Company Policy

"It was one time! Ok, let's see. I live in a condo a few miles outside the city, north of the loop, and a few blocks away from the lake. I got my two year degree at a community college up north. My favorite color is orange, and I have a cat named Killer." The elevator finally arrived with a ding, and we were able to begin the descent down 15 floors that felt like 30 at the crawling speed of the old machinery.

She giggled, "You don't seem like the cat type."

"Oh, it's a manly cat. Very fierce."

"How old is he?"

"She." I corrected. "She is three years old, and the cutest damn thing you've ever seen." She stifled another laugh as I said it.

"So is it really your cat, or do you have a girlfriend or something?"

"Just me and Killer in the condo. Killer is very jealous, so I don't bring any girls home. What about you?"

"I have 2 cats and a puppy at home. None of them sound as fierce as Killer though." She answered. I was looking for more guidance on her relationship status, but I felt like my intention in that question was clear. She was obviously avoiding answering it, so I dropped the subject. I was trying to think of something else to ask to avoid any awkward silences when she beat me to it.

"So how old are you, like really?"

"What do you mean, 'like really'? Why would I lie about my age?"

"It's not that, it's that everyone in the office really doesn't know anything about you. I mean, I'm sure Kevin does, and maybe some of the other department heads and supervisors, but all of us unimportant people and interns rarely see you, let alone talk to you."

"First off, everyone in the office is important, even the interns. Second, I'm just so busy all the time. I get to the office, I stay in my office, and I run out for lunch and then back to my desk. Actually, you're the first person I've gone to lunch with that wasn't for something business related or at the company's expense." We finally reached the lobby and headed out onto the street.

"You didn't answer my question," She pointed out, ignoring everything else I had just said.

"I'm 24." I said, while simultaneously pointing toward my favorite burger joint just a block away.

"Wow."

"Wow? What the hell does wow mean?"

"It's a statement of wonder."

"Hilarious, why are you using it?"

"It's just that we all thought you were 30, or at least closer to it."

"Fantastic, next you'll tell me these pants make my ass look fat."

"Nope, your ass looks great in those slacks." She stated very matter of fact.

"Uh, thanks." I stole a glance in her direction, but she wasn't showing any notable emotion. We walked into the burger place and were seated near the back, where we quickly placed an order for two burgers and fries. I ordered a beer to wash it down.

"Isn't that against company policy?" She accused.

"Not when I do it. Now keep your mouth shut, or I'll sing like a bird about that key you have." I shot back. She put her hands up in mock surrender.

"Whatever you say, as long as I get a sip of your beer."

"You got yourself a deal. Now, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well, let's see. I'm 18, I just started college last semester at UC, and I live about 30 minutes west of here in the suburbs." My beer arrived as she finished.

"Did you say you were 18?" I clarified.

"Yeah."

"You definitely cannot have any sips of my beer then." Then I promptly took a long gulp from my beer.

"Oh come on. Did you seriously think I was 21?"

"I didn't really think about it. I'm not used to hanging around with anyone under the age of 40 anymore."

"Into cougars then, I respect that." She joked as our food arrived.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, my love life is no concern of yours, little girl."

"Oh, I'm a little girl now?" She rifled through her purse and came out with her phone. I was about to ask her what she was doing when the flash went off.

"What the hell was that for?" I asked while trying to blink away the spots in my eyes.

She turned her phone toward me and on the screen was a picture of me, holding a beer. There was a long pause, then I checked for any staff and handed her my beer, which she gladly accepted and took a smug swig from.

"I can't believe you just blackmailed me."

"So what do you do for fun, Brandon?" She took another swig of my beer.

"Oh you know, provide alcohol to minors, cards every Wednesday, late night Netflix."

"So you don't have any hobbies? Nothing you look forward to doing?"

"Well, I used to go to a lot of concerts, I love music, and I really do play cards with some guys from my condo association on Wednesday. I used to read a lot too, but I just don't have the time right now."

"That's sad; you should make more time for yourself."

"Oh, you know, one day I will."

She shook her head at me and finally gave me back my beer.

"Do you have any family?" She asked.

