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“Please close the door behind you.” He requests.
He hasn’t looked up from the file on his desk, until the door closes.
I’m standing just inside his office, with my hands crossed in front of me, unsure as to why the need to see me, specifically. With Mr. Williams, I was never called into his office.
“Please, don’t stand there awkwardly. I’m not going to bite you and you’re not in any trouble,” he promises.
“I’m confused as to why you wanted to see me.” I step forward.
“I wanted your input about something.”
“Well, thanks sir.” I reply.
“Quinn. Now, if you continue calling me sir, I may need to punish you.” He flicks his eyes up with a grin.
“Excuse me?” I say.
“I mean, you would be in trouble if you continue to call me ‘sir’, please, call me Quinn.” He coughs into his hand. “Now, please sit down, you’re making me nervous.”
I sit in the chair in front of him and wait for him to begin.
“You’re in the design department, I want your ideas on how to liven up our brand.”
“Why me?” I ask.
“I think people around here are unsure about me. There’s a lot of avoidance of eye contact and quivering of voices when trying to hold a conversation.”
“Honestly, I think people are still in shock from the sudden change in leadership. We didn’t see this coming and well, you’re a little intimidating.”
“I am? How so?”
“Smile a little more. You walk around here like your trying too hard to be the good guy. When Mr. Williams was around, he would occasionally hang out in different areas of the office. While he wasn’t always the friendliest, he was attentive. And despite some pretty shitty days that he had, which he had his fair share of, he always gave staff a smile.”
“See! That’s what I need. I need insight! Okay, I will smile more. What else?”
“Did you want advice on work stuff or on your personality?”
“I mean, I could go for both.” He shrugs and I roll my eyes.
“Listen, Quinn,” I emphasize his name and he smiles. “Just give everyone time. Smile, make small chat, everything will be fine and people won’t be so cautious of you. We’re an easy-going company, and then as for the livening up of the design, I feel that would be a better topic to bring to the content department. I wouldn’t want to suggest something that someone else would think of as lame. We’re a team, we work together.”
“Thank you. I think I needed that pep talk.”
“Sure.”
“Can I ask you something?” he asks.
“Okay,” I say.
“Where is your favorite place to go in the city?”
“Um,” I take a moment to reply to go over the list of places that I regularly go to. “I’m pretty much in love with the botanical gardens.”
“Really? And why would that be?”
“I feel serene when I’m there, like I’m a visitor in someone else’s world.”
“That’s a pretty cool way of looking at it. Do you go often?”
