A head pops up over the divider the second my butt hits the chair. I nearly jump up again.
“Hey, kid.”
I close my eyes for a second. “Brian. Seriously. Don’t do that.”
He laughs. Brian’s the guy that works in the cube next to mine. He’s a typical frat boy, deep voice, dark hair, a little shaggy. He dresses like a J-Crew model, except everything is a little bit too big, and he needs to lose like twenty pounds.
“Sorry. Just wanted to see how things are going.”
“I don’t know. I just got in.”
“Oh, come on. I saw you working late last night.”
I hesitate. “So what?”
“So what? You’re trying to show us all up.”
“Please. Like that’ll be hard.”
He laughs but there’s a little malice behind it. “All right, Val. I see you.”
He sinks back down behind the divider and I let out my breath. I pull myself into my desk, hiding my legs beneath it, and turn on my computer.
For the rest of the day, I’m hyperaware of my body. I keep waiting for Jacob to stop by and say something, or to call me back into his office, but it doesn’t happen. The morning slips past, so incredibly slow, and every time I move I’m reminded that I came into work wearing a skirt without tights or underwear.
It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done.
Okay, I know, it’s not exactly insane. I admit I haven’t lived the most glamorous or wild life, but for me, it’s pretty out there.
I eat lunch at my desk like I normally do. Around one, my supervisor Larry stops by my desk. I hunch forward a little, keeping my skirt in place. “Hey, Val,” he says.
“Hi, Larry.”
“Listen, can you come with me for a second?”
I frown. “Something wrong?”
“Not at all. Just want a little time.”
I nod and stand. I follow him to the conference room and as I walk toward it, my heart starts to race.
Jacob’s sitting there.
He smiles as I step into the room. Larry introduces me, though he doesn’t need to. Jacob’s eyes move from my eyes down to my legs and back up again, and he has the biggest grin on his face I’ve ever seen.
“Hey, Val,” he says.
“Mr. Lofthouse. How are you?”
“Call me Jacob, please.” He laughs and gestures. “Take a seat.”
I walk over and sit as carefully as I can, smoothing my skirt. I meet his eye and quirk an eyebrow. He’s smirking at me.
“So, Val,” Larry says. “We’re doing some initial evaluations, really just checking in with everyone to see how things are going before we really dive into the work head.”
“Oh, great,” I say. “Sounds good.”
“Do you have any questions for us to start with?” Larry asks.
I hesitate.
“You can relax,” Jacob says. “Don’t worry. This really isn’t an interrogation. Everyone’s happy with your work.”
“Good,” I say and force a smile.
“Although I should say, we may need to discuss proper workplace attire.”
Larry gapes at him, horrified. I feel myself starting to blush and I cock my head slightly to the side. “Excuse me, Jacob?”
He laughs and shakes his head. “I’m just kidding.” His eyes sparkle as he watches how I’ll react.
I give him an icy smile and Larry clears his throat, completely uncomfortable. “Uh, right, anyway,” he says. “Do you have any questions for us, Val?”
I force past that asshole attempting at embarrassing me and come up with some general and vague question about our systems. Larry seems so incredibly relieved to have anything to talk about that he takes my question and runs with it.
Meanwhile, Jacobs’s watching me with a smile. I glare at him, not mad for myself really, but mad for poor Larry. From his perspective, the co-owner of this company just sexually harassed one of his employees, and now he has to act like it’s no big deal.
The meeting goes on from there. Larry does most of the talking, I ask a few more questions, and we wrap things up. When it’s over, I stand and shake Jacob’s hand. “Thanks for your time, Val,” he says.
“Any time, Jacob.”
Larry walks me out. As we head back to my desk, he stops me in the hall. “Listen, Val,” he says softly. “About that, uh, joke Jacob made in there.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “Honestly.”
He frowns. “It was a little… well, it wasn’t much of a joke.”
I smile at him. I really, really like Larry right now. He’s a good guy and means well but he has no clue what he’s doing.
“Honestly, Larry, it’s an inside joke from our interview. Don’t worry, we’re fine.”
“Right.” He frowns. “Really?”
“Really. I was just surprised he remembered it, honestly.”
He looks so relieved he could cry. “Okay, great, wonderful. For a second there I thought you were upset.”
“Oh, no, just surprised. Don’t worry. But I really appreciate you having this talk with me, honestly.”
“Any time.” He drops me back at my cube and walks off.