Only You Read online

  “Really,” Bradley said definitely.

  “And where to?”

  “Europe,” Bradley shrugged. “All over, really. Trying to get some... what did you call it? Life experience.” Jackson was right, Bradley had never been overseas. Fuck, he’d barely even left the state, but for some reason he was starting to feel committed to this lie, like if it were true, Jackson might actually take him back... as silly as that seemed.

  Jackson smirked, not looking for a second like he believed him. “Well, good for you. You should travel. It’s good for you, good for the soul.”

  “Thanks for the tip.”

  “Anyway... I guess...” Jackson shrugged and pushed his chair back. “Obviously, I don’t think we should stay for food.”

  “Obviously — I need to be getting back soon anyway. I have that trip to plan.”

  “I can’t wait to see it,” Jackson smirked. “Make sure you post a couple of pics. Otherwise, I might not believe you.”

  “Posts, stories, videos – all of it. You won’t miss them.” Bradley remained seated, giving Jackson such a wicked death stare that he actually worried it might pierce through Jackson’s chest and break his heart... but that was just hopeful.

  “I look forward to it.” Standing now, Jackson offered Bradley a final look of pity and then a smile. “Well, I’ll see you around.”

  “No, you won’t!” Bradley shouted after him as he strode across the restaurant. “I’ll be on a beach in Spain and... and you’ll be here, doing nothing with —”

  “He’s gone dear.” The older lady at the table nearest Bradley leaned across so as to speak with him. “But I hope you enjoy your trip.”

  Bradley didn’t make to follow Jackson so that he could keep shouting at him. Nor did he move from that seat for some time. Instead, he mentally booked a trip through Europe in his head. As he did, he imaged the photos he would post, the videos he would upload and the look on Jackson’s face when he saw them and realized that Bradley had been telling the truth the whole while.

  Too young? No life experience?!

  A small, resigned smile spread itself across Bradley’s face. He would book this trip overseas. He would prove to Jackson that he wasn’t some loser in his mid-twenties with nothing to show for it. He would have the best time of his life in fact and by the time he did return, as a new and improved man, he wouldn’t even want Jackson back... although to be fair, he also knew that to be a lie.

  Chapter Two

  “2020 is going to be the year for travel – the biggest one yet. But it can’t be that until we trim all the fat and get every single one of our bundles just right. And that includes, and I cannot emphasize this enough people, our deluxe ‘Singles Through Europe’ package – which is killing us, guys! Killing us dead! So again, I’m asking you – the supposed ‘best in the business,’ how do we take this loser of a travel package from being the money sink that it is, to actually turning us a profit? And.... go.”

  “What if we make it cheaper?”

  “What if we charge less?”

  “What if... and this is just a suggestion... we drop the price?”

  There were twelve sets of eager eyes all looking down the table at Sherman Haas; engorged, wide-eyed, blinking nervously as they awaited his response. They must have known that their suggestions were rubbish, but none seemed to show it. Even Sherman’s best friend, Nick, nodded his head enthusiastically and then gave a thumbs up to boot.

  As for Sherman? He was standing at the head of the room, addressing the twelve men and women like an army drill sergeant. The only difference being that if this was the army, he might have ordered to have every single one of them shot for pure incompetence.

  It was times like this that Sherman wished he were taller... and broader in the chest and shoulder region... and just better looking in general. He had always kind of assumed that if he were these things, he’d have an easier time controlling the room and instilling just a hint of fear among his subordinates. Not that he wanted to scare his employees... but fuck, right now they could do with a dose of fear.

  “Charge less?” Sherman spoke through gritted teeth and a clenched jaw. “Lower the price?” His scratched at his head and nodded to himself, refusing to look at the twelve people in the room. “These are your brilliant suggestions?”

  He waited for a response, knowing the one he was going to get – regardless of who it was from – would be awful. And sure enough, a solo hand raised shakily into the air, looking like it was being forced there against its will.

  “Geoff.” Sherman pointed to Geoff, one of his newest recruits.

