“Man, I gotta say, Mills, I had not been expecting this.” I could hear him munching on the other line. “And I thought I had it bad. My biggest problem today was unjamming the kitchen printer. Took me four hours.”
“Kai, can you stop with the licorice, please? I’ve seen how many empty packs you’ve got in your car. You seriously have a problem. Also, it’s very unpleasant to listen to on this end.” My patience was limited today.
“Hah, yeah sorry. You talk to your dad yet?”
“No,” I sighed, “I just don’t want him to think I can’t handle it, you know? Also, what exactly would I even say? ‘Hey, Pops, you know that guy you think so highly of that’s made you a bunch of money? Well, I’m here to tell you he ain’t it, sis. He works too hard, and his expectations are too high. Absolute garbage employee, on to the next one please.’”
Kai snorted.
“Take me to the land of Steves, Kai. Please. Save me.”
The next morning Zac wasn’t in his office when I went in to drop off his coffee. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I placed the paper cup beside his keyboard and went back to my desk. There was nothing in my emails or calendar either, so I sent off a text to Andrew to see if maybe he had the day off.
Andrew Trapasso
Not as far as I’m aware. Dude doesn’t really take time off tbh
* * *
Andrew Trapasso
You just hanging out at the office all alone then?
* * *
Me
Yeah. Editing the Pixelle Gates presentation, wishing I was still asleep. Jealous?
* * *
Andrew Trapasso
Who wouldn’t be? You already get yourself some coffee?
* * *
Me
No, and I’m regretting it
* * *
Andrew Trapasso
Lol. Be there in ten
“How did you get here so fast?” I asked as Andrew walked in ten minutes later, his hair wet and disheveled, carrying two cups of coffee.
“I was at the gym downstairs when you texted.” He put one of the cups down in front of me. “Had just showered and was going to come in early to catch up on a few things I fell behind on last week. Your boss still not here?” He peeked over his shoulder into Zac’s office as I shook my head.
“It’s a little weird not having him hand me a pile of work first thing in the morning. Wasn’t really sure what to do with myself when I sat down.”
Andrew laughed. “Yeah, you’re definitely never bored working for Evans, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” My sarcasm came out thicker than I’d intended.
“You don’t like working for him?” He genuinely sounded surprised, which threw me off.
Not wanting to start any office gossip, I backtracked.
“No, I mean he’s a really hardworking guy. I respect him…” I did not sound convincing at all.
Andrew studied me for a few seconds before nodding. “Yeah, okay. I just wanted to make sure. Because, you know, there were three other interns this summer that had specifically requested Evans as their mentor. But your dad asked him to take you on as a personal favor. He’s grinded so hard and has started to build quite the reputation for himself in a cutthroat industry already. It’s a pretty solid opportunity to be able to learn from him.”
I stared at him in a bit of a shock. I had not expected him to get defensive. “Yeah, totally… I totally agree.” My throat was a little dry, and my voice cracked. I took a sip of the hot coffee on my desk before asking, “So, um, you’ve been working with him for a while, then?”
I think it was the voice crack, but he seemed to ease out of defense mode a little.
“Yeah, we started around the same time. My sister used to work in HR and got me the job two years ago when I graduated high school. He’s been like this since day one. First one in, last one out. I don’t know what drives him, but he’s the most motivated person I know.”
He sat down and turned on his computer.
Okay, so maybe Zac wasn’t as universally hated as I’d originally thought.
We sat and worked in mostly silence until the rest of the office started to trickle in one by one. Eventually everyone was in except Zac.
“I wonder if something happened? Seriously, it’s almost nine. I don’t think he would just be this late and not let anyone know.” Mai sounded anxious.
“Maybe you should call him?” Andrew looked at me, expectantly.
That’s exactly the opposite of what I want to do.
“Um, sure. Yeah, I can call him.” I took out my phone and scrolled down to his name, hesitating for a few seconds. But before I could press the call button, a text popped up.
Zackary Evans
Have 8 copies of the final JLN Miller presentation printed and on my desk in 20 mins. Meeting got moved from tomorrow to today at 11. No time for notes.
What?
I reread the message. The Miller presentation wasn’t supposed to be done yet—he wasn’t supposed to be meeting with them until next Monday. I still had six days. Right?
I opened my calendar to confirm.
Miller Presentation - meeting: August 9, which was what I’d expected. But before texting him back, I opened the original email just in case, wanting to make absolutely sure this wasn’t my fuckup.
From: Zackary Evans
To: Amelia Bloom
Cc: Andrew Trapasso
* * *
See attached JLN Miller proposal draft and presentation. Meeting with them on the 4th, please have edited and finalized the day before.
Andrew, can you make a reservation at Cactus for 7 on the 9th? Will be taking the Miller team out if we win and want to make sure we have a spot. Let me know if we can’t get in.
* * *
Z
I stared at the screen.
Shit.
My heart was beating so fast it was getting harder and harder to breathe.
This was the largest proposal I’d been allowed to work on so far. And I’d royally screwed it up.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I stood up and started to rapidly go through the folders around me, clumsily trying to find my notes on the presentation. My hands were shaking so much that a couple of the folders fell off my desk, their contents spilling onto the floor.
“What’s wrong with you? What happened?” Mai was staring at me with the straw of her green smoothie still in her mouth. I’d startled her mid-sip by standing up so quickly my chair rolled backward on the marble floors, knocking into the wall behind me.
“I didn’t realize the Miller presentation was due today. It’s not done, and I need to find my notes.” My voice was also shaking. This was the closest I had ever been to a panic attack. There was a ringing in my ear now, and my peripherals were starting to go dark.
He was going to kill me. For sure he was going to kill me. This was how I was going to die.
Finally, I found the notebook I was looking for. After grabbing my chair, I opened up the presentation and started frantically typing while Andrew and Mai exchanged silent looks.