Sidetracked

Sidetracked: A Small Town Contemporary Rom-Com
Lola Karns
Published by Lola Karns, 2020.


This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
SIDETRACKED: A SMALL TOWN CONTEMPORARY ROM-COM
First edition. October 13, 2020.
Copyright © 2020 Lola Karns.
ISBN: 978-1393824299
Written by Lola Karns.


Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Sandy’s Cream Cake
Author’s note and Acknowledgements: Sidetracked
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Also By Lola Karns
About the Author


 
In memory of Grandpa Roy and his dribble glass.


Chapter 1
September fifth
For the fourth time in five minutes, James Fordham straightened the knot of his skinny tie and patted the suit pocket with his emergency Tums. The allegedly “tasteful” high-gloss corporate wall art served as a makeshift mirror. One month of prep was insufficient for this life-changing opportunity. For the last weeks, he’d spent every waking second—well, those not occupied with wingman duty and packing for his temporary relocation to Podunksville, Fly Over USA—researching the energy industry so he’d know what to do with this particular miserable waste of space. The knowledge gained hadn’t slaked his quaky gut.
He knew retail. Fordham, Fordham and Schmidt specialized in privatizing and revamping retailers on shaky financial footing. Even though he was one of two junior members of the team, he knew when to use a scalpel and where to use a chainsaw to maximize profit. Even in the corporate talk of diversification, they discussed restaurant chains, etailers, and oil change services—never utilities. Yet here he stood in Adena Energy’s headquarters, one shake-up away from becoming partner.
The partners, his dad, his uncle, and the soon-to-retire Schmidt, arrived in person to introduce him to the company he would get to revamp. He stood behind them in a long hallway with an opulent paint job and scruffy linoleum floors. Someone along the way put more money into appearances than in functionality. He’d fix that. The picture frames might be worth some money on the salvage market even if the photographs of landscapes and toy trains were pure trash. The place was typical of companies that overran expenses during the good years, making the building pretty and sending employees end-of-the-year gifts. They forgot the core business and how to make money. Maybe the utility industry wasn’t so different after all.
The “town” sure was different. Until two days ago, Main Street only existed in old Hollywood black and white movies or as a marketing tool—2D nostalgia to convert wishful thinking into money. Mythical Main Street was not a place with parking meters and potholes, both of which, Belkin, Ohio’s literal and nominative Main Street had in abundance.
The sooner James destroyed this company, the sooner he would become a wealthy man living in the urban jungle of restaurant choices. One with his own apartment so he wouldn’t have to share with Danny, his older cousin by a mere three months and his rival for this promotion. But first, he needed to clean house in Ohio, all by himself. Without back-up. This was his test. If he could do this, his new address would be Easy Street.
He peeked around the corner. The partners stood before the crowd on a makeshift platform in the company’s foyer. They spoke in upbeat terms about ensuring the company’s future, but he heard the double talk often enough to know that the company’s future meant little to those people he’d eliminate in the name of efficiency. Usually they met with the higher-ups of the doomed company, but this time, the partners invited everyone to the change of authority ceremony. If Danny didn’t get the same treatment at the bookstore chain he got to dismantle, then maybe the partners recognized the uniqueness of the energy industry. Or perhaps the partners believed in his inevitable triumph and wanted to see how he handled ceremony. Or they rolled the red carpet over the edge of the abyss. The path to hell paved with pomp.
Thomas Fordham’s voice echoed through the cavernous space. “Our goal is to make you profitable by the end of the fiscal year. To that end, we’d like to introduce you to the man who will make that happen. Ladies and gentlemen, Mister James Fordham.” James took one last swig and then tucked a bottle of Mylanta in his suit coat. Showtime.
He tightened his abs as he walked in the room, hoping to squeeze those butterflies in his stomach into submission. Just another day of being the new kid, at school, at work, at life. Hundreds of faces stared at him. He drew a deep breath as he walked toward the microphone.
His dad, his uncle, and Mr. Schmidt made a show of shaking his hand before retiring to the three empty chairs at the back of the stage. James approached the podium and scanned the sea of bald spots and helmet hair. He avoided faces until the deed was done. There was always one savvy person in the audience who saw through the bullshit. He didn’t need that person’s vitriol to put him off his game.
“Thank—” A loud squeal echoed. He flinched. Most of the audience probably did too.
“Get closer,” his dad hissed in a tone that implied two missing words –you and idiot.
James cleared his throat and leaned over the podium. “Thank you.”
He squared his shoulders to the audience. Someone in that crowd had set him up for failure with poor equipment, so he wouldn’t apologize for the feedback. The audience didn’t deserve an apology. He pinched his pointer fingernail into the soft part of his thumb to remind himself of the next line of his prepared remarks.
“Over the next weeks and months, we will need to make some hard decisions, ones that will improve Adena’s future. We of Fordham, Fordham and Schmidt want to keep Adena local and strive to secure good jobs, your jobs, right here in Ohio. It won’t be easy, but I will meet with many of you to discuss