A New Life in Lawrenceville

Chapter 17

After having a long and enjoyable goodbye with Misty in her van, I made my way into the hotel lobby. Being close to the beach, the lobby had a distinct tropical theme to it. Looking around, I noticed the mini palm trees in pots around the lobby and tiki torches. Once I reached the front of the line, I gave the attendant my name and the newspaper I worked for.

I heard a familiar voice laughing behind me as I checked in. "Who let this slimeball in here?" the voice asked jokingly. I knew it at once to be Max, the editor of New Jersey Today and my former boss.

I turned around and smiled at him. "Good to see you Max," I replied.

Max moved in close and gave me a hug. "You're looking real good kid," he said, "How have you been?"

"Doing well," I said, "Things at the Lawrenceville Herald have been going great." I looked at Max for a moment. "So, what brings an editor to a sporting event?" I asked.

"I had a hard time replacing you. I decided to take on the task for myself," Max explained.

"You're the editor and the sports reporter now?" I asked in disbelief.

"You know me kid," Max reassured, "I do my best work under pressure. Besides, I'm like you. I need something to keep my mind always busy and my blood always pumping."

I nodded. Max was a workaholic just like me. We had been really close back when I worked at New Jersey Today. It is a big part of why I had to leave. Max and I tended to encourage that unhealthy "live to work" mindset in each other. From the looks of it, Max is still the same guy.

"I've got to get to my hotel room Max," I said, "We have the opening rounds of the volleyball tournament in an hour."

"I'll walk you to your room," Max said, "I've been wanting to talk to you."

I politely accepted, but I had a feeling I knew what Max wanted to talk about.

We walked into the nearby elevator. "What floor?" Max asked as he put his hand over the keypad.

"Three," I said.

Max pushed the button and the doors closed. "Anyway," he said, "I have been saving up quite a bit of cash and have been talking to a few investors. I've been planning to buy out the publisher of New Jersey Today. I'm going to need someone passionate about their work to help me. I want that to be you kid."

"I appreciate the offer Max, but I really am quite happy at the Lawrenceville Herald," I replied.

"Come on kid," Max insisted, "I'm sure the folks there are really nice and like you a lot, but it is a sloppy operation over there. One stiff wind would knock the whole thing over like a house of cards. They wouldn't even be on the map if it weren't for you reporting on that scandal with that Phil guy."

"I'm happier where I'm at Max," I said, "I am grateful for the opportunity, but I'm not interested."

"Just give it a little thought," Max said, "I would be the publisher, you would still get to write sports, and we can be coeditors. The two of us working together are like a pair of demons. We will have the best operation in the whole state. We would steamroll everyone. Plus, you're like a son to me. I've got no wife or kids, and I'm not getting younger. The place will be all yours when I'm gone."

The elevator opened on the third floor, but I didn't move. Hearing that did send a little charge through my system. I imagined myself running the entire paper and being one of the most celebrated and successful people in the business. Then, I thought about what Max said about having no wife or kids. I imagined having nothing but my work until it finally buries me. That is going to be Max's fate, and I don't want it to be mine.

"I'm sorry Max, but my final answer is no," I said. Max smiled knowingly. I could tell he noticed my hesitation when he talked about leaving it all to me.

"Alright," he said, "I'll be in touch."

I went to the hotel room and started getting ready to go to the volleyball tournament. All the while, my mind was distracted. I kept thinking about Max's offer, and my history with him.

When I first started at New Jersey Today, I was a copy boy and Max was the sports reporter. Even though we were on different places in the hierarchy at the paper, we got to know each other. We were always the first to arrive in the office, and the last to leave it. Max liked having me for company, since we shared a similar work ethic. He often talked of his ambition to run the paper, and after reading samples of my work, talked about me being his right-hand man. He started to advocate for the editor to read samples of my work and took me on some of his trips to sports events to teach me about the job.

Max's ambitions got the best of him though. The editor at the time was struggling with alcoholism in secret, and Max started intentionally enabling him so it would get worse. He started tattling on him to the publisher, whom eventually had the editor replaced with Max, whom in turn had me take over as the sports reporter. I realized Max would stop at nothing to succeed in his work and, in the end, that left him with no one. Hence why he was so attached to me, as the only person who worked as much as him. The more time I spent with Max, the more I started to be like him. I didn't want that. It was too destructive.

I finished getting ready and decided to head down to the beach to watch the first round.