Page 98 of The Girl with No Name

“We’ve been working together for almost a year, and you’ve had coffee every day.”

“So?”

“So I’m just pointing that out. You okay? Skipping work, not drinking coffee…”

“Samantha and I broke up,” I say with a sigh, settling into my office chair and plugging my laptop into my multiple screens.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, yeah. You can tell me you saw it coming.”

“How are you doing?” Jay asks.

I’m surprised by his non-sarcastic tone, which is uncharacteristic for him. “All right, I guess. I have bad moments. But ultimately, I think it’s for the best.”

His eyebrows rise. “That’s pretty down to earth for a guy who was flaunting a ring around last week.”

“I guess you could say that.”

“What happened, if I may ask?”

“Eh. It wasn’t working. I think I knew that in my heart. I just didn’t want to give her up, you know? She was everything I wanted.”

“Sometimes everything you want isn’t actually everything you want.”

As I’m about to comment, a shadow falls over us.

“Morning, gentlemen.” It’s Hal.

“Yeah?” I say without looking up.

“Nice of you to show up.”

“Well, it’s Wednesday. That’s an in-office day.”

“You’re coming in five days a week now. New policy. You missed Friday. And you weren’t here Monday or Tuesday either.”

A chuckle escapes me. I remembered the new office policy rather abruptly during my flight back on Monday, and I remembered it Tuesday as well. But this job is not the priority it was before last weekend, and my mind was a million miles away—although I did log in on my laptop. But honestly, I was mostly sleeping off my life hangover after Railfest and two cross-country flights. No way was I coming into the office. If they’re going to fire me for that, they can go ahead and do it.

“Is this funny to you?” Hal asks. “This is the new policy, and as a junior employee, you’re obligated.”

“Yeah.” I shrug. “My bad. Slipped my mind.”

Hal’s eyes widen. “It slipped your mind? That’s all you have to say?”

“Yeah. Are we done? I have work to do.”

He looks at over Jay. “Could you take a walk for a moment? I need to speak with Reed alone.”

“You got it.”

Jay gets up and ambles toward the coffee-machine area.

Hal sits in Jay’s chair, sets his coffee down, and leans in. “Mr. Walker, I get the feeling you’re not taking this job very seriously.”

“Am I not getting my work done?”

“Well, no, that’s not the issue. The issue is insubordination.”

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