  “Oh... hey,” Geoff’s voice shook, as did his body. He, like everyone else in the room was wearing an overpriced suit of some make, and he, like everyone else in the room, was sweating through it. “Well... I was ah... thinking that ah... what if we just cancel the package all together —”

  “Fuck!” Sherman slammed his open palm on the table. If his middling looks couldn’t control the room, pure anger and aggression was going to have to. “That’s not an option. What did I just say – 2020! That’s six months away! By January, we want to have every single one of our travel bundles in the green – and that includes our ‘Singles Through Europe,’ package. We’ve already paid the hotels, the buses, the museums, insurance companies and what-have-you. It’s not going anywhere. So again... what do we do about it?”

  This time, no one made to offer a response. Sherman, still standing at the head of the table looked down its length and tried to catch someone’s eye. None were offered, with every single person in that room staring at their hands or feet or whatever they could as a means to avoid eye contact with their slightly unhinged boss.

  Eventually, Sherman managed to catch one set of eyes. But those were just Nick’s looking vague and a little bored. Nick was just there for support more than anything, as he wasn’t a part of the marketing team. Rather, he worked in Human Resources, which had always seemed kind of strange to Sherman as Nick was the kind of guy most likely to end up in front of his HR rep, rather than actually being one.

  He gave Sherman a big, closed mouth smile and then a shrug as if to say, “what are you gonna do?”

  Sherman felt his body deflate. As the Assistant Manager of DreamLine Travel, the number two travel company – and all things travel related — in Australia, his job was usually pretty stressful at the best of times. DreamLine Travel was a multi-million-dollar company after all, responsible for the travel priorities of nearly half of Australia. Today was another problem entirely.

  Six months ago, a couple of guys in the research and marketing team had come up with the brilliant idea to offer a ‘singles package’ for those wishing to travel through Europe, but not spend the whole-time partying and hooking up. It was supposed to be an alternate option to why most single people went to Europe and where it had sounded like a good idea at the time, everyone involved was very quickly realizing that it was a fool’s errand.

  It seemed that single men and women didn’t want to travel to Europe unless there was a chance of meeting other singles; this was usually done through drinking, partying, drugs and then eventually sex. None of that was offered on this tour, instead opting for a more ‘culture’ based approach. As such, it was sinking fast.

  Today’s meeting was called by Sherman to figure out a way to save the package. Everything had already been paid for by DreamLine Travel, which meant that if they didn’t sell the tickets and fill the seats, they’d lose millions. Something had to be done! Unfortunately, and so far, the only options being given were to offer the trip for less.

  But then Sherman saw a hand go up. He whipped his head up, and rolled his eyes when he saw that it was just Nick. Nick wore a chuffed smile, looking rather pleased with himself.

  “Nick,” Sherman sighed.

  “I was thinking.” Nick groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. A large man by any rational measurement, he wasn’t necessarily fat... just big. He was well over six foot tall, he ha
d large shoulders, a large chest, a large stomach, large arms and large everything else. Even his beard was big, bushy and boarding on overgrown. “And I know, I won’t try too hard, it might hurt me.”

  He paused for laughs, and was greeted by a smattering of them.

  Sherman rolled his eyes. “Go on.”

  “Why don’t I go on the trip – by myself. I could document it, ask the other singles why they chose it, what turned them off etcetera... and maybe meet one or two while I’m at—”

  “And I’m going to stop you there.” Sherman indicated for Nick to sit down, which he did. “I admit... sending someone on the trip isn’t a bad idea,” Sherman conceded. It actually was a pretty decent idea, to be fair. “But it’s not going to be you—”

  “How come—”

  “Because,” Sherman raised his voice. “You are not the target audience. The fact you even mentioned hooking up is proof of that.”

  “So, I’m not allowed to want to meet other singles on a singles trip?”

  “Not on this one,” Sherman countered. “That’s the entire point!” He wrung his hands in the air. “This trip isn’t about hook-ups and random one-nighters. It’s about culture, the arts and maybe making a friend or two along the way – maybe!”

