Page 24 of Reconciling With the Rival

He steps where I was standing in front of the machine and surprises me when he raises his hand and smacks the copier on the side.

I could’ve done that…

“Sometimes, all you have to do is hit it, and it seems to work again. It’s the weirdest thing,” he tells me, a smile on his face.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“No problem, man. We have to stick together around here, you know?” I’m puzzled by what he means, and it must show on my face, because he speaks again. “Us men have to stick together.”

“Oh, of course,” I tell him. This is the most I’ve talked to Brody since I took over his position, and I feel like we could be good friends.

“If you need anything, let me know. I know Ella can be a pain to work with sometimes. At least she was when I sat across the hall from her.” He smirks, and I can only imagine what he had to deal with before I got here.

“You must be happy to be in another office now.”

“Very happy.” He winks at me before someone calls his name. “Duty calls. Good luck with the copier, man.”

“Thanks for your help,” I say again, and after a few more minutes, I finish this task. Having to go give these to Ella is somehow the worst part. I guarantee, she’s going to give me another useless task to do.

I knock on her office door, and she tells me to come in, so I do. Her face turns annoyed as soon as I walk inside. I haven't even said anything, but apparently, the way I breathe isn't up to her standards.

“Here are those copies,” I say as I hand them to her. “What else do you want me to do so you can waste more of my time?”

She gives me a pointed look. “Excuse me?”

I lean my palms against her desk. “I don’t mind being bossed around, but you’re not giving me any actual work.”

“Leo, you’re shadowing for the first thirty days. It’s only been a week, and you need to learn how to stay organized, make copies, and—”

“And get your coffee for you?”

Her eyes move down and then back up. “It doesn't feel good, does it?”

“Not really,” I tell her. I knew she was aware of what she was doing.

“Now you understand what it feels like not being equal to someone you work with on the same level. Good; that took less time than I thought.” She smiles and motions for me to sit. What the fuck is going on?

“What the heck are you doing, Ella?”

“Teaching you a lesson. We’re all on the same playing field here. We all work together on contracts and shit for our clients. Sure, there are team leaders and promotions to be had, but at the end of the day, we all have the same goal—to make our clients happy.”

“So this was a test?”

“Yes, and you actually did alright,” she says before she types a few things on her computer. “I sent you an email with a fake proposal for a client’s brand. Look it over, make some mockups, and by the end of next week, I expect it to be in my inbox.”

“Really?”

“Unless you think you can’t handle it. Then you can—”

“No, I can.” I meet her eyes again. “I didn't think this conversation would end like this.”

“I’m not going to fail you on purpose, Zimmerman. I just needed to test you a little bit, especially with everything that happened at our internship. You played dirty, and just because you’re a man, you got more than I did.” She shakes her head. “That’s not how it works here.”

“I understand.”

“Now, get out. I have shit to do.” I stand from my chair and head for the door.

“There’s the girl I knew you were. I was starting to think all your talk meant you were going soft on me, Williams.”

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