Chasing Frost by Isabel Jolie
Five
Chase
My office phone rings right as I’m about to power off my laptop. Evan’s name lights up the thin, narrow screen. Fan-fucking-fabulous.
“Hey, boss man.”
“Maitlin. How did today go?”
“Fine,” I drawl. Today wasn’t anything special. Another Monday for the books.
“Did you get Ms. Frost settled in okay?”
“I believe she has full access now, and I showed her how to get around on the portal.”
“Did she give you any indication of what she’s starting on first?”
“No.” There’s an awkward pause, and the seconds blink by on my digital clock. “Do you want me to find out?” She’s not in my group. Doesn’t report to me.
“Yeah, maybe try to keep an eye out on what she’s tackling. Tad left us in a lurch, and she’s got a lot of catch-up to do. I want to trust her, let her figure this out on her own, but I also want to keep an eye on things, you know, in case she needs some guidance. I don’t want to come across like I’m a micro-manager. She told me she doesn’t like that, but if you could keep an eye out, I’d appreciate it. If she comes to you about any concerns, please keep me apprised.”
“Sure thing. Not a problem, boss.” I’m in charge of maybe ten percent of our accounts, but if this half-cocked oversight plan of your new employee lets you sleep better at night, fine.
“Oh, by the way, Cooper’s coming back in town. He has some business meetings and wants to go out Thursday night. Can you join us?”
The chicken scratch on my desktop calendar bears the word Joe, reminding me I’ve already committed to one client.
“I’m supposed to go out with Biohazard Waste Disposal Thursday night. He let me know earlier today that he’s coming into town. Do you want me to cancel?” There’s no doubt Cooper’s Chicago Real Estate Development Group is the bigger client.
“Nah, keep your plans. You getting out of here soon?”
“Yep. You?” Come on, wrap it up.
“Yeah. Gracie wants me to pick up Maura from soccer practice, so I’ve gotta run to make the 5:32 train.”
“Ah, the life of the commuter.”
“Yeah, stay single.”
“Oh, I plan on it.”
He laughs into the phone, and I hear other sounds that indicate he’s closing up shop. I stand and throw my laptop into my backpack, ready to make my escape.
“And remember, keep me apprised of Ms. Frost. I need to know that she’s starting out on the right foot.”
“You got it, boss.”
When I head down the hall, I pass her office. It strikes me that it’s odd HR put our new internal auditor right by my office. Maybe someone else had already taken over Tad’s old spot. Fluorescent lights fill her office as I zoom past her open door for the elevators.
Her sing-song voice floats out into the hall calling, “Chase.” I pause, my attention on my compadres gathering by the elevators. Fuck. IT probably screwed something else up. Damnit. I’m gonna have to wait to get into my weight rotation.
I exhale my frustration, plaster on a smile, and spin on my heel. “Yes, sweetie pie?”
Her face contorts, like, wrinkles literally form on her brow, and a deep one shows between her eyebrows.
“Do you treat all of your colleagues with that level of disrespect?”
Oh, fuck, she’s one of those.
“Not all of them, no. I thought you and I were becoming friends. My mistake. What can I do to help you?”
A perfectly polished, short nail taps on the desk, and I can hear her huff. She’s cute and all, but she’s interrupting my gym time. I’m the one who should be huffing.
“I’m sorry. This office is more casual than I’m used to. You’re being nice. I know you didn’t actually mean to disrespect me or treat me as a lesser colleague.” Lesser, what?
“No, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m casual with everyone. Not just women. It’s not about disrespect. I just wanna enjoy my day. That’s all.”
She stares at the middle of my t-shirt. There’s a giant red stain on it from where marinara sauce leaked out of my chicken parm sub earlier today. Yeah. It’s stained. Get over it.
“Thank you for your help today. Are you headed to the gym?” She points to my gym bag.
“On my way right now.” I smile, mostly to hide how frustrated I am that I’m not in transit to said gym at this very moment.
“Maybe I’ll see you there.”
And this is my chance to get out the door. I shoot her with my finger gun and shout out down the hall, “Have a good night.”