  “I like art!” Nick protested.

  “Show me your phone,” Sherman said immediately.

  “Huh? Why...?”

  “I want to see your Tinder account right now. I bet my salary that you already have a date lined up for tonight. Am I right?” Sherman raised an eyebrow right at Nick.

  The smile Nick offered was one of pure delight. He even looked around the room, meeting a few eyes as if to brag silently. “Two actually,” he winked. “I haven’t decided yet which one I’m going to —”

  “And that’s my point. Come on people!” Sherman clapped his hands together. “That idea was... it wasn’t bad – and that’s what I want more of! Ideas that aren’t that bad. Fuck, eventually we might stumble onto a good one.”

  But there were no more ideas to be had. By the time the meeting ended some thirty minutes later, DreamLine Travel’s deluxe ‘Single’s Package’ was as hopeless an idea for a getaway as that luxury cruise into the Bermuda Triangle that an intern had pitched last year. Maybe even more so as now Sherman was almost certain he was going to have to just scrap the thing entirely and count his losses.

  “Hey! Yo!” Nick called after Sherman as he hurried from the meeting and back toward his office. “Great meeting today.” Nick towered over the much shorter Sherman and when he reached him, Sherman thought for a moment he was going to rest his hand on his shoulder like a walking stick.

  “Funny,” Sherman said without stopping. He loved Nick, but sometimes the guy was a little too... happy-go-lucky. Nothing seemed to ever phase or worry him. And that included the job.

  “I wasn’t trying to be,” Nick assured him. “It’s not your fault that the marketing team are a bunch of useless cucks.”

  “I hired them” Sherman pointed out.

  Sherman’s office was one befitting of his position in the company... and maybe even a little bit better than that. DreamLine Travel was located on the twentieth floor of a building that sat in the middle of the city, with Sherman’s office occupying the corner of that floor. It was one of those offices that had windows instead of walls, which wrapped themselves around the room so as to show off the truly spectacular view. Sherman barely even noticed it anymore.

  They reached Sherman’s office and where Sherman went straight for his seat, Nick froze in the doorway. “Oh... well, maybe it is your fault then — but enough of that.” He waved the idea away and took one long stride into Sherman’s office. “Looky here.” He pulled his phone out and handed it to Sherman.

  Sherman eyed the phone cautiously, but then reached out and took it. On the phone was the dating app Grindr, with the picture of a very handsome Latino looking man taking up most of the screen. He was shirtless, showing off a set of ridiculously chiseled abs while staring down the camera as if to say ‘Yeah... you like them, don’t you?’

  Sherman eyed the photo for a moment too long, then handed the phone back to Nick with a shake of his head. “All right. Who’s that?”

  “That is Pablo,” Nick said proudly as he pocketed the phone. “And he’s going to have dinner with you tonight... and then fuck you. Isn’t that exciting.”

  Sherman didn’t even blink. “Is that right?”

  “Right.” Nick crossed his arms and looked down at Sherman like he was a proud father taking his son out for his first beer. “And you, my friend, are welcome – Oh! Do you want to see his penis? Here!” Nick hurried to pull his phone out again.

  “I’ll pass.”

  Nick paused. “What?! How can you —”

  “I don’t know why you go on those apps. It’s weird.”

  “Weird? Mate, its’ the 21st Century. How else are you supposed to meet someone? You’re weird for not going on them.”

  “I don’t mean — I mean you, a straight man, going on Grindr. It’s... odd.”

  “I do it for you!” Nick protested. “I know you suck at dating. And I know you’re shy and all that crap. But I also know that you secretly want a good dicking —”

  “You told him who I was?” Sherman asked flatly.

  “Like what you did? Obviously.”

  “So, he knows how much money I make?” Sherman continued.

  “Well... I mean, he could probably figure it out?” Nick shrugged. “One of the photos I uploaded was of your apartment... and your car.”

