Thursday, September 27
Rebecca came home from work and punched a few
pillows. Every part of her life was conspiring to annoy her,
from her work to her family. She needed someone she could
vent to.
Good thing Quentin wasn't around anymore-she
could never blow off any steam with him. He had a
surprisingly short attention span, and often glazed over
when she discussed unpleasant subjects. Sharing your bad
day with Quentin was like talking to a block of wood.
O.E. seemed like the type who would actually discuss
her day, rather than keep quiet. Too bad he had to keep
mostly quiet. Still, if he said two words of comfort, he'd be
ahead of Quentin.
Call him, already. She briefly considered sparing him
from her woes, but then thought-why not? If he expected
to ride with her, high in the air, he would have to deal with
her lows, too. She dialed his number, wondering if he'd
avoid her by playing his I-can't-talk card.
"Hi, Bec."
"Hi, O.E." She paused to take a noisy breath. "Mind if I
blow off some steam with you?"
O.E. spoke economically through his wired jaw. "Sound
unhappy. What's up?"
"Where do I begin?" She groaned. "I had to deal with
two people today who I wish I'd never have to see again."
O.E. gave her a sympathetic grunt and let her go on.
"Unfortunately, they're both pretty permanent parts of my
life, so I'm stuck with them. One is my supervisor, Mark,
who is a total and complete jerk. The other is my sister,
Lauren. She's coming to the city in a few weeks and expects
me to be happy about it." She wailed a desperate cry. "I can't
even begin to tell you how much they annoy me. How much
better my life would be without them."
"Tell me."
"Who do you want to hear about first?"
O.E. chuckled. "Start simple. Mark."
"What makes you think Mark is simple?"
"Boss gone someday. Sister problem forever."
That's really true. Rebecca laughed at his analysis,
which already made her a little less upset with Mark. "I
guess you're right. But he's more of a pain right now. I have
to endure his stupidity every day. Lauren rarely shows up."
"Wrong. Sister bothers you even when gone."
Amazing. He really gets me. In a few well-chosen words,
O.E. showed remarkable understanding of her situation.
Rebecca exhaled. "Okay. Let me tell you about my
supervisor. He heads the International Relations
department at Ultra Threads. Like everything else, clothing
manufacturing has gone global, and our group makes deals
with foreign companies. We're pretty busy.