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Heidi stood and raised her glass to me. “My favorite was when the boss said to embrace paycheck ambiguity, and you told him he wasn’t qualified to give financial advice.”
“He isn’t!” I pushed her glass back down. “And while you’re at it, please sit your whole body down.” Heidi was like an Amazon: almost six feet, always beautifully dressed, and wearing heels every day. I felt tiny next to her. If I had my way, she would squat-walk next to me every day on our lunch breaks.
She sat obediently and took a drink.
“My favorite was when you yelped, ‘Like a divorce?’ when he said our job performance and our paychecks needed to uncouple.” Patrick laughed,even though just hearing it made me angry again. He poured me a margarita with a salted rim and a little lime.
“Who tells their employees they’ll never have a future at the company? Fix it instead. Their system is broken, not my coupling. Rude.” I dropped my head onto Patrick’s shoulder and sighed.
“Satisfaction in a job well done is the only reward I need,” he said solemnly, then downed his drink.
“Did satisfaction pay for those margaritas?” I shot back. I took a big sip and winced.
“I understand the power ofpersonal growthbetter than you.” He smirked.
“Because—” I started.
“I learned long ago never to talk in meetings,” he said.
I huffed and smacked him on the arm.
“So tiny and so full of rage,” he observed.
“That’s fair.” I kept my face neutral, but the truth was, I was embarrassed. I’d always offered my opinion, even (especially?) when no one had asked for it. I exhaled slowly when I thought of the way I had responded during the meeting. Could I have been more diplomatic and still spoken up? No. Or at least not me personally. The look Grass had given me at the end of the meeting had been clear. I was lucky to still have a job.
“We support you, just not in front of the boss,” Heidi added. “That’s why we’re still employed.”
“So am I!” I protested.
“Not for long, sweetie.” Patrick winked at me. “Unless you change a few things, especially if you’re going to be working for this Melon Hamster guy. Everyone says he’s only out for himself.”
“Melon Hamster,” I said thoughtfully. “I don’t think that’s his name. I really hope I’m wrong, though. Melon Hamster sounds like a lovely person.”
Patrick leaned down and hugged me. He was at least a foot taller than me, but who wasn’t? He had a kindness about him that I loved, even when he was snarky. He straightened up and fixed the sleeve of his impeccable suit as he poured himself another glass. He always looked ready for a board meeting, but when he shifted forward, I could see he was wearing his hedgehog socks today. Each day was something equally ridiculous. We all had different ways of rebelling.
“Just don’t changetoomuch,” he said as he tipped the pitcher to my glass.
He smoothed the flyaway hair from the mass of curls down my back. It was auburn, naturally curly, and came down to my waist. “You have so much hair. I could cut it off and make myself a wig.”
“You are so weird,” I told him. “But you’d look beautiful.”
“Quite the meeting, wasn’t it?” said a male voice behind us.
The groan slipped out before I could stop it. I knew that voice. Jason Rhodes. He worked in our office, but we weren’t in the same division. He was such a guy’s guy, but everyone always put up with it. Come to think of it, why hadhenever been transferred?
I turned around and gave him a strained smile. “Can I help you?” I asked.
He grinned at me. Jason was about my age, tall, wearing a navy suit with the tie loosened. He had a Dos Equis beer in one hand, because of course he did. “I think you made an impression on the MD,” he said as he leaned against the bar.
“You think?” I asked tartly.
“Not sure he likes you very much,” he said after he took a swig.
“So glad you showed up to point out the obvious,” I said, feigning relief. “If I had left here without you mansplaining to me, I might never have known. Thank you, Jason. Truly.”
His swagger faltered for a second, but he picked it back up pretty quickly. “Why is your name Indiana?” he asked. “Why not Wyoming or, like, Nevada?”
“Why is yours Jason?” I answered.
