Page 25 of If You Could Only Believe
Buchanan Industries Human Resources
Okay. I could do this.
Monday, September 10th, 2018 07:10:12 am
To: Michael Buchanan
Re:Re: Business Lunch
Mr. Buchanan,
Good Morning, all is well, thank you. I can meet you at noon.
Thank You.
Sophia Martella
Finance Analyst
I sent off the email and promptly opened the rest, addressing them in order of importance. I also had to put the finishing touches on the Rose-McCurry account. On Saturday, Michael had let me breathe long enough to work on it. He actually did his best to help, and while his area of expertise wasn’t finance, he did manage to help me get a lot done.
A half hour into my day, a shadow covered my cubicle, and I looked up to see Katrina standing over me. I knew why she was here. “Good Morning, Katrina,” I smiled. “The Rose-McCurry report will be on your desk before noon.”
Her face took on a look I’ve never seen before. I knew she didn’t like me, and she passively-aggressively bullied me, but I’ve never seen blatant hatred on her face the way I was seeing now. She looked like she wanted to scratch my eyes out.
Or flat out murder me.
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew the Buchanans?”
“I don’t,” I clarified. “And even if I did, we’re not friends, Katrina. Why would I tell you who my friends are?” Yeah, I get that it was a little farfetched to call the Buchanans my friends, but it worked for this scenario.
Her face turned an ugly shade of beet red. She looked like she might spaz out any second. “You should have told me so I could keep an eye on things,” she sputtered. “If you think because your friends with the Buchanans that you’ll get special treatment, well, you’re mistaken, Sophia.”
I stood up because I didn’t like her lording over me. “I would never expect anything from anyone here other than mutual respect and common courtesy, Katrina,” I retorted. “I do my job and I do it well,” I reminded her. “I don’t need special treatment. Fromanyone.”
And then she got to the real reason for her little morning visit. “Are you dating Michael Buchanan?”
I could feel heat creeping along my neck, but I did my best to maintain my composure. “Who I’m dating is none of your business, Katrina. Like I said earlier, we’re not friends. You are my supervisor and your concerns should be limited to my work performance only.” I wasn’t exactly being insubordinate, but this is the first time I’ve engaged in my defense. Most times, I’d just ignore her.
“It is my business if the head of Human Resources is screwing one of my employees. It’s unethical, unprofessional and I’m not about to let you cause problems for my department,” she seethed.
I wanted to give her a definite answer, but the truth was, I didn’t have one. I wasn’t sure if Michael and I were actually dating or if we were just two virgins who got lost in the discovery of sex over the weekend. Michael had whispered a lot of pretty things in my ear while he was inside me, but I knew better than to believe them. I might have been a virgin, but even I knew people didn’t mean what they said during sex. It was all about the euphoria of emotions that made people say stupid crap in the heat of the moment.
Besides, if I believed everything he said, then I’d have to believe that he really did think I was made to be his dirty, little slut, because that shit came out of his mouth, too, this weekend.
I pulled my shoulders back and did my best to remain a professional. I’d talk to Michael about our…uhm, status at lunch today. “If you have an issue with how Michael Buchanan engages with BI employees, I suggest you take it up with him or Mason Buchanan,” I informed her. “I will not speak on his behalf, nor will I discuss things that are clearly none of your business.”
Katrina stepped into my personal space and that’s when I realized the extent of her disgust for me. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I will not let a nobody like you ruin all my hard work.”Ruin her hard work? What the hell?“Don’t think you can hide behind the Buchanans,” she hissed.
I took a deep breath and went back to what I always do. I ignored her. “If that’s all, Katrina, it’s Monday morning and I have a lot of stuff to catch up on.”
She raised her chin and spun around-in the most dramatic fashion, might I add-and stalked away. I watched her go and wondered what the hell was going on.
I also wondered what her choice of revenge was going to be.
