Oil Man

Chapter 11

“A Chain Reaction”

Matthew:

I have a really strange feeling in my gut today.  I’m on my way back to channel 12 to sign the new contract that will put me back in the 6:00 PM news anchor chair again without missing a night on-the-air.  It was a bit weird signing off the newscast for good last night and 24-hours later I will have to briefly explain the contract snafu so the viewers won’t thing the whole situation was just a publicity stunt.

At the security check, a big guard says, “Underground parking, Mr. Walker. Your old parking space awaits you. Welcome back.”

I thank him and hurry to the underground entrance, quickly park and rush upstairs to the newsroom before going to the conference room to give them my signature of agreement. The phone in the news director’s office is ringing; I rush in to answer it.  It’s the receptionist in the lobby telling me I have guests waiting for me there.  The guests will have to wait another few minutes.

In the conference room, the Navarro Broadcasting CEO George McCaffrey and his assistant Sean greet me with big smiles and handshakes.  

Mr. McCaffrey says, “Matt, I know you’re anxious to get to work in the newsroom so we will make this contract signing quick.”  He slides the contract across the conference room table toward me.

“I raise my ‘one-minute finger’ into the air, smile and surprise them with, “I have to get someone from the lobby first.”  The look of surprise and confusion spreads across the two men’s face.

I leave the room at a slow-jog pace and meet my guests in the lobby.  I thank them for coming here today and rush them toward the meeting room.

We enter and I introduce them.  “Gentlemen, this is my friend, Sam Ingram and his assistant David Stein.  I want them to glance at the contract before I sign it.” 

Sam is Dallas-Fort Worth’s top lawyer and a friend of mine. His assistant David is much more to Sam than just his assistant, I recall to myself and smile.

I move the contract over to Sam and David.  My CEO looks very surprised and constantly whispers to his assistant Sean while he glances toward the lawyers.  “If there is anything hidden in the wording my legal experts would have caught it,” he whispers.

Half-an-hour later Sam looks up and says, “It looks OK to us.  The wording is a bit awkward in a couple of places but it doesn’t have to be changed. However, the contract is very weak.

“There’s no clause regarding terminating the contract nor how a buyout would be handled; I assume Matt would get more than two weeks’ pay for each year served. No mention of contract negotiation.   

“I understand your motivation for rushing this contract through so quickly, but I remind you that the contract stipulates that everything in the contract becomes effective today with Matt’s signing.  A piece of free legal advice:  if you do not begin today giving stated employees their ten-percent pay hike, you could open yourself up for a lawsuit.  You cannot legally put off the pay raise for newsroom employs until a more convenient time.

“And, the new Mercedes every two years is, in reality, a gift from Mercedes.  Reasoning: it is paid for by a ten-second plug for Mercedes in the news broadcast closing credits. That ten-second vacancy has never been sold in the history of channel 12. No one thought it had any value. In fact, it didn’t exist until now. It was thought up by the Mercedes guy, not by your sales department. Maybe you should have fired the sales manager today also when you were laying blame and cleaning house.

“Look, I’m not expecting you to do any of those things I have pointed out. I simply use these immediately available ideas to show you what a weak contract it is. Instructional purposes only.

“Matt it is our opinion that you can safely agree to the contract by signing it.  And, I will say, your boss is generous, but could be more so.”

George grins with pride that his legal team has written a good contract for me with no hidden dangers. George and Sean shake hands again with Sam and David and thank them for their time.

As I walk the lawyers out to the lobby, Sam invites me for drinks directly following the news, telling me that David will join us a little later because he has some office work to take care of.

On my way back to the conference room to thank the CEO, I decide not to tell Bradley to join us for drinks immediately but I’ll call him a little later so that Sam and I can have some time alone to catch up before David joins us.

George and Sean shake hands with me and congratulate me on the new contract. George looks at me and says, “Matt, I am surprised that you brought in lawyers to review the contract.  I thought we have more trust in one another.”

“George, it is accepted that you will always look out for the corporation and the shareholders first.  And, the first contract four years ago I accepted without any discussion.  Navarro offered me a contract and I simply signed it.  I have a bigger reputation now and I want everyone to know that I’m taking work and contracts more seriously now.  So, my attitude is don’t fuck with me.  And, I do trust you, but sometimes legal speak, when put on paper, can create loopholes that benefit the control holder and work against the one who put his name on the dotted line.  I do trust you George and I will never do anything to reflect badly on you.  Today is just for show.  Strictly for show. ‘Look, I’m a big boy now.’  We all laughed.

