Page 65 of Daily Grind
He’d downloaded all of his photographs from their Carrie Furnace adventure and longed to show the rest to Brian. He’d even picked out a half-dozen to see if Brian thought them worth printing.
Footsteps behind him in the kitchen. Rob turned to find Todd stuffing a pod into the coffee machine. He wandered back over. “Is it me, or is that stuff awful?”
A smile played around his lips. “It’s not awful. Not Grounds N’at, but it’s not bad.”
Rob huffed. “So it’sme.” He drank his tea.
The machine chugged and spurted. “Thisispretty mechanical,” Todd said. “I’m guessing you get personal service from Brian.”
Rob nearly choked on his tea.Cream in his coffee.
Todd turned beet red in an instant. “Oh my God, I didn’t mean—” His eyes widened and the color that had risen drained just as quickly. “I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t mean—” Horror stripped the words away.
Laughter poured out of Rob. He set his cup down on the counter because he was shaking too hard to hold it and waved Todd’s fears down. When he could breathe again, he spoke. “No, it’s perfectly all right.” He swallowed the giddy giggle.
Personal service. Oh yes. Inspades.
Todd was still white as a sheet.
“Oh good God, it’s fine,” Rob said. He leaned against the counter. “I know you didn’t mean it the way it came out. But—” He shrugged, his own face hot and sore from grinning. “There’s some amount of truth there.”
The blush came back to Todd, but so did his smile. He took his cup from the coffee machine and sipped. “So it’s working out?”
That caught Rob off-guard. Then again, whoelsedid he have to talk to? At least Todd hadsomeconnection to Brian. “Remarkably so.”
An absent nod, as if putting a few things together. “That’s good.” He paused. “Can I say that I’m very happy to finally be working at a place where my relationship isn’t a thing of horror?”
Rob leaned against the counter. “I take it your previous company wasn’t as liberal?”
“On paper, it was. But…”
Rob grunted. “Well, I do have skin in the game. I promise we’ll practice what we preach.”
Todd’s blush had faded, embarrassment shifting to gratitude.
That was heartwarming. He’d known from the start that employees, not the owner, made a company in the long run. “I’m glad the coffee’s not bad for everyone. I’d hate to think we were giving folks swill.”
Todd lowered his cup. “This is far better than a lot of places.”
He had a feeling Todd wasn’t just talking about the coffee. A second later, both of their phones buzzed.
“Meeting.” Same word, spoken at the same time. Rob chuckled and gestured to Todd to take the lead. They were heading for the same place—a status meeting from the hardware team.
Thankfully, it was short and productive. The latest prototype was moving along well, and the software gurus, like Todd, were itching to get their hands on it.
By the time Rob returned to his desk, his earlier crankiness had vanished. He still desperately wanted to see Brian, but he could balance that with the good of the day, his job, and his company. Brian would be there tonight and so would he—in a nice, expensive business suit. If that whet Brian’s whistle, he was more than happy to use that to his advantage.
He pulled out his phone and texted Brian.Still on for this evening?
Rather than a reply text, the phone rang. Brian calling.Thatwas unusual. He answered. “Hi there.”
“Hey,” Brian’s voice, soft and resigned. “Figured it would be easier to call.”
A rock formed in Rob’s stomach. “You have to work tonight.”
“I—yeah.” Sadness and frustration. “Mark called in sick. Down with a hideous cold.”
“Which is exactly what you want in the food service industry.”
