His to take

5. Strike Two

I was not as confident as I walked into work the next day. Even Johnny who had known me for all of one day noticed but when he asked, I told him it was nothing. But I did not have any run-ins with Mr. Harold that day, or the next, or the day after that. I had started to settle into my work mid-day on Friday when Terry called me over. “Sir?” I answer

“Where are the advertisement plans for the solar panels?” He asked

“I submitted them to Miss Ashley this morning” I say and he nods

“Good. She should be through reviewing them. Check for corrections and get her to sign then take the file to Mr. Harold. He is waiting for it”

“Sir?” Please no

“Get the files to Mr. Harold” He says and I bit my lip hard releasing them when I felt the skin start to tear

“Terry, I um… I think I need the bathroom”

“Sure. Get the files to Mr. Harold after that”

“But I would take too long. It is better if someone else goes”

“Are you trying to shy away from work?” All this time, he was not looking at me but as his eyes turned to me now, he looked amused

“No sir. Never” I declare

“Then why?” He asks and I rack my head on how to answer “Does he scare you?”

“Yes” I answer immediately “That’s it. He scares me so much. He makes me tremble”

“Oh” He thought for a moment then smiled at me and hope bloomed like wild flowers in my chest “Then it is better you get to know him. He is not all that bad. Get the file to him and chit chat a bit. Then come back and tell me what you talked about” He says

I felt the thunder that stuck over my head at his words. It was loud and bright and scary. She held unto the table to keep from falling to the ground “Sir um…”

“Go dear. Chop, chop. Don’t worry he does not bite” Terry claimed then turned back to his computer and whispers “I hope” Under his breath

I walked to Miss Ashley’s office like I was walking to purgatory and she looked at me weird surely noticing my demeanor.

“Are you okay?” She ask “You do not look good. You are so white. Are you sick?” She asks and I shook my head silently

“I am here for the files on the solar panel ads” I tell her hoping she says she is not done with the document but she smiles brightly

“You are amazing Char. There were only very few and minor errors and I corrected already. I am glad you are part of this company” She says. If only that helped me in any way. I wished I was not good at my job. Then perhaps it would have been so full of errors, I would have had to rewrite the whole thing. Sadly, I was good.

I had forgotten to stamp the document so I went back to my desk to do so. “Why do you look like that?” Jonny questioned and I shrugged but when I look at him, my job loving brain formulated a new plan. I was wearing a blue jean skirt that stopped above my knees and a black top. Johnny had a black p-cap that would cover my face. I could add a facemask and he would not know. The thought brightened up my mood,

“Um…Johnny?”

“Yes Charlie?” He says looking at me for a second

“Could I borrow your cap?” I ask hopefully and he shrugs

“Sure” He says but he makes no move to remove it for me “My hands are busy. Take it” He says and I thank him and pull it off his head

“Thanks” I say again before fitting it on my head then holding my facemask in my hands

“It looks good on you” He comments smiling at me and I smile back. I realized he had a dimple on one cheek. How did I miss that?

“Thanks” I grab my files and straightened my back

Show time. My walk was confident right until I put on my mask as I got to the reception on his floor and then my steps faltered and I felt like I would fall flat on my face despite the fact that I was wearing flat sneakers. The receptionist only spared me a second of her time before going back to whatever she was doing on her nails. I say Hi to the secretaries and the lady nodded back while the guy ignores me. It takes a second for me to realize he was on call and had ear pods in his ears.

I stand in front of the door gathering my spirit. Now or never. I knocked gently on the door and it is a moment before he asks me to come in. A moment filled with a delicate mix of hope and anxiety

“Come in” He says and my shoulders deflate slightly, my hope that he would not be in, gone. I opened the door quietly and was glad when he did not look up

“This is the advertisement plan for the solar tablets” I tell him outstretching the file to him. He nods to the ends of the table asking me to drop it. I did so gladly and turned to leave

“Wait” He says and flips through the file then he looks up at me and frowns “You still have a cold?” He comments and I nod. He eyes me silently then looks at the document again “I feel like I know you” He was looking at the document as he said it

“I was here on Monday”

“Not from work” He drops the file and then looks up at me “Must be a mistake. You can leave” He says and I had to stop myself from bolting out the door.

The moment I closed the door behind me, relief coursed through my vein like ice water. Whoever my guardian angel was, they must be working overtime to save me from losing my job. “Thank you” I handed the hat back to Johnny “You saved a life”

“Keep it” He told me and I raised a brow “It looks better on you”

“Thanks” I say and put it over my head again. I do not really like caps but I did not want to embarrass him by refusing. Plus, he said it looked good.

“Aren’t you going for lunch?” He asked when I stared to sit and I shook my head

“I do not have much of an appetite plus I have a sandwich I planned on eating this morning but never got to” I explain and he shrugged

“Alright” He stated and left along with Tris and Sophie. The room was already empty except for me, Henry and Delia. After a few minutes of organizing proposals, I stretch and realized I only had fifteen minutes of my lunch beak left. I go into the break room and make some instant coffee. While I was pouring hot water into my mug, I looked out the window and was met by the impressive scenery. I had been meaning to check out the roof so I poured the coffee into a take away cup and along with my wrapped sandwich, I went onto the roof.

There were so many things that made me happy but my love for fresh air was unmatched. The roof was clean and huge which came as no surprise as the building was also huge. The floor was covered in even gravels but had cemented areas that were lower than the gravels all along the edges. It seemed they had poured the gravel on the cement. There were also several park benches situated evenly from each other. Other than that, the space was completely empty. I went to the edge and looked down. I felt dizzy for a second as I adjusted to the altitude but then I smiled sighing in content. I was one of those lucky people who were not afraid of heights. When I remember that my break was almost over, I go to sit on a bench and start to eat my sandwich. Halfway through, I call Elizabeth. The fact that he was self-employed made me able to call her anytime. “Charlotte” She says picking up on the first ring

“Hello to you too” I tell her teasingly

“What’s up?” She asks, unlike me, she does not waste time

“Nothing. Just wanted to check up on you. You were gone before I woke up this morning”

“Yeah, I had something to do at the factory. Are you okay?”

“Yes I am perfectly fine” I tell her but she sighs and I hear a ruffle of papers and a shuffle as if she is adjusting her seat

“Charlotte, what is wrong? You seem tense” She asks and I shrug

“Just work” I say and she sighs

“I know it can be a little hard and your first job had to be at such a high profile and busy company. If you feel it is too much, we can look for another job for you. Until you are ready, you know I will be here for you if anything happens” She says and my eyes water. She had always been like this.

“I am fine Elizabeth. I am a big girl now” I inform her

“I know. You grew up so quickly” She sounded proud “I have to go. Be safe” She tells me “And stay out of trouble” Her voice is stern

“Yes mother” I laugh and hang up. I have barely put the phone down when I heard someone clear their throat behind me

“Isn’t lunch hour over?” Nathan’s voice comes from behind me. Fuuuuuck.