Page 4 of My Boss

“How is this wonderful day going for you, finance girl?” Monika greets me in a sing-song tone.

“As usual. Boring.” I take a pack of stogies out of my pocket. “My boss is a rare case of a boor.”

“If I were your boss, I certainly wouldn’t let you get bored.” The newcomer walks up to me, fires up a silver lighter and extends it in my direction.

I lean over with a cigarette in my mouth, and when the white paper catches the flame, I raise my eyes and meet his playful gaze. Gosh, Newbie’s eyes up close really look amber.

“If you were my boss, I would quit right away.” I take a drag on my cigarette, then let the smoke rise.

“Really? Why?” He stares at me, smiling still.

“Good old fraternizing.”

I can see he doesn’t seem to get it.

“Because the company’s regulations forbid dating coworkers and supervisors,” I clarify.

Monika and Tom let out a prolonged “woo… !” sound and Newbie’s eyes sparkle. He extends his hand to me.

“I’m Karol. What are you doing tonight?”

“Maria.” I shake his hand. “Going to a Mexican place for dinner.”

“Cancel it.”

“Can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t cancel something that hasn’t been booked yet.” I tilt my head, shooting him a provocative smile.

Karol laughs.

“Eight o’clock is OK with you?” he asks.

“Excellent.”

“Then we’re set.”

*

Dinner—a five. Drink at his house—a four. Sex—a three point two.

But, after all, one does not live by sex alone, right? Karol is funny, uncomplicated and likes to have fun. A twenty-eight-year-old boy, who plays PlayStation, eats dinners at his mother’s, pays the loan for the apartment, has a cleaning lady, doesn’t particularly care about his appearance and likesclubbing on Saturdays. It’s nothing serious, and that’s fine, that’s how it’s supposed to be. I’m not in a hurry to rush to the altar, God forbid. I don’t even think about children. Honestly, I’m not fit to be a mother. I think I’m too self-centered. My life is a mess, both professionally and personally. I have to put it in order first before I can even think about any stable relationships.

I’m four years out of college and, already in the first year of my career, I realized that choosing the ‘finance and banking’ major was one of the worst life decisions I made. All in all, I wasted nine years on something that totally doesn’t interest me. And although I’m damn good at what I do, I don’t get any satisfaction from my work.

Every morning when I stand in front of the mirror, I feel like giving myself a slap for betraying myself. But I have no choice. I have to somehow pay my rent and utilities, have money to live on and finally save enough cash to start my own business. I hate that after work I can’t find time to develop my passion. And so I wonder if this business idea of mine even makes sense. Because what sane person is going to wait three months to renovate an old ‘granny’ dresser they inherited when you can buy a new dresser for three hundred on the spot? So what if it will fall apart after a year; it’s nice, fashionable, and cheap. And the old ‘granny’ dresser is good only for the fucking trash.

Currently, I have to settle for what life has offered me. I shouldn’t complain. I have a well-paid job (with a fucked-up boss), great friends from my high school days (who have also been complaining lately about a lack of time), healthy parents (who think I’m a total screw-up) and a new boyfriend (who is convinced that when he comes, I come too)—but as I mentioned, one does not live by sex alone. The important thing is that I feel comfortable with Karol, I don’t have to tense up or worry that I’ll say or do something stupid because, in our relationship, he is the less intelligent one. We see each other twice a week, mostlyon weekends. Not more often because for the past two months, which is since I started working in a fucking corporation, I’ve been running like a gerbil on a wheel for twelve hours a day. After leaving work, all I dream of is to numb myself with wine (and chips), de-stress with a movie (preferably a romantic comedy), then go to bed and get a decent night’s sleep (alone!). Sometimes, when Jan graciously allows me to leave the office before six, I meet with Karol in the city to grab a bite, go see a movie or go bowling, and then spend the night at his place.

“I don’t understand why you don’t want us to go in together,” says Karol after I let go of his hand as we get closer to the company.

“Because I don’t want to get fired for breaking the rules.”

“Just because we go in together doesn’t mean we are together. You’re not ashamed of me, are you?”

“Of course not.”

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