I nod and continue across the lobby.
When I press the elevator button, the doors slide open almost instantly.
“Good afternoon!”
Calliope’s cheerful voice makes me grin immediately.
She’s standing inside the elevator in her perfectly pressed uniform, her blonde curls bouncing slightly as she beams at me.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite manager,” she chirps.
I step inside with my box. “Hi, Calliope. Basement, please.”
Her smile falters slightly when she sees the box.
“Oh no,” she says softly.
I sigh. “Don’t start.”
She presses theBbutton for the basement level.
The doors close with a quiet ding.
I glance over at her just as she sniffles. “Calliope.”
She wipes her nose quickly. “I’m not crying,” she insists.
“You are so, and if you don’t stop, you’ll get me started.”
“You’re leaving!”
“I’m notleaving, leaving,” I say. “I’m just changing jobs.”
“You’re still abandoning me.”
I laugh. “I’ll still be around all the time,” I promise.
She sniffles again. “I’m still sad.”
The elevator dings softly as it reaches the basement.
When the doors open, I shift the box and wrap my free arm around her in a tight hug.
“I’m going to miss you the most,” I admit.
Her arms squeeze me back fiercely. “You’d better visit,” she says.
“All the time.”
I pull away and step out into the hallway.
Porter’s office door is at the end of the corridor.
He’s finishing a meeting in one of the conference rooms on the sixth floor with the man who’ll be taking over my position.
I nudge the door open quietly.
His office smells like him.