"Yeah, they're all in Idaho. They moved there when I was in middle school. I moved back as soon as I finished High School. I couldn't stand the emptiness of the area after growing up in the city. I needed something busier. Sometimes I think that was a mistake." The waitress came by and placed two heart shaped cookies in front of us. I stared at them in confusion but was never one to turn down free cookies. "What about you, any family?"

"Yeah, I still live with my parents now. I can't afford to pay for college, work an internship that up until recently wasn't paying me anything, and live on my own."

"That's understandable." I assured her. "You'll get it together eventually. You probably have a job waiting for you at the firm when your internship is up. That's what happened to me."

"I would like to get my degree first."

"Then you can work part time until you're ready."

"Do you think they'll let me do that?"

"I'll put in a good word for you. Trust me, Kevin will do whatever I tell him is best. He's the reason I have this job, we go back a ways."

"How did you meet him?"

"He's my Dad's best friend. I've known him forever really. It's part of the reason I came out this way. I knew that I could get some experience and maybe a part-time job here until I could find something sustainable, but it just kind of worked out."

"That's really nice! Lucky you."

"Yep. Well, lunch time is just about over. Let's call it quits and head back to the office before they start wondering if I kidnapped you."

"It's always the quiet ones." She laughed.

We made it back to the office and parted ways under a disapproving glare from Amy at the front door. God only knows what that's all about, and why did she decorate the office window with little baby angels?

I focused the rest of the week on getting the grueling work for both projects out of the way, and handing over to Claire as much as I thought she could handle. Thursday, February 12th was here before I knew it and I had the FOIA request due the next day. My plan was to try and knock out the rest of the FOIA request today, and somehow finish the proposal on Friday so I wouldn't have to work during the weekend. I was zoned in and punching at my keyboard when Claire popped in and yelled my name, succeeding in scaring me senseless for a second time.

"Brandon!"

"Damn it, Claire." I finally muttered while clutching my chest.

"You scare too easily. It's because you're so high strung."

"Is that what you came in here to tell me? Because if so, I'm going to throw this stapler at you." I lifted the stapler for good measure.

"No, it's snowing! Like, a lot. They say that it's going to be very bad. I wanted to make sure you didn't stay late tonight and get stuck in it." She actually sounded concerned.

"Well, I still have a lot to do, so I probably will stay late today. I'll be fine though, I promise."

"Brandon! If you have a lot to do, why haven't you given me more to work on?" She was visibly disappointed in me, like a mother scolding a child.

"I can finish the rest, really. I'll just need to stay a little later to get it done."

"Then I'm staying with you. We can finish sooner and get out of here before it gets really bad." Her tone didn't leave it open for discussion, and she punctuated it by walking out of my office.

About an hour later, with a half hour left in the day, she showed back up in my office, again without knocking. I was on the phone with someone else, so I held up a finger and she took a seat across from me. I politely listened to the client on the other line, adding affirmation or agreement where it was needed. I had already included this laundry list of items in our reports, but when the client wants to reiterate, you listen. I looked at Claire, who was on her phone, and I glanced at her chest, and then noticed that this was the first time I had seen her hair up in a ponytail. Wait a second. Was that cleavage? My eyes darted back down and saw that she must have invested in some kind of push up bra, because she was showing off a little boob at the top of her low cut, black long sleeve shirt made from some thin and snug material. It was tasteful, but pleasing to the eye regardless. My eyes darted up just in time as she put her phone down and looked up at me.

"You know, cell phones are also against company policy." I pointed out for my amusement alone and possibly to cover the fact that I had just been ogling her body.

"Excuse me?" The client said on the other side of the line.

"Oh, no not you, sorry sir." I smacked my own forehead as Claire covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "I was just scolding one of the interns as she walked past my office. You just can't find good help these days." I sneered at her and she stuck her tongue out at me. "Yes sir, I understand. Yes sir, you'll have it first thing tomorrow. Alright, have a good day, bye." I hung up and glared at her.

"Don't get mad at me for your own stupidity." She scolded.

"You shouldn't be on your phone anyway! You'll have to text your boyfriend some other time." She gave me a quizzical look and then shook her head.

"How late are you staying tonight?" She said instead.

"As late as it takes, probably another two and a half hours worth."

"Is that factoring in me staying tonight?"

