New Year's Steve

Steve: Hidey hole? I’m dying.

Me: No, I am. Don’t even look at me, I’m hideous.

Steve: LOLOLOLOL. Me and my big ball will see you tonight.

Fucking autocorrect.

Actually, that’s not true. Fucking flickering light made my brain spaz out and now I’m coming across like a horny minx. I suppose there are worse ways to act on a New Year’s Eve date.

Shaking off my embarrassment because I have no time for it, I buckle the strap on my shoe. I wouldn’t normally care about my footwear but I need to find my boss, Victoria. I want her to make sure she got my latest data and she doesn’t see any glaring discrepancies.

Triple check and all that jazz.

I grab my mug because I might as well make a pit stop for refreshments since I’m out. Plus, I don’t want to get up from that desk again unless absolutely necessary.

I’ve got eight hours until I need to be out of here or I won’t have time for the necessary pre-date gaming. A good self-grooming takes time and while this is a first date, a girl has to be prepared.

“Hey Vic,” I call out as I peek my head into her office. “Did you get my…”

I stop mid-sentence.

The lights in her office are dim and her computer is off.

She’s not here, dammit!

Honestly, I’m not that surprised. If I had a nickel for every time she was a no-show on days like today, I’d have enough money to have quit long ago. It’s not a company holiday but when the big wigs aren’t here, half the bosses don’t show up either.

I suppose it means she has a lot of trust in my ability to get the job done.

It also means an extra paid vacation day for me when I remind her she owes me for showing up when she didn’t. Usually that elicits a glare right before she signs off on my request.

Good enough for me.

My only regret is changing shoes just in case. Poor neglected bunnies. I’ll get back to them soon. But first, break room.

I could use the one on this floor, but instead I use the elevator to go up a level. For whatever reason, the agents get the fancy coffee maker and cabinets full of snacks, and right now, I’m in the mood for an upgrade. Us lowly people in accounting get zippo.

I have no idea who buys all the granola bars and fruit snacks, but there aren’t any notes saying to keep my mitts off, so I assume they’re company issued. If not… well, I can always apologize later.

The ride is short and I beeline for Meg’s desk. That’s the second reason I like this floor better.

Sneaking up behind her, I get as close as I can before using my full volume to greet her with a “Hey!”

She jumps and squeals, barely missing my face with the back of her head.

“Hey watch it! You could have broken my nose and I don’t need to show up with one as an ice breaker conversation for my date. I need to at least try to look like my LoveSwept profile picture tonight.”

“It serves you right for sneaking up on me like that.” Meg clutches her ugly sweater covered heart. Did she just press a button on her top that makes it sing Aude Lang Syne?

Who am I kidding?

This is Meg — of course she did. Not that I have room to judge. I miss my bunnies already. Still, I can’t let this moment pass me by.

“Uh… why is your sweater singing?”

Her eyes light up, clearly distracted from her faux heart attack. “Isn’t it cute? Adam found it and knew I’d love it. Said it screamed my name.”

“Haven’t you been dating for like thirty seconds? Is that an appropriate amount of time for White Elephant gift giving?”

“This is not a gag gift. It’s the perfect gift.” She smooths down her top and picks off some imaginary lint. “And gifts are fine. When you know you’ve found a good one, you just know. Speaking of, shouldn’t you be finishing some reports so you can make it to your hot date?”

I lean against her the cubicle wall and sigh. “I’m so close to being done but that damn lightbulb keeps taking my picture. It’s driving me up the wall.”

“Why don’t you have your office manager take care of it?”

“Why does everyone keep saying that? Shouldn’t maintenance respond no matter who is calling?”

“Pretty sure the office manager is the one who does or does not approve his vacation days. There’s more incentive going that route.”

I roll my eyes dramatically. “Fiiiine. When I get back, I’ll go through the freaking middle man.”

“You are awfully theatrical today.”

“That’s no different from any other day of the week, today I just have an audience. You.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Meg says with a giggle and scoots her chair forward like she’s ready to get back to work.