A Bittersweet Deal

Daily Life

Joey Williams sighs and walks into the building he works in. As he walks to his cubicle he seems to get gloomier. No one stops to say hi and not one person nods in greeting. He's tried making friends he really has. He goes to parties and he even brings food for the office, but to no avail. The only time anyone speaks to him is if they have a problem only he can fix. If he starts a conversation it quickly died down and the other person moves to another person.

He takes a seat at his desk and takes a sip of his lukewarm coffee. Two of his coworkers walk by.

"Ugh I just made a deal with the devil," one moans.

"Was the client that bad?" The other asks.

"She was monstrous." The first one gossips.

Their conversation gives Joey an idea. He turns on his computer and goes online. He looks up summoning rituals and all about deal making.

"Mr. Williams?" Squeaks a voice. Joey looks up and see Katy, the boss's secretary standing there.
"Mr. Bright would like to see you in his office." Stacy says then scampers off. Joey lets out a sigh and pushes away from his desk. He trudges to his boss's office.

He knocks on the door.
"Come in," a voice calls out. Joey opens the door.

"You wanted to see me Mr. Bright?" Joey asks as he walks into the office.

"Like I've said before, call me Chris. Have a seat." Chris gestures to the chairs across from his desk. Joey sits and straitens his shirt.

"Joey I've noticed lately that you've been working a lot of over time lately." Chris says looking at his computer.

Joey nods, but says nothing.

"You've also accumulated many vacation days." Chris continues. "I'm going to have to insist that you take them."

"What?" Joey asks.

"You need to take these days Joey. I'm insisting, I'm sure you have family or friends who would love to spend time with with you." Chris says.

Joey opens his mouth to object, but Chris interrupts him.

"Your vacation starts now. Turn in your papers to Becky and go home." Chris dismisses him. Joey sighs sadly and rises from his chair. He quietly leaves the office and slinks to his desk.

He puts all of his files and papers in a pile and drops them off at Becky's desk. She hardly even acknowledges him.

Joey shuts down his computer and silently slips into an elevator. Lisa and Sarah, some of his coworkers, get into the elevator before it closes.
"Good morning," Joey nods politely at them. They wave half heartedly. Joey hangs his head and shoves his hands into his pockets.

When the elevator stops on the ground floor Joey gets off quickly. He leaves the building. As he's walking down the sidewalk he sees a group of guys shouting and laughing with each other. Joey pangs for friendships like that.

Joey walks the rest of the way to his apartment with loneliness filling his heart. He lets himself into his house. He passes the never been used guest room. He goes strait to the kitchen and grabs a beer from his fridge.

"What am I gonna do with my life?" He mutters to himself.