Page 16 of Wolf's Midlife Baby

Lorelei, the HR director, was waiting for them at the center of the courtyard. “Welcome, everyone! I know we’ve done a lot of great activities so far this week to help us get to know each other. I hope that by asking questions and exploring what you have in common, you’ve all become much more comfortable with your coworkers. Our goal for this week is to have you all enter as coworkers and leave as friends.”

Holly pressed her lips together to keep from making a smart remark.

“First, we’re going to become the human knot! The goal of this game is to improve our strategy and communication skills, and we’ll probably get to know each other a little better along the way! I want everyone to get into a circle. Make it nice and tight, shoulder to shoulder. Just like that. Perfect. Now, everyone, put your left hand out. Take the hand of someone on the opposite side of the circle. Make sure they’re not your immediate neighbor.”

A hand quickly clasped hers, squeezing tightly. She looked up and found Kyle on the other side of the circle. Fantastic.

“Now, everyone, put your right hand in and do the same thing, but you can’t take the hand of the same person who’s already holding your left hand!” Lorelei chirped.

Well, good. She might be stuck with Kyle on one side, but that was it.

“Wonderful! Your goal is to untangle yourselves without letting go. You’ll form a perfect circle when you’re done. Remember to use each other’s names and think about how to work with everyone to solve the problem. There’s no time limit!”

Kyle yanked her close and leaned in. “I need to talk to you.”

“No, you just need to duck under that guy’s arm,” she replied, pointing with her chin.

They churned through several rotations before he had a chance to get close again. “I’m working on a big story.”

“Good for you. Now turn to the left.” She watched the churning knot of people, wondering how something that made them all rub up against each other could possibly be okay in today’s corporate culture. No one was objecting, though. In fact, they were laughing and chatting as they tried to sort themselves out.

He pulled closer to her once again, even though it didn’t help their progress. “I’m glad to see you made it out of that club last night.”

“I appreciate your concern,” she said, nearly gritting her teeth in annoyance. “I can take care of myself, though.”

While some people on the other side of the group worked through a particularly dense section of the knot, Kyle took his chance to continue. “Most of the time, maybe, but you got lucky.”

She sure did and allowed herself a small smile as she thought about it.

Holly had never been fond of these exercises, but she suddenly found herself interested in achieving their goal. The sooner they untangled themselves, the sooner she could distance herself from Kyle. She turned to the other person she was holding hands with, a photographer named Dennis. “I think if you duck over that way, the next guy can spin to the left.”

Dennis nodded. “Sounds good to me. By the way, I really enjoyed that piece you did a couple of months ago about the coffee shop. It was neat to see all the history from the point of view of the building. Great stuff.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. It took a lot of research and interviews to get it all together, but I really enjoyed it.”

“It’s important to enjoy your work,” Dennis agreed as they churned through several more people, ducking and twisting. “Me, I can’t imagine doing anything other than looking at life through a lens. There’s so much to see in the world, and it gets overwhelming. I like distilling that down, pointing the finger at something really specific. If you don’t mind the comparison, I think you and I have a bit in common.”

“I think you’re right,” she agreed. “If you find yourself in New England, we should work together sometime.”

Kyle grumbled at her as the crowd moved back in the other direction. “You need to be working with me. If you want angles and perspectives, I’ve got something that will knock your socks off.”

With one final twist, the knot turned into a circle once again.

“Yes!” Lorelei cheered. “Awesome job!”

Though Kyle had started on the other side of the circle, he was standing next to her now. Holly gave him a flippant look. “I think I’ll keep my socks on, thanks.”

She managed to stay away from him for the next few exercises, but she couldn’t avoid him completely once the day wrapped up. With a bag of Newman Media Group swag over her arm as she walked outside to her rental car, Kyle once again caught up with her.

“Holly, I need you to hear me out. No, just listen,” he insisted when she opened her mouth.

She shut it again, figuring that maybe if he got it all out, he’d finally leave her alone.

“We all know you have amazing skills in immersive writing. And we also know I’m Newman's best investigative reporter. If we team up on an article, we could both be up for a Noomy. Marshall’s personal pick might not mean much to the rest of the world, but it’s a step toward being nominated for an Edward R. Murrow Award or maybe even a Pulitzer!”

Working with Kyle was the very last thing she wanted to do. He was talented, but she had a feeling he was setting his sights a bit too high.

“Now, here’s the really important part.” Kyle grabbed her elbow and pulled her to a stop between two SUVs. He glanced around, making sure no one was nearby. “You remember that I told you there’s something funny about the people around here, right?”

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