“Now, get your ass back in the newsroom and make the greedy shareholders some more money,” George says with a huge grin on his face.

As I enter the newsroom, every one of the people there stand, applaud and whistle.

“Get the fuck back to work, you lazy fucks,” I yell jokingly.  The room bursts into laughter.  During the rest of the prep time for 6:00 PM, everyone eventually comes by and congratulates me individually.  I am on the top of the world at this point. Tears come to my eyes as I realize how good I have it, how happy I am and how lucky I am to have this crew to support me every day and get me ready to sit in that anchor’s chair five nights-a-week.  Life just can’t get any better, I think, but fail to realize that yes it can.

I discover that the entire newscast is written, edited and put together.  All that is left to do is constantly check for updates before we go on the air

I call Bradley and fill him in, then ask what he has lined up for tonight.  He says he’s arranged an evening at a karaoke bar we’ve been to a couple of times.  He’ll go there early to check that everything is set up.  He feels karaoke is more festive while a fine restaurant with soft elevator music will be too serious and lead to mood-killing discussions.  I agree and thank him.

The newscast goes smoothly and there are numerous phone calls from viewers who thank me for returning to the air.  I simply stop answering calls, take care of after-broadcast duties and head for the bar to meet Sam.

I meet Sam at a bar near my condo.  I ask him about David.  He says it took only two nights for David to get an emotional noose around Sam’s neck.  I ask if he is fucking David.

“What a stupid question.  Of course, I’m fucking him.”

“When did that start?”

“I won’t tell you that but when he became 18, I pushed him to attend law school.  He had no plans for college and was just fucking around and enjoying life.  I suggested he needed more misery in his life, misery that only law school can bring.”

“You are holding on to him, you know.”

“I’m fucking in love with him.  I already bought the rings but haven’t asked him yet,” Sam said, looking down at his glass and then back up to me with a ‘what do you think of that, asshole’ look on his face.

“WOW!  You in love.  I can’t fucking believe it.”

“Me either and I fought it for a couple of years and finally accepted that I have been captured. I couldn’t tell anyone for obvious reasons.  But I will marry that boy.  He’s mine and I am his, however we have never discussed this sort of thing.”

I look at Sam with a deeply serious look and say, “Dude if you are serious, you should tell him now before he gets bored with you and looks for someone else.”

“I know. You are absolutely right.  I have to do that.”

And, as if waiting in cue, David walks in and joins us.

“It’s all done,” he says breathless and proud.

I phone Bradley and tell him to hurry over for one drink before we have to get ready to meet my boss and his right-hand man and others for a fun evening.  Bradley is in charge of the evening so the only thing I know about it is that it will take place at a karaoke bar we know.

We continue our idle chitchat until Bradley arrives.  He stops at our table to shake hands and make introductions and says, “Be right back, gotta take a leak.”

“Holy fuck!  Is he yours?” Sam asks, looking at me with big eyes.

“Yep, he is.”

“Where the fuck did you find him?”

I smiled and replied, “That’s a long story, I’ll tell you another time.”

Bradley joins us, kisses me on the cheek and says “So you signed the contract?”  I nod.  “Good because both of us can’t be unemployed.”

Sam looks at Bradley and asks, “You’re unemployed?”

“I will be as of tomorrow,” replied Bradley. “I am terminating my contract tomorrow. I’m burned out on the 90-minute one-way commute between the oil rig where I work as an engineer and Dallas.  And, there are nights I have to stay out there and can’t sleep with Matthew by my side. That’s unacceptable for us, so I have told them that tomorrow will be my last day.”

The four of us talk and laugh a lot and when the conversation becomes silent, Bradley looks questioningly at me and I nod my had.

“You guys want to join us tonight at the karaoke bar.  It’ll be us, Matthew’s CEO and his assistant, Molly from the newsroom and a few others.  It should be a really fun time.  What do you say?”

Sam looks at David who smiles and then Sam says, “Yeah, we’ll be there.  Thanks a million for the invite.”

I look at my watch and turn to Bradley, “Babe we better get going.  We’re supposed to meet the boss at Flynn’s Karaoke Bar around 8:30.”

Sam and David will meet us there a bit later after getting a bite to eat.

