Writing Prompt Day: 2

The copy machine broke down in the middle of printing, which made this the third worst thing that happened this morning. 

 From: http://thecharactercomma.com/writing-prompt-generator/

The copy machine broke down in the middle of printing, which made this the third worst thing that happened this morning. I was printing off customer newsletters which needed to be put in the mail that afternoon in order to be received by my boss' target deadline. There was a mountain of paperwork I needed to sort through and file after folding and putting these newsletters into envelopes and putting them out for the carrier who came at 2pm. It was also Jackie's birthday and I owed it to her to attempt to be out of work early, or at the very least on time. I had been already late to work this morning because of two other mishaps. I slipped on my kitty Indigo's half-digested cat food vomit which then, in turn, caused me to dump most of my hot cup of coffee on my favorite work khakis. Changing pants and cleaning up coffee-soaked cat vomit off my hallway carpet runner put me at least forty-five minutes behind the Eightball this morning. It also meant that I was unable to grab Jackie’s birthday cake from the bakery and would have to fight traffic over lunch to pick it up when I would most likely need that time to catch up on work. 

Trying my best not to let my exasperation run unchecked at work, I looked in all the different paper trays to find an obvious jam, however, I could see no telltale sign of jammed paper. I walked to our supply clerk, Andrea's cubicle and poked my head in.

"Hey the copy machine just stopped this morning in the middle of my copy job. It’s the newsletters Miles wanted sent out ASAP. Do you think you could take a look at it?"

Andrea, who had been scrolling through something on her phone, heaved a loud sigh and got to her feet and followed me to the copy machine.

"This is the third time this has happened this week. I told Miles he needed to reach out to Davis Bros to have it serviced or replaced. He seems to be dragging his feet. I wish he wouldn't though! It's not like I know how to fix it. It's not my job to call them either. " Andrea huffed. 

As I watched Andrea look over the machine and repeat the same steps I did, I smirked and let her continue loudly complaining about our boss. Miles Klein was an interesting man and therefore he was an odd boss. Like most bosses he prided himself on the idea of work ethic and teamwork in our office, but he fell short on fostering that type of atmosphere. Miles was eclectic, he loved Dodgers baseball but was also the president of the local Hot Wheels Club. He talked about traveling all over the world but never left the city.  He was friendly to everyone and generally easy to be around but often misunderstood the staff. I felt like we received lopsided tasks that led to big inequalities in the workflow.  I don't know if he felt I could do more work than someone like Andrea, who seemed to slack off while I had felt overwhelmed most days. This job paid my bills and allowed me to save, but it was no dreamboat. 

Just then Miles came walking around the corner. I could tell by his expression he had been lurking within earshot and most likely had heard most of what Andrea said. She had stopped talking immediately upon seeing him around the corner. 

"Is that thing acting up, again? I know I need to call Davis Bros to get out here to take a look. " 

He ambled over to where we stood, Andrea took a big step back so he could get close to the machine. She gave me a quick look that told me she might have gone too far in her criticisms of Miles. I kept my face as stoic as I could, not wanting to get involved in... whatever this was. 

"Looks like you were printing those newsletters. Great I want those out the door and on the way to our customers this afternoon."

"Yeah, that is my plan, at least if I am able to finish copying. I was pretty close to being done with this last batch." I held up my stack, noting to myself it looked about half-finished, I estimated I needed at least another 200 copies. 

"Hmm I might need to send you out to FedEx to finish these. I doubt Davis Bros will be able to get out here today. How do you feel about that? You can take a longer lunch to do it, I can get you petty cash to cover the cost."

I was surprised by his offer. Miles rarely consented to people leaving the office as he wanted a collaborative office setting. 

"Umm sure, if that is what you want me to do."

"Yeah, these really need to be sent out today so you can leave now, let me just get you that money."

He walked towards his office. Andrea walked past me and mouthed "Lucky" as she made her way back to her desk. I watched her grab her phone and pick up where she left off. I shook my head and followed his steps to his office. The office was desperately in need of a refresh. Everything seemed aged in mid-nineties chic décor with random bright splashes purples and orange paired with mismatched and loud prints.  Miles had worked here for many years, starting his career here when I was probably in Kindergarten. His attachment to this place came from the idea that people spent their lives in the same role just like his parents did, instead of jumping from job to job like my generation did, looking for the next best opportunity. 

