I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I do something stupid in front of my boss.
I listen to his spiel about numbers and markets and blah, blah, blah. All of this is fine, but no one picks up the product if they don’t think it’s pretty. Especially women. That’s where I come in.
It feels like David is talking forever, and it’s killing me to just sit here and listen to his voice, but I take it in stride and smile as he talks and talks and talks.
“Great work, David,” Christina finally says, then turns to me. “And how are we doing on logos and packaging?”
I show her what I’ve been working on and love when she continues to just nod her head in agreement and doesn’t have anything to add.
“Okay, looks like we have everything together. Our client will be here on Monday, nine a.m. sharp.” She stares right at me, raising her eyebrows ever so slightly to make her point. “Please don’t be late.”
“I won’t be. Thank you, Christina.”
We all stand, and I gather my things to head back to my desk.
“Don’t be late again,” David bites out as he walks past me.
“How about you never interrupt me like that ever again?” I fight back.
Thankfully, he doesn’t engage me more and goes about his business while I take a seat at my desk.
“How did that go?” Jana whispers.
“Good, thank God. She says we’re ready for Monday.”
She nods, then goes back to what she was working on. I sit back, close my eyes, and take a few breaths to calm myself. Going from very tired to racing to the meeting to having to be on for my presentation might have taken a little too much out of me.
I decide I need music, so I grab my earbuds and put them in for my little pick-me-up.
Remembering Online David talking about a specific artist at the beginning of our conversation last night, I decide to give the song High Road a try to see if I can learn a little more about this mystery guy through the music he likes.
I open my Spotify app and search for Koe Wetzel. The first song on his artist list is “High Road,” but it’s the version with Jessie Murph. Knowing he likes the original version, I have to search for it because I want to hear what he likes first before I hear the other one.
Once I hit play, I open my laptop and, if I’m being honest, pretend to be going over emails as I let the music that Online David loves wash over me and fully take it in.
It’s slow at first, and then it starts talking about a guy knowing his girl is mad at him. They are obviously in a fight, but he’s saying he’s going to take the high road and not fight back with her.
I’m vibing with the sound, and when I get to the chorus, I laugh out loud at probably the best lyric I’ve ever heard—“I don’t need a ticket to your shit show.” Boy, I’ve felt that way a few times before when it came to breaking up with a guy.
The second verse starts, and I smile even more when he just announces, “Fuck it, I quit.” I have felt that exact moment of just being done so many times, and I love the way he’s not afraid to put it out there.
By the end of the song, I am grooving with the beat and singing the chorus. It all makes me wonder though, does he like this song because it reminds him of a certain time in his life where he just threw in the towel and had to walk away, his ownfuck it, I quitmoment?
I decide to send him a little text before I listen to the Jessie Murph version.
I just listened to your song and can’t help but wonder if there’s a story behind why you like it so much.
Ha! Maybe. We can have story time tonight. Be ready to share yours though too.
I know he’s at work, so I don’t respond and instead play the other version of the song.
It starts out the exact same way, even with the chorus, and I’m curious what the difference is when the second verse starts, but this time, it’s just her singing.
Now it’s her turn to share what she thinks about the relationship. In his version, you felt like it was all her problem, but now you see he has some issues as well.
Isn’t that the epitome of life—that there are two sides to every story? And this song lays them out perfectly.
I do like this version slightly better, just for the more pop/R&B vibes, but I do notice there’s nofuck it, I quitline, which bums me out slightly.
