Pete's Pub

So it was with a little hesitancy that she grabbed her coat and headed to the elevator to make a quick run to the pub. As she rode down from the 15^th floor, she kept reminding herself that she was just going to something to drink and see if Pete had anything to eat at this late hour. She told herself that she was not there to be friendly with Pete or enjoy the atmosphere or wonder about the others who might be in the pub that night.

She repeated those thoughts to herself as she made the short three-block walk to the pub. Feeling confident she had left her emotions elsewhere, Sarah pushed the door open and walked in. Immediately the warmth of the pub surrounded her, and as she saw Pete standing behind the bar, her plan of coming just for food and drink evaporated.

Pete recognized her as soon as she stepped in the door. Instantly he smiled and waved at her, pleased to see Sarah there for a second night in a row. As if a moth drawn to a flame, Sarah automatically headed toward the same stool at the end of the bar, where Pete came around to greet her with another majestic bow and a kiss on the back of her hand. She felt a flush rise through her face as she broke out with a smile, yet deep in the back of her mind, she began to chastise herself for allowing these emotions to move her out of her usual business-like demeanor.

Pete smiled at her and said, "What a wonderful treat to see you back, my friend Sarah. Can I interest you in another mug of the city's finest ice tea?"

Sarah nodded her head, and added, "I was hoping that perhaps you might be able to find me some food to eat as well. I'm afraid I was so busy at work that I skipped dinner time completely. Any chance you could help a hungry girl out?"

Pete frowned a bit, and said, "The grill closes at 9:00, my dear. But I bet if you're not too picky, I could hustle back there and round something up."

"At this point, I'd eat almost anything. I would be indebted to your kindness if you could help a poor girl out."

As Sarah listened to the words she said, she realized that she didn't normally talk like that, but instead had fallen into the pattern Pete used as he talked to her. Part of her thought it charming to match Pete's vocabulary style; but part of it knew when she did things like that, she was losing control over who she really was.

As Pete headed into the back of the bar, he stopped as he walked by Brian – the investor friend of Pete's who was on the same stool last night. Brian nodded, then turned to look at Sarah with a smile and waved.

Sarah waved back. It was a comfort to see Brian there. Pete had said Brian was a very special friend. Her guess was that Pete asked Brian to cover the bar if any customers came in while he was in the back looking for food.

She looked at the rest of the crowd. There was a basketball game playing on both TV's, and she figured the extra people that were there that late were probably there to watch it in the ambience of the pub. She also noticed a blonde girl with an apron on, talking to one of the groups who were seated around a table while they were watching. The girl was very pretty, and looked to be about the same age as Sarah. She didn't remember seeing her in the pub last night.

Pete returned and headed to the end of the bar. "I think the best I can do for you is a sandwich, but we have lots of things that could be put on it. Would you like come back and tell me what you'd like?"

Sarah nodded and followed him back to the kitchen. It wasn't large, but obviously had all of the necessary equipment to serve a nice variety of pub food. She looked in the large refrigerator and saw the ingredients to make a nice sub sandwich with ham and turkey. Pete proceeded to make the sandwich on a hoagie bun, and offered to toast it underneath a salamander, which she accepted. When it came out, he carried it back to the bar for her.

With the first bite, she knew she was being spoiled by Pete. She didn't remember a sandwich ever tasting better. Maybe it was because she was so hungry. Maybe it was because Pete had made it for her, chattering away while he assembled it. Maybe it was just that once again, she was being lured into an unfamiliar feeling by the ambience of the pub and the warmth of its owner.

As she ate, she watched Pete. Just like last night, he always seemed to have a smile on his face. How could a person be so terminally happy, she thought to herself? He would chat with Brian, and the two of them would laugh together at whatever was said. The girl with apron came over and asked for a couple more beers, which Pete filled quickly and efficiently. Obviously she was a server, working for Pete, and yet they laughed together as well. Pete had the ability to improve the mood of those around him – a perfect talent for a pub owner and bartender.