I watched him fish out the old the cashier box from the locked draw on the left side on his desk. He counted out several twenties and scrawled a note in the small ledger. He then put the cash into one of the business envelopes and handed it over.

"I gave you $120; I think that should be enough to make the copies you need. It is now 11:20, let’s say I would like to be back here by 1:30 at the latest." He said glancing down at his watch.

"Yes, I can be back by then. Thank you, see you this afternoon."

I walked from his office to grab my purse and the folder with the original newsletter. I was excited to be able to spend some work time outside of the building. The weather was perfect today in that there was a slightly cool breeze that smelled earthy and the sun shone down warming my arms and face. I rolled my car windows down and turned up the radio as I drove towards the downtown FedEx office. Even though I had a rough start to my day, I felt uplifted just to be outside and away from work. I thought a little about Jackie on my drive and hoped she was having a good birthday. I knew I should reach out to her to confirm our plans for tonight. My stomach knotted up a bit thinking about it. I really liked Jackie; she had been a great friend for me since we first met two years ago. She made me realize some crucially important aspects about myself, like that I could like women romantically in addition to as friends and that I probably preferred it to dating men. She was a carefree person who tended to not let much bother her. It had been a few months since she broke it off with her now ex-girlfriend and that enabled us to spend more time together. I was scared to tell her how I felt, but I was trying to challenge myself to face those fears. I had a feeling that if Jackie rejected me, our friendship would be salvageable but changed. I chose not to think about that possibility as I pulled in to park my car. I wanted to think optimistically about my chances tonight. I needed to make sure I allowed enough time to pick up her birthday cake, too on my work errand. I had been given an opportunity to do what I had initially planned this morning. I did not want to squander that.

I entered the FedEx storefront and chatted up the man behind the counter. I was able to place my order for newsletters to be copied and folded which would save me sometime later. I was supposed to come back in about an hour to pick up the copies. I walked out and made my way towards the downtown park area. Every day for a few hours during lunchtime several food trucks made a good business selling lunch to office workers escaping their offices for fresh air and food. I did not eat lunch down here regularly, but it was a delectable treat when I did. 

I walked towards my favorite food truck, Gina's Tacos & Tamales. Gina was a pleasant older woman who had a grandmotherly way about her. She was very friendly and often gave you extra food without asking. She worked with her son, Luis, who always joked around with me when I stopped by. It was still before noon and they had no one in line when I walked up. Gina smiled big when I walked up, and even though she didn't know my name, I could tell she recognized my face.

"Hola amiga! What can I get for you today? We have pork and poblano tamales on special today."

"Hi, I'll take two of those special tamales, a side of queso and chips? Oh, and a bottle of water. Please and thank you."

Gina grinned at me as she tapped my order into her iPad. She swiveled it around for me to pay. I included a 25% tip because the service and food were always impeccable. She handed me my bottle of water; I stepped a few feet over the end of the counter. I could see Luis preparing my food to order, he was whistling along to the radio as he worked and dancing in place. Gina handed me my food and I thanked her. I walked to one of many park benches and dug in. I loved tamales, especially Gina's Tamales. They were the correct ratio of meat and filling to masa, just right. They were so flavorful that I didn't need to add hot sauce. Their queso was also very tasty and the homemade chips were so crunchy. 

I was really enjoying my lunch when I remember that I needed to keep track of time. The bakery where Jackie's cake was at was about 15 minutes west of downtown, in a small strip mall. I had more than enough time to drive there, pay and drive back to FedEx. I also needed to text Jackie.

Me: Happy Birthday, Jackie! 😎😁🎉 I'm excited to celebrate with you tonight!

Jackie 💗: Heeeyyy Liz!!!!! Heck yeah I am so excited!!!!! You'll be at 6, right???

Me: Yea, thats the plan. I should *fingerscrossed* be able to leave work on time today, too. Miles has been pretty chill in fact he let me leave the office to run a work errand and take a long lunch. I got tamales today 😋

Jackie 💗: So jealous!!!! But thats great! Save some room for my delicious lasagna tho! And wine! lol See you later!