Back at the condo, Bradley and I hurry getting undressed and pile into the shower.

“OK, we will wash ourselves and not touch each other because that will lead to making us both horny and once that happens it’s a guarantee for our being late arriving at Flynn’s.  So, keep your hands to yourself, dude.” Temptation is a bitch!

We arrive in an Uber at 8:35. Mr. and Mrs. McCaffrey, and assistant Sean are waiting outside Flynn’s.  We hurry inside and sit at a large table reserved for us.

After a couple of minutes, Bradley comes out of a private, employees only doorway and joins us.  He says he has a couple of things to do with the manager and will be back momentarily.

Meantime, Molly, the newsroom assignments editor as well as Sam and his assistant David arrive.  There are introductions all around and everyone seems to be in an upbeat mood.  Great!

I turn toward Molly, “Come with me.  Let’s rustle up some drinks.”  As we walk toward the bar, I tell her, “Molly I didn’t know you were coming but I am glad you’re here.  Bradley arranged this event so let me ask you a favor:  anything you hear or observe here tonight remains between you and me, OK?  You may hear some corporate information that should not be spread around at work.”

“Matt, you didn’t have to ask me that, but I understand, for safety’s sake you had to.  And, I will respect all sensitivities regarding what I hear.”

We place drink orders at the bar and return to our table.

After much small talk, George raises his glass and everyone becomes very quiet as he says, “This is a very happy occasion for Matt and also for me and Navarro Broadcasting.  Matt briefly became a former anchorman at channel 12 because a young personnel clerk threw his prepared contract in her desk drawer and forgot to give it to him. But he has a new contract today, a better contract for him, and he was on-the-air tonight without missing a broadcast, so we are very happy right now.”

There’s a lot of applause and chitchat and then Bradley pipes up. “Mr. McCaffrey, I just wonder if it isn’t unusual for the CEO of a company to negotiate an employee contract?”

George puts down his drink and says, “Very good question. Well, our audience measurement expert back in San Antonio says if Matt had missed only one night on the air, his audience would have decreased by about 25 per cent and we can’t live with that.  The big advertising agencies in New York, for instance, will see that as an indication that we are no longer a steady outlook and they will suddenly become cautious about buying long-contract ads on channel 12. 

“Television viewers, particularly news watchers, are very fickle.  They will leave you in a heartbeat and move to another station.  When they leave, our big ad money is threatened.  So, because of time pressure, a middleman negotiating with Matt would have slowed things down.

“I am the only one who can give extras without question.  If Matt wants a house only I can yes to that.  Anyone else will have to ask me before he can meet Matt’s requests.  We couldn’t risk a single weekday with Matt off-the-air.  He now has everything he asked for and more.

“Let me say this in all honesty, if the shareholders had a choice of voting to keep Matt or me on the payroll, they would without question choose to kick me out and keep Matt.  That is how valuable he is.  His ratings for about four-and-a-half years, are the highest rating of any news show in Dallas-Fort Worth.  Every night.  Number one by a large margin.”  George raises his glass and says, “Here’s to Matt’s continued success.”

After an hour or so, Bradley announces, “I have to take care of something.”

He is really on edge tonight.  I hope nothing is wrong.  But one has to consider that he will fly out to the oil rig one last time tomorrow and then will be out of a job for a while.  But he says he has saved quite a bit of money.

A few minutes roll by and a voice comes over the karaoke system. “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have a special treat.  We are featuring an amateur musician on stage.  He writes music, plays several instruments and sings.  He will not use the karaoke system exclusively since he’ll play the guitar live and he has recorded the other instruments for his presentation.  So, with the setup out of the way i give you Greg Bradley known among his friends as Bradley.”

A little applause follows and those at our table look at me for an answer.  I just shrug my shoulders.

Bradley walks out onto the small stage with his guitar. “This is the first time I have serenaded a group this large and it makes me a little nervous and I have a couple of other things that add to the nervousness. Thank you.

He grabs a stool, sits and tinkers with his guitar for a few minutes, stops, raises a hand in the air and takes a deep breath.

The very silent room is filled with the loud sound of a single beep and Bradley’s fingers play the guitar strings, then his voice fills the room. He sings the Joe Cocker classic, “You Are So Beautiful To Me.”  That song can reach most people like a hand rammed inside the chest, squeezing the heart.

