“Don’t know and I’m not going to worry. You shouldn’t either.” Alma rubbed my hand. “You do good work. No one’s going to tell you to go.”
I hadn’t meant to appear concerned, but it was unusual. Especially everyone being summoned. The last time the senior VP showed up, she came down to the conference room to meet with ‘her team’ before strolling the aisles to inspect her minions.
“Okay then.” I patted her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Are you sure you don’t want anything?”
“Nope. And let’s be honest, you don’t want coffee either.” She winked at me. “Have a nice chat with your new man. Tell him he better treat you right or Ms. Alma is going to bring her switch.”
The image of her chasing Henry around the office, trying to hit him on the ass made me laugh. “I’ll do that, but you can relax. He’s been quite the gentleman.”
“Mhm. Says the man who blushed when I asked what he did last night.” She shooed me out of her cubicle.
Either she could read minds or she understood me better than anyone else. “Thanks.” I took the hint and left before she made me any redder.
The stairs were quicker than the elevator and being only five stories up, I usually took them to go down. I pulled out my phone, but before I could dial, I saw a text message from Henry.
[In a meeting all morning, but wanted to say thanks for last night (and this morning) :P ]
I stared at the message all the way to the ground floor. With my true reason for going on a coffee run squashed, I made my way to the hot dog vendor and bought a Coke. Cracking it open I wondered if I should go back up or wait long enough to make it seem like we’d talked. Since I still had to talk to Brenda, I decided to get back to work as that conversation was likely going to be longer than usual.
After lunch, Brenda finally appeared at my desk, looking a bit frazzled. The harried look in her eyes was surprising. It must have been worse than usual.
“There you are,” I said, taking in her appearance with concern. “Everything okay? You look like you’ve been through the wringer.”
She nodded, perching on the edge of my desk with a heavy sigh. “Yeah, just a crazy morning. The CEO, Ralph Mancini, is visiting tomorrow.”
I raised an eyebrow, feeling a twinge of annoyance on behalf of my colleagues. “On a Friday? That’s pretty shitty, isn’t it? Everyone’s looking forward to the weekend.”
Brenda rolled her eyes, her frustration evident. “Tell me about it. You should see the other managers rushing around like he’s some kind of god or something. It’s ridiculous.” She paused, then added, a hint of excitement creeping into her voice, “Oh, and get this—he wants to meet with you.”
My stomach dropped, an icy wavef anxiety washing over me. “Me? Why me? Did I do something wrong?”
“What? No!” Brenda exclaimed, looking at me like I’d grown a second head. “He picked you because your work is excellent, dummy. It’s a good thing, I promise. Ralph likes to meet the people who are excelling, not the ones who are screwing up.”
Her words didn’t help. My anxiety had already kicked in and my chest tightened. The lights above us flickered slightly, and I took a deep breath, willing myself to calm down.
“Whoa, easy there,” Brenda said, her voice softening as she grabbed my hands. “It’s really not a big deal, Nick. Ralph’s a super nice guy. He just wants to chat, not grill you or anything. Think of it as a chance to show off a bit.”
I nodded, trying to believe her words, but my hands were shaking. Brenda held them tightly, then suddenly snatched them back as if she’d been burned.
“You okay?” I asked, my concern for her momentarily overriding my own anxiety. “Did I shock you or something?”
She shook her head, looking a bit embarrassed. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was afraid I overstepped by touching you. You know, the whole no fraternizing between supervisors and supervisees.”
I laughed, the absurdity of her statement cutting through my nervousness. “Since when has that ever stopped you? Are you sure you’re not one of those ridiculous managers stressing about Ralph’s visit?”
Brenda stuck her tongue out at me, but I could see the tension leaving her shoulders. “Oh, shut up. I’m trying to be considerate here.”
“Well, stop,” I said, grinning at her. “It’s weirding me out. I prefer my Brenda brash and boundary-pushing.”
As we fell back into our usual banter, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and a smile spread across my face. It was Henry.
“Hey,” I answered, aware of Brenda, a smirk on her face, watching me with interest.
“Hi, Nick,” Henry’s warm voice came through, instantly soothing some of my lingering anxiety. “How’s your day going? I couldn’t stop thinking about last night.”
Heat crept up my neck, and I was very aware of Brenda’s presence. “It’s, uh, it’s been interesting,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral.
“What’s wrong?” Henry immediately picked up on my tone. “Did something happen?”
