If It's Meant To Be

Chapter One

The woman stood in front of the copy machine with her head down and hands gripping the sides of the machine in an attempt to diffuse her nervousness.

"No." She said. Her voice shook slightly. Who was this man that had, within two minutes of meeting her, declared that he knew her and she knew him?

She had barely been able to catch a glimpse of his face before his confident air had caused her to retreat to a shell of self-consciousness.

"I know I do. I know I've seen you before. Hell, I know I've talked to you before. I know."

He said with frustration in his voice for it was, after all, his third time telling her this yet she still claimed to have never seen him before. She had not even seen him now.

"Look at me." He said suddenly as the thought occurred to him.

"What?" She said, slightly moving her head in his direction but still managing to avoid any eye contact.

"Look at me." He voice was softer now. "Please, just look at me, and then you'll know."

"Know what? That I don't know you?" She surprised herself with this little outburst and made herself even smaller with a step backwards.

"Please," she whispered, "leave me alone. I don't know you, I'm just trying to do my job."

And so the man took a step back as well and left her.

However, when he returned to the safety of his office where behind his glass windows he could see her, he was still convinced that even if they didn't know each other, something about her was all too familiar.

"Hey," his colleague and friend, Richard walked in with a stack of papers "we need these done by Friday." He said. The man looked up to greet his friend and stood, walking him to the windows.

"Hey you see that lady over there? Long pink hair, pink blouse?"

Richard stared for a moment and spotted the girl standing by the copy machine. "Yeah?"

"Do you know who she is?"

"I think she's one of the new interns. She's part of the art team." He said, returning his attention to the stack of documents in his hands. "Why?" He asked, handing them over.

"She looks familiar."

"Everyone looks familiar to you." Richard responded as he walked out.

The man shook his head slightly and returned to his desk, immersing himself in the work that was to be due in two days.

Meanwhile, the woman in the pink blouse chastised herself. Her confidence had waned in his presence. The instinct to never provoke the white man had taken over. But they were both just people. The only instinct she should have had was not to provoke any one.

She shook her head, trying to dispel the frustration that was building. There was only one objective in her mind at that moment: she would react appropriately now. What was the right approach to anyone, regardless of age, work place hierarchy, gender or skin colour making her feel uncomfortable in her place of work?

Ah yes, she thought, Human Resources.

Forty minutes later, Tom's office line rang.

"Hello?" He answered. After a short conversation, Tom found himself dialling a different number to ask Richard to accompany him down the hall. At the end of this hall was an office. Behind the door was the woman who had called him in. With furrowed brows, Tom and Richard walked in and exited 30 minutes later.