"You don't have to stay; I told you already, I'll be fine."

"I'm staying. So we should be able to knock it all out it an hour or hour and a half."

"Is this why you came in here, to tell me what I'm doing?" I laughed.

"Pretty much."

"You know, I'm your boss. You're my assistant, remember?"

"Well then, when you start enforcing your rules with more backbone, I'll start listening. Just tell me what to do." She got all smug like she does when she thinks she's won something.

"Fine. Touche. Go grab one of the laptops. You organize everything and code each file, I'll finish the reports to send to you, and then you can clean it all up to send to the client."

"Deal." She hopped up and bounced down the hallway, her white flowing skirt was threatening to get caught in the flow of air and show more of her creamy white thighs then could be considered decent. I sighed inwardly. She had been dressing to impress more often. I guess whoever is dating her now must be feeling pretty happy about himself.

We knocked out the work in about an hour, clicking away and chatting idly about music and books that we had heard or read. By the time we closed up and looked out the window, there was probably two inches of fresh snow on the ground. Perhaps it was abnormal weather for the middle of February, but nothing to write home about.

"This, this was the bad storm?" I turned and asked her.

"Hey, the weather guy said it was going to be really bad."

"I want a job where I can be wrong half the time and still get paid."

"It's not that easy you know; they just go with what the numbers suggest and what has happened in these conditions before... I think."

"I wouldn't know, but I'm not about to defend them until they can tell me when it will and will not rain on a regular basis."

"I think it's supposed to snow more tomorrow and this weekend. I hope it doesn't ruin anyone's plans. Do you have anything going on?" She asked me while staring out the window.

"Not really. Just another weekend at home with Killer. I'll probably get started on some reading material for the next R&D conference in a few weeks."

"So no big plans?"

"No, should I have big plans?"

"Well, I just thought because of the holiday maybe you'd be up to something."

"Holiday?" I asked.

"Saturday is the 14th, Brandon." She rolled her eyes at me.

"So?" No light went on in my head.

"Of February." She exasperated. "It's Valentine's Day."

"Ooooh... Right." Images of heart shaped cookies and angels and pink everything floated through my consciousness connecting dots like the slowest dial-up connection from the 90's. "Well, regardless, I'm still doing nothing. Maybe I'll tip the Chinese delivery guy an extra five or something."

She laughed. "Ok then. I'm sure he won't find that creepy."

"I'll buy him a card too."

"Please do, and then get a picture of his face when you hand it to him." We shared a good laugh and sighed. I checked my watch again and glanced out the window.

"Well, thanks for staying with me Claire. I'll see you tomorrow, and we can knock out this proposal and be done with everything." I held out my hand, which I immediately regretted because it was awkward as hell. She pushed my hand down and gave me a quick hug.

"Handshakes are for losers Brandon, I'll see you tomorrow." She made an 'L' sign on her forehead and took off down the hallway.

The following morning I woke up early to find an additional four inches of snow and shook my head. Half a foot was a little out of place this late in the winter. Still, it was only snowing lightly now and all the roads had been plowed and salted. I got to work early to find Claire already in my office, turned with her back toward me, bent over my desk, rummaging through papers there. Her blond hair was curled and cascaded around the sides of her face. She had on a short deep dark red dress made of some sort of cloth material that reminded me of a summer dress, but for winter. It hugged her form in a flattering way that made her look less wiry and more petite with hints of small curves. Her cute butt was perked up in the air and a few inches below were sheer black tights that led to dark red heels which matched her dress.

"Ahem, can I help you miss?" I said, part curious as to what she was doing, part embarrassed to have stared for so long.

"Oh!" She turned with a start and her dress fluttered up around her thighs, inching higher than it was originally intended to be. She brushed her curls out of her face so they set upon her shoulders and smoothed out her dress. The front was striking with thin dark lines swirling around in a design that accentuated her small curves. The top of the dress plunged down the front of her neck to about mid chest level, showing small soft creamy white mounds of flesh that perked up slightly more than usual. The bra she had on must do wonders, because the way they were pushed up and together made my hormones take notice. "Brandon! You scared me, creeping up like that."

"I wasn't exactly being sneaky. What are you doing here?"