‘You are so beautiful to me......everything I hoped for.....everything I need’

Powerful lyrics coupled with beautiful music.  A combination that brings tears to my eyes as Bradley sings them.  Sometime his eyes are closed as he feels the words.  Other times, he looks directly at me and smiles with love in his eyes.

Flynn’s Karaoke Bar is absolutely quiet except for Bradley’s music.  The people at our table are like in a trance, all eyes on the stage.  Bradley looks at me often as he sings, with a look of deep love in his eyes, as though only he and I are here.  I have tears running down my cheeks, as do a couple of others at the table.  The words, the soft voice, the beautiful music.  Overwhelming.  Touching the heart at its deepest level.

When he finishes, everyone in the room stands, applauds and whistles with appreciation.  Those at our table are nearly shocked at the beauty of Bradley’s surprise performance.  Suddenly Bradley motions for me to join him on-stage.  I hesitate but after all of that for me, I can’t resist.  I slowly join him on stage.  He grabs my hand and speaks to the audience.

“I want ya’ll to meet the man I sang that song for. I mean I sang it for ya’ll too, but he is the true love of my life. He’s my world.  We met when I thought I was straight and he changed all of that. I want to be with him all the time now.  So, tomorrow I am quitting my job on that oil rig out in the Gulf of Mexico so I can have him by my side when I go to sleep and when I wake up. To make sure he’s forever there for me, I wanna do something that’s kinda dangerous, but I gotta take a chance.”

Bradley let go of my hand, drops onto one knee and looks up at me with tears in his eyes.  “Matthew, I hope you want me forever as much as I want you, so I want to ask you, if you’ll marry me.  Be mine forever as I will be yours forever.  Will you”?

I look down at him, panic in my brain as I have trouble accepting the reality of the situation. I was not expecting this so soon. “Yes, Bradley, yes I will and I’ll be proud of it.  I will marry you.  He opens the ring box he had in his hand and takes out a shiny silver band and places it on my ring finger.  He offers the other ring to me and I place it on his ring finger.

The crowd applauds, whistles and stomps the floor.  This will always be the most incredible experience of my life.

Bradley takes me in his arms and gives me a deep kiss which brings more applause from the audience.  He takes me back to our table as everyone there stands and congratulates us.  Fuck me, what a night!  As we sit, I notice Molly smiles and nods at Bradley.  What’s that all about.

We are all chattering at our table, happy and having a good time, when George turns to Bradley and asks, “Bradley, is there anything you CAN’T do?  I mean, you play guitar, sing, compose music and produce it electronically. You are no stranger to the excellent use of all varieties of cameras.  Your photographic work is professional and has appeared on channel 12. You’re a certified engineer who has worked for several years on an oil rig in the Gulf.”

Bradley smiles and replies, “You forgot piano and keyboard.” A roar of laughter erupts from our table.

Bradley continues, “I’m a quick learner and I retain a lot of what I read and hear.  I’m definitely not a typical nerd, though.”

Then a patron from across the room approaches our table and asks Bradley if he will do one more song.  The dude offers to buy our table a bottle of champagne for just one more song.

Bradley stands and says, “I just happen to have one more song in me for tonight.”  He leaves to prepare for the next performance.

Bradley arrives on stage a few minutes later with his guitar.  He speaks into the microphone, “OK one of you guys has threatened to kick my ass if I don’t do another song, so here goes.”  He tunes the guitar a little, looks at the audience and says, “I Can Love You Like That.”

Bradley has a really good, professionally-sounding voice.  Magical.  The lyrics to this song are so beautiful.

I would make you my world
Move Heaven and Earth if you were my girl
I will give you my heart
Be all that you need
Show you you're everything that's precious to me

While Bradley is singing no one at our table is speaking.  However, I note that Sam, the lawyer, is fidgeting, squirming and showing signs of some sort of exasperation. Just as Bradley finishes the song, Sam stands and I think he is going to the men’s room but he instead walks to the stage.  WTF?

Hey, buddy,” he says to Bradley, “May I use your microphone for a few minutes.”

With mike in hand, Sam speaks. “Bradley and I had a drink after work today and I told him I have been carrying around this ring box for about six months, waiting for the right time to use it.  Well, I think tonight’s the night.”  He points at our table and says, “David, please come to me.”

David’s head jerks upward as he focuses on the stage and Sam who is holding out his hand.  I think David is going into a state of shock.  But after a minute he gets up from the table and slowly walks to the stage in a state of complete confusion and disbelief. 

