Page 38 of Snowflakes and Ice Skates

For a moment, as short as it may have been, he knew who I was…not my name or anything, but his attention was focused on me.

That wasn’t nothing.

Would he recognize me when we saw him? Would he think it was weird that he’d seen me in the elevator and again in the place he normally ate lunch? Cora and I usually went to a deli or cafe close by, if we took lunch at all. I’d heard some people gathered on the chairs and couches on the vacant second floor, but I’d never ventured down.

He was going to think I was stalking him.

Great.

I pulled up the marketing content calendar and made sure we were set for the rest of the week and through the holiday. I’d already set up our posts to automatically go out so that none of us would have to work on New Year’s Eve or the following day. That was a nice part of our job, that we could relax on holidays. The rest of the departments had to be on call and check on the app even on their days off.

I triple-checked and then quadruple-proofread an email that would be sent out to our customers wishing them a Happy New Year. I knew it was fine, but it was something to make me look busy.

Matt walked by, giving me a small wave and mouthing ‘good luck’ as he passed my desk. I appreciated having such a relaxed boss. He, like everyone else in our department, was tired from the holidays and thought this week should be a vacation for everyone, but unfortunately, upper management didn’t agree. This meant he especially appreciated every effort we made, no matter how small.

“Oh, Taylor?” I glanced up from my screen to see Cora waving a brown bag. “It’s time.”

I sucked in a deep breath and pushed my chair back from my desk. “Are you sure?” I was suddenly dreading this.

“Yes, I ordered O'Malley's so we can go down and pretend the deli was too packed and we decided to eat downstairs.”

“That was a brilliant idea.”

She grinned. “I know. Now come on.”

I stood and followed her to the elevators. While we waited, I straightened my sweater, making sure it was as smooth as possible before tucking in the button-down shirt I had on under it. I wanted to look put together. Maybe then no one would notice how nervous I was.

“You look great.”

I glanced over to see Cora wink. “Thanks.”

We stepped into the crowded elevator and rode down to the second floor without incident. A few other people got off with us, walking with purpose in various directions.

“Where do we go?” I walked slowly next to Cora, trying to casually look around without seeming out of place.

“Just keep an eye out. We don’t want to have to double back.” Her lips barely move as she talks through her smile.

Once again, I feel like we’re acting, like we’re back in the trenches of high school looking for where the cool kids sit and wondering if we’re allowed to encroach on their territory. Only this time, the cool kids are the programmers.

We came to the end of the main hall and were left with a choice. Left or right. A fifty-fifty shot of being wrong. As she said, we didn’t want to double back and risk someone seeing us mindlessly walking around with our lunch. That would be embarrassing.

Honestly, I doubted anyone would notice, much less care, but we were on a mission. Undercover, in a sense. We couldn't get caught actively looking for the programmers. That would be weird.

“Left. I feel good about it.” We followed Cora’s intuition and turned, heading deeper into this floor than I’d ever been. We passed vacant rooms on each side before reaching the back of the building, where three of the four walls were glass and half a dozen couches formed sitting areas in addition to a scattering of chairs. There were more people than I had expected, but I was able to scan the faces within seconds.

“There,” I said quietly, raising my chin in the direction of where Goldie and a few others were sitting. They took up two sofas, leaving enough room for Cora and me if we hurried.

“Are you ready?” She met my eyes for a brief moment.

“Yeah, you lead.”

There wasn’t time for her to argue, so she walked across the room like she’d done it a thousand times before while I followed, trying not to stare at our destination. She paused near them and looked around.

“Where should we sit today?” She asked, a bit louder than necessary.

I took inventory of the three options as if this was a completely normal part of our routine. A guy from one of the other groups looked up and tried to get our attention, but I continued turning as if I hadn’t noticed.

The woman I had seen earlier in the elevator looked up and recognition appeared on her face. “Hey, you’re the nice one from earlier.”