to Delaney.

Ashley was attached to her gin and tonic and didn’t make eye contact with him so Delaney had to answer.

“It was decent. Not bad at all. Oh, did you get the evite from the IHRC? Annual weekend getaway is coming up.” Delaney figured she had to make conversation now that it looked as though JC was going to stick around.

“Yeah.” JC nodded and took a swig of beer. “Guess it’s that time again. You gonna go?”

“Yeah, I RSVP’d today.” Delaney nudged Ashley. “You know, you could go with Chris. It’d be really great if you did. It would give me someone to hang out with in between sessions! Plus it’s in the Bahamas.”

“I was supposed to go on that thing last year but I got the flu and had to stay back. I’m sure we’re going this year,” Ashley replied but turned her body so it didn’t face JC.

“Great. It’ll be a blast.” Delaney was trying her best to make the conversation light so as not to make it more awkward than it already felt, but it was getting difficult to do.

“What are you guys up to tonight?” JC wanted to know and Delaney was curious as to why he was suddenly being so nice. It was quite unlike him.

“Just having a few drinks together before we head home.” Delaney smiled at him and JC smiled back at her for the first time since they’d started working together. “What about you?”

JC chuckled softly. “Oh, just a quiet evening at home,” he said. He thought about Morgan’s address that was burning a hole in his pocket. After the encounter just an hour before, he knew he wanted to make up for that. It was embarrassing and he wanted to assure Morgan it wouldn’t happen again.

“It’s still happy hour, boss.” Joey came over to JC and handed him another Blue Moon. “You get two, remember?”

“One’s just fine, Joey. Thanks.” JC gulped down the rest of his beer and stood up. “Good talking to you guys. I think I’m headed home for the evening. See you tomorrow.”

“See you.” Delaney waved him off and then watched as Ashley slammed down her empty glass and looked in the direction in which JC had walked away.

“Damn. Is that going to be a nightly occurrence now? Him coming into our bar?” She griped and pushed the glass away from her.

“Technically, it’s more his bar than ours. I mean, he is the GM,” reminded Joey and took the glass away. “He was in rare form tonight, that’s for sure.”

“Maybe he had enough sex today that it put him in a good mood?” Ashley was teasing and laughed at her own joke.

“Could be.” Delaney looked down at her martini. “He kind of looked a little off. Did you guys notice that?”

“Well, it was a little off of him to come and sit in the bar with the other employees. The only employees he sees are young, single hot girls.” Joey reached below the bar for his water bottle and took a chug. “I guess if he’s going to start this, I should stock up on Blue Moon.”

“Or we should find a new bar.” Ashley muttered.

“I thought you were going to be gone tonight?” Morgan stopped dead in her tracks when she walked into the living room to see Andrea lounging on the couch and watching a rerun of Grey’s Anatomy.

“Plans changed. We’re not leaving til tomorrow.” Andrea yawned and turned down the volume of the television, noticing her roommate’s attire. Morgan was wearing a skimpy tank top and boxers with a silk red robe hanging off her shoulders. “Um, are you expecting someone?”

Morgan cleared her throat nervously and forced a smile. “Um. Yeah. Kind of. Do you mind going in your room for a bit?”

“When he gets here, sure.” Andrea shrugged and went back to the show, then looked back at Morgan. “Who is he? Anyone I know?”

“I don’t think so.” Morgan had to lie. Besides, it wasn’t as if JC knew who Andrea was anyway. There were hundreds of employees at The Chancellor and Andrea was just one of many.

Morgan’s phone buzzed from her room and she ran to grab it. It was a text from JC telling her he was on his way. Morgan checked herself in the mirror and looked at her bed, wishing she’d gone for the queen-size instead of the double. How was she to have known that she’d be sleeping with the GM of one of the most well known hotels in America?

Andrea was a little envious of her roommate. Morgan was gorgeous and Andrea knew she had had a lot of guys over since they’d become roommates last month. Not to mention that Andrea’s sex life had all but stopped in the last two weeks. She hadn’t heard from JC at all and he was avoiding her now as though she had some sort of disease. It didn’t matter, she supposed. She was leaving tomorrow for Key West with Todd and a few other of the Concierges and valet guys. She liked Todd but wasn’t sure if she was attracted to him or not. JC had made it easy for her to fall for him. He was sexy and charming and much older. Todd was still in his twenties and more in Andrea’s league and she knew it. It just sucked that JC had decided she wasn’t good enough for him anymore.

There was a knock on the door and Morgan dashed to answer it. Andrea turned off the television and went to walk to her bedroom when she heard a familiar voice greet Morgan.

“You look so fucking hot, baby.”

She turned around and saw Morgan leading JC to her bedroom.

“JC?!”

JC froze and slowly turned around to face Andrea. “Andrea?! What are you doing here?”