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People scattered.
Amanda stared; her face neutral. “His name is Ewan.”
“What?” I yelled, struggling to breathe.
“His name is Ewan and he’s from the warehouse. He’s worked here for more than thirty-three years and he doesn’t have any family in town to celebrate his birthday.”
I knew Ewan well and I liked him. My stomach was a cold lump. I’d pushed a broom on the floor alongside him when I was in my teens. He had always been our delivery guy in the warehouse.
And I’d just stomped on his birthday party.
Christ, when had I become the arsehole around here?
A small voice in my mind offered a retort: maybe you just continued being the arsehole they were used to?
Amanda lowered the cake. “Are you…?” Her smile faded and she shook her head. “I’ll just clean up so you can make your phone call.”
She swept the used paper plates and napkins in the bin and, with Caroline, boxed the leftover food before I could form words. The rest of the department hid at their workstations, cowering over the sweet treats on their plates.
I managed a deep breath and got air into my lungs. I took a few steps towards her, about to apologise yet again, but she ignored me and headed to her meeting room, closing the door.
She’d looked tired; shadows under her eyes that hadn’t been there yesterday. Did she have difficulty sleeping? Was she sick?
Was that the effect I had on her?
I tugged on my hair and inhaled deeply again, the panic subsiding. But I didn’t feel relief or ready to negotiate a deal. I’d fucked up again and felt like shit.
I glanced at Caroline, who kept her head down as she handed me a folder without a word.
“I need copies done of our exports file and distributed to my brothers!”
As I took the folder from her, I noticed Mum at the end of the corridor. She shook her head sadly before leaving. I paused with my hand on my office door and turned back. “Please, Caroline.”
She said nothing. She looked at me with both eyebrows raised.
I never said ‘please’.
A text pinged on my phone as I closed my office door.
Mum:We’ve talked about how your dad ran this place. We need to talk, Stu xx
“Fuck,” I muttered, throwing the folder down on my desk.
Saying ‘please’ once didn’t mean a thing. I was behaving exactly like my father and I hated it.
* * *
My actions gnawed at me all day.
I worked with my door open as much as I could, trying to catch Amanda. Her door remained shut all day, but her words kept echoing in my mind.
He has no family in town to celebrate his birthday.
I thought Ewan had two daughters still in Oban. I think I went to school with one of them. Not that it mattered now. I’d forgotten or missed the news about people who had known me and my family our whole lives.
I didn’t like the guy I’d become and, if I was honest, this contempt for myself had been growing since I took over the role of CEO.
I tracked down Ewan at the end of his shift. Least I could do was buy the man dinner for his birthday.