He came walking back to her end of the bar just as she was finishing the last bite of her sandwich. "How was it? I hope it was enjoyable for you, especially since you practically had to come back and make it yourself!"

Sarah laughed (surprising herself once again) and said, "I think it was fantastic – maybe because we worked as a team! Of course, I'm not sure me telling you what to put on it, and then watching you make it, is much of a team!"

Pete laughed and said, "If the sandwich was as good as you say it was, I think we can take team credit for it. And to tell you the truth, being on a team with you would be quite lovely, no matter what our tasks are!"

Sarah felt herself blushing. Pete was an extremely charming man, and even though she knew she shouldn't, she was enjoying every second she spent with him. He took the paper plate upon which her sandwich was served and tossed it in the trash, and then grabbed her mug and walked over to the tea dispenser to refill it. She started to protest, thinking that she couldn't stay much longer since she needed to get back to the office, but she knew it wouldn't do any good, because if Pete insisted on refilling her tea, he wouldn't listen to her arguments about it.

As he set the mug of tea down in front of her, Pete asked, "So tell me, Sarah – why are you here so much later than last night? You can't blame this on missing your train."

She answered, "No, that's not it. Today I was selected to lead a team to negotiate a cooperative agreement between two manufacturers that have not worked together before. We're under a very tight deadline, so I have a feeling over the next two weeks I'm going to be spending many more hours there than not. Today I was working on it so diligently that I never looked at the time, which is why I came here seeking food."

Pete shook his head. "My dear, you must be careful not to let yourself get into a mode where you don't have any time for life away from the office. I'm sure this project is important, but you need to remember that there is also life outside of the offices of Banks, Howell and Howell."

Sarah looked at Pete and said, "Maybe for you, but I've been preparing my entire life for an opportunity like this – a chance to show that I can handle whatever is put before me. My life right now is in the offices of Banks, Howell and Howell. If I am successful on this project, it means that I'll be considered for even bigger and better things. Do you know what it's like to work against adversity your entire life, and then see how all of those years of planning are beginning to pay off?"

Pete grabbed Sarah's hands and looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Yes, I do – in fact, I've done that twice now. I think there is something about me that you need to know." He paused, looking Sarah straight into her eyes, before he continued. "I, too, was a junior associate at Banks, Howell and Howell. I also put my career in front of everything else, for far too long. I know I told you yesterday of my wife's affair, but I cannot give her all the blame for her indiscretion. Because of my ungodly work ethic at the law firm, she finally went looking for intimacy somewhere else, and it cost me my marriage. It nearly cost me my family as well. When I looked at what I'd become, I had to stop.

"So call it a mid-life crisis if you will, but I quit the law firm and made the arrangements to build this place. I may be in debt for the rest of my life, but at least I'm in charge of myself now, and I make it my mission in life to make other people as happy as I am."

He let Sarah's hands go as he continued. "Listen, your schedule may be fine for you, especially since you're still young and can handle the physical requirements of the kind of hours it sounds like you will be working. Those kind of hours cost me who I was, and when it was too late to save what I had outside of the office, I felt I had to do what I did in order to rescue the rest of my life. I only tell you this because I'd hate for you to get caught up in the same mess I was in. Just be careful – you're too nice of a person to let them get you down."

With that, Pete headed out into the pub main area to visit with some of the customers who were wrapping up the game on TV. Leaving Sarah alone gave her a little time to ponder the story Pete had told her. It had been depressing to hear how his outside life was so negatively affected by his hours at the law firm. Nobody should ever have to lose that much just because they were trying to be the best employee they could be.

At the same time, she didn't have the outside life to worry about. Other than her mother, there was no one to go and visit; no friends to hang out with; no desire to step out and see what the outside world had to offer. Her life was spent with two things – work, and everything else that helped to make work successful. The only time she left her apartment was to go to work, or to shop for necessities – something she hated with a passion.

