Love Fool

2 Louis, Louis!

Mid-March

A few weeks passed, and there was no sign of Sven. I walked past the hallway of the QUT business school at least a dozen times, usually on Thursday evenings. You'd think that I might have the slightest chance of stealing a glimpse of the Scandinavian Viking.

Just as I lucked out on the Saturday night Gold Lotto draws, a national lottery syndicate that I used to participate in, I did not have any luck finding Sven again. Lady Luck was a finicky bitch, I cursed in my head.

Life was too short to dwell on some stranger, so I marched on and blotted the Norse god out of my mind, shipping him back to Valhalla, with a return to sender stamp.

***

Work was a monotonous chore, with Tweedledum and Tweedledee on board the Good Ship Lollipop. I did not transform into Hudson Engineering's Shirley Temple before I had my morning coffee. My poison? A triple-chocolate mocha with a dash of caramel. If I could add a hint of rum or vodka, and get away with it, I probably would have done so. However, I refrained from the temptation. It would not have fared so well, as I was awarded the previous month's "Health and Safety" prize in the company.

The Emder project was a success, and we were negotiating a lucrative contract with the national oil and gas company. Unfortunately, it meant that I was pulled aside from my core duties to help Tweedledum (aka Larry) move the Emder project forward.

One fine day, when I thought that Gary was out of the office, I decided to chill out on the plush sofa near the coffee machine, with earphones attached to my mobile phone, so I could listen to the Violent Femmes on Spotify. It was 9:00 a.m., and I wore my old Doc Martens from my university days. I had no appointments with clients that day, and since Gary was out of the office, I wore an over-size Hello Kitty shirt and a pair of shiny black tights to go with my Docs.

I smiled a Cheshire cat's grin, as my tongue sinfully savored the creamy, rich taste of my chocolate-spiked coffee.

"Eva, please come to my office," a familiar voice barked behind me.

Shit. I looked up and stared at a pair of icy, slit-like eyes.

"Gary, I thought you weren't coming in today!" I nearly choked on my coffee.

"I changed my mind." His nose wrinkled, and his mustache twitched as his eyes squinted at me.

Five minutes later, I sat in Gary's office at the small meeting table across him. I looked like a funky college student sitting across my immaculately dressed boss.

"Eva, I am creating a new position for you. How would you feel about managing contracts with a few of our largest suppliers?" Gary's mouth shifted from one side to the other, mustache in tow.

"Oh?" My eyes shot up as a reaction to Gary's surprise proposal.

"It's time for you to try something out of your comfort zone," he replied.

"Who's going to handle the marketing and communications?" I shot back with a question.

"You will," the mustached dictator responded.

"What? In addition to managing contracts? Gary, you're going to burn me out!" I protested.

"Mary will assist you. You will help her with her career development and growth, as she will be promoted to marketing administration officer." Gary's face resembled a stone wall.

"Who will take on her tasks?" I was curious.

"We are hiring a new person for general office duties," the mustache spoke.