2016 – Day 37

Start writing a story that...

Step 1: starts with this dialogue: Tell him I'm here...

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"Tell him I'm here."

Marla nodded at the woman standing above her desk and picked up the phone.

"Mr. Reynolds, your wife is here," she said. Moments later, the advertising team shuffled out of the office and Mr. Reynolds brought his wife inside.

Marla released the breath she had been holding since Mrs. Reynolds appeared in front of her. She then stared at her computer screen, trying to remember what she had been doing before.

"You're doing a great job."

Marla jerked her head up. Once again, the soft office carpets had disguised the footsteps of someone approaching her desk—she made a mental note to deal with that.

Standing in front of her now, smiling with a raised eyebrow, was Josh, one of the advertising team who had just left the meeting. He set his laptop down on the front edge of her desk and leaned on one arm against the side.

"I said you're doing a great job," he said.

"Thanks." She stared up at him, focusing on space where his dark brown hair was beginning to recede.

"What do you think is going on in there?" he said, nodding his head toward Mr. Reynolds's closed office door.

"I don't know."

"Well, they're either having sex or arguing. I hear that's all they do."

"Hear from who?"

"It's just a known fact. You're new. You'll catch on to this stuff."

"That's okay," she said, trying not to picture her scary boss and his scarier wife sprawled on the chair where she took notes. "I don't need to know what they do alone."

"That's probably best," he said, picking up his laptop. "And, hey, at least you know that if they're arguing, they're not arguing about you."

Marla waited for Josh to say more, but he brushed invisible crumbs off of his shift and tie and began to walk away,

"Wait," she said. "Why would they be arguing about me?"

"They wouldn't be," he said, turning back toward her. "That's the point."

"I don't understand."

"Well, you know about his last secretary, right?"

Marla shook her head.

"Mrs. Reynolds suspected Janie and Mr. Reynolds were having an affair, so she made him fire her and then she hired you."

Marla's brain stalled. She looked up at Josh and saw him smile.

"Someone wanted to have an affair with Mr. Reynolds?" she asked.

"That's what they say," he said, then leaned in to whisper. "I hear that's who he sees when he goes out for lunch."

"But...I book most of his lunches."

Marla tried to remember how often she called to setup lunches with Mr. Barron, Mr. Reynolds's most frequent lunch partner. Mr. Barron's secretary was always so flexible about setting up a time.

"It's none of my business," she said finally, shaking her head to clear herself of the images. "But what do you mean she hired me?"

"Mrs. Reynolds dealt with the hiring agency," Josh said. "I have a friend in HR."

"But I met with Mr. Reynolds."

"After she vetted you. She had certain requirements."

Josh used his free hand to make quotation marks in the air, then adjusted his tie.

"I gotta get back to my office. Great talk!"

Marla watched him walk away. She felt her face growing warm from embarrassment. She didn't know what requirements Mrs. Reynolds might have, but she could certainly guess. Her eyes gravitated toward the now-sleeping screen of her computer where she could see her dark reflection. Her hand moved to her hair and then her nose. She heard the door open behind her and she quickly brushed off the tear that started rolling down her left cheek.

"I'll see you at 9," Mrs. Reynolds said to Mr. Reynolds, then walked past Marla's desk with a cursory glance.

She turned down the hallway to the right, and as the clicking of her heels gradually disappeared, Mr. Reynolds appeared in the doorway.

"Marla, set up a lunch appointment with Mr. Barron. See if he's free at 1:00."

Mr. Reynolds returned to his office. Marla stared after him, then turned back to her computer. She moved her mouse to wake it and watched her reflection disappear.