Did I mean to flirt with her during this weird situation? No. Of course, not.
Did I enjoy it? Yes.
Honestly, it’s been a long time since I’ve had an excuse to flirt with someone, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was kind of fun. When I close my eyes, I can still see the pink rising to her cheeks and her pulling her plump bottom lip between her teeth.
The way she blushed so easily made my heart race. If I had a good excuse, I would love to do that againsometime. But as much as I want to flirt with her more, I hoped that it was a one time occurrence. It worries me deeply that Ellie has to deal with people like this. The last thing anyone needs is someone harassing them while they are trying to do their job.
My knuckles are white as I clench the steering wheel with force. Thinking about something happening to her because some idiot doesn't know how to keep it in his pants makes me unreasonably upset. I barely know Ellie, but everyone deserves basic human decency no matter what situation they are in.
Pulling into my parking spot, I put the car in park and take a few deep breaths. My emotions have been known to get the better of me, but I’ve learned to rein them in. It’s a matter of pausing and trying to process them into something that makes sense. Being able to articulate how I feel and understand my emotions instead of letting them control me is something that I am proud of.
My emotions haven’t won in a long time, so normally I don’t have to worry about it. But, there was something about the interaction this morning that made me feel protective. I do my best to shake it off since it would be unprofessional to let my mood impact my performance at work. However, the feelings still linger despite the attempt at calming myself down.
The clock in my car reads 7:38.
Twenty-two minutes early. Not bad.
Trying to remove the thoughts of Ellie and today’s encounter, I grab my latte and make my way into the office.
I’ve been at ERI, Emberton Recreation Inc., for six years, but it hasn’t felt that long. When I first started, they were a brand new start-up focused on outdoor recreation and werehiring data analysts, so I took a chance and applied. It’s not exactly what I planned to do with my degree, but I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.
Some people may think my job sounds boring, but I love it. Collecting data, identifying trends, and solving problems is stimulating for me. When I started, I was the only data analyst in the whole company, but as ERI grew substantially, the workload increased, which meant hiring more people. Now, I’m in charge of a three-person team, and I am considered one of the original employees.
Walking into my office, I set my backpack and coffee down on my desk. When they added a third person to my team, they upgraded me to an actual office, but I don’t really need it. Normally, my door is always open, so that I can communicate with my team. Not to mention, having the background noise of the office has always helped me focus, and it allows me to be aware of everything that’s happening.
It is a small room, but it’s more than I need to do my job. There are few pictures of my family and friends on the desk, but other than that, it’s pretty bare. A few new papers are placed on my desk with a sticky note asking me to double check the trends from the latest report, and I get to it.
My team strolls in as I flip through the papers.
The first part of my day is spent looking through the newest media report, and I look up when I notice movement in my doorway. Wes leans on the doorframe, nursing his coffee, holding it with both hands like a precious gem. “Hey, boss. How’s it going?”
He was the first person added to my team four years ago, and it amuses him to call me boss. He only does it because he knows it annoys me, but I know it’s all in good fun.
“Weird morning, but I am so fucking glad it’s Friday.” Minimizing the tab in front of me, I give Wes my full attention. Even if this is just a short conversation, it would be dumb to multitask because it can lead to stupid mistakes.
“Ooo, I love a weird morning! You’ll have to tell me about it later.”
My brows raise at the comment. Wes has never been one to turn down an opportunity to chat. “Are you okay? Do you have a fever or something? Do you need me to take your temperature?”
As if someone is trying to eavesdrop in on our conversation, Wes peeks over his shoulder. Once he’s assured that the coast is clear, he steps into my office, closing the door behind him. “Have you heard any updates about the new manager?”
In all of the chaos of this morning, I had completely forgotten what was happening today. We’ve known for a while that we were getting a new manager in the office, but there was not much shared in terms of actual details. I had asked around, but the higher ups refused to give out any information since everything was still in limbo. You would think being here for so long would earn me some special privileges, but it doesn’t.
“No, still no real info. They said that they are going to stop by this afternoon, but they don't officially start in the office until Monday.”
Wes spends a moment contemplating and finally lands on a thought. “What’s the point of being the boss if they don’t tell you anything?”
“I don’t know how to get this through your extremely thick skull, Wes, but for the millionth time, I’m not the boss. I’m barely evenyourboss. Now, get out of my office before I fire you.”
Wes gasps sarcastically, scurrying out of the room and back to his desk. I open my browser back up and take notes to share with the team later.
As we wait for the new manager to arrive, the meeting room is filled with a cacophony of voices.
This isn’t much different than any other Friday because we meet in this exact spot for “Accomplishments and Accolades'', the company’s weekly way to acknowledge who is doing good things. While it’s never been my type of thing, I'll play along if it makes me seem more committed to workplace morale.
Our last manager, Leslie, was supportive, personable, and motivating, so it is going to be difficult for someone else to fill her shoes. Honestly, I’m surprised that she was not promoted to regional manager sooner with the way that she ran this place, but it was sad to see her go.
Wes plops down in the seat next to me with a handful of jelly beans. “You want some?”
