When She Comes Knocking

DAN MCDOWELL ©2023 by Dan McDowellAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.The author grants the final approval for this literary material.First Digital VersionThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.ISBN: 978-1-68513-226-2PUBLISHED BY BLACK ROSE WRITINGwww.blackrosewriting.comEditor: Mark LevesqueCover Art/Author Photo: Tiffiny McDowell For everyone, but not just anyone. “Any fool can make things more complex. It takes a touch of genius to move in the opposite direction.” –Albert Einstein“Good fences make good neighbors.” –Robert Frost“Love your neighbor as yourself.” –Leviticus 19:18 MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONSAn e-mail notification popped up on my laptop.Hello,Welcome to Olkov Enterprises. We want your transition into the organization to be seamless. Your current personnel files and records with J&P will be merged. We’re pleased to announce we are honoring your tenure. You’ve been selected based on a preset rationale and record of salesmanship that supersedes that of your peers. Please keep this matter confidential until the divestiture is complete.Congratulations, and welcome to the Olkov family!Sincerely yours,Mori Olkov, CEOIt hadn’t even been a minute before Bob Dowdy from accounting knocked on my door in a syncopated rhythm.“Hey, Ben, you got a minute?” he asked, raising his thick eyebrows up and down a couple of times.I minimized my e-mail window but didn’t look up.“Ben...”Reaching into my desk drawer, I pretended to busy myself as I pulled out a stapler and mumbled. “Barge right in… why don’t you?”“Huh?”I let him sweat.“This isn’t funny,” he said, coming around my desk and grabbing one of my red sticky notes.I sighed, closing the lid to my laptop.He went back to the opposite side of my desk, grabbing a pen and writing something on it.“Alright,” I said. “What’s so urgent that can’t wait?”He slid the sticky note across to me.OLKOV ? ? ?I shrugged and shook my head.“I guess you haven’t heard, then?” he asked, standing up and closing the door.“Heard what?”His voice dropped to a whisper. “Middletown’s being divested.”“Divested?” I said, gulping for dramatic effect.“Yep. The Russians own us GREENER PASTURESI laid a couple of Chinese takeout containers on the kitchen table and sat down across from Hannah. Despite the diffused lighting and soft jazz, I didn’t get the mood right. It was hot, and the dining area ceiling fan squeaked. And I don’t meana cute little chirp, but such a shrill noise, you preferred to sweat at meal times. I’d put off repairing it too long. There was a part of me aware enough to know if I tried, it would quickly end up collapsed and dismembered on the floor.We split date nights between therapy and catch-ups every other Tuesday. Our son, Davey, was six, and my father-in-law, Hal, had taken him for the night. Hannah and I needed time to calibrate. You know, to avoid common couple conundrums.Hannah studied me for a moment and sighed. “Chow Fung’s again?”I nodded.“That’s the third time this week.”“Second. Monday didn’t count.”“If you want to change your fortune, try a magic 8-Ball,” she said, crushing a fortune cookie in her hand and sliding it across the table.I wasn’t going to let my plan backfire.“Yeah, an 8-Ball sounds pretty good right now.”“Ben!”“From all I hear, Garashock makes an 8-Ball look like a half dose of baby aspirin, and I’ve got a trunk full.”“Ben Decker. Get yourself together.”“I’ve just been slammed. I’m sorry,” I said, searching for a way to improve the plan.“It’s fine. You need to relax.”“How about a little dessert?” I said, pushing the crumbled fortune cookie