“Well, you won’t meet with any resistance from me.”
Leaning forward, Hal whispers in my ear, “We found sixteen empty bottles.” He arches his brow. “If you know what I mean.”
Alcohol. “That may be something Graham needs to be made aware of.”
“Up to you, ma’am.” He takes a step back. “We’ve left those in a box in the closet in case you wanted to handle that.”
“Right.” Great. I was hoping Hal could be the bearer of bad news, but I suppose the buck stops here. “I’ll take care of it. Thanks, Hal.”
“No problem, ma’am.”
“Alison. Please call me Alison.”
“Right, Alison. Have a good day.”
“You too.”
I watch as they remove their cleaning equipment along with the bags of trash.
When I step into the office, the smell is considerably better, but something still lingers. “I need a candle or something.” I’m talking to myself, but Meghan is close enough to hear.
“I’ve got one in my old cubicle.” She turns to leave. “I hope you like the smell of Christmas Essence, whatever the hell that is, because that’s all I’ve got.”
I laugh.
“It was a secret Santa gift.” She shrugs and she’s off.
I really like that girl. It’s too bad I’ve only got a couple more weeks with her. Maybe we’ll be friends after all of this.
Stepping farther into the office, I take my briefcase and purse and make my way over to the desk. The crew has stacked up the papers that were once strewn across the top of the desk and placed them on the upper left corner. The top of the desk is spotless; I can almost see myself in the dark finish. The large computer monitor is just as sparkling and placed at an angle on the opposite corner. I’m tempted to turn it on to see what he’s got on the screen, but I’m not ready for that. Besides, I’m sure I’ll need to get IT up here to let me in. I’ll save that for another day. Right now, I need to set up my own computer and check email first. Then I need to sit down with the managers and give them my expectations for the next two weeks.
As soon as Meghan returns with the candle, she clears a safe place for it on the small coffee table next to the sofa. After she lights it, we both wait for the scent to waft into the air.
“Cinnamon,” I say with a smile. “I guess that could be Christmas Essence.”
“Thank goodness it’s not Santa’s Fart scented.”
Oh my God. This girl. I crack up. She’s giggling too. That’s when I bend in half with my hands on my knees, laughing so hard that tears start to flow down my cheek. Because of that, I miss the sound of stomping feet as they enter the office.
“What the fuck is going on in here?”
My laughter stops as I jerk back up to my full height. “Sam?”What’s he doing here?
“I asked you a fucking question. What are you doing in my goddamn office?” He scans the room, and I know what he’s going to say next. “Who the fuck cleaned in here?”
“Maintenance,” Meghan says softly.
His head rotates slowly until his eyes meet hers. “Clean out your fucking desk.”
“Uh….” I’m about to tell her do no such thing when Sam stomps closer. So close that I get to smell his breath again. Alcohol.
From the corner of my eye, Meghan pulls her phone out of her pocket and steps toward the door. She points to her phone and nods. I’m hoping that means she’s calling for backup.
“Sam.”
“What. The. Fuck. Are you doing in my office?
I just need to be honest with him. I’ll do it with a soft, calm voice. “I’m the interim.”
