Morning all. It’s been an interesting couple of days and I am more than happy to escape my own thoughts with a morning prompt. So shall we set the timers? Excellent. Let’s go.
Not sure if this is a slice of life or the start of a story. But I kind of like Susan.
Tuesday, February 11th: They worked closely together.
They worked closely together. There was no other choice. The project had to be completed and it had to come in on deadline and under budget for both their sakes. They couldn’t afford their own personal disagreements.
In the face of this, Susan was surprised hope well they worked together. It wa a work with no personal commentary, no issues, just the job, but they were capable of working together. When she had time to stop and consider it, Susan thought it was a good sign that the human race was not entirely doomed.
If she and her ex could work together peaceably to complete a project, there was hope for humanity at large.
To keep the peace at home Susan deliberately didn’t mention how often she was seeing Jeff or that she was working with home for long hours. She made certain to say that the work was just long and difficult. She didn’t complain about Jeff to anyone. Didn’t even mention him. Keeping any issue she had with him away from her mind was necessary to do the job.
’Later,’ she promised the frowning specter of her best friend. ‘Later we will talk about what it was like to work with Jeff.’ She felt guilty for not sharing but knew once she mentioned his name out loud. Everything would resurface. Susan didn’t know how Jeff was coping at home or what his new wife, the woman he left her for, felt about anything. Sharp thoughts about the woman started to surface but again Susan squashed them down. To think about Christy was to think about the Jeff as someone outside of work.
There was a great deal of relief when the project was done. When the last element was complete, the last report filed. It was time for their divisions to part ways and for Jeff to leave. That last day, he turned to her, a smile on his face.
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” He said.
“We got through it,” Susan replied.
“We did,” He smiled and nodded. “I’m so glad we put everything behind us. I told Christy we would and now we have. You should come over some night, for dinner. Christy would be happy to know that we can all be friends.”
“I think the rest of your team is leaving,” Susan said.
“Oh right,” he said jumping up and gathering his papers. “Just get back to me with a date, huh?”
He raced off after his team not waiting for another response. Susan heard a throat clearing behind her. She turned to find her supervisor standing there.
“Did your cheating ex husband think you forgave him since you were able to be professional at work?” Dan asked.
“I believe he did,” Susan replied.
Dan sighed. “Glad he isn’t in my division. Look I know this had to be hard on you, but I want to thank you. You did a brilliant job. I was worried.”
“You were?” she asked. She frowned. “I try to remain professional in the office.”
Dan waved away her concern. “Not you, him. I suspected at some point Jeff would say something he shouldn’t and push you too far.”
“Reading a room isn’t his strong suit.”
Ten til Midnight 