Dinner Date
Chapter - 23
Soon the week passed by, and it was Sunday today. What Alex expected from corporate life was far from what he got. His dream of climbing up the corporate ladder and standing above all was flushed down the drain in this last one week. Working in the company was more exhausting than he had thought, even more so when he was nothing more than an errand boy in the office.
And the one who preyed on him the most was the evil Hazel and the sadistic Elaine. Both of them maybe had a grudge against him from his last birth, which they were avenging right now.
Alex was made in charge of the snacks of all the ladies in the department. Even Amber was included. They made Amber his unofficial superior. Hazel and Elaine loved torturing him in the guise of work.
Hazel once asked him for a coffee with a cube of sugar. That was fine, he was already running errands, and it was a part of it. Alex happily got her the coffee, but after taking a sip, she asked him to get another cube. Alex did what he was asked to do and brought her that, but now the coffee was too sweet for her, and this made her change her mind. Finally, Alex had to get an iced Americano from the cafeteria upstairs to quench her thirst.
Elaine was a step ahead when it came to torturing Alex. One such incident was when she called out for him and handed him a bunch of documents to deliver to the legal department for them to go through once. When he got back, she asked him to deliver another set of documents which she had presumingly forgotten a few minutes ago. But this was not the end, this cycle continued a few times, and when was Alex was about to lose it, she said, 'Newbie, this is an exercise for you to learn self-control, patience and tolerance. So that after learning from the best, you can climb the corporate ladder as fast as possible. Do you understand?'
Alex understood everything. He understood everything very well. He was not dumb. But a pity he could do nothing but gulp down his anger even after knowing everything.
There was only one angel in the sea of devils. It was Jennifer. Unlike others, she did not believe in toiling someone. She would frequently help him out whenever he got some real work, she never asked him to run unnecessary errands for her, and most of all, she would frequently ask how he was doing. But it was not only him, she cared about everyone around her, and that's also why even Hazel and Elaine could do nothing if she were to take his side.
But now, Alex didn't want to think about it at the given moment. Today he was going to shed away all the fatigue and burdens of the past week and enjoy his dinner date with his new friend, Susan. Meeting Susan once a day was one of the few joys of Alex life after he joined Theation. In the morning, before going to his office, Alex would stop by to say hello to Susan. He could not do that when leaving for home because her shift usually ends around noon. Though he was not a prominent figure in the company and his daily rendezvous with Susan was not a hot topic, but the number of ladies to get a glimpse of him were constantly increasing.
Alex's wait for the Sunday was finally over. Martha was at home, and George took a rare Sunday off. The day passed as usual, and having been succumbed to so much pressure for the first time, Alex announced he won't be lifting a finger for any chore today. Alex and George spent their whole afternoon playing on his new PlayStation and only stopped when it started getting dark outside.
Susan and Alex decided on meeting at 7:30 in the evening at the Bose road intersection, and since it was almost 6:30, Alex left for his room to dress up despite George insisting that they play at least one more round.
After a while, when Alex climbed down the stairs, Martha and George were discussing something. When they heard his steps, George turned around to ask him something.
"Alex, how about we go out fo...r... d...i...n...n," George was taken back when he saw Alex dressed in formals with a white shirt beneath his black suit. He looked more like a waiter.
"What the fuck are you wearing? Don't tell me you are going to work?" George asked, "I told you what your priorities are, didn't I?"
"Why are you getting so hysterical? At least hear him out," Martha said, rebuking George.
"Yeah, hear me out first," Alex was happy to be supported by Martha, "I am going out for dinner with a colleague. I think I forgot to mention it," Alex told them.
"Colleague, you say? Is that a girl?" George asked. He was eager to hear the response.
"Yeah. Her name is Susan. She works at the reception in our company." Alex told them.
Both Martha and George stood up at once in surprise. George walked up to Alex and grabbed him by his arms.
"Are you saying you are going on a dinner date? How did you two meet?" George asked. 'Have the gods finally answered his prayers?' George was afraid he might cry anytime.
"It's not a date, don't get too excited. It's just dinner...". Alex said, getting his hand out of his father's grip. Whenever this switch flipped of his father's, it creeped him out.
"... We met..."
"Well, whatever, I don't really care about the details. Where are you taking her? You must take her to a fancy place. Girls nowadays like that stuff. Do you need some money? What am I even asking... You obviously need to spend a lot. Don't go yet... let me get my card". George interrupted Alex and wanted to run to his room and get his card.
"No need for that dad, I have enough with me, and we haven't decided where we are going," Alex stopped his father from running away.
"Alex, tell me you are not going to go like this on dinner?" Martha, on the other hand, was more concerned about the clothes he was wearing. It looked as if he was going to wait on tables rather than a date.
"What's wrong with this?" Alex asked. He thought formals would give Susan a better impression.
"Silly boy, come with me". Martha flicked his head and walked towards his room. He had no idea of the ongoing trends. It is no formal meeting, rather they are expected to have fun. How can he expect to have fun in such clothes?
Rubbing his forehead, Alex could only follow her.
"I am coming too," George also followed behind them.
After a series of trials and errors, finally, they settled on something.
Looking at Alex from top to bottom, George cheered for him, "Now go, son, and seal the deal". George said as he pumped his fists in the air.
Alex shook his head in embarrassment. However much he tried, he could not just get used to his father when he was like this. Finally ditching his parents, Alex walked out of the house. His gaze automatically turned towards Margaret's house. It has been a few days since he last saw her. Earlier, they were crossing paths almost every day, which looked more than just a coincidence, but now her absence bothered him a bit.
'Well, nothing can be done about it,' Thinking about Margaret, Alex got on his bike and drove away, but failed to notice the car that stopped by Margaret's house.
Margaret, who happened to come home just then, saw Alex leaving on his bike all dressed up and became a bit sceptical. She picked her phone and called someone.
"Alex just left his house. I want to know where he is going". She instructed the person on the other side.
"Should I intercept him?" the man on the other side asked.
"No, just keep an eye on him, and tell me what he is up to". Margaret said.
"Okay," and the man hung up.
'What are you up to, little lamb?' Margaret thought to herself.