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After the first week passed and she was arranging meetings, making calls, and arranging schedules without his help, he had started sending her out of the office again, and every time he did it was a relief when the door closed and he was left alone. His favorite days were when she didn’t come in at all.
And when she didn’t give up after the first week, he knew he couldn’t hold out for much longer. Rueben thought Jason could do things he just couldn’t. Being in the same room with another person, especially a woman like Hannah, was taxing.
It wasn’t that she was bad at her job. In fact, she learned quickly and had yet to make an obvious mistake. Hannah had even prepared drinks and informational packets for every interviewee he’d met with about a few receptionist openings on the main floor. It had been a little overkill, but it seemed to make everyone calmer—everyone except for him. And when the copy machine had broken and he was in the middle of meetings all day, she read the manual and fixed the problem before he’d even heard about it.
Her work efficiency wasn’t enough though. Whenever she was around, he couldn’t relax, not even in the privacy of his office, and time at home under his weighted blanket had increased from an hour or two to the remainder of his night.
Currently, it was the tapping. She tapped on the desk with her pen as she was thinking, an annoying habit he’d let slide in the past. But after an hour of hearing the same sound, he was ready to throw his own pen at her.
“Do you always have to do that?” he asked through gritted teeth.
The pen tapping stopped. “Oh, sorry.”
“Thank you.”
It was blissfully quiet until he heard her next loud habit. Crossing and uncrossing her legs. “And that,” he added when she started to shift in her seat.
She lifted her chin and met his glare. Then she smiled. “I’m sorry. I fidget a lot.”
He nodded, feeling bad for criticizing everything she seemed to do. “Can you make some coffee? I saw it was low last time I went to the bathroom.” The bathroom usually wasn’t such an appealing escape, but lately, he had made longer visits just to have a break from his office.
“One of the receptionists walked me through it a while back, but I think I remember.”
“Great.”
Making coffee had been one of his least favorite jobs as office assistant years ago, and it was the same machine. It was a dinosaur model that needed to be replaced long ago. The top was shaky and frequently spilled if you weren’t careful. He almost called a warning to her, but decided against it. She could figure it out.
Every silent minute was precious, and he finally had time to finish typing his two-week notice and print it. If Hannah didn’t leave... or if he couldn’t hack the job alone after his grandpa retired, it was time to consider other options for his life. Maybe an office job from home instead.
He folded and enclosed the letter in an envelope, then started on his to-do list. When she didn’t come back after fifteen minutes, the silence pressed upon him. Surely the coffee was brewed by now.
He stood, stretched, and then peered outside his office for any foot traffic before heading down the hallway toward the break room. He heard a loud commotion just as he reached the door.
“Put her hand under cold water,” someone called.
“Guys, I’m really okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
He froze at the sound of Hannah’s voice. Then he ran to the sink where the small group was gathered.
“What happened?” He maneuvered around the office staff that blocked his view.
“She burned herself,” someone said.
“And I’m fine,” Hannah said with a sigh. “I have thick skin.”
Suddenly, he realized how close he was to several people and backed away. “Uh, let’s have some space everyone. Return to your responsibilities, and I’ll take it from here.”
Only Brandy stayed behind to clean up the mess of coffee on the floor and counter.
“This should’ve been replaced the last time someone burned themselves,” Brandy said with a sigh.
“Let’s get rid of it,” Jason snapped. “I’ll order a new one today.”
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Brandy said. “I’ll handle the mess and order a new coffee pot. You worry about Hannah.”
He turned his attention to Hannah’s hand. Instinctively, he reached out. Before he made contact, he dropped his hand by his side and balled his fist. Even under the water, he could see the raw pink skin.
“We need to get you seen,” he said.
