With Quiet Fuming

Alan felt like he was radiating heat at his desk. He could feel his brow tensed and his skin tingled as adrenaline coursed through his body. It was all he could do to keep in his chair and work through his emails for the day; he wanted nothing more than to stand up and pace around the office, or hit something.

How could they do this? In what world did having him stay for fifteen hours a day make sense? Well he knew the answer, a world in which they didn’t want to pay anyone else to pick up the slack. Alan knew that Harry had been almost beside himself with joy when he had gotten his promotion, so this wasn’t a new thing. Virtucom notoriously kept a tight purse string when it came to employees, something Alan had learned after watching projects run with skeleton crews until finally new staff were hired. So yes, it made sense, if one supervisor is on vacation just have the other pick up the slack! Simple! Fuck capitalism!

Alan kept running his hand through his hair and he was sure he looked a mess to the other employees but they knew better than to comment on it. That didn’t keep Alex from approaching his desk and giving a tentative knock at the cubicle wall.

Alan let out a long slow exhale and looked over, “What is it Alex? Please don’t let it be the printer. I need it not to be the printer right now.”

The look on Alex’s face was caught between nervousness and kindness, “I was just coming to ask if maybe I could adjust my schedule for the rest of the week? Help out a bit?”

Alan paused, not having expected that. Alex normally worked the day shift, a pretty standard nine to six routine, “What time are you thinking? You know that after six, I’m the only one in the building right?”

Which was also true, after the pandemic hit, many employees had started working from home. The bulk had been night crew which left Alan alone in the office. He wasn’t allowed to work from home though because “security reasons”, which he later discovered just meant because they wanted someone to be able to answer the office phone and make it sound like they were in normal business to clients.

The intern nodded and shifted her posture, “Yeah, I thought I could come in at two and go until eleven? Just for this week!” She threw the last words out like a shield as if afraid Alan might get the wrong idea, “Just I figured with you coming in early, you’ll likely be tired and someone else being here might make it easier.”

Alan felt the anger that had built up be suppressed a bit. He still couldn’t believe Harry would put him in this position, but maybe…having someone around might at least make it less boring? He found his eyes lingering on Alex’s legs and shook his head before responding.

“That’s…very kind of you Alex, if you’re up to it I would certainly appreciate the company and help.” He worked to keep from ogling her further, perhaps getting those images from Caroline was a bad idea if it was going to just throw his mind in the gutter.

“It’s no problem! Just don’t forget about it when it’s time for my review!” She quipped before leaving his cubicle as Alan watched, he thought she deserved something a bit more immediate and sent her a wave of joy. He watched as her walk turned into a gentle skip.

Satisfied, Alan leaned back in his office chair and tried to control his breathing in a meditation technique he had learned. It wasn’t wrong to be angry with Harry but…he couldn’t change the situation. He toyed with the beads on his wrist. Maybe with Alex being here this week might be a bit more fun?

Well, he still had tonight ahead of him, only tomorrow could tell what it would bring.