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We take the elevator to a lower floor, with two envelopes tucked into my suit jacket pocket. She follows quietly behindme, then lingers in the doorway when I stop first at my HR manager’s office.
“Excuse me, Harriet?” I say, knocking gently on the doorframe.
“Mr. Baxter!” She greets me with a smile, quickly ending her phone call and jumping to her feet. Her eyes flick to Luna, who I gesture to join me inside the office.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your phone call, Harriet. Harriet, you know Luna Pham. She’s shadowing me for a few weeks, learning how to take over for me.”
Luna turns snow white. “What? N-no! I’m… he’s just teaching me a few things!” she shouts, face tight with nervousness.
“First thing is how to take a joke,” I say, giving Harriet a wink, who laughs.
“Not funny, Kingsley!” Luna scoffs as the color very, very slowly returns to her face.
Harriet gives Luna a little wave. “He has his moments. Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Baxter?”
“Well, I’m just here to deliver this.” I pull an envelope out of my jacket, check the name on it, and hand it to her.
Harriet’s face breaks out into a giant smile. “Is it my fifth-year anniversary already?”
“To the day. I would like to thank you on behalf of the entire company and board of directors for your incredible work here at Baxter Enterprises these last five years. I remember the first day you started here.”
“As I recall, I called you an old curmudgeon and came dangerously close to having to process my own resignation papers.” She laughs, covering her face in fond memory.
“It happens, Harriet. I assure you I have seen and been called much, much worse.” Luna coughs behind me. “You’ve also helped us be nominated best employer for each of the five years you’ve been here. I mean it from the bottom of my heart that wecould not be the company we are without you. We hope that you will be with us much longer.”
She beams and comes around the desk and gives me a hug. I accept the hug, even though I abhor hugs from most people. But it’s not always about me, and I’ve found that sometimes showing gratitude is about letting other people show it in return. In their way. When she pulls away, her eyes are bright, touched. She presses the envelope to her chest. “Thank you, Mr. Baxter. I can’t imagine working at any other place.”
We chat for a few more minutes, her telling me about the new puppy she bought for her boys and me telling her about a few plans I have for the department.
Finally, we excuse ourselves, and Luna makes Harriet promise to send her some pictures of her puppy.
As we walk down the hall, Luna suddenly stops, and then, using me as a pillar, she grabs my arms and peers around me, peeking back into Harriet’s office.
“What are you looking at?”
She whispers, “I’m trying to see what you gave her.”
I move away, leaving her exposed. She quickly follows behind me, cursing.
“Why didn’t you just ask me?”
“Oh.” She stops and grabs the back of my suit jacket, stopping me from moving forward. “What did you give her?”
“None of your business.”
She growls and digs her fingers into my back. “That’s why.”
She grumbles all the way until we’re alone in the elevator, heading to the next floor down.
“Well, that was actually really nice,” she says. “Where to next?”
“Jerod Childers. He’s a marketing manager. He’s been with Baxter for seven years. Recruited him right out of university.”
She fidgets with her hair for a second. “Do you do this for everyone? Every year?”
“Yes.”
“That’s nice, Kingsley.”
