“It expired yesterday! I told him I had an appointment this morning at the gas station, which I did, by the way. I dropped my car off on my way in, and one of the mechanics drove me here. The cop claimed”—I made air quotes—“since it was technically the morning already, I violated the law he took an oath to uphold. Seriously, Syd. There was no reasoning with this guy. He figured out a way to twist everything I said or did to rationalize his every, stupid action.”
“Really?”
“Yes!” I banged my hand on my desk, not liking the doubt in her voice. “Not only did he detain me for almost an hour while he played Candy Crush—”
She cleared her throat.
“Fine. What I know is he took his nice, sweet time making me stew in my car. And now have to fork over a couple of hundred dollars for a bogus ticket. I’ve never had an experience like this in my life. It was surreal! Initially, he seemed fair enough. Nice even. I was positive he’d send me on my way with a warning.”
“What changed?”
I let out a deep breath. “I have no clue. It was bizarre. One moment, he seemed like a normal human being who was only trying to do his job. But then he turned into a different person as soon as he saw my driver’s license. It was weird. He looked like he wanted to punch a brick wall, almost as if he had an ax to grind with me or something. I don’t understand.”
“Oh, Waverly.” Sydney reached over and patted my hand like I was a puppy dog. “I love you, but don’t you think you’re a bit melodramatic? I’m sure you’re reading too much into the situation and blowing the experience out of proportion. Let’s face it. You were dead tired when you left here last night. We both know you get mouthy when you’re hungry or exhausted. While you think you were probably on your best behavior, I’m sure you made one too many quips and irritated him.”
“Really? Are you saying he was justified in threatening to arrest me, just because I got on his nerves slightly?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but I didn’t give her a chance. “I’m not embellishing the story, Syd! He threatened to arrest me if I didn’t walk a straight line for him. Thank goodness I was wearing sneakers and not high heels! Can you imagine? One little stumble and I’d have to drag you out of bed to bail me out of the slammer.”
“Oh Waverly. Can you imagine what would have happened if you tripped?” She giggled. “It would have been kind of funny, like the time you fell off your backless sandals when you leaned too far over to reach for Mr. Patel’s hand the first time he came to the office. For an ex-cheerleader, you are so clumsy.”
“Only when I wear heels. Thank goodness I didn’t offer him one of those new Italian mints we are importing. He probably would have alleged I attempted to bribe him!” I drummed my fingers on my desk and pretended to be upset. “I’m glad my misfortune can entertain you.” I tossed a paperclip in her direction. “And speaking of which, if my day and night wasn’t bad enough, I came home to a surprise.”
“What? Is your next-door neighbor tormenting you again?”
“Worse!” I groaned. “I found a dozen roses from Can’t-Keep-It-in-His-Pants Chad on my front steps.” I rested my head in my hands. According to my mom, who heard from Aunt Betty, Cousin Casey dumped him last week. At least he had the manners to wait a few days to reach out to me. Seriously? Can you believe the dirtbag? How could the turd think for a second, after what he did to me, I’d consider giving him a second chance? Has all the world lost their minds?”
“It sure seems so.”
“Please tell me, before I arrived, you realized we figured out all the data glitches last night, so we can forget about work and go out for brunch instead. You know, I could use a mimosa or six.”
“I could too! Although, I did have a great idea on how to speed up the process.”
“Yes!” I pumped my fist in the air.
“Sydney, Waverly, I’m sorry to interrupt.” Julia from logistics poked her head in my doorway. “The boss thinks we have a problem. Charles wanted me to tell you he thinks the server crashed. Everyone got kicked out of the system. Can you look at it, Waverly?”
I stood up. “Of course.” Then I turned to Sydney and added, “God! I must have been a horrible person in a past life or something.”
5
September
While stressful at the time,the system launch ended up being a smashing success, if I say so myself. The entire staff had been raving nonstop about how the new technology made their lives more enjoyable and efficient. And for the past few weeks, I was on a euphoric high from a job well done. Unfortunately, the satisfying feeling started to flee, as it always did once a major task was in my rearview mirror. I had been doing some research, and I had an idea about a new initiative I could implement.
It was late Sunday morning and I had called Sydney to solidify our lunch plans for tomorrow. Before we left the office on Friday, we discussed getting out of the office on Monday for a bite and a break. I couldn’t help but notice, in her rush to pack up and pick her daughter up from soccer practice, she didn’t jot the event in her calendar. I knew from experience it was a mistake to ever leave a date up for chance with her. Sydney lived by her calendar, which was understandable, considering how much she juggled. Between work and her active third-grader’s social calendar, I was always in awe at how much she managed to do in one day. Five years my senior, she was an inspiration. But like everything, it came at a cost. She often joked the only way she managed to get lucky with her husband was if they scheduled sex, which made me feel better about being alone and single.
As always, one thing led to another when we got on the phone. Before I could even find out if sushi was in my future, I found myself picking her brain for work advice. I had a great idea but I was worried about presenting it to my boss. I feared he’d be reluctant to spend another large sum of money to enhance our network security so soon after the last project was complete. Since Sydney was the CFO and knew the company’s finances probably better than he did, she would know how or if I should approach him.
“Are you working out, or does discussing firewalls take your breath away?” Sydney asked.
“Yes!” I answered her question and lowered the speed and incline on my treadmill to a more reasonable pace. Now walking briskly instead of flying, my breathing steadied slightly. I added, “I just completed a ten-mile run. It was great! I’m sorry. Did I sound like a pervert panting heavily in your ears?”
“Sort of,” she joked. “You should try to binge watch some reality television while you exercise instead of working. It might be more enjoyable for you.”
“Nah, you know me. I have a one-track mind. Crap.” I moaned as I wiped sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sounding concerned. I’d bet she feared I fell off the machine. It wouldn’t have been the first time.
