Chapter 34
The following Monday, I woke up earlier than usual so I could grab Logan’s favorite breakfast for him: black coffee and a ham and cheese croissant from the small bakery a few doors down from the office. I wasn’t sure how he was feeling about me today. I still hadn’t had a chance to explain my side of things and that had me worried. But a nice breakfast always puts me in a good mood, I was hoping it would do the same for him.
I unlocked his office door and placed the sandwich and coffee on his desk. I wrote “Happy Monday!” on a sticky note and stuck it to the top of the sandwich wrapper. I stood back and admired my handy work. How could anyone be anything but delighted to receive such a thing?
I went back to my desk to get an early start prepping for the day ahead. Another tactic that I hoped would please Logan. I hung my sweater on the back of my chair, turned on my computer, and took a sip of the iced coffee I had bought for myself (full of sugar and cream; I’m no black coffee drinking sociopath).
Logan arrived just minutes later. As he got closer to my desk, I stood to greet him.
“Good morning sir,” I said once he was in hearing range.
He kept his gaze forward, not acknowledging me at all. I wondered if he maybe hadn’t heard me.
“How was your weekend?” I said a little louder.
He kept walking without a word or a glance in my direction. He opened his office door, then slammed it shut behind him. I was stunned. This was worse than it had been last week. At least he somewhat acknowledged me before. Now he’s acting like I don’t exist.
I stood frozen in place. I watched him through the glass of his office. He set his briefcase down on the shelf behind his desk and then sat in his desk chair. I saw his eyes move over the coffee and sandwich I got him. He picked up the sticky note, read it, then set it back on the sandwich. He walked back over to his door and opened it.
I smiled. I knew he couldn’t stay mad at me for long.
“I need you to make Dylan and I a lunch reservation,” he said, before starting to close the door again. “Oh, and no Italian this time. Make it somewhere that has an actual vegetable or two. Some of us care about what we put in our bodies.” He looked down at the iced coffee on my desk, then slammed the door shut again.
I watched him walk over to his desk and throw the sandwich I had bought him in the trash. My heart sank and I dropped into my chair, feeling defeated.
What a way to start a Monday.
Around 11:00 am, I was ready for a snack to hold me over until lunchtime. I made my way to the pantry to see what I could scrounge up.
As I perused the boxes of pastries that were on the counter, I heard a familiar voice saying, “Hazel?” come from behind me.
I turned, surprised to find Elena staring at me. I looked around to see if maybe anyone else could have possibly said my name, but we were alone.
“Yes?” I said warily.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, then grinned.
“Sorry? For wh…”
Before I could finish my question, Elena grabbed a cup of coffee that had been abandoned on the counter and threw it right on my chest. I gasped and jumped back, hitting the middle of my back on the counter.
“For being so clumsy,” she said with a fake frown. She tossed the now empty cup on the floor and laughed as she turned and headed back out of the pantry.
I grabbed my back with my hands and looked down at my shirt. My once white blouse was dripping with the (thankfully) cold coffee. Luckily, I had chosen a black pencil skirt that morning instead of the light pink one I had been considering, so only one piece of clothing was damaged instead of two.
I ran over to the sink. I grabbed a few paper towels, got them wet, and scrubbed furiously at my top. My efforts only results in a now completely soaked shirt. After a minute of scrubbing, I threw the wad of wet paper towels into the sink and grabbed the edge of the counter with both hands, trembling.
I took a big deep breath and held it, trying to stop the shaking that my entire body was doing. I wanted to cry, but I was too shocked to do so. Elena wasn’t kidding with her threat the other day.
She was making good on her promise to make my life hell.
After drying my shirt as much as I could under the bathroom hand dryers, I slunk back over to my desk. To my surprise, Dylan was standing in front of it.
My eyes grew wide. I looked down at my watch. It was only 11:30, what was he doing here so early?
I crossed my arms over my chest in a futile attempt to cover the coffee stain on my top. I snatched my sweater from my desk chair as soon as I was in reach.
“You know that coffee is supposed to go in your mouth and nowhere else, right?” Dylan said, grinning at me.
So much for trying to hide it. I pulled my sweater on and buttoned it up, offering him a half smile.
“Oh, haven’t you heard? Coffee stained tops are all the rage now,” I said, trying hard to stuff down my feelings of shame and hurt that I’d been feeling for the last half hour.
“You kids and your crazy trends,” Dylan said. “I think I have a dress shirt in the car, do you want me to grab it for you?”
I wanted to cry at his sweet offer. “Thank you, but I don’t want to put your shirt at risk like I did mine.” I smiled at him.
He let out a soft chuckle. After a brief pause, he asked, “How are things going with…?” He tipped his head towards Logan’s door.
I sighed. “Not so good. I think he’s more upset today than he was last week.” I told him about how Logan had not spoken to me at all that day, except to ask me to make their lunch reservation.
“Want me to straighten him out for you? I know at least two ways we could sue him for all he’s got,” Dylan winked at me.
I laughed and shook my head. “No, I just want him to give me a chance to explain things. I can’t do that if he won’t even look at me.” I paused. “You’ve known him awhile, any advice for something like this?”
Dylan thought for a moment. “Hmm. Maybe lay low for a couple days, let him cool down. He likes you Hazel, I think he just needs some time to think through all the things that happened with Peter. I’m sure he’ll come around soon.”
I nodded. It was not what I really wanted to hear, I wanted some sort of action I could take to fix things immediately. But Dylan did seem to know him best. “Okay, I’ll do that. Thanks.”
Logan opened his office door and looked at Dylan, then glared at me. “You do know that part of your job is to let me know when someone I’m expecting has arrived, right?”
“I’m sorry, Dylan and I…”
“It was a yes or no question, Hazel. I don’t need your excuses.”
“Yes sir,” I said. He looked at me expectantly, and I added, “Yes, I do know that’s my job.”
Logan started to storm off away from my desk, then he turned back to me. “Change your shirt. You’re an embarrassment to this company.” He walked quickly towards the elevators.
Dylan looked at me, his eyes full of compassion. He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “I’ll talk to him.”
