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But not his.
After getting what he came out for, Neil returned to his office. I slumped into my chair in defeat. Now to start all over again. Ugh.
I had never been told off at work before. I was only used to praise. And now, Neil had scolded me twice in one day. It was confronting, but also strangely exhilarating. My heart was pounding.
I opened a blank document and started over. Concise bullet points were more difficult than they seemed. In a way, it was easier writing the “two thousand word essay” as Neil had called it—never mind the fact that it was only seventeen hundred words.
Ugh. This is going to take forever.
Petra got up, put on her jacket, and lifted her bag.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Home. Work’s over.”
I looked at the time. It was already ten minutes past five. “So it is. I lost track of the time.”
“You should get going soon too.”
“I will as soon as I finish this.”
“Don’t take it personally—what Neil said. He’s done that to me before, as well. Okay. Maybe not as bad as that, but still…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not upset.”
Neil had ruffled my feathers, for sure, but I was far from at breaking point.
“Good. Well, see ya tomorrow.”
“See you. Thanks for your help. I couldn’t have survived the day without you.”
“Nonsense. You did fine.”
We exchanged one last goodbye before she left the office. I returned my attention to the bullet point summary and realised there was no way I’d finish it anytime soon.
“Have it on my desk before you leave today.”
I sighed. Back in my old role, I was used to working a little late, but this would be a lot late. And if working late was going to be a regular occurrence, how on earth was I going to fit the cleaning job into my schedule as well? Cat Dad had agreed to evenings, but not past seven thirty. Perhaps my plan wouldn’t work out after all.
Oh well. I had nothing else to do tonight, and as much as I disliked Neil, I still wanted to make a good impression. It was my first day, and I wanted to prove he had made the right decision to hire me. So I continued to write the summary, without taking another look at the time.
Lost in the task at hand, the sound of Neil’s door opening gave me a start. Neil looked at me with surprise. “You’re still here.”
“You need this done today, right? I still haven’t finished. There’s a lot of information to process.”
“It can wait until tomorrow. Go home.”
He took me off guard. I thought he would make me stay and finish up. But I wasn’t going to argue with him. “All right. Thanks.”
I turned off my computer and stood up.
“Oh, and Amelia?—”
“Yes?”
His eyes flicked over my outfit, his harsh features twisting into a familiar look of distaste. “We have a stricter dress code up here than you’re used to.”
My third scolding of the day—just to round things out. And this one struck a nerve.
