Poisonous (Wattys2019)

Chapter 6

              I wander down the hall in the direction I think is Olivia's office. The set up looks the same as how my and Caden's hall is set up. At the end is a closed door and right before that the open door leading into Olivia's office. I knock softly, and she looks up from her computer screen. She smiles when she sees me standing in the doorframe.

"Oleander, come in." She says standing and walking around her desk toward me.

"Thanks, Olivia but I was actually wondering if there was a breakroom or kitchen on this floor?"

"Oh, yes there is. I'll show you where it is. It's down the center hall." She leads the way and her heels clicking echoes in the hall. "Here it is." She says opening the door for me. The room looks like it's never been touched before. Nothing is empty or out of place. The appliances don't have a speck of dust on them.

"Perfect, thank you." I head straight toward the electric teapot, fill it with water, and put it back to let it boil.

"Are you free for lunch this Friday?" Olivia asks as she hands me a mug from one of the cabinets. I thank her and add a tea bag and pack of sugar.

"I haven't looked at the schedule for the week, but I don't see why I wouldn't be." I hold onto the edge of my dress and tug at the fabric nervously. My heart rate starts to accelerate and I try to discreetly take calming deep breathes.

"How about we plan for lunch on Friday then? I know this great restaurant down the block we can walk to. They do soups, sandwiches, salads, and the tastiest pastries. You'll love anything you order." She says excitedly.

"Sounds really good. I can't wait." Although my anxiety is rearing its ugly head, I genuinely mean it. I've never really had any friends and I think it would be nice to finally have one.

"Me either! I'll come by your office around noon." The electric kettle beeps letting me know the water has finished boiling. I pour the steaming water into the mug.

"I'll see you then." Olivia leaves the breakroom and I search the fridge for milk. To my surprise, there's a carton on the top shelf. The place looked unused when I first walked in here, but it must not be since it's stocked with all this stuff.

I pour enough milk in the tea until it turns a light brown. Replacing the milk back in the fridge I head back to Caden's office with his tea in hand.

As I walk down the hall, I feel content with myself and a little accomplished. My anxiety made an appearance during my conversation with Olivia but I was able to keep it under control. Now I have lunch plans with a friend.

"Come in," Caden says in response to my knock on the door.

"Here's your tea. Let me know if it's done to your liking." I set the steaming mug in front of him. "I would give it some time before trying it. It's still very hot." He glances up from the box he's unpacking and gives me a smile. Caden always seems to have a smile on his face. I wonder what it's like to be happy all the time like he seems to be.

"Thank you, Oleander. I'm sure that it's perfect."

"I'm going to mess around on my computer and get a hang of the system. If you need anything I'll just be in my office." I take a seat in my chair and breathe in the scent of new leather. For the next few hours, I click around trying my best to learn the scheduling software on the computer and how to use the phone that is set up on my desk. It doesn't take long before I've learned how to use things. Next, I decide to familiarize myself with the projects Caden is working on as well as the upcoming events he has planned.

The sound of water hitting glass brings my attention to my wall of windows. Dark grey clouds up above begin to unleash havoc. It looks like the start of a bad storm.

I turn my attention back to my computer screen that has Caden's schedule for this week pulled up. Once I feel confident enough to recite it to him, I print a copy of it to take with me to his office. Note to self, get a planner to write all this in. That way I don't have to print a copy every morning and it's good to have a backup that's not on the computer.

The door connecting our offices is open but I knock and wait for a response before I enter.

"Come in." He calls from his desk. I walk over with my head down as I look over the schedule one last time. "If the door is open you don't need to knock."

"Okay, noted." I flash a tight smile to cover the slight embarrassment I feel. Of course, I wouldn't need to knock if the door is open. I don't know why I did. "I know it's the end of the day and you usually like to go over the schedule in the mornings but I thought we could go over it quickly to be prepared for tomorrow and the rest of the week."

"That's a good idea. Start when you're ready." He sets down the pen he was writing with and turns his attention from the documents he was working on to me. I take a deep breath and release it. This is work. When it comes to working, I know exactly what I'm doing. I've been doing this for years now.

"Tomorrow there isn't much planned. You have a meeting in the morning at ten, then another at one for lunch at a restaurant called Butcher's Steakhouse, and one more at three thirty. Would you like to have the two meetings here in your office or in a meeting room?" I ask looking up from the sheet of paper.

"In my office will be fine. That's where I'll hold them all unless there are more than two people coming to see me." I walk over to his desk and point at his pen holder. I'll have to get one of those.

"May I?" I ask. When he nods, I take one and jot that down for future reference. "Thank you. If you need me to print out any files, please send them to me and I'll have packets ready before the meeting begins. I set up an email. I'll write it down for you later."

"Sounds good. What's planned for the rest of the week?" He runs the top of his pen against his bottom lip. Back and forth. Back and forth. My eyes follow the movement and I shake my head to break the spell I was under. They're only a pair of lips. Nothing special.

"Thursday and Friday are all full. You have back to back meetings. Friday you have lunch free but other than that you're all booked."

"That's not surprising. We were unavailable yesterday and today. I had to put everyone I could in for the rest of the week." I nod in understanding and then a question pops into my head. In my mind, I have a debate before deciding to ask. It's nothing personal.

"Did you have an assistant before me?" I think I already know the answer but I ask anyway.

"Not for a few months. I fired the last one for not doing her job. For a while, I did it all on my own until Riley got on my case to stop putting so much on myself."

"Sometimes it's easier to do it all on your own. That way you know it's done how you want it." I say without thinking which is unlike me. Usually, I have to repeat things five times in my head before I speak them. To prevent myself from further embarrassment I place the pen back in its holder and prepare to leave his office. "I'll go find a piece of paper to write my email down for you."

"Oleander." He calls as I'm about to walk through the open door connecting our offices. "You're doing a great job so far. I know it's barely been two days but I can tell that you're going to do just fine here." He picks up his pen and goes back to his document.

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Author's Note:

Hi Everyone!  I know it's been forever since I have updated or even been online. A lot has been going on. I'm having a family issue right now that is taking up most of my time and causing a bunch of stress. I'm hoping to get some writing done to help alleviate some of that stress and to also give you guys updates more often. 

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