The office was silent; I stared at my PC monitor watching the little numbers dance across the screen. They still did not add up. I sighed, and twirled blonde hair around nervous fingers. I had added this spreadsheet up more times than I could count and I was still missing revenue. If it had been a few pennies I would have closed the system down and gone home but 50K would definitely be noticed.
It was 7pm, the office lights were dim against the black night seeping in through the windows. There was only me, my boss and a couple of managers left in the building. I sighed again; what I would give to be curled up on the sofa at home, drinking a glass of red wine and watching whatever mindless show was on the TV. I looked at the screen again. I had to get this report right by tomorrow morning otherwise... I did not want to even consider the alternative. I needed this job; well not the job, I needed that like I needed a hole in my head but I needed the money.
My boss was new, a stern accountant who seemed to have taken an instant dislike to me. He was not going to give an inch over this report as it was. To give him an incorrect report would be giving him all the ammunition he needed to fire me.
I shook my head at the screen; I'll get coffee maybe it would miraculously add up if I had an injection of caffeine. I doubted it but if I looked at that flickering monitor any longer I would end up running around this big silent office screaming.
I got up, wriggled my short black skirt down into place, pushed my glasses more firmly onto my nose and tucked my white shirt back into the waistband. With no one here it hardly mattered but it made me feel more businesslike. Looking the part was half the battle in this company.
I walked across the office to the coffee machine and met my boss coming out of his office.
"You still here, Tania?" he growled.
How could a man who had only met me ten days ago dislike me so much I wondered? Most people liked me.
"Yep, still here." I answered. I could hear the tiredness in my voice. God, I hope he missed it; the man was super human – the complete superman. He ran, played squash, worked out, and had two fantastic kids and a wife who ran her own company. He was here before me in the morning and left after me at night. He would not understand tiredness and that would be another mark against me. I wonder how many marks I had against me already. Today was just getting better and better.
He stopped in front of me, just too close for me to walk around him without it being obvious I was trying to avoid a conversation. I looked up at him. I was used to looking up at men as I am only 5'3" it is unavoidable. He really did have the bluest eyes I had ever seen. Maybe it was the contrast between his tanned face and the clear blue of his eyes that made them look so striking. Whatever it was I liked the result though I hated to admit it.
"So what are you working on to keep you here so late?" His southern drawl drew out the words with a lazy charm that he normally reserved for my colleagues. I was more used to hearing him shout orders than this. My face must have shown surprise, as he placed a hand on my arm and said "You're OK, aren't you? Nothing wrong?"
I could feel the heat from his hand on my arm, burning through the thin material of my shirt.
"I'm fine Paul. Just having a small problem with the quarterly report but nothing I can't work out by tomorrow." As I said this I moved slightly back, waiting for the explosion of swearing that normally occurred when I said something he did not want to hear.
