Chapter 5

Oliver whispered his answer “He is sitting there because he is the boss.”

“What?” I whispered back in disbelieve. “Why, do you know him?” Oliver asked.

“He was the guy I was stuck in the elevator with.” Oliver got shocked and stared at Shawn’s hands. His hands were still blood red. The man sitting next to Shawn asked “What happened to your hand sir?”

Shawn looked straight at me, smiled a bit and answered to the man next to him “It’s nothing.”

Oliver looked at me and said “What have you done?”

Before we could say anything else to each other Shawn started the meeting. Everybody was paying attention except me. I was still in shock with what had happened. I still can’t believe that I smacked my boss so hard the elevator made an echo. I felt so ashamed.

The meeting ended and I snuck out of there as fast as I could. Once we reached our office Oliver cracked up. His laugh made me even angrier.

“What’s so funny?” I asked madly.

“How are you not laughing? You know I thought this thing only happens in the movies. Tell me one more time. You smacked Mr. Davis and turned his hand blood red.” he couldn’t stop laughing.

“Oliver this is not funny. Do you know the situation this puts me in?”

Oliver cracks up even more “You know; I didn’t even listen to half of the things he said. Because I was so focused on how red his hands were.” he wipes the tears of his eyes “I mean how hard did you hit him?”

“It was a game and I was happy to win so I got a little carried away.” my answers made him laugh even more. He was laughing so loud everyone was staring through the window of the office.

“Oliver, tell me what to do. How am I supposed to face him?”

He finally stops laughing “I don’t think you can do anything about this.”

“Thank you for your help!” I said madly.

“What I meant was act like nothing has happened. Act like you have never seen him before until the meeting at the office.” he laid out a solution.

“Hmm, I can do that. But what if he brings it up?”

“All you have to do is avoid any possible situation in which he can talk about any other than work.” he laid another solution.

“So avoid him in total.”

“Yes!”

I really didn’t know what to do and Oliver’s’ idea didn’t sound that bad. So my mission to avoid the handsome sea blue eyed Shawn AKA my boss started.

Oliver spent half the day showing me around the building. He gave me tips about some of the employees.

He took me to the lawyers department. “That over there is Sherry Coleswing. She is the representative of this department. And she is probably the best lawyer in the world. She is also a judge when it comes to office dispute.”

I got curious “What kind of dispute?” I asked and he immediately answered.

“Like when someone leaves a juice or any type of food in the freezer and someone else consumes it, she makes sure to pass a fair judgment on whoever the criminal is.” he explained and we moved on to the next department the investor hunters.

“Dud; what’s investor hunter? It sounds like a game.” I asked him.

“I think they have a more professional name but they hunt for investors and they are paid in commission plus regular payment. Oh, that is Cole Burns. He is the representative of this department. He may look like a grown man but he hasn’t finished his childhood.” Oliver explained. He point across the room “That over there is Melisa Brown. She is the mean old lady of the company. She has worked here for twenty years and she considers this place as her own two eyes and if you mess up just a little bit, she will make you cry in just few words.”

“Has that ever happened to you?” I asked him in a sarcastic tone.

“Sadly, yes. I don’t really like to talk about it but she made me hate myself.”

On and on the orientation goes and finally Oliver said “Any questions?”

“Yes. Just one, if all the departments have a representative, then what is the use of high management? What exactly is our job?” I asked him.

“The representatives from each department give report to the executive director only when there is a problem that need remedy right away or at the meetings held once a month, like the one we were in today. As for our job we make reports of all the departments daily whether there is a problem or not. It is mostly about the progress of the company through all the departments.”

Lunch hour, Oliver invited me to have lunch with his friends but I declined. I made sure to avoid the boss like Oliver said and I had a lunch box. I didn’t felt like going outside so I just sat in the stair way and eat my lunch.

