Chapter 2
Elijah stared at the computer screen and pretended as if he didn’t see his Deputy Director, Adam, check his watch.
He knew why Adam was checking. Elijah was going to be late to his fraternity meet up.
Adam had been giving him hell about going.
In a few minutes, he’d remind Elijah that he needed to leave if he planned to get there on time.
Elijah wasn’t concerned about being late, because he was on the fence about going.
He’d graduated from college over a decade ago.
He didn’t stay out late on a week night when he needed to finish work and get back home to his daughter.
But Adam, was giving Elijah all types of excuses about why Elijah didn’t need to stay in the office and oversee the preparation for the department’s budget presentation.
Adam didn’t get that this was Elijah’s second budget preparation as the finance director of New Village, TX.
A town east of Houston. Adam also didn’t realize that Elijah had learned not to trust having someone else take over a presentation he was responsible for.
Instead of acknowledging Adam’s watch checking, Elijah held up a hand to prevent another long-winded explanation about why Elijah should just “trust the team” and go out and “have some fun” for once.
“Did the procurement team go over over their budget numbers?” he asked trying to remember the coaching and counseling sessions he’d received in the various leadership trainings he’d sat through over his career.
Lessons that said he shouldn’t show frustration even when his employees were aggravating him about doing something they believed was in his best interest.
Adam placed one hand on top of the other on his khaki clad lap.
The fingers of his right hand softly tapped the face of the smartwatch on his left wrist visible beneath the sleeve of his white button up shirt.
Tall and thick, with tan skin and a head he kept shaved, Adam had been with the town’s finance department for ten years.
When Elijah was hired as the director, he’d asked if Adam had been interested in the position, and was surprised to find out he hadn’t.
Adam was good with numbers, but he didn’t enjoy the administrative side of leading the department.
“Rosa put their numbers in the shared drive yesterday,” he said evenly.
“To reiterate what we discussed yesterday, every other department director has their information submitted. I completed the revenue projections and will have the final projections on your desk before you go to lunch tomorrow. There’s no need for you to stay after hours today. ”
Adam had told him the same thing earlier that day, but Elijah hadn’t had the chance to check if everything was in the shared drive and submitted correctly. “Did you check to see—”
“If all the Department heads put everything in the correct template,” Adam cut him off with a grin. “Yes. I did.”
“What about—”
“The justification for capital and personnel requests? Yes, also submitted. We were missing one file from utilities, but my team followed up and got that today.”
Elijah stared back. He was impressed, but also felt a little dissatisfied.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want his team to be able to handle this process.
He just felt compelled to make sure everything was good.
He tried reminding himself that Adam wasn’t Albert, his administrative coordinator from six years ago.
Adam hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to take credit for Elijah’s work and then use that credit to his advantage as Albert had done six years ago.
But having been burned like that by an employee on one of the hardest days of his life made it hard for Elijah to trust.
“Look, Adam, I appreciate you doing that, but I still want to check everything myself before putting together the final presentation.”
Some of the satisfaction that had lit up Adam’s eyes as he gave Elijah updates on their progress dimmed. “I get it. You don’t trust our work yet.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that I like to keep a close eye on things.”
Adam’s raised brow called bullshit, but he didn’t voice the thought. “Understood. But I still think you should hurry up and get out of here so you can go to your fraternity meet up.”
“I don’t have time for things like that.”
“Doesn’t seem like you have time for a lot of things,” Adam said with a shrug.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No judgement, boss. Just pointing out that the good folks in HR keep telling us to have a work life balance. I see a lot of work with you and not a lot of life.”
“I’m good on the work life balance.” Elijah said defensively.
Even though, honestly, his work life balance was working and then going home to take care of Sabrina.
He hadn’t hung out socially since his divorce and he was good with that.
His daughter only had one parent and he was determined to be good at that.
Adam held up a hand. “Okay, I won’t give you a hard time. I’m just trying to give you some advice. I realized I was all work and little life and that left me lonely. Everyone needs friends.”
“I’ve got friends,” Elijah said quickly. Maybe too quickly.
“Do you?” Adam asked with a raised brow. “Because you don’t talk about them.”
Elijah opened his mouth to reply, but realized he had no good reply. Instead he picked up the printed-out budget spreadsheet on his desk. “I’m good.”
Adam nodded slowly. “Alright, I’m done.” That was the good thing about Adam, he also realized when to remain silent after making a point instead of doubling down. “If you’re going to stay and work on that then I’m going to head home. Have a good night, Elijah.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Adam hesitated a second before standing and leaving Elijah’s office.
As soon as the door closed behind him Elijah sighed and fell back in his chair.
After two years in the role of finance director, Elijah still didn’t know of the best way to interact with his team.
They worked hard, and responded to his rules about how he liked the office run, but they were also the embodiment of “we’re like a family.
” Celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and having endless office potlucks.
Adam said it was because they spent so much time together that they might as well make work enjoyable.
Something Elijah hadn’t experienced at his job in corporate finance before.
Adam was just trying to be helpful, but Elijah didn’t need the reminder that he didn’t have much of a social life.
Not when he was trying hard to ignore the fact that he was starting to realize he was beginning to feel stagnant.
He couldn’t think of that because those thoughts made him feel guilty for feeling that way.
What did it look like for him to go out and have a good time and leave Sabrina behind?
He couldn’t do that after his ex-wife had left them so abruptly.
If having no social life made Sabrina feel secure, then his loneliness was worth it.
His cell phone rang. He picked it up from his desk and smiled at Layla Townsend’s face showing on his screen.
She’d updated her profile on her end with a picture she’d taken at a friend’s wedding.
Her cinnamon brown skin looked radiant in the russet-colored dress she wore that clung to her curves.
Her big welcoming smile spread full lips he’d had inappropriate thoughts about more than once, and her eyes, the color of new pennies, sparkled with joy.
He could update her contact on his end to get rid of her new profile picture, but he wouldn’t.
He liked seeing her smiling face when she called.
If he were being honest, he liked her. But they were friends, and he had a rule about never crossing the line with a friend.
He cleared his throat and sat up straight before answering the phone. “Hey, Layla, what’s up?”
“Hey, Elijah, I was checking to see if things were okay? The afterschool program called and said no one picked up the girls.”
Elijah’s stomach dropped. He had a momentary flashback to six years ago when his life changed forever. “Weren’t you getting them?”
“No, tonight is your night, remember?”
He drew a blank, then cursed. Shit, it was Thursday.
He picked up the girls, his daughter and her best friend, Jasmine, on Thursdays.
When Layla and Jasmine moved in next door, Sabrina and Jasmine had immediately become friends.
Their friendship had grown even more when the two were both in the same second grade class.
The girls’ friendship had thrown Elijah and Layla together.
He and Layla were both single parents, and the friendship of their daughters had evolved from the occasional sleep over and play dates to him and Layla helping each other out by alternating the days they dropped the girls off at school and picked them up afterwards.
“Damn, my bad Layla,” Elijah said taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I got caught up at work today and I’m supposed to go to a meet up for my fraternity tonight. I didn’t say anything about that?”
“No you didn’t,” she said lightly. She didn’t sound annoyed, but Elijah felt like he was being judged all the same.
“It’s my bad, truly. It’s been a crazy week. I can leave now and get them.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can get the girls tonight. You go on to your meet up.”
“I don’t have to go. I’m already going to be late if I leave now. I messed up and didn’t check with you, so I should get the girls.”
“Yeah, you forgot to keep me in the loop, but it’s not that big of a deal today. It’ll give me a chance to help the girls with their costumes for the pageant.”
“You don’t have to do that. I told Sabrina that I’d take her shopping this weekend.”