  Sherman sighed. “I’m fine, thanks,” he offered as he turned on his computer, hoping this would be enough to get rid of his eager friend.

  “Oh, come on.” Nick sat himself on the edge of the desk. “So what if he wants to fuck you for your money – do you know how many guys that would not phase at all? Do you want to get another look at Pablo – I mean, I’m straight and I’d probably put him away. God damn.”

  Sherman was about to answer. He was about to tell Nick that he didn’t give a shit how hot Pablo was, or how long it had been since he’d been on a date, or how lonely and desperate he was... but then he caught sight of his reflection in his laptop screen and he paused.

  Now, to be fair, Sherman wasn’t ugly. No, he certainly wasn’t that. Rather, he was just very plain. Standing at about 5’8” and with a typical skinny frame, his figure left a lot to be desired. And where he was a fan of his dark eyes and big white teeth, that was where it ended for Sherman. His face was too round, his cheek-bones non-existent and his lips a little too thin for his liking. Sherman wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t a down and out hottie either.

  To make matters worse, every guy Sherman had ever been with seemed to only ever be doing so because of how much money Sherman made. It was a lot, in short. He had worked hard through his twenties and now at thirty-five, he was reaping the rewards. But all that hard work meant little play, which meant little dating experience, which meant now Sherman was stuck meeting men through dating apps, which meant telling them what he did, which meant being used for his money. It was a vicious cycle.

  A part of Sherman wished he were the kind of guy who could just fuck men for fun and leave it at that. But he never had been, despite how much Nick might have wanted it to be so. And as such, he was doomed to be alone for the foreseeable future. Maybe, one day, he would meet someone who liked him for him... but that day was looking rather far off at the moment.

  “I’ve got to get to work,” Sherman said dismissively. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Fiiiiiiine,” Nick sighed as he stood up and lumbered toward the door. About to leave, he turned back and said one final thing. His expression and tone were oddly serious. “Seeing as you have no interest in hooking up, ever, maybe you should be the one going on that trip. Someone may as well get something out of it.” A tight-lipped smile and Nick was gone.

  Sherman didn’t give too much thought to Nick’s comment. In fact, he tried not to give t
oo much thought to Nick in general. He was still a little peeved over his attempted set-up and wanted to push him, and that incident, from his mind entirely.

  The rest of the day was spent by Sherman, locked away in his office, crunching the numbers and trying to come up with the cheapest option by which to pull-out of this travel package. Unfortunately, hours into the process and with daylight very quickly fading, he found no real option. None that wouldn’t cost the company millions anyhow.

  By the time the sun was down, and the floor was near empty – save for the cleaners and a few overachievers trying to prove themselves – Sherman decided it was time to give up, call it a day and head home. Sadly enough, the problem would be there for him tomorrow... and the day after that... and so on.

  It was a Friday today, which meant that most of Sherman’s friends would be either out drinking, on dates, or with their partners. None of these applied to Sherman. Instead, when he left work, he headed straight back to his apartment in the city... alone.

  The apartment in question was an absolutely gorgeous piece of real estate to be sure. It was on the fifteenth floor of a building located on the outskirts of the city, but still close enough that one could walk there if inclined. A two-bedroom spot, it was an open plan, with big windows wrapping themselves around the exterior, and a balcony that had a truly pristine view of the city skyline and its surroundings.

  The beauty of the apartment made going home to it alone that little bit easier.

  The apartment was clean when Sherman arrived home, and he was delighted to smell a meal already cooked and ready for him. This was all on purpose, of course, as he hired a service for just that. They also made his bed, cleaned his clothes, and did pretty much everything else for him too. He had the money, so why the heck not?

  Once home and unpacked, Sherman went about following his usual nightly routine, regardless of the night of the week. He opened up a fresh bottle of expensive vodka, poured it into a glass — all the way to the top – plonked himself down on the couch and drank. He didn’t turn on the TV, listen to music, or message a friend. Instead, he drank and drank and drank some more.