My New Black Magazine - NYU Black Renaissance Noire BRN-FALL-206 ISSUE RELEASE | Page 123

“You notice I’m not wearing my ear
buds, right? Well, it’s because, you
know I like to listen to my music, but
after a while, even when I wasn’t
wearing it, I was hearing…I know
I’m not crazy, but — is that my
cellphone or yours? Gotta take this,
man. I’ll get back to you this weekend,
or after you get back from d.c.”
I spent two days in d.c. in talks with
Dolan Felton, my boss’s boss, about my
future in the company. Dolan was big
bear of a guy from Detroit, with bushy
ginger hair that made him look like
a hippy writer or one of his favorite
hockey players. He perpetually kept his
sleeves rolled up and his tie loosened.
He put his feet up on his desk and his
hands behind his head.
“Your supervisor tells me you’re a people
person, but I can see that for myself.
You have “skills, my man.” You’re not
afraid to get in there and roll up your
sleeves. We need people like you to get
our products out there, especially after
that panic about Prexylin’s antecent,
Protosinal. I still think those ten who
committed suicide out of one hundred
and fifty in the study had simply not
read the contraindications, which came
in the packet, but which says plain as
day — well, there’s no use going over
that. We’re going to create a great
campaign for this product, and we
want you to lead it, to push Prexylin to
all markets, not just the, ahem…
the mainstream. That’s why we want
you in —”

122

“Comity Grove?”

“er…Cleveland to head things up.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Sir?”

I retreated to my spot on the porch
steps, seeing and not seeing the
Trojan Horse, while I smoked the two
cigarettes I had penitently rationed
myself. I’d taken my Prexylin five hours
earlier, so it was time for another dose.
I popped a gold triangle. What did I
know about Cleveland, except snowy
winters, good fishing, the Warehouse
District, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
and an estimable black population.
Carl Stokes. Wasn’t he Cleveland’s first
black mayor of Cleveland? What
mattered was the fifteen thousand
dollar pay raise, plus stock options,
a nice severance package, moving
expenses and a company car. I heard
through the grapevine that I was the
only black being considered for the
promotion “An opportunity to grow,”
Dolan had called it, an opportunity to
“move ahead.” Of whom? What about
the black reps in Cleveland who were
probably salivating for the position?
And did he think I wasn’t aware that
there was an opening for associate vp
right here in Comity Grove? Even in
this depressed economy, the job came
with a twenty-five thousand dollar raise,
a housing allowance, all the perks I was
going to get with the Cleveland job,
plus the opportunity to travel abroad
to the home office in Nantes, in the
Loire Valley, and all the muscadet I
could swallow. Did he think I couldn’t
handle the executive position? I gripped
the beer can.

“Yes, as Senior Manager.”
On the long drive home, I thought
about the fierce wind coming off Lake
Erie, compared to the milder weather
on the peninsula. Dolan said I’d receive
a fifteen thousand dollar raise, benefits,
including six weeks vacation annually.
All of a sudden — Couldn’t be! I knew
the window needed washing, but for a
moment, I thought I saw a giant silver
rabbit bounding across the highway,
but when I got closer, it was the tail of
a disappearing buck. Back home,
I didn’t mention the silver rabbit, but I
did tell Janice about the job offer.
“Billy, I know you were expecting to get
the vp job here, but senior manager
sounds good. I mean, a $15,000 raise
and an opportunity to be in charge of
a big project. Then again, what about
your sister and mom and my parents?
We’ve built a life here,” she said,
stroking her chin, and settling onto
the sofa in the den.
“It might be time to make a new start
in a new neighborhood, maybe even a
bigger house in a gated community.
I don’t know,” I said.
“Let’s sleep on it. And another thing.
Bill, you’re grinding your teeth again?
You’re still taking that Prexylin, aren’t
you? I know you’re breathing brilliantly,
because you’re sitting out on the porch
smoking cigarettes back to back, but,
and I don’t want t o be a nag. Just take
it easy on that stuff,” she said.