Page 214 of Callan

I don’t come to work every day, and when I do, I want to feel good.

The office manager enters my office with a few folders that need my attention.

The secretary walks in, carrying a platter.

She sets my coffee and a bottle of water down.

“You can go,” I say to her before shifting my focus to the office manager.

The manager smiles while I unbutton my suit jacket and slide into my seat behind my desk.

“How was your vacation?” she asks, sliding the folders onto my desk.

Her eyes move over my face.

“It was good. I never said I’d gone on vacation,” I reply, in a good disposition.

“You don’t need to.” She points to my face. “Your tan gives it away.”

“It does, you say,” I murmur, looking down. “What is this?”

“Everything that’s been approved and you need to sign off on. And some proposals.”

I grab a pen, go over them, and do my part.

“Anything else?” I ask, lifting my gaze.

“You said you wanted to meet the new hires.”

“Yeah. Sure. How many do we have?”

“Four have accepted our offers. Two more are interviewing now.”

“Let me know when they’re ready.”

“I’ll do that. Enjoy your coffee, sir.”

The woman spins around and walks out before quietly closing the door behind her.

Relaxing, I grab my coffee, pivot with my ergonomic desk chair, take a sip, and look outside, my mind going back to Mackenzie.

MACKENZIE

Momentsearlier

“How was it?”Mrs. Goodman asks, entering the room where I’ve been interviewed by a woman named Rose.

She’s from the HR department––I think. That’s what the woman said when she introduced herself.

She went over a lot of information, yet nothing registered with me. I couldn’t focus since I walked into this building.

It’s not like I’ve never seen a building like this.

I worked in one. It looked similar, although it lacked the modern design and impressive offices.

The people here are nice, and despite my efforts, I think I’m gonna blow it since I’m still struggling with this annoying brain fog.

It would help if this job interview didn’t require so many steps.

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