Where Love Finds You

Chapter 32

Copyright © 2020 Sara R Stewart

All rights reserved

This is a work of fiction.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next time I open my office door I step right back out thinking I entered the wrong office, but then my name is on the plaque by the door so it must be. I go back in and look around. I see the handful of personal items and my computer are still there, but the rest of the office is completely different.

The walls have been painted a light caramel color and there is bright gold framed modern art pieces hung on the wall my desk faces. The desk, oh my god, it is a beautiful wood with soft rounded feminine edges and legs that look elegant. There is a new dark brown leather desk chair and two smaller but matching armchairs facing it from the other side. A credenza sits behind my desk by the window and on it sits a beautiful orchid and my college diploma framed in an ornate glass frame which used to sit in a five-dollar frame from Ikea. On my desk, in front of my computer is a light brown leather blotter and on it sits a beautiful warm brown leather portfolio. I open it up and there is a note on the first page to me from Helen.

Dear Sailor,

I know I've gone way overboard; I just hope you'll accept my gift in the spirit it was given. It isn't every day a young woman gets promoted to her first office and you most certainly deserve the promotion all on your own merit. Bill and I were impressed by your knowledge and work ethic when you came to our home.

I also know you do not have family in your life now to make you feel special on the days that you should. Please allow me the great pleasure of doing that for you today. I promise this will be the only time I am this heavy handed. What can I say, some of my husband's world has rubbed off on me over the years?

With great affection, Helen

Wow, just wow. Never in my life has anyone done something like this for me. I cannot even be angry at how presumptuous Helen was, I just am blown away. The colors in the art and the orchid bring in shades of blues, purples, and golds which, compliment the frames in the room. My new office conveys a feeling of warmth and comfort. Helen left the small, framed picture of my mom on my desk sitting next to my monitor. It is something I found online from her college days and it is one of the only pictures I have of her. I would have put it in the same place.

I sit down and look towards the window because I can feel tears in my eyes, I will not cry of course, but I can still tell when something moves me. Helen's statement hurt a little to read. I don't have anyone to celebrate my successes with, not like some would do with a parent and that always hurts a little. But having someone else point out that I should have that, like I deserve it, is just a little more than I can take right now.

I decide to get to work sitting down in my new office. It is quiet and I dig into email. The rest of the week goes by in a similar quiet state where no one is really talking to me but being either overly nice or avoiding me entirely. Finally, things start to make more sense when I'm asked to come to my new boss's office on Friday morning.

"Sailor come in and sit down. It is nice to see you again." Mr. George is in his mid-fifties and has salt and pepper hair and a small protruding belly. He wears glasses and I've never seen him in anything but a suit. His office is huge with a conference table at one end and a couch at the other with a massive desk in between. Behind his desk, the entire wall is floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Willamette River. The view is spectacular.