Four weeks passed since I got that job and I have never been better at hiding from people. I would go in quiet and walk out quiet. But still there were situations that were hard for me to grasp as they happen. Like once I was walking to my office with eight cups of coffee on my hand and then I saw Shawn. I was going to just pass by him but I realized that he saw me as well and was walking towards me with a smile on his face. I didn’t understand the purpose of that smile so I jumped in to a conference room without checking to avoid him. But had I not know that the room was being used for a meeting. The room was completely glass just like my office and you can see in or out of it. To this day I still don’t know how I didn’t see those people through the glass. When I realize that Shawn was looking through the glass I acted like I walked in there on purpose and handed the cups of coffee I had brought for my colleges to the people I don’t even know. When I turned around Shawn was gone so I walked out of there embarrassed. And Oliver has been helping me by handing the reports himself.

So there was no reason for me to bump in to Shawn; that is until the meeting we have every month. Oliver and I were making our way to the office when Sherry Coleswing walked up to us and told us that the conference room is ready and that is where we are going to have our meeting.

We made our way to the meeting. It took an hour for it to be done and when it was over I slipped out of there like I usually do. It was lunch time so I went to the Stair way with my lunch box. I put my lunch box on my lap and was eating with a fork on one hand and had an apple on the other. While I was eating I heard someone going down the stair way to where I was sitting. I was occupied with my food so I gave it no attention. Until whomever that person was said “So this is where you’ve been hiding for last four weeks.”

I know that voice so I immediately looked up. It was Shawn. He always has that smile on his face as he does right now.

“You know, I have been wondering where the girl that kept smacking my hand went to. And here you are.” he said while walking towards me.

I sat right there with no words. He kept staring at me and I back at him. “Why have you been avoiding me?” he asked with no hesitation after he sat next to me. When I gave him no answer he leaned towards me. I felt a shock in my heart so I dropped the apple in my hand and it rolled down the stairs. But Shawns focus was completely on me. He was so close to me and kept staring with his sea blue eyes. “You haven’t answered my question.” he said without moving. Still I gave him no answer. I don’t know why this was happening but my heart was beating crazy. It was as if my heart was trying to escape from my chest, so I stood up fast. But the problem was that I forgot that I had my lunch box on my lap and when I stood it flipped over and my lunch went all over the place. Shawn seemed to be shocked just as much as I was so he looked up to me from where he was sitting. I didn’t know what to do so I ran out of there.

I know. I am not very good when it comes to making a plan and executing it. But I did what I thought was necessary. The day is going like any other day and I don’t seem to run in to Shawn. I was at my desk and I remembered the conference room we had the meeting in.

“Hey. Oliver.” I called out to him. He was looking at a paper and answered with his focus still on what he was reading “Ya.”

“Why was the meeting from a month ago in Shawn’s office and now in the conference room?”

He looked up to answer. He looked pretty excited to answer my question. “Funny story; like a month before you came in someone broke all the chairs legs in the conference room.”

Out of disbelief I asked “Are you serious? Who did it?”

“No one knows. I mean whomever that person was made a plan and executed it properly.”

I cracked up. To be honest that was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Just when we were discussing about the conference room, we heard a very loud growl. It was my stomach.

“What the hell was that?” Oliver looked at me. I held my stomach with both my hands and cried “I am hungry!”

“Wasn’t lunch few hours ago?” he asked confused. “Yes!” I answered with a week voice.

“What happened to your lunch box?” he asked another question. I remembered what had happened so I looked up to him and answered “It’s a long story.”

“What about your apple?”

“That is a long story too.”

“Please tell me this had nothing to do with Mr. Davis.” he pleaded.

“I can’t; because it has everything to do with him.”

“Then go get a coffee from a break room.” Oliver suggested.

“No I can’t. My stomach is not strong to drink coffee with an almost empty stomach. And I might run in to Shawn if I go out.” I turned down his suggestion.

“Why does he bother you so much?” Oliver asked. His question did startle me.

“I don’t know. But what I do know is that I am hungry.” As I was holding my stomach I leaned back to my chair and spun to the back. While I was feeling my intestines eat each other I heard Oliver stand up and say “Sir!”

Sir, I wasn’t sure who he was talking to until I heard whomever that sir was said “Mr. Michel, can you please leave today’s report in my office.” I realized it was Shawn’s voice. I turned around quickly. “Sure sir.” said Oliver. He picked up the papers, looked at me in a ‘You are doomed’ way and left the office. The only people left in the office were me and Shawn. I looked outside to find a way to escape the situation but there was no one outside either. So I acted like I was working and started to flip some paper here and there.