As she hoped, Jim was the only one in the break room and he was at the vending machine getting a candy bar when she walked in. Dressed in jeans and a summer blouse, she sat down at one of the tables and waited for him to join her.
"Did you hear what I said?" Jim whispered, as he chose a chair across the table from her. Wearing casual clothes as well, he had a stout build, curly red hair, and pleasant green eyes.
"She got fired on a Wednesday morning? I thought Americans liked to do their firing on Friday afternoon."
"Normally, they do. Issuing a last check for a full week is easier than trying to figure out the hours in the middle of the week."
Maggie adored Jim McMorrow. Her first day there, he took her under his wing and taught her how to use the complicated, nightmarish software. When she spoke, she lowered her blue eyes, as well as her voice. "Did you have to issue her final paycheck?"
Jim peeled the wrapper back on his candy bar and took a bite. "That's the part I hate most about this job. Nicole should do it herself, but she always has me do it. I am the first to know when someone is getting fired and I truly, truly hate it. I can't even look some people in the eye."
"Why did Colleen get fired?"
Jim puffed his cheeks. "Since when does Nicole need a good reason?"
"Never. Whose toes do you suppose Colleen stepped on?"
"Nicole's probably. I don't know the details yet."
Maggie pushed a wayward strand of hair away from her face, and remembered to keep her voice down. "Another one bites the dust, as you Americans say. I thought Colleen was doing her job well."
"Yeah, but when has a department manager ever lasted more than six months?"
"Not since I've been here."
Jim broke off a piece of his candy bar and offered it to her. When she shook her head, he put it in his mouth. "I've got a feeling she'll offer the job to me and I don't want it."
"Neither do I."
He took another bite and glanced at the empty doorway just to make sure no one was coming. "Last time she fired a manager, she combined both our departments and put Colleen over all of us. That's a lot of work for one person and I don't know who else is qualified."
Maggie dropped her gaze and thought about that. "You and I have been here the longest and we know the computer system the best."