Vacation time?

The next day at work Eric goes to see his boss Yazmin Hassan. Yazmin had always been something of a legend when Eric was in law school. She was an alumna there and stories of her career filled the halls. When he'd been accepted at her firm after graduation he was thrilled, but to say his first meeting with her was disappointing would be an understatement. He saw her in the hallway one day and tried to introduce himself, but she just said 'Don't waste my time' and kept walking.

It took him 5 years of hard work to get noticed by her, but once he'd caught her eye all kinds of new opportunities had opened up for him. She was a demanding boss, but he always felt respected. He knew others resented the long days and high expectations she set, but he found he thrived under her tutelage.

He decided to wear his best work outfit today in preparation of asking for time off. Or rather Stephanie had insisted. Since meeting Stephanie she had been constantly pushing him at the gym and on the court and he had packed on a fair bit of muscle. He wasn't a body builder by any means, but he was no longer the stick man he was before she came along. He had been wearing off shelf suits his whole life, but Stephanie had shown him just how good he could look in a custom suit. Not that he was trying to use sex appeal on his much older boss, but Stephanie had taught him that his appearance helps project confidence.

He approached her office, her door was open and she was sitting at her desk sipping her coffee. She notices him and waves him in. Eric entered and noticed that Yazmin seemed especially happy this morning. While he thought she was a good boss, she wasn't exactly the smiling type. She was far too serious to crack a joke at work, and Eric really only saw her smile when she was talking about law.

"Eric please come in, have a seat. I'm glad you come to see me, I actually wanted to talk to you about the Donaldson contact." Eric's blood went cold. He had just finished work on that contract and he had been terrified about what feedback might come from it. He knew he'd done a great job, he always did. Except he wasn't sure what his contact at Donaldson might have reported to her boss. Valerie was young, and very inexperienced. She hadn't been much help figuring out what Donaldson actually needed, but worse than that she had spent the whole time flirting with Eric. Eric had known she was the CEOs daughter, and was very used to getting her way. He feared what she might do with his rejection.

"Of course Ms. Hassan. What would you like to discuss." Eric tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice. He supposed if she fired him he would have to go on the cruise after all. No way Stephanie lets him mope around applying for new jobs instead of going with her.

"Yes let's get straight to the point. I just got off the phone with their rep, and I have to say I am quite surprised by their feedback of you." Oh no, Eric thought, she did make up something bad about him. This was it, the end of his career. "She told me you were a pleasure to work with. They've decided to increase their business with us and they want you as their primary contact and lead lawyer. I've always thought you were capable of more, and now we're going to find out if that's true." She smiled at him again. This was not where Eric thought the conversation was going. Eric was thrilled to get this kind of feedback but now instead of bad feedback he was worried it was just because the Donaldson rep wanted more one-on-one time with him.

"That's great news Ms. Hassan. I look forward to it." Eric thought about it some more, even if it was just a ploy, he was still excited to try something new and advance his career.

"Now now, call me Yaz. Some people think I'm cold, but it's really that I don't tolerate mediocrity. You've shown what you are capable of, and I think you deserve a reward. I'm giving you the rest of the summer off." She chuckled at the shock on his face."Yes I mean it. No ifs ands or buts. Spend today passing any remaining work off to Sam and Jess and then go spend some time with that girl your always gushing about. Don't let anyone say Yazmin Hassan doesn't reward excellence. I don't want you back here until September 15th. That's will give us enough time to prep for the new work coming our way." She took another sip of her coffee and waited. Eric was too stunned to react. This was just too weird. He'd never heard of Ms. Hassan going out of her way to reward anyone, much less a whole summer off. And just went he had come asking for time off, it was just too convenient. "Well what are you waiting for? Go on, your dismissed." She waved him off and went back to work on her computer. Eric slowly got to his feet and left the office. I guess I'm going on a cruise, he thought.