She continued to compare her current life with Pete's life before he quit the law firm. He hadn't been happy – especially losing his family like he did. He felt like if he didn't change, he would never be happy, so he took a big leap of faith and quit the job he knew to do something brand new and exciting, though filled with challenges the likes he'd never faced before. And yet the end result was that he was now happy – in fact, Sarah couldn't name anybody she knew that seemed to be happier than Pete.

So then the huge question loomed in her own life – was she happy? She was glad for her success, and was certainly driven to achieve even more with her total focus on her job. But was that happiness? Success is great, but at what price? She glanced at Pete again – smiling and talking as always – and realized that maybe she needed to find some of the happiness that engulfed him.

She debated with herself. Could she allow a little happiness in and still drive herself to achieve the levels of success she sought? Would it be worth lowering her sights a little bit to mix in some social time? Or was pure happiness only attained when she had reached all of her goals? She had been driven for so long to reach not only where she was today, but hopefully even loftier positions. Yet where did it stop? At what point will her achievement ever be good enough?

She was pondering these questions as Pete came back over. "So, Sarah, are you on your way home? It's not that I want to chase you off, but there's a train that leaves in about 15 minutes, so if that was your plan, you might want to get ready."

Sarah smiled at his concern. "No, I think I'm headed back to the office for the night. I really want to get a jump on this project. It's my first real chance to show that I can be counted on for the work that is important to the senior partners."

Pete's eyes widened. "You mean you're going to pull an all-nighter? Is this project that important? Wait a minute...I bet I know more about this than you think I do. I bet that this project was assigned to you by Robert Ward. Am I right?"

It shouldn't have surprised Sarah by now to know that Pete knew a lot of things, especially since she had just found out he had worked for the same firm she toiled at now. So she just shook her head at Pete and said, "Yeah, it's Mr. Ward. What can you tell me about him?"

Pete smiled and said, "I imagine if you've worked there for three years, there's not too much you don't know about him. But if he's picked you to lead this project, that's very high praise coming from a very intelligent man. Of all the senior partners, I respected Robert the most. He knows you can handle this, but he also knows you will spend the hours necessary to do an extra good job. If he has a fault, it's that he likes to squeeze hours out of the junior associates."

Sarah blushed at the compliment. It was nice to know that Pete felt Robert thought highly of her. In a way, it was a small validation of the hard work and energy she had put into her career to this point.

Pete then got serious again. "Listen, Sarah. I'd hate to see you get physically run down from the hours you have ahead of you. When you add the couple of hours you will lose every time you go home – even if just for fresh clothes – it really begins to add up. I like you and I want to see you do well, so I want you to consider this: I have an extra room in my apartment here with a bed, dresser and closet. I would let you use that room if you feel comfortable, and give you a key to the separate door to the apartment so you could come and go as you like. That way, if you have a couple of hours and need a rest, you won't waste it on the train ride home and back."

Sarah thought about his offer. The practical side in her said it made sense to be just a 10 minute walk away from a bed where she could catch some sleep. If she could come and go as she pleased, it wouldn't lock her into a pre-determined time schedule. She thought about Pete. In the two days she had known him, he came across as one of the friendliest men she'd ever met, but she realized that in all honesty, she didn't know him that well. And as driven as she was by her father's abuse and subsequent absence in her life, she didn't know if she could allow herself to accept that kind of help from ANY man, let alone one as nice as Pete appeared to be.

So she looked at him and said, "Pete, that's the nicest offer I've had in a long time. Let me think about it, because it is unexpected. I'm sure I'll be back here sometime soon, and I can let you know then. But thank you for being so kind to me!"

She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and it was his turn to blush. After that, she grabbed her coat and turned to leave, but not before leaving $10 on the counter to pay for her sandwich. Pete tried to give it back to her, but she refused. Smiling, she told him goodbye and headed back to her office. As she walked, she couldn't believe that she had just kissed Pete on the cheek! What was she thinking? It had been a spur-of-the-moment action, certainly not one she was thinking about at the time. And yet it seemed the right thing to do. After all, he had offered up a room in his apartment to her, even though he had only known her for a couple of days.

