High Gas Prices
The Pilot was a few exits up the highway, but Jake figured he'd make it. Even though the needle was pointing to E, he should still have at least a dozen miles before the car stalled; even then, he wouldn't have to worry much. Markson Consulting had the ol' triple-A for all their company vehicles. Let them do the towing. It was a fine spring day, perfect for sitting on the hood of the car and smoking a cigarette. You'd have to be some kind of moron to be stuck driving two hundred miles on a day like this, though not as much of a moron as the "professionals" on site who couldn't figure out a simple database installation. Idiots.
Jake caught himself reaching for his smokes, and returned his hand to the steering wheel. Not in the company car; not after his buddy Harry had gotten chewed out for lighting up while on the road. Apparently the smell was hell to get out of the upholstery. Oh, well. He could get out at the Pilot, stretch his legs, take care of a few personal needs. There was the sign on the right. Gas, food, and a handful of crummy stores, next exit.
He followed the route to the gas station almost subconsciously; this was at least the sixth time this client had needed a tech to come out and help them, and he had been the one tapped to go five of those times. It would have been infuriating if it were his own car going through all this wear and tear, but as things stood it was mainly boring. Two hundred miles of midwest terrain got old after a half-dozen repetitions. By this point he was more or less making the trip without thinking about it, right down to the refueling at the Pilot.
He couldn't help smirking as he pulled up to the pump. He always made sure to get premium gas on these trips, and he usually made sure to avoid the cheaper gas stations, too. Oh, sure, it added up to rather a lot more that way. And, of course, all his travel costs were always reimbursed by the client, as per company policy. But then, that was why he'd started doing it this way, along about the third time he had to come out there.
Jake figured they deserved the extra touch.
2 comments:
Verisimilitude: I do road trips roughly 2x/wk in a company car and around here (not the Midwest) Pilot IS the cheaper station. Try BP or Exxon. Since I get a meal allowance of up to $25, I'll usually buy 20 buffalo wings or an extra large deep dish pizza or sushi from Publix (large, of course)and take it back to the nest to feed all the hatchlings. My own personal extra touch.
I will admit my ignorance and say that I don't have cause to pay much attention to gas prices; I mainly wanted to use Pilot for this because I am thinking of one particular sprawling highway-side compound that I have gone by a few times in the past. However, so as to hide my potential mistake, I have craftily altered this plugfic the tiniest bit. Craftily, I say.
Given a place that does both pizza and sushi... is the sushi actually any good? That would seem a pleasant surprise if so.
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