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What?
My dream. I saw Uncle Jed.
Charles pointed at him. Go home. Dad
postponed the meeting until tomorrow morning.
And get some rest. He paused. And ah& Robbie,
don t be calling me baby, people will think
you re& you know.
What, gay?
Yeah, that, he appeared to shudder as he left
the office.
Robert sighed and let his head hang down. He
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Fantasium: Dirty Dreams
guessed he really did need a break. Maybe he
should take a vacation and then let Charles run
things here, take an easier job within Dune
Enterprises. He was through competing with his
brother.
That night he went home and dreamed of
Fantasium. He saw the naked prisoners and Kit.
Tab was there, too. And then the rebels, armed
and dangerous.
They ve invaded the barrier, Tab called out.
Thank the heavens, Robert is safe. We sent you
back for your own good, master, Tab whispered
in his ear.
I understand, he murmured.
The Rebels have come to take their leader.
Dylan has asked them not to hurt anyone. They
are willing to liberate anyone who wants to go.
The prisoners have decided to stay, all except for
Kit, who really likes one of the soldiers. Love is in
the air.
Dylan, he moaned.
Don t worry, Tab told him, you ll see him
again.
Where? How?
Everything faded. He opened his eyes. The sun
was shining in the sky. He reached out in the bed.
It was empty. Dylan, he whispered.
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DJ Manly
He got out of bed, showered, dressed and ate
breakfast, taking his time this morning. If he was
late, to hell with it! Fire me, old man, he laughed
like a crazy man as he got into his car and drove to
the office.
He waited for the elevator, the employees
shouting out their greetings as usual. Good day,
he said. You all have a wonderful day.
In the elevator, the people eyed him curiously.
He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. No suit and tie
today.
As he walked down the hallway toward his
office, his secretary was there with his coffee.
Hello, Harriet.
She stood with him outside his door, holding
the coffee mug. He unlocked the door and walked
in.
Sir. Did you need me to pick up a suit for you
at the cleaners?
Nope, he said. Come in, Harriet, sit down.
Drink the coffee. I m off coffee. I m going to start
drinking green tea.
Green tea, sir?
Yep. Sit. What can I do for you? He plunked
down in his office chair, put his hands behind his
neck.
I have a lot of memos for you, and your father
said not to miss the meeting today. It will be at--
Meeting, shmeeting, he laughed and gave her
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Fantasium: Dirty Dreams
a hug.
Sir? She looked at him as if he d lost his
mind.
Harriet. Have you ever thought of working
somewhere else?
No, sir. I love my job.
Oh, well, good. That s important. I m
considering changing professions.
Really?
He smiled. Yeah, really.
Charles raced into the office, looking very
stressed out, as usual. Although he always
accused him of being the stressed one, Charles
could hold his own on that count. Charles glanced
at Harriet and then at his younger brother.
For once, Robert wasn t stressed at all. It felt
good. In fact, it felt bloody fantastic.
What in hell& why aren t you dressed?
I am dressed, he said.
Dressed for work?
Robert smiled at Harriet. Take the day off with
pay.
Really?
Really. Go.
Harriet quickly left the office.
What in hell was that? We need Harriet. And
you can t just give employees paid holidays.
When is her regularly scheduled
She s given this firm twenty-five years of her
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DJ Manly
life. It s a nice day, maybe she d just like to walk in
the park for a change.
Have you lost it? This is one of our most
important accounts and you re sitting there acting
like& I don t know what. I m telling Dad.
I wish you would, and by the way, brother,
I m ah& you know.
Huh? He glanced at him over his shoulder.
Gay, queer. I love bad boys, in fact, the worse
they are, the better. And I think you can have
special projects. You d be much better at it than
me.
You want me to call someone?
Robert laughed. Nope. I feel just fine. In fact, I
feel better than I ever have in my life.
Charles shook his head. I need to talk to Dad.
Come on, Tab, Robert spoke out loud when
his brother was gone. Where are you? Come and
get me. I want to go back now. I miss Dylan.
He stood up, walked around. Nothing. No Tab,
no voice in his head. He looked out the office
tower window. Clouds. He closed his eyes. So, he
dreamed it. He dreamed Dylan, too. He couldn t
believe it. Dylan had been nothing but a dream.
But it was time to get out, still time to change his
life. Thank you, Uncle Jed.
Uncle Jed? a voice asked. The voice belonged
to his father.
Robert turned around. I dreamed of him.
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Fantasium: Dirty Dreams
Really? Did he tell you where he got to all
those years?
Better. He showed me.
I don t understand. What s all this, Robert?
Charles thinks you ve lost your mind.
Dad, this isn t for me. I don t need to compete
with Charles in these high profile jobs. I don t
want to be Charles.
So, that s why the jeans and the attitude?
I think we should all loosen up around here
and try to appreciate our staff more. They work
hard for us.
I don t understand where this is coming from,
son. Everything I ve done, I ve done for you and
Charles. You have the world at your feet and you
don t want it. Are you telling me you plan to leave
Dune?
I don t want to leave, but I need a change. I
need to do something I enjoy. I think we need
something to improve staff morale, a kind of a
human resource manager.
If you want that position, we ll create one.
Dad, he said enthusiastically, I really think I
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