The Sauna Part 245

There were a number of emails from Jack, the web designer, and he sounded pretty annoyed. He said he’d gotten the green light from Matt, but had found nothing had changed when he tried to access the site. He was finally able to get in, after a three day delay and feeling put off, but nothing had changed when he logged on as an ordinary user. It appeared that Matt had set up an alternate site on a separate server where he could design whatever he wanted, but he never actually gave him access to the real Backstage website.

I was furious when I read his account of what had transpired and knew without a shadow of a doubt that Matt had done this on purpose to stall. I immediately picked up the phone and dialed his number as he should have been at work at that hour. It went straight to voicemail and I left him an irate message, letting him know that we hadn’t been fooled by the fake website.

I shot off an email to Jack and aplogized for being so slow to react and I promised that I would follow through from now on. I got a phone call within the hour from Matt and he acted rather put out, explaining that he felt it was best to “test” the new system before rolling it out.

“Look, Matt, I am not stupid. What you did was sneaky and dishonest and I won’t tolerate it. If that was your intent, you should have discussed it with me first and there was certainly no reason to have lied about the situation to Jack. I want this rectified immediately and if I don’t see the changes appear by tomorrow when I log into Backstage, I promise you, there will be trouble” I said as forcefully as I could.

I was tired of pussy-footing around because he was Jon’s brother and I was enraged that he thought he could deceive me. I really didn’t want things to end up this way and really had hoped we could forge a genuine partnership, but I was beginning to have serious doubts over whether to allow him to continue in his present position. He had until tomorrow to correct the situation or I would seek Jon’s support in removing him permanently from any further involvement with Backstage.

“Trish, please calm down and be reasonable. I don’t think you really understand the implications of what it is you’re trying to do” he said pejoratively.

“Matt, I’ve had enough of listening to your objections. I know you don’t approve of the idea but I’m not discussing it with you further. Either follow my directions or I’ll find someone who can. You have until tomorrow at noon. Is that understood?” I said finally.

“Yes, Trish, I understand. You’ll see the changes go into effect by tomorrow, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you about repercussions” he replied snidely.

I hung up the phone, shaking with rage, as I really took issue with insubordination. I had experienced the same thing in my previous job and it was always the men who gave me the most grief. I was beginning to think it truly was some sort of an ego thing where their pride wouldn’t allow them to take orders from a woman, regardless of her position. I missed my old boss at that moment and I knew Angie would have understood my frustration.

Little did I know that Jon would have understood and supported me too as he had already had his own confrontation with Matt earlier. He’d called to chastise him for failing to call on my birthday and Matt made excuses, claiming he had just gotten busy at work and hadn’t wanted to call in the evening as he was afraid he’d be interrupting. Jon, however, was having none of it and he didn’t appreciate being manipulated.

“Matt, I don’t wanna hear any more of your lame excuses. It was a simple request and you could have easily left Trish a message if we didn’t answer. I don’t think that was asking a lot” he challenged him.

“Of course, Jon. You’re right and I’m terribly sorry. It was thoughtless and it won’t happen again” Matt responded, attempting to placate Jon’s wrath.

Matt had never been able to stand up to Jon. He could joke and laugh when things were okay, but he was basically intimidated by his older brother’s strong will. Jon was a force to be reckoned with and he dominated most people without even trying and Matt was no exception. The fact that Jon was also their mother’s favorite certainly didn’t help build Matt’s confidence as she’d always supported her eldest son whenever there had been any conflict as children.

Jon, for his part, could be spoiled. He wasn’t used to being denied and it was rare that his commands were disobeyed. He was used to people catering to him, including his family and he had a tendency to be demanding, especially with those that he loved. To be fair, he was just as demanding when it came to his self-expectations and he was proud of the fact that he hardly ever let anyone down. It was this sense of loyalty and responsibility that led to his having little patience with those who disappointed him.

“Good. It’s too late to do anything about it now, but just make sure you don’t forget the next time I ask you to call her. Got it?” he asked petulantly.

“Got it, Jon. You have my word” Matt agreed, his cheeks burning at having been scolded like a child, but he knew on which side his bread was buttered.

Meanwhile, as I waited for Jon to return from the sound check, Matt called his mother in hopes of at least getting a few strokes. He’d done as she asked and she should at least be pleased about that and he knew she’d be happy to hear that the next phase of their plan for Backstage was about to go into effect.

“Hi mom, I just wanted to call and tell you that Jon just ripped me a new one because I didn’t call that witch that he married for her birthday” he whined.

“Good, neither did I and I instructed Tony not to call her either. Who does Jon think she is? Just because she’s his wife now doesn’t mean that we have to accept her” she spat.

“No, it certainly doesn’t, but Jonny seems to think otherwise. He was on quite a tirade, Ma” Matt continued.

“Oh Matt, for heaven’s sake, you’re his brother. Can’t you ever stand up to him on your own?” she belittled him.

“I’m sorry, mom. I’ll try to do better the next time, but you know Jonny doesn’t listen to me. It’s up to you to make him see his mistake” Matt said as he tried to cajole her.

“Speaking of which, what have you been doing about that situation at Backstage? Did you do what I told you?” she demanded.

“Yes, Ma, and it worked just like you said. I kept putting off that web designer she hired and he went whining to her. She called me today and demanded that I ‘fix’ the problem and I made it sound that I was only trying to be cautious and prevent a disaster. Now when the whole thing doesn’t work and people start to complain, it’ll all look like her fault and Jon will see what a liability she is” he said in a sinister voice, licking his lips in anticipation.

“Now that’s my good boy, Matty. I’m proud of you” Carol replied in a sickening tone.


**************


Jon returned to the hotel just before five and we took a quick shower and got ready to meet up with the guys for a light dinner. I noticed he’d chosen a t-shirt to wear as opposed to his regular gig clothes and I guessed that they still hadn’t fixed the A/C at the venue. He confirmed that was true and shot me a wry little smile.

“And I’ve gotta be careful if I don’t want our sex life plastered all over the web” he explained, raising his eyebrows.

“Okay, okay. I guess I deserved that” I shrugged.

“I’ll show you what you deserve, little vixen” he cackled as he chased me around the room and I let him catch me.

He pinned me down on the bed and kept kissing me until I begged him for mercy.

“Aaahhh, had enough? Must be your age catching up with you, darlin’” he cackled defiantly.

“What? Jon, how dare you…” I protested but he silenced me with his kisses.

“C’mon, we’re gonna be late and I’m starving” he teased as he pulled me up off the bed and we hurried down to the restaurant in the hotel.

The guys were already seated and we’d noticed the crowd in the lobby. Word had gotten out where we were staying and there were fans as well as the press waiting outside. We scarfed down a pretty quick dinner and hurried out to the limo, weaving our way through the throng of people waving photos to autograph. I’d finally learned the importance of sunglasses, even at night, as the flash bulbs exploded one after the other. We climbed in the limo and headed off to the show just as it started to rain.