Page 13 of If I See You Again
Exemplary employees don’t sleep with their clients, Malcolm.
“Mr. Fisher, how are things coming along with the Garrison account?”
I nodded, my heart pounding a little harder in my chest.
“Great. Fine? I sent him a few ideas, and he looked them over. He called to discuss a few things, and we’re going to rework a couple of the slogan ideas—”
“So you’re telling me that no one has completed anything yet?”
Shit. If I hadn’t been sweating before, I was now. The way my boss steepled his hands and stared me down said he wasn’t happy with my answer.
“Nothing yet. No.”
Silence filled the room, and my anxiety spiked further. Mr. Thomas swiveled back and forth in his chair as he watched me closely. My arms and legs tingled the longer we sat there. Would he say anything else?
“This account is a huge deal. You’re aware of that?”
Numb. I couldn’t feel anything as I nodded. My boss had never doubted my abilities, but maybe I didn’t understand just how important this all was.
“I understand, sir. I’m taking it as seriously as possible. If I need to—”
Mr. Thomas held up a hand to stop me. “Try not to stress, Mr. Fisher. I have received word that Mr. Garrison has expedited his move to Chicago. That was what caused me to worry. If I need to find another person or someone to assist you, please let me know.
My tongue was too thick to let me speak. David had sped up his move? Why hadn’t he told me? I nodded as I stood from the chair and made my way out of the office and back down the hall.
The second my office door closed behind me, I sank to the ground, taking deep and shaky breaths. I’d never felt so scared for my job before. What was it about David Garrison that had meso twisted up that I couldn’t perform like I normally did? I knew those slogans were trash, but I’d sent them anyway.
My hands shook as I pulled my phone from my pocket. There weren’t any missed calls or messages. Why hadn’t David told me he was coming sooner rather than later?
Me: So when exactly are you moving to Chicago?
There was a delay, so I set my device down on the ground, closed my eyes, and took a few more deep breaths to calm my still erratically beating heart. The second I heard the vibration, I picked it back up and unlocked the screen to read his response.
David: I see you were told the news then?
Me: I would have preferred it to come from you…
The dots bounced and bounced, causing that itching feeling to return to my arms and legs. I couldn’t sit on the floor anymore, and as I shifted to stand, my phone went off again.
David: What do you mean? It’s a good thing.
I wanted to tell him about getting called into Mr. Thomas’s office. How my boss’s announcement about David moving here had me question my abilities for this job. It was so freaking stupid, because I was sure that wasn’t the reason David moved things up. His flirtatious messages persisted. He wasn’t only coming for work. I knew that. The problem was reminding him that we needed to remain professional. Nothing else could happen between us.
My phone rang, causing me to jump. I rushed to answer it because I hated making people wait. Fucking people pleaser. Why was I like that?
“Hello?” God, why was I so out of breath?
“Malcolm?”
A shiver raced down my spine at the sound of his voice, and I hated how much my body liked his soothing timbre.
“Yes. Hi, David.” Would it be weird if I slapped myself in the face? I was being ridiculous with how I was handling myself. It was like I was a giddy teenage boy talking to his crush.
“Is everything all right?”
God, the laugh I let out was borderline hysterical. My eyes slammed closed, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine. Totally fine. Why do you ask?”
There was a long pause followed by, “You just said ‘fine’ three times in a row.”
