Untitled - For Now

Chapter 9

Month end deadlines were the worst. Combine it with trying to learn a new business and still managing the old, it made for challenging times. But hard work was not something that Namjoon wasn't used to. His work ethic was second to none, often times being the first one to show up and the last one to leave. And many times he would bring home work with him so even when he left the building, he would still be working late in to the evening.

"Carol, can you bring me the budget reports from last month?" He called out to an older woman who appeared to be in her mid- to late-sixties. She sat right outside his door in a cubicle that was attached to three others that housed a few of the other accounting personnel. Namjoon believed her to be quite capable of her job and was pleased she, like the others, hadn't planned on jumping ship now that he was on board. It was Thursday and the books were getting close to being completed for the prior month.

She knocked on the frame of the doorway before entering with the requested reports. "Here you go, Sir," she said politely, handing them over to him.

"Carol, I've told you before, you can call me Namjoon."

"I realize that, but you're still my boss, or soon will be full time. And I like to be polite." She replied with a smile. There was nothing malicious in it – she was genuinely trying to be nice. He smiled and stood up, coming around to the front of his desk.

"I appreciate that, thank you. But really – Namjoon will do."

"Is there anything else I can get for you, Sir?" She asked with a smirk. It appeared she had no intention of using his first name. "It's nearly 5 and I need to get my grandson from day care."

"Of course, go ahead. I'll be here for a while longer yet." He said as he walked her out. Most of the other employees were beginning to pack up their desks in preparation for leaving for the day. His eyes roamed the room and landed on one cubicle in particular.

"Ok – have a good night, then!" Carol replied and headed back to her desk. Namjoon looked around and headed to the cubicle he had seen. Auburn hair lay gently against her back. She was furiously entering data into a spreadsheet. She was so engrossed in her task, she hadn't heard him sidle up to her.

"Working late tonight?" He asked, resting against the desk, crossing his arms. She flinched slightly at his presence, but never hesitated in her typing, which he found impressive and yet maddening at the same time.

"Yes. Since our deadline is tomorrow, I want to be sure all of this is ready to go first thing and I have a few things left to finish up." She finished entering the data she was on and turned to face him for the first time that day. She seemed to have been avoiding him all week since the run in on Monday on the way to work. She really was a conundrum and it was beginning to drive him crazy.

"How much longer are you going to be here?" He asked, picking up a piece of paper that she had been working with. His brows furrowed as he looked at the information. Before allowing her to answer, he questioned, "are we really spending $500 on office supplies each month?"

Kate looked at her spreadsheet and then took the paper from his hand. "It appears so. Administration has a monthly order that goes out and it seems to have jumped a bit over the last month or two. And to answer your other question, I'm not sure. Probably another hour or two."

"Is that common, for Admin to order a ton of supplies each month? Don't we have supply closets and such? Just seems like we are spending a lot on things we could keep on hand and cut down on that type of spending." Namjoon shook his head and held out his hand to see the paper again to study it a bit more. "I should call a meeting with the director of Admin and see what we can do."