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“Ashley. Hi, I’m Spencer Sullivan. It’s nice to meet you,” I say, shaking her hand and trying not to wince at the vice grip she puts on me. Who would have known that a petite woman would give that kind of handshake?
“Want to grab a table with us?” Maddie asks.
“Would love to,” I respond, glancing around the restaurant at our options.
We all place our orders and head over to a table that just opened up. It’s a prime location, looking out on the sidewalk.
Ashley looks at the table and then at a different table across the restaurant. “I’d prefer to sit over there if you both don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” I respond, wondering why it matters.
“I’m super picky about cleanliness at restaurants. You never know who sat here before us.”
“No worries,” I say as Maddie nods in agreement.
We get settled and I load up my tacos with my favorite super-hot salsa.
“So…” I begin, looking over at Ashley. “Are you new to the city?”
“I am. Just moved here two months ago. Long enough to know that I don’t want to stay very long.”
I cough as a bite of taco goes down the wrong way. “Why is that?”
“The men in my firm are impossible to deal with. They all treat me like I’m their secretary. One jackass even asked me if I’d refill his coffee before our morning meeting started today,” she says frowning.
I shift in my chair, trying to figure out what to say next. I glance at Maddie who has a confused look on her face.
“Wow. I didn’t know that’s still a thing. Did you tell him to go to hell?” I finally respond.
“That’s not going to fix anything, unfortunately. I have come to realize I just need to start my own firm. That’s the only way I’ll get the respect I deserve.”
Just then her cell lights up with a text. She grabs it off the table and starts typing furiously. Finally putting it back down, she shakes her head in disbelief.
“So, what do you do for fun, Ashley?” I ask, desperately trying to lighten the mood.
“I’m in an online chess club.”
“Wow, didn’t know you could do that online.”
“I prefer it. I work a lot and don’t really want to leave my apartment on my days off.”
The rest of lunch I get to hear about traffic jams, doctors that make you wait too long and exorbitant grocery prices. This woman has nothing good to say about anything.
I finish up my tacos and excuse myself, explaining that I need to get back for a meeting.
Both women get up at the same time and we all start heading toward the door.
Thank God their office is in the opposite direction from mine. I can’t handle any more negativity today – I feel like I just took a bath in it.
An hour later I get a text from Maddie.
Ashley is interested in seeing you again. What do you think?
I think about how to answer for a minute before responding. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But, no… just no.
That’s so nice. Unfortunately, work is taking up too much of my free time right now.
Gotcha. I’ll let her down easy.
