Charlie Foxtrot (Book 2 of Love is War Series)

Chapter 4

His fingers tapped a staccato rhythm against his desk. Jim had been staring at the same email for the past twenty minutes, not taking any of the words in. He couldn't have even told you who had written him, to be completely honest.

It was January 2nd, and he'd started the day out by meeting with Clay before giving Auden Fenn her tour of CBC's building. Clay had warned him again about not flirting with the newcomer, and he had spent much of his time trying not to stare at the woman's assets. For someone like him, it was a difficult struggle against himself. He wasn't used to giving special consideration to any one employee, because he had a reputation amongst the workforce at CBC. Whether or not he was more comfortable with his role as resident scoundrel who flirted with anyone who came across him because he was the boss' friend or just how he was, he wasn't sure. He'd been this way for too long and had worked the same job since the start of his professional career. Had he been given a pink slip and kicked to the curb, he wasn't sure he would be able to behave properly in a new environment.

He sighed and started to reread the email. It surprised him that his sister had decided to email his work email instead of his personal. Well, maybe he shouldn't have been, because outside of work, he was a horrible correspondent.

Jim,

I tried to reach you through your personal email, but you either don't check it enough or have decided to ignore me. Being the sweet, doting sister and mother to your dear niece, I decided to reach out to you here. Sorry not sorry.

If you have forgotten, your favorite—and only—niece will be turning 2 years old on January 12th. In order to save the trees or whatever, I sent an invitation to your personal email. An invitation that everyone other than my dear brother has responded to. The RSVP date was December 27th, by the way.

I also tried to contact you by cell phone and work phone, but haven't received a call back. Did you die and decide not to come haunt me like you used to threaten when we were younger? I suppose with all the Hooters and female locker rooms in the Sunshine State, we Wetzels rank low on your bucket list of places to haunt, not that I can blame you.

Bridgette might be young, but I think that missing her 2nd birthday would be remiss as a brother because she is your niece. Please let me know ASAP if you are coming or not.

And for fuck's sake, try and remember her birthday from now on. She might not realize it now, but she'll see photos in the future and wonder where her Uncle Jim was and why he wasn't there. I won't lie to her about it, and I won't let you live it down if you miss it.

What else won't I do? Keep typing up this letter when you might still ignore it or decide to delete without responding.

Bye, Jim

Your sister,

Kate

Sighing, he leaned in and wondered how he could have forgotten his niece's birthday. He felt bad about that, but he was horrible when it came to checking his personal email. He even had the app on his phone, but he had muted the notifications so he wouldn't be constantly distracted during meetings or woken while he slept. He typed out a quick response, telling her he was going to visit with Clay about taking time off to go see them for a week and that he'd gotten distracted with the holidays.

Sending it off with a few decisive clicks and a flick of his wrist, he got up from his desk and walked down the hall. Clay's office door was closed, but there was no sound inside, so he assumed he was probably reading his own emails from over the weekend. Usually, he let his secretary or Jim take care of the majority of them, but if they passed one on to him for further inquiry, he usually took a look. Neither of the two employees scanning them would dare waste his time with frivolous or ridiculous ideas.