Tim & Chuck

CH 19:: Tim's Makeshift Therapist

"So...the bubble wrap...was not a joke to make this conversation lighter...?"

Mandy knew something was up.

The bags under Tim's eyes and the slight shuffle in his gait which was extremely uncharacteristic of him, told her that his mind was elsewhere, despite his customary greeting and smile to her when he entered the office.

Mandy thought back to the horrid 'Murphy' day, when nothing could go right for Tim it seemed...she wondered if he still had that button-up shirt. Perhaps that is what was throwing him off today? He had mentioned going on a camping outing this previous weekend so surely that would have been a source of refreshment from him, though looking at him throughout the day, Mandy doubted it.

But despite her concerns, it was business as usual for Mandy. As much as she loved her boss, sadly she had more pressing matters at hand than to babysit him.

"Frank, I swear if I have to organize your proof files one more time..." Mandy muttered to herself through gritted teeth as she sent the Winston e-blast project back to Frank's queue for edits. She leaned back her chair and absentmindedly chewed on her green pen, awaiting Frank's comments to appear. What was this man doing, sending her proofs with the wrong specs to the email blast designs? She supposed that he was only twenty-one and fresh out of college and therefore relatively new to this, but still...

"Hey Mandy, got a minute?"

Tim's tired voice sounded through her intercom, prompting Mandy's eyes to flit over to it. She stood up and turned in her cubicle to make eye contact with him. He softly smiled and gestured for her to come in.

"Yes Tim?"

"Do you have the files from Zara yet? I wanted to look at the final proofs before we send them into the printer." Tim scribbled in his planner as he talked and Mandy cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes...I sent them to you five days ago which would have been last Thursday." She double-checked her own tablet. She could've sworn she had sent them. Maybe she missed something? If so, then yikes.

"You did? Oh...you did. Can't believe I missed that...never mind then." Tim sighed, moving to open the file on his laptop.

Mandy eyed him suspiciously and placed a hand on her cocked hip, determined to stare him down until he looked up again to acknowledge her. A full minute went by before he looked up, eyes slightly glazed over. "...What?"

Her eyes narrowed. "How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"

Tim's eyes rolled up in thought. "Uhhh...does yawning count?"

Mandy lolled her head to the side, in the trademark face that Tim knew all too well. That was her "do not play games with me" face.

He physically withered under her gaze. "...three."

Mandy sighed and went to stand by his desk. "Why?"

Tim leaned back in his chair. "Just too much on my mind, I guess."

"You guess, or you know."

"Um...Yes."

Mandy hummed and leaned against his desk, semi-threateningly but still far enough away to make him feel a little bit in control. "Mmk you have two choices. You can either A., go home right now and take the rest of the day off. Or B., tell me what's going on so that you can feel better or some semblance of 'better' and still go home an hour early."

"I don't suppose saying that I'm fine will give me an out of those choices." Tim crossed his arms to rest on his desk. He knew what he had gotten himself into when he hired Mandy. She was his Cerberus, in more ways than one but right now, she wasn't the fun way. Despite being her superior, having her boss him around would have been comical if his mind wasn't so heavy with the unpalatable cocktail of fatigue and anxiety.