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I smiled and decided to spend a little bit more time in the break room since Guy was out of the office. I hadn’t done this since I got here, gotten to know anyone besides those I had to interact with for Guy, and it was almost always for a few minutes at a time.
"Did you know the other secretaries that worked for Guy? The one who just recently got fired?"
"Hm…" she said. "Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of secretaries here, but we are quite well acquainted. That reminds me, one of the paralegals, Mary Elizabeth, is getting married this weekend. Did you get an invitation? Will you be there?"
"No," I replied. "I don’t know who you’re talking about."
"She doesn’t work on our floor," she said. "Don’t worry, I’ll get you an invitation."
"No need," I replied. "I don’t know her, weddings are expensive. I don’t need to be there filling up space. I have a lot to catch up on this weekend."
"Oh," she teased. "Like what? Do you have a boyfriend or something?"
I thought of Guy, and even though it was absolutely silly to do what I wanted to do, I felt as though it would be the only time ever when I could say it.
"I do," I replied.
And for some reason, her jaw fell open.
"Really? You do? Oh my God, I didn’t even picture you as the type."
"The type to have a boyfriend?" I asked, uncertain as to whether to be snide or shocked.
"Yeah," she replied. "You just don’t seem like the type, if you know what I mean."
"No, I don’t know what you mean," I replied, realizing that I was becoming quite curt with her. However, given yesterday’s debacle, I didn’t quite know how to be with her. My anger, I realized, was still piping hot within.
"Can you explain?" I asked, and at the harshness in my tone, she lifted her head up with a smile.
"You’re quite serious all the time, very… and don’t take this the wrong way, quite rigid."
I replied, "And someone who has a boyfriend doesn’t have any of these qualities?"
The smile started to fade from her face.
"Did I offend you with my statement?" she asked. "I mean, sorry if I did, I didn’t mean to. I was just trying to make conversation."
I returned to my cup and continued to drink, however, she refused to leave. She just watched me.
"You’re really upset with me," she said. "Oh my God. Why?"
I couldn’t believe her. I considered one more time letting it go, but since I had already been very visibly hostile to her, I sighed and decided to just respond and get it over with so I could move on. We worked together, and the last thing I needed was for things to get awkward between us.
"When we went to the Asian fusion restaurant, we found out that the boss is allergic to peanuts. You really didn’t know about it?"
Her mouth dropped at my words.
"Really?" she gasped, all but draining all the air across the room. For a moment, I was sure I saw the corner of her lips curve in a smile, but just as soon as I perceived it, it disappeared. And then her brows furrowed into a frown.
"So, nothing happened?" she asked, but it was almost as though she was speaking to herself in disappointment, but absolutely not in consideration for me or my job.
"This did affect your meeting, didn’t it?" she asked.
"It did," I replied. "But next time, when you’re going to relay sensitive information this way, please make sure it’s accurate. And if you’re not sure, Sandra, you can just let me know so I can go to someone else, or at least I can ask him. His health is not to be played with."
"I understand," she said. "I’m sorry. I was sure I heard from the other girls and generally throughout my years working here that he didn’t have any allergies. I imagine it would have been widespread and known if he had."
I understood her words and decided there was no need in dragging this out anymore, so I finished my coffee and turned around to place the cup in the sink. I remembered then, as I rinsed it, the question I had asked her earlier, but she hadn’t responded to.
