Page 6 of If You Could Only Believe
Or what would they do if someone had a family emergency and couldn’t make it? There had to be a way out of this. And, besides, would they really fire me for not attending aparty?My work history should outweigh not attending a friggin’ party.
And, not to mention, I’ve already met Aiden Buchanan like two years ago. When he started heading up the finance division, he had made the rounds and introduced himself and all that jazz. I seriously doubt that two years later the man even remembers meeting me.
I could feel my palms starting to sweat and I knew I needed to get a hold of myself. Maybe I could go to the party, walk in and then walk right back out. I mean, the invitation said nothing about having to stay a designated amount of time.
I snapped my attention back toward the computer screen I’d been staring at for the past few…well, all day, mostly, and I decided to make another trip to the restroom to wash my hands and splash a little cold water on my face. I needed to snap the hell out of this.
I pressed the Windows icon key and the L key, locking up my computer as I got up to head to the restroom.
Once I made it inside, I was beyond relieved to see no one else was inside. I walked over to the first open sink, turned on the faucet and washed my sweaty palms. After the soap was fully rinsed off, I leaned over and splashed some cold water on my face, making chills dance down my spine.
I had a handful of towels, patting my face, when I heard the door open, alerting me to someone’s presence. When I lowered the towels, I saw that it was my supervisor, Katrina Roth, entering.
And this day just keeps getting better.
Her steps faltered a bit when she noticed me, but she immediately straightened her spine and walked over towards me. “Sophia,” she greeted with her voice full of false pleasantries. “I’m glad I ran into you.”
“You are?” I asked because it was no secret that Katrina didn’t like me. But, then, no one did. The only difference was that everyone else just stayed out of my way. Katrina made it a point to be obvious in her dislike for me.
She turned her body towards the mirror and started primping her short, blonde bob in that way that she doesn’t need to primp it because it’s already perfect. “I’m afraid I have some bad news,” she said, her voice oozing smugness.
“You do?” The shorter my conversations with this woman, the better.
She turned back towards me. “I’m afraid I made a small error this week and forgot to hand over the Rose-McCurry accounts for reconciliation Wednesday,” she said, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe she could make sure an error. “I was going to put them on your desk after lunch, but I’m afraid that means you’ll have to work late into the night, missing the party.”
Wait.What?
Katrina sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and then let it out with a pop. Her face was full of fake sympathy and regret. “It looks like you will also have to work the weekend since it’s due on Monday for Mr. Buchanan’s approval.” She placed her hand on my arm. “Oopsies,” she said as she shrugged a shoulder.
None of what she was saying was really fazing me. I was used to her nastiness. Katrina was a bully, through and through. This wasn’t the first time I’ve worked a weekend, or she’s dropped off last-minute assignments on my desk. I imagine it wouldn’t be the last, either.
Katrina was very aware of my IQ and capabilities. She took advantage of them often. Most days I didn’t mind because I liked the challenges and I liked working for BI. But today, I was beyond not minding. This time, her evil ways were working in my favor.
I didn’t have to go to that goddamn party.
It took all of my self-control not to throw my arms around her and thank her for this reprieve. She thought she was ruining my weekend, but she had just unknowingly delivered me a gem.
I did my best not to smile and said, “That’s fine, Katrina. I’ll start working on the file as soon as it lands on my desk.”
And because she wasn’t getting the reaction she hoped for, she added, “I mean, I could always assign it to someone else, but I figured,” she shrugged a dainty shoulder, “Sophia’s single with no friends or husband, you know? I was certain you’d be willing to give up your weekend rather than make someone who had a family have to give up theirs, right?”
I threw the paper towels that were still in my hand away and smiled at her. “Of course,” I agreed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really should clean up some of the stuff on my desk if I’m going to dedicate the next few days to the Rose-McCurry file.”
She shooed me away with the wave of her hand. “Good idea,” she said, smiling. “I’ll be sure to let HR know that you won’t be attending the party.”
I nodded, and turning, I fled the ladies’ restroom feeling lighter than I’ve felt all week. Not only did that evil she-witch save me from having to go to the party, she got me out of having to have lunch with my mother and sister on Sunday.
Lunch with them was always a tally of the scorecard my mother kept on us. On paper, my sister wasn’t any more successful in life than I was, but she came in a prettier package, and even though she’s yet to keep a man, she dated and that gave my mother hope at least one of us would land a man and give her grandbabies.
I walked back to my desk and unlocked my computer. But before I got back to work, I pulled out my cell phone and fired off a group text to my mother and sister explaining that I had to cancel. After throwing my phone back into my desk drawer, I got back to work on my current project.
True to her word, an hour after lunch, Katrina stopped by my desk and dropped off the Rose-McCurry file. She gave me another one of her false apologies and then sauntered off the same way she came.
It didn’t take long for me to submerge myself in the financial world of Rose-McCurry. I was so lost in its world of numbers that I didn’t notice when the office quieted down. I didn’t notice as the main lights on the floor dimmed. I didn’t notice when bodies started dusting and vacuuming around me.
The second I knew I wouldn’t have to go to the party, I ignored the announcement that the offices were closing early today so that employees had enough time to relax and get ready for the party. Time no longer existed for me. Just work.
It wasn’t until I had stopped by the break room to grab a bottled water that I noticed it was already past six. I had already planned to work until around nine, so I grabbed a couple of granola bars from the vending machine while I was at it.
