behindhand
Americanadverb
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late; tardy.
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behind in progress; backward.
They were never behindhand in following artistic fads.
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in debt or arrears.
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Jack was late. He was late in so many ways. He just hoped she was in a merciful mood today. Otherwise, he may not be going home today. He burst into the building’s lobby and rushed through the unfortunately familiar halls. He got several glares as he ran, but he did not care. He only slowed when he arrived at the heavy wooden doors.
Jack took a moment to compose himself. He was already late, a few extra seconds would not hurt. He took several deep breaths, then knocked. There was no answer. Jack knew better than to knock again though. Doing so would only upset her even more. Eventually, the voice calling for him to enter came. He immediately entered the office.
“Ah, Jack. I was wondering if you would show up.”
Juliet sat behind a large wooden desk. She was, as always, immaculately dressed. A suit that showed just enough of her figure to cause most men to lose their cool, while also hiding enough that she could easily be underestimated. A face equal to most supermodels that could break men with a glance, should she want to. Jack just hoped she would not turn that kind of gaze on him.
“Y-yes, Ms. Conway. I’m sorry.” He did not give an excuse. Such things were pointless.
“I’m sure you are. Well, have a seat and we can talk business.”
Jack sat in a chair in front of her desk. One of several. All three here hard wood with only a thin cushion. A far cry from her chair, which was more like a throne with wheels. He swallowed a lump in his throat as she placed her arms on the desk and rested her chin on her hands. Her sleeve tightened just a tiny bit. Enough to remind Jack of one of the many reasons to fear this woman.
“Now Jack, I won’t ask why you were late to this meeting. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. What I will ask about is why you are so late in your debt payment.”
“Uh, well, Ms. Conway, I—”
Juliet held up her hand, stopping him. “No excuses, Jack. You know how I feel about excuses. All I want to know is why you have not paid your debt to me. I believe I’ve been more than fair in my terms, and quite lenient in the repayment schedule. And yet, your first installment is late. By a week. This is unacceptable, Jack. Now, I’m a reasonable woman,” Jack had to bite his tongue to keep his face neutral at that. “if you give me a valid reason, I’ll let you off easy. A veritable slap on the wrist. But give me an excuse, and I’m sure you know what will happen.”
Jack took a deep breath. “I was going to make the payment.” He started. Juliet’s face darkened. “Honestly, I was. On my way to the post office. But I was jumped by some guys. I didn’t see their faces, but—”
“Jack. Are you telling me that you were robbed?” She stood up.
“Y-yes ma’am.”
She put a hand on the edge of her desk. “A robbery. Are you sure that’s your reason for being late?”
Jack pushed the chair back a little. He knew he was telling the truth here, but that did not make him any less nervous. The truth did not matter. Her judgement of the truth did. And if she determined he was lying?
“Oh, Jack.” She pushed the desk to the side. The heavy wooden desk and everything on it. Moved aside like a cheap plastic toy. “I thought we had an agreement. I give you money. You pay the money back. I thought you knew this.”
“I…I swear, I’m not lying!” He practically shouted.
“How many times have I heard the old robbery excuse, I wonder.” With her path clear, Juliet slowly started walking towards him. There were a scant few steps, but she took each one with a slow but inevitable gait. “I was hoping you would come up with something better.”
Jack did the only thing he could think to do. He quickly stood, turned around, and lifted his shirt. He heard her steps stop.
“What’s this, Jack?”
“The…the bruises, Ms. Conway. From the robbery.” He had seen them in a mirror. They were quite extensive. He heard Juliet come closer and run a hand along them. Luckily the robbery was a few days ago, so they did not have the sting of fresh injuries.
“Hm. Well, for once it seems like the robbery excuse might have some merit. I will, of course, be looking into the validity of your claim. You do know that, right?”
“Yes, Ms. Conway, I know.”
“If you’re really telling the truth, I’m willing to renegotiate. To an extent. But if I find these bruises of yours were from anything else…” Her hand closed on his shoulder like a steel vice. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what will happen.”
“Yes, Ms. Conway, I know.”
“Good. Now get out of here. Do work on getting my payment, and be more careful out there. It’s a dangerous city.”
When she let go, Jack immediately bolted for the door. As he left, Jack had never been so grateful that he had been robbed in broad daylight as he was in that moment.