I smiled at my phone. Jackie was adorable and a great cook. I knew her lasagna would be a hit. She had invited a few other friends over too. Tonight should prove to be a fun night, even more so if I could marshal my nerves to let Jackie know how I felt. 

As I left the park and walked towards my car, I thought over my plan some more. I had gotten her a birthday card where I carefully wrote out my feelings. I wasn't overly sappy or long-winded in my writing but to the point. I wanted to give her the card when everyone else left and I was helping her clean up her apartment. I thought it would be a great way to end a superb night. 

I made the drive to the bakery. I paid for Jackie's cake and placed it safely in the backseat. Everything finally seemed to be going right for me today. I hoped that was a sign for my plans tonight. I was able to pick up my copies and came back to the office. I shoved Jackie's cake into the office fridge with a big note that said, "DO NOT EAT'.  It was about 1:20 when I finally sat at my desk. I hadn't seen Miles but got to work folding and stuffing newsletters in the pre-addressed and pre-stamped envelopes. I got everything done and sealed when I heard our mail carrier talking to Andrea. I grabbed the basket full of envelopes to go out and caught her just as she was walking towards the door.

"Hold on! I've got some mail that needs to go out today." The mail carrier turned to me and smiled. She held out her bin and I dumped my envelopes in it. I felt a huge sense of relief to have made the deadline, if just by the skin of my teeth. 

The remainder of the afternoon passed quickly; I was just finishing up with my filing when the clock finally clicked to 5pm. I grabbed Jackie's thankfully uneaten birthday cake and was about to leave the office when I heard Miles call my name.

"Liz! Did you get those newsletters mailed today?"

"Hi Miles, yes, I did, in fact I caught our mail carrier just as she was leaving the building."

"Good, that is really great. Could I, uh, have a word with you in my office before you leave?"

"Sure, I suppose." I knew I could refuse, but I felt Miles was acting different today. I just didn't know what he wanted to talk about at 5pm that couldn't wait until the next morning. 

I followed him into his office, and he closed the door. He gestured to the chair opposite his desk and he took his office chair.

"Well Liz, I wanted to say thank you for making sure those newsletters hit the mail today. As you know we are trying to drum up marketing business here and meeting the initial set guidelines helps promote our information to customers that much sooner. I've been very impressed with your work ethic; I was also pleased to see you didn't join in with Andrea this morning when she was complaining this morning. I know that, um, there is a lot of people here who disagree with my management style."

"Uh well thanks, sir. I try hard to stay out of inner-office politics as much as possible. I also want to do a good job with my work."

"That is pleasing to hear. I want to ask if you are interested in taking a small in-line promotion. I've been meaning to delegate management of our email marketing tool, Mailchimp to you for a little while now. You've proven to me that you have the discipline to maintain our weekly schedule of targeted emails. With this promotion you would also get the chance to try your hand at creating some email advertisements as well. How do you feel about this offer?"

This was unexpected news to me. I had worked here for about eighteen months and had several coworkers who were still in the same positions they had been hired for. Andrea had been here for more than five years now with no promotion either. I was surprised. 

"Yes, I would really like that! But... just a question about this. Would I still be responsible for some of the clerical duties of my current job? I want you to know that it would a very full plate for me to manage this in addition to those duties." I said with an assertiveness that was new to me. The upturn of this day was having a profound effect on me.

"Oh, of course, I was planning on giving some of those duties to Andrea, as she seems to be in need of more responsibilities. I was hoping we could meet tomorrow to go over some of the more formal details and finalize when you will start these duties. Does that sound ok?"

I nodded my head fervently. "Of course, that is perfect."

"Great well Liz, have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow."

Miles stood up to shake my hand. "Have a good one, yourself!" I grabbed the cake and was skipping out to my car. I was so ecstatic. This day had really turned up, even if my favorite khakis were stained and now that I was definitely going to be a little late for Jackie's birthday, it was worth it.

As I got into my car, I sent Jackie a quick text to let her know I was on my way.

Me: Hey! I'm omw now! Got stuck at the office for the best reason ever! Tell you about after your party see you soon lady!

I merged into traffic and cranked the radio. I sang along obnoxiously but full of joy. Sometimes you just have an exuberant feeling about things and tonight I knew would be one of those times.