As she walked back to the office, she realized one of the reasons she felt compelled to kiss him. Because he had worked for BH&H, he knew what her job was like, including knowing the senior associates at the top of the firm. He sympathized with her about the long hours she was certainly going to have over the next two weeks or more. Most importantly, he cared enough about her to warn her to take care of herself, especially in regards to lack of sleep.

Suddenly that thought hit her between the eyes – he cared for her. Surely others had cared for her as well as she advanced through her education and into her career, but Pete was different. He took the time to get to know her; he had been funny and charming; he had made her a sandwich an hour after the kitchen had closed; and he offered a bedroom in his apartment for her to use as she toiled on this special project. Pete didn't have to do any of those things, and yet he had done them anyway.

She got to the main building entrance and used her fingerprint to gain access. As she stepped in the elevator car for the ride to the 15^th floor, she continued with her speculation. Would Pete have done those things for others? He was always funny and charming, so that answer was yes. Would he get to know others as well as he had with her? That was a yes as well, because it seemed that Pete never met a stranger. Would he have made a sandwich for them after hours? Probably, especially if they were in her situation with no food options in sight. Would he have offered his extra bedroom in his apartment?

She smiled as the elevator doors opened. The answer was obvious – Pete cared for her, perhaps more so than others. So the kiss on the cheek had been appropriate – it seemed like the perfect gesture to return her thanks for his caring. As she sat down at her desk and cracked open the trade journals in front of her, she felt a renewed energy, and with a smile and a deep breath, she got to work.

******

The renewed energy didn't last long. Sarah made it through the night and actually accomplished a good amount of research. But by morning, she was dragging. Her last year at Williams had been the last time that she had pulled an all-nighter, and she realized that she wasn't in shape to do it now. Perhaps that was something 30-year-old junior associates shouldn't do, but she knew there would be more coming up while they worked on this project.

She survived through the noon hour on extra cups of coffee and the sugar rush of doughnuts in the break room. The team meeting at 1:00 wasn't the most productive meeting ever, but she heard enough from the other members to assure her they had made excellent progress the first day. She refined their assignments, giving each one of them a particular focus area on which to concentrate, and sent them off on their way.

By 7:00, she realized she was not capable of rational thought any more. She needed sleep, and she wasn't going to get it at the office. She looked at the time and realized that she would be in another race against the 7:15 train, but she decided it wasn't worth the effort it would take to get to the station. What she needed, she thought to herself, was time with the person she knew cared for her. So she packed up her work in her desk drawer and headed for the elevators, her first stop on the way to Pete's.

She slowly made her way to the pub, and pushed the door open at about 7:25. Pete looked up from behind the bar and immediately knew what had happened. He came out to help her to her customary stool at the end of the bar and sat her down. He quickly retrieved a glass mug and filled it with iced tea. She took a big gulp, and the cold beverage helped her become a little more alert.

Pete patted her on the back and said, "So you completed the all-nighter, eh? I hate to tell you this, but it looks like it completed you!"

Sarah groaned at Pete's lame attempt at a joke. She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes and said, "I don't get it – I used to do this all the time at Williams. But it sure knocked me out today. I just need some sleep." She laid her head on the counter, looking for even just a few seconds' respite.

Pete had heard enough. "Okay, Sarah Sullivan. You have no choice now. You need sleep, and you can't wait until you get to your apartment. Pick something off of the menu for the cook to make for you, and then I'm taking you upstairs to that spare bedroom."

Sarah heard herself saying "But Pete, I haven't decided I'm going to do that yet."

Pete would have nothing of it. "I've decided for you. Until you get enough rest to get your senses back, I'm taking over, and I will not take 'no' for an answer!"