Being Grateful For The Little Things Still Gets You Walked Over; Musings From The Tram
Day 149 of The Andie Chronicles
“It’s Michelle, isn’t it?”
I was taking a stab in the dark at the name of this raven-haired woman, leaning on one stiletto heel by the photocopier.
I only took the guess because her face looked almost like the email avatar belonging to 'Michelle'.
She was vigorously flicking through a fabric sample book, similar to the ones in my office. Yet hers seemed a little more recent than the ones I had. Mine had been from my university days, visibly loved but, according to the industry, out of date.
She pondered me for a moment, hardly looking up from her study. “Do you need the photocopier?”
“No, I need your help with something.”
She didn’t stop what she was doing. She just kept on pushing the swatch book around before making copies.
“You got the email from Sophia, didn’t you?” She nodded. “Well, I have my input for the brief. But I need the catalogues David Jones sent over. Do you have them?”
David Jones was the most prestigious and expensive of the department stores in Australia. And they had agreed to stock us before we even launch.
That was all my ex’s doing, of course.
Though it should be something we all celebrated, it was hanging over my head. I still couldn’t answer what would happen if this launch were a complete flop.
What would Douglas do if I, James, Sophia and GG completely wasted his money?
“Don’t know,” replied Michelle. She quickly collected her things and began to trot out of the copy room. I followed her to her desk, to a bank of desks where the other assistants made their home.
One of the desks was empty. Michelle took her seat next to another face I began to recognise.
“Olivia?” The girl hesitated, stalling what she was typing before shifting her focus from the computer and onto me.
“Um, yes, that’s me.”
“We haven’t met properly. I’m Andie.” Her eyes darted across to the other women and then back to me. None of them were looking at her, keeping their heads down to their desk as low as they could go.
I choose my low and discerning tone. “Do you have the David Jones catalogue? The big one?”
“Ah, yeah, well I saw it yesterday but I haven’t seen it since.”
Despite not being able to help me, it was a refreshing interaction. It was more words I had been able to get out of anyone. Yet, at this moment, being grateful one of my assistants acknowledged me was settling for very little.
“Well, thank you, Olivia. Do you think it’s on someone’s desk?” I started to wander past the desks and search for the book before Olivia stood from her partition and barked at me. “It was thrown out.”
I didn’t believe her. How could I believe her? No one could give me a straight answer. No one could talk to me without hesitating, flinching or trying to get me away from them.
“Fine.”
Before I knew it, I was on a tram, on my way to David Jones’ head office, to collect another copy of the catalogue. I kept asking myself, as each tram stop passed, why was I doing this to myself?
Was this torture worth it?
You’re reading The Andie Chronicles, the 2023 romance-fiction series from the 1 Lovelock Drive (1LD) universe.
By the way, this all started when Andie turned thirty-five, and her then-boyfriend didn’t call her.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that, too.
Everything started to unravel when her BFFs got into bed with her ex, too… ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
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