Confused, I clicked on the location and stood up from my desk.
I headed down to the auditorium and stared at the scene ahead of me in disbelief.
Hundreds of gold and emerald balloons kissed the ceiling. The words “Long Live Sweet Seasons” were etched on a banner that hung from the stage, and music was blasting from the speakers.
No one was working.
They weren’t even pretending to.
Is that champagne they’re serving?
“No matter what happens to this company,” the senior accountant spoke into the mic, “I’m so grateful to have met all of you, and you’ve become my second family. We just have a new evil stepdad at the helm.”
Laughter echoed through the walls, and I debated crashing their little party by taking that mic away.
Andrea’s eyes met mine from the stage and she gasped. Then she rushed toward me.
Seeing her gray dress fluttering temporarily distracted me from the event.
Keyword: Temporarily.
“Good morning, Mr. Cross,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
“My morning coffee and breakfast never arrived and I’m missing quite a few notes.”
“I’m sure those are being delivered to your desk right now.”
“They’re late.”
“No…” She furrowed her brow. “You’re an hour early... It’s just now eight o’clock.”
I glanced at the phone in her hand, catching the time.
Why am I off by so much today?
“You’re supposed to bring a gift to exchange with one of the senior employees.” She changed the subject. “That’s like the entire concept of Secret Employee Appreciation Day.”
“I see,” I said. “In that case, I did bring a gift.”
“Then can you please tell me where the hell it is, so I can add it to the pile?”
“Sure.” I smoothed my tie. “It’s right here.”
“You’re sharing one of your designer ties?”
“No, I’m sharing my presence, Miss Stone,” I said. “My presence is a present.”
“In that case, please let me know where I can return it.”
“I’m going to let that one slide.” I looked at my watch, confirming once again that I was out of sync today. “How much longer does this go on?”
“One more hour.”
“Good. Be sure to tell them they’ll be making up for this playtime later this week.”
“Already did.”
“Good.” I felt the need to have the last word with her. “Don’t say anything else before I walk away.”
