Learning How to Bend

Day 18 - Write, write, write, write...

Andino Incorporated was hosting a holiday event for its strategic partners. Considering how well the barbecue went and the positive response to it, Thaddeus put the planning of the whole affair on Joe and me. I did not mind much, as I very rarely actually had the opportunity to work with Joe. We had entirely different specialties and worked in different parts of the building, so we did not often see each other. We did not even eat lunch at the same time, and I thought Joe probably ate at his desk just like I did most of the time. Sometimes I would occasionally eat in the breakroom—and even more infrequently actually in Thaddeus's office—but I was actually really bad about remembering to eat. I was always so busy that it did not cross my mind.

Well, no, I ate when I worked from home. I did not work when I was at the office, and I was at the office far more than I used to be. I rarely went in once a week before the company barbecue the previous spring. It still shocked me that the event was over four months ago. Four months since I met Thaddeus for the first time. Thaddeus first had me going to the office biweekly, but now it was up to four days a week. I was not even working on my long-term projects; my entire focus had been on the event since Thaddeus had returned from Italy.

I had lined up a caterer, collected auction items—with all proceeds going to a local charity—arranged a special speaker to commemorate the occasion. A photographer. I had even gone through the arduous process or arranging the venue. That was the most frustrating part, as so many places were already booked for the holidays, and I struggled to find a date that would work in Thaddeus's schedule and that of the event space. I finally found one, though, and Thaddeus signed off on it despite the price. I had saved money with the caterer instead, so we could allocate more of the budget toward the venue.

Today was the day, and all the hard work would finally pay off. Joe dropped of Kat so we could help each other get ready. Kathrine had a significant baby bump now, and it frustrated her to no end that her fancier clothes no longer fit. Not only that, she could not squeeze her feet into some of her heels because everything was too swollen. I tried my best not to laugh at her, but sometimes she made noises which were far too funny, or she would complain in a certain manner that made me just burst out laughing. Laughter was always a good thing. I did it more now than I used to. Having Thaddeus changed my outlook on life. Although we kept our personal relationship strictly private—the only one at Andino who knew anything about it was Joe—I still felt overjoyed to have him in my life.

We did not want everyone to know because workplace romances in general seemed particularly frowned upon. I worried other employees would think Thaddeus was favoring me because he was dating me, but that was not the case by any means. He favored me because I had earned it, and I knew he valued my input even if it would kill him to admit it.

"Lily, zip this for me?" Katherine turned around so her back faced me. I ran my hands from her shoulders to the center of her neck then down her back until I found the zipper and started pulling it up until it caught.

"I don't think you can wear this one, either," I said.

"Damn it! I feel like a bloated cow. This is torture."

"Why don't you wear the silk dress? That one is loose around the middle and should drape over your little one."

"I don't want to wear that one. It's red. Red exaggerates all the wrong parts of my figure."

"Your figure's already pretty exaggerated, don't you think?" I raised a brow. "And I mean that in the best way possible. This is your first time being six months pregnant. Embrace it. I can only imagine that you're positively glowing."

"With sweat, maybe."

I rolled my eyes. "Put on the dress. I'll zip it for you."

We did exactly that, and we went back to the bathroom. I brushed her hair for her, but Katherine arranged it herself before she sat me down on the stool and did mine. I did not know what she was doing, but I trusted her. I knew my hair was pulled away from my face, and it felt like she might have braided it before loosening the locks and pulling it all into a bun. She pulled a couple tendrils down to frame my face, then she helped with my makeup before I went to my room to put on my own dress.