Chapter 13
A lthough May had started off promising – the temperature had become much more bearable after the mad heat in April, and there were no upset subcontractors to deal with – the first weekend of the month was pure hell for me. I had to suffer through four long hours at my niece’s birthday party (which was just another excuse for my sister to arrange a social event for herself since what one-year-old’s party starts at 6 p.m.?).
Instead of congratulating me on my recent promotion, my father yet again voiced his disapproval of career women by telling everyone how proud he was of my sit-at-home sister for being such a great mother to his grandchild (meanwhile giving me his signature look of disappointment and making me feel worthless). Of course, apart from me, not one person at the party was still single or without a child. Adam was proved right again: the more successful I became, the more Dad resented me. And I was convinced I couldn’t survive another family event on my own.
The following Monday, I tried to channel my anger into work. My coffee consumption had reached similar levels to the beginning of the year. Again, I was running the risk of becoming sick from my unhealthy diet and being caught throwing up by Jenny, leading to another pregnancy rumour. But I didn’t care.
When I went to grab my third caffeine shot of the day, I found Dean and Jake in the staff room, crowding around Adam, who was sitting on the sofa snacking on his usual chocolate bar. They were all chuckling, and I deduced he must have been showing them a funny video on his phone .
Adam’s trousers had ridden up his ankles, showing off his mismatched socks. This again reminded me of the morning after the Christmas party, when I’d been searching for my bag and had come across a man’s sock with an elf figure and another with a snowman on it.
Apart from occasionally seeing each other at the gym again, Adam and I hadn’t interacted much in the two weeks since we’d returned from the conference, and work had proved a good-enough distraction from pondering what could have happened had he not decided to move to another hotel room. But it was probably for the best that things hadn’t become even more complicated than they already were.
Taking Adam’s advice – to show I could act all fluffy and attentive – I’d switched off my phone for the second day of the event. But he was never nearby to witness my effort, as if he’d been avoiding me on purpose. I wondered if I’d done something to upset him.
As soon as Jake noticed me, he stopped laughing and hurried back upstairs. The other two seemed less concerned about my presence. Instead of leaving, Dean sat down and slouched on the sofa next to Adam.
‘Have you guys seen Jordan?’ I needed him to urgently place orders for some kitchens with the supplier, but he wasn’t upstairs, and according to Ricardo, there was no measuring to be done on site either. I tried to call him, but it had gone straight to voicemail.
Adam exchanged a nervous glance with Dean then said, ‘Joel asked him for a favour.’
Something isn’t right here .
‘What favour?’
Adam sucked in his lips, and Dean covered his mouth with his palm.
‘Come on – what is it?’ I prompted.
‘He told Jordan to go to Buildbase and ask for a bucket of toe-nails and a skirting board ladder with long weighting,’ replied Adam .
‘Pardon?’
‘Toe-nails and a skirting board ladder with long weighting,’ he repeated, barely looking at me.
Dean couldn’t hold it anymore and burst into laughter. When his eyes met mine, he quickly composed himself and straightened his posture.
‘Even Joel now? Can I just ask that my staff is left out of stupid pranks?’ Before leaving with my drink, I added, ‘When he’s back, can you please tell him to come and see me?’
*
As soon as I sat down at my desk, there was a knock on the door, and Adam stepped in. His eyes darted to David’s empty seat before moving to me. ‘You alright?’ he asked, closing the door. ‘It was just a joke.’
‘I don’t care; I just want my staff to focus on their jobs,’ I told him without raising my head. ‘Jordan’s got more important things to do than driving to merchants and trying to chase down non-existent nails and ladders.’
‘But you have to give it to Joel for coming up with something like that.’
I could hear a smile in his voice, but I stayed quiet, shifting through the paperwork on my desk.
‘What’s wrong really?’ His voice was soft as he approached my desk.
‘Nothing.’
‘Come on, Evelyn – you can tell me.’
I lifted my head; he was standing only inches from my seat. ‘I’ll have to fire him,’ I said, quietly realising that against all my common sense, Adam had somehow become my confidant.
‘Who?’
I gave him a murderous look. ‘Jordan.’ Had Adam taken a nap during this conversation? Who else were we talking about?
‘Because he’s done what Joel asked of him?’
‘No, because he has no common sense. ’
‘Come on – he’s just young.’
‘Are you saying it’s acceptable for a twenty-two-year-old not to realise there’s no such thing as a “toe-nail”? And after working in construction for six months, he still doesn’t know what a skirting board is?’
What was wrong with the world?
I was getting fed up that age was always the excuse for lack of manners and grey cells. One was either too young or too old to be able to do something. Why would anyone with half a brain think they’d need a ladder to reach a piece of wooden board covering the bottom of the wall? And, to top it all off, with long weighting ? Not to mention the toe-nails – those were the real cherry on top.
‘Just give him some slack,’ Adam pleaded.
‘But how much more slack do I need to give him?’
‘He’s probably just nervous and makes silly mistakes because he wants to prove himself to you.’
‘So now you’re saying it’s my fault he is the way he is? That I’m putting him under so much pressure that he can’t think for himself?’
How dare he?
‘No, that’s not what I’m saying.’
‘Okay, so what is it you’re accusing me of then?’
‘I’m just saying he’s anxious to show you he can do the job. And I don’t think he’s being encouraged enough that he can.’
‘But he clearly can’t!’ I snapped. ‘And so we’re back to me being the problem. You’re telling me I’m a terrible boss for not constantly cheering my staff on. Because I don’t keep patting them on the shoulder if they do the job they’re paid for? Why would I? If they go over and above, then yes, I will. But Elsa isn’t patting my shoulder every five minutes.’
‘But you’re different. You don’t need to be told how good you are because you know you’re brilliant. Since you’re always sitting in your hideout, you can’t know much about your team.’
‘ Excuse me ?’
‘I’ve only been here seven months, but I know both Jordan and Jake had a hard upbringing, and they were always put down by everyone around them, and Ricky’s under so much pressure right now: he’s in the middle of buying a house, and his missus is expecting,’ he said all in one breath. ‘And it’s not easy for Ritha either. She’s not like you. She’s smart but not that strong.’
‘But this is work! No one’s ever asked me about my personal issues since I started here. I’m not a good Samaritan, here to sort everyone’s issues.’ Diane was trained in that stuff, not me.
‘Come on, Evelyn – you’re just being difficult now. You’ve probably never complained to anyone because you’re like a robot. And you know exactly what I mean, but you hate that I’m right.’
When I didn’t comment, just returned to my paperwork, he added, ‘Just think about what I said – please. Not for me; for your team’s sake.’ And with that, he left.