"I came in early to organize all the client info files we put together so it would be easier to reference them during the proposal." She lifted a handful of the files that I had thrown together sometime last week.

"Awesome, well let's see if we can't bang this out so you're not late tonight." She gave me a quizzical look, and my eyes betrayed me and stole another glance at her dress. She looked down and somewhere a light lit up.

"Oh, I don't have anything going on tonight. I just wanted to wear this today, with Valentine's Day being so close and all." She explained.

"Wow, well you look great. I almost want to know what you'll wear tomorrow." I joked.

"Nothing impressive, probably just some warm pajamas and fuzzy socks."

"So, no date?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"I'm not seeing anyone right now. So, no." She went back to shuffling the papers on my desk.

"Oh! I assumed you were. I heard you on the phone the other day when you caught me singing."

"Ease dropping were we?"

"It was hard not to hear you; we were the only ones in the office."

"I was just talking to my little brother. He's the cutest kid you've ever seen."

"Oh, I see." My mind took note of the change in ground and I made a quick attempt to avoid awkwardness. "He's probably not as cute as my cat though."

"Nuh uh, he's probably ten times cuter than your cat."

"Ok, that's enough children." Kevin commanded as he walked into my office.

"Kevin!" I exclaimed. "You're here early."

"Yeah. I came in early to finish some stuff up. Word on the street is that the snow is going to pick up again early afternoon. I don't want to get stuck here."

"Really?" I asked.

"Brandon, do you not watch the news?" He asked. I heard a giggle and shot a look toward Claire who was grinning ear to ear.

"Nope, it's too depressing."

"You don't have an app on your phone?"

"I think I do somewhere. I just never check it. I live five miles away. I've never been too concerned about what the weather is going to be like. I get up, it's cold, it's warm, or it's raining. I dress accordingly and go to work."

"Well, today it's going to snow. So plan accordingly. Great work on the FOIA request, the client said they got everything they needed. How's the proposal?"

Claire, having finally stopped grinning at my lack of weather knowledge, chimed in. "We're almost done. Just a few more things, hopefully we can get it done before the snow gets too bad."

"Ok, good luck. I'll see you guys later."

As he walked out, Claire turned toward me. "We better get moving if you're going to make your date with Killer tonight."

"Oh shut it."

We worked the rest of the morning on organizing all our information and files. Claire went out and got us burgers and we scarfed them down. Somehow we got a few words in between bites.

"So you're really single?" She asked.

"Yep. No time for a gal, work keeps me too busy to hold a serious relationship. What's your excuse?"

"Work and school take a lot of my time up. Living with Mom and Dad and my little brother doesn't necessarily invite the boys from the college in. They rarely leave the campus; all the easy girls are in the dorms."

"Where can I find these dorms?" I cracked.

"Yeah, let me just write that down for you."

"So you're telling me that there isn't a single guy in that college that is after something more than one night stands?"

"Oh, I'm sure there are, but all the guys I run into have the maturity level of a middle school kid. They still laugh when someone says boobs."

"So you're looking for an older, mature man. I hear Dave in accounting is single."

"Ew! He's like, older than my father!" She threw her napkin at me in mock disgust.

We finished our burgers while continuing to joke around. After Claire tossed the garbage she came over to the desk and handed me a piece of chocolate. It was a tiny little thing, shaped like a heart with red foil wrapping. She sat down and unwrapped one of her own while I looked at mine.

"It's not poison, see." She popped hers in her mouth and retrieved another from a small bag. "I just thought they looked cute, and you might like some. So I grabbed them while I was out."

"Thanks. Does this mean I'm your Valentine now?" I chuckled as I popped one into my mouth. She didn't respond, instead she looked out the window and gasped.

"Brandon! It's really coming down now!" I turned around and was met by the blizzard I had forgotten was coming.

"Shit. We better finish this written portion so you can get out of here." I quickly flicked my computer back to life and started adding the finishing pages on the proposal script while Claire stacked the files against the wall and loaded all the documents we had typed up into the company Cloud Drive. We finished everything around three o'clock and all I had left to finish were the presentation slides. I thought it would be best if I told Claire to go home before it got too bad. We had already accumulated six more inches on top of the six from last night.