Page 15 of Own Me

Five minutes late, I dash down the hallway to my office to see Sterling striding toward me. He stops and glares at me with his fist on his hips. His fierce, blue eyes electrify my entire body.

“Ayana, I need coffee now. Make it black, no sugar.” His words are dry. He hasn’t offered a good morning or anything.

“Yes, St—Sterling, sir.”Sheesh! Why can’t he let me get settled at my desk and get familiar with my duties before demanding I make his coffee?

With my purse still under my arm, I hustle back towards the breakroom that I passed on my race through the building. I assume I can brew coffee there. Lord knows I wasn’t about to ask him for help.At least he didn’t notice I was late?—

“And try to be on time from now on,” he snaps from behind me. “Being new is no excuse for being tardy.”

The rest of the day proceeds in a whirlwind of frustration and second guesses. No matter what I do, Sterling comes back with a harsh correction. My memory overflows with contradictory orders he has given all day. When I finally leave the office after six, his voice is still buzzing in my ears. My day is tainted with a litany of his snippy comments:

“This coffee is lukewarm. Remake it.”

“Come on, this file’s alphabetization has a mistake. Did you pass kindergarten?”

“Why does this coffee not have sugar in it? I take sugar with my lunch coffee.”

“You shouldn’t need more than twenty minutes for lunch.”

“Have you never used a paperclip in your life?”

“Why does this coffee have sugar in it? I don’t take sugar with my late afternoon coffee.”

“Why would you paperclip the papers in the green files? Didn’t Vanessa tell you they should always be stapled?”

“You didn’t plan on going home early on your first day, did you? You have so much to learn still.”

By the time I’m in my car to go home—the first time I’ve had a moment to myself all day—I’m ready to pull out my hair. Instead, I take deep breaths as I clench the steering wheel.

“You can do this,” I tell myself, looking in the rearview mirror. “Don’t let him get in your head. This job is yours. He can’t take that away from you. You’re too fucking good at your work. He’ll see soon enough.”

CHAPTER 9

Ayana

Oh my God, I can’t believe I had to call in late again.

My steps falter the closer I get to my office. I can’t believe I’ve arrived late twice since I started my new position at NexGen West Software a month ago.

“Well, I can’t help that I had a flat and had to wait for the roadside assistance provider to show up an hour later,” I tell myself. “I’m sure Sterling will understand that misfortunes in life happen.”

That’s why I took the extra ten minutes to stop at Starbucks to grab Sterling a black coffee and a cream cheese Danish to calm the waters. Plus, I have been coming in early, learning thecomputer system inside out and doing my job perfectly. And I’ve been working hard in the time I’ve been here to make myself indispensable. My flawless resume, stellar interpersonal talents, and soft skills speak for themselves.

My stomach clenches tightly at the thought of my boss having more cause to fire me.

“Good morning,” I give a quick wave to Vanessa.

“Good morning, Ayana.” The secretary replies with a bright smile.

“You won’t believe this, but I had a flat tire, and I had to wait?—”

Suddenly, Vanessa’s smile falters, and I can feel the fine hair against my nape standing on end.

“Do you realize what time of day this is?”

I turn slowly to face my boss, who is standing behind me. His voice is laced with dry sarcasm, and his stare rakes over my body from head to toe. The last thing I need this morning is him assaulting me with his lethal glare.

I swallow hard and force a smile to my lips. “Good morning, Sterling. Here, I brought you coffee, just the way you like it, and a Danish,” I add, extending the peace offering.

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