Sam takes David’s hand and looks him in the eyes and speaks with love and honesty. “David, you and I have been in a relationship for a few years now, having a lot of fun and somewhere along the way I have fallen in love with you.  I miss you during the day when you are out of my sight and I think about you all the time. I can’t get you off my mind and I really don’t want to.  I was warned today that if I don’t take action soon, you’ll probably become bored with me and look for someone else.  That thought seriously scares me because losing you, having you out of my daily life, is no longer acceptable.  So....”

Sam gets on one knee, “If you will have me, I propose that you marry me. Please David, marry me.  You truly have become very precious to me.  You are my world and I can no longer tolerate the idea of not waking up with you every morning by my side.  So, David please marry me.”

David blushes, smiles and says, “Yes, Samuel, I will marry you.  I want to be with you permanently, forever, too.  Yes, yes, yes.  I will.”

Applause breaks out again on this evening full of surprises. 

We are just getting ready to go our separate ways when a handsome, young guy and a beautiful girl walk up to the stage.  George suggests we wait until they are finished.

The young man says, “We wanna sing a country song that Tim McGraw and his wife Faith Hill recorded. It’s about a man and a woman thinking about the rest of their lives together and growing old together.  It’s called ‘The Rest of Our Life’ and goes something like this.

The duet is tremendous.  They sound like McGraw and Hill in person.  Wonderful.  Their performance draws huge applause and they really do deserve it.

After the applause dies down the guy looks at the audience and says, “I have never told Angie Jean here that I want to spend the rest of my life with her.  My name by the way is Bobby Joe.  Anyway, I’m gonna correct the error of my ways right now.”  On one knee, he looks up at Angie Jean and says, “Angie, I love you more than life itself.  I know we’ve been having a lot of fun these past three years together, but we should make it something real. So, if you want to spend the rest of your life together with me, say YES!”  He shows her the ring in the opened ring case.

“She looks down at him smiling with love, tears cascading down her cheeks and she says, YES I will do it.  I will marry you, Bobby Ray.”

He stands and gives her a long, deep kiss, then says, “I still can’t believe you said yes.”

She put a hand on the side of his face. “I said ‘yes’ darlin’ ‘cause I love you, dipshit.”

The crowd roars and slams hands-on tables in approval.

George says, “It’s a chain reaction of proposals.  Time for us to go, ya’ll.” He laughs at the use of the word, ‘ya’ll.’

We say our pleasantries and goodbyes and go outside for the string of Ubers we have summoned.  Bradley and I grab one and head home.

Bradley:

The Uber hums along the Dallas streets. I turn to Matthew and say, “You know, I don’t know where to begin with reaction to this evening.  It was ten times better than I had expected.  Everyone in our group seems to have had a great time. But hearing you say ‘yes’ was the highlight of my evening.  Really.  I’ve been waiting for months to ask you and ring you.  Then this afternoon I decided it will happen tonight.  And, I can’t believe that Sam proposed to David.  Sam really is deeply in love with that boy.”

I take Matthew’s hand and place it on my crotch.  My dick is completely hard.  I am mega-horny right now. Matthew unzips my pants, shoves his hand inside and squeezes my hard-on.  I look at him and he reads my mind.  He takes me out, looks up front at the driver and goes down on me, I mean really goes on me, attacks my manhood and i can’t sit still.  I squirm and try to stifle my moans and groans.  His lips are wrapped around the base of my cock, shaking his head from side-to-side, swallowing and swallowing, his throat muscles massaging my cock.  A finger pressing against my hole.  Fuck, he’s gonna make me come in this taxi.  At about the time I think of it, I lose control and plunge over the edge tumbling into a super-powerful orgasm, filling Matthew’s throat with my creamy, white, thick cum that he loves so much.  I’m sure I was not as quiet as I thought I was.

The driver looks in his rear-view mirror and says, “You guys record all of that to post on the Internet so the world can see yet another sexual encounter in the backseat?”

Matthew and I burst into laughter.  We had thought the driver was oblivious to what we were doing.

“When I get you home, I’ll give you a proper fuck in our bed, or on the couch, or leaning against the big living room window high in the sky, or on the kitchen counter. The possibilities are endless.”

The Uber driver pipes up, “You guys are giving me another boner.”

To be continued