Chandler
CHANDLER
I arrive at the office a little later than usual. I'd spent some time at the bar last night after the gym, and I went a little too hard with the shots of tequila this time. I'm just glad I'm not hung over. There's nothing worse than coming into work feeling like complete dog shit. I just needed to blow off a little steam after the little mishap on Friday. Catching Sam watching porn at work will forever be burned into my brain. Angela smiles at me when I walk by, and I give her a nod. When I get to our office door, it’s ajar, and I can see Samantha sitting at her computer, tapping her foot, brows furrowed. I clear my throat loudly and say, "I’m announcing my presence before I enter the room!”
Sam looks up at me from her computer, and she does not look amused.
“Clap twice if it’s safe to enter.”
She rolls her eyes instead.
“Can you not? Let’s just forget it ever happened.” She taps a few keys on her keyboard. I wish I could forget because now I’m thinking about how it would feel to bend her over the desk and punish her for her naughty little secret. But that would be wrong. So fucking wrong, but it would feel so good. She looks good today in her navy blue jumpsuit, her hair in a bun with pieces framing her face. God, I should’ve taken that girl from the bar home with me last night. Maybe it would’ve helped with the tension, but I doubt it.
“You should be late more often. I was actually able to park in my spot today.”
“Don’t get used to it," I say. I don’t need to see her face to know she’s rolling her eyes again. I take a seat at my desk and check my emails. There’s an update from Ken about the possible business trip to North Carolina. I skim over the words and bite my knuckle as I read through it.
“Shit.” Sam stops typing and turns her chair around so she’s facing me.
“What?”
“Did you see the email from Ken?”
She frowns and turns back to her computer to pull up the email. I wait for her to read it. I hear her gasp and then shout, "No!”
“Yeah," I say. Seems like neither of us wants to go to North Carolina together. For one, Sam will have to talk during the meeting, and we’ve seen how well that went. Two, we’d have to travel together for an entire week. And three for me, my family lives there, and if they found out I was in North Carolina and didn’t visit, I would never hear the end of it.
“It says we’d have to leave on Wednesday? Talk about short notice," Sam says, her arms crossed over her chest in discontent.
“Fucking Ken.”
Another email comes through, and it’s Ken again. This time, he’s requesting a meeting in 30 minutes. Jesus. It’s not that I don’t want to see my family, but if they know that Sam will be there, they will want to see her, too. And I really don’t want that to happen.
“Do you think we can say no?” I ask.
“I’m sure we can. It’s Ken. He’s usually cool, right?”
“Depends on how much money is involved," I say.
“Okay, well, if we both refuse, he’ll have to send someone else.”
“He might.” I’m skeptical, though, because I’m not sure who else Ken would choose to send in our place. We’re both the top accountants at this firm, and he’d already told the big bosses that he had us in mind at the presentation. This gives me an idea. “Tell him you have stage fright.”
Sam looks at me in disbelief. “I am not telling him that!”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want him to think I’m not capable of doing my job!”
“You are, though, just not in a room full of people you have to speak to," I point out.
“You’re ridiculous," she says and rolls her eyes. “I can’t miss my friend's showing this weekend.”
“Showing?” I ask.
“It’s a personal thing. Not work-related," she says. “How are we going to get out of this?”
Ken's office is on the 5th floor of the building. He has a television hung on the wall next to the door with a sports game on, and he’s watching it when we come in for the meeting.
“Good morning, you two. Why don’t you guys take a seat?”
Sam and I sit in the chairs across from his desk, and he turns the television off, sitting up straight in his chair, his attention on both of us.
“So," he says and claps his hands together, placing both of his elbows on the desk. “I know you were both nervous about having to travel to North Carolina to talk to our new prospects, but I think the two of you work well together.”
Sam and I side-eye each other and look back at Ken.
“You two really know what you’re doing, and I think it would be a great opportunity for the company. Also," he continues. “There is a big bonus involved.”
“How big?” I ask. I’ve never been afraid to be direct with Ken. He may be our boss, but he also knows not to jerk me around.
“When we have our summer event in Miami, we'll be giving out bonuses to the top performers in the company. You two," he gestures to both of us. “ Would be earning a bonus of about ten thousand dollars each.”
“Whoa, what?” Sam says in disbelief. “Ten grand?”
Ken nods. Ten grand is quite a lot, and I don’t think me or Sam want to pass it up.
“I know it’s on really short notice, but I think it would be good for everyone involved. The company would pay for your plane tickets, hotel stays, food, and rental car. We can’t pay for alcohol, of course, but you can do whatever you want when you’re not working. It would only be for a week.”
An entire week? There is no way I could avoid my family for an entire week.
“So, can you both let me know by the end of the day? Maybe you guys should talk it over and see what you think?”
Sam and I look at each other, and I can see she wants to take it. I do, too, but I kind of want to make Ken sweat.
“We’ll think about it," I say. “But say we don’t take it. What happens then?”
“To be honest, , I don’t really have any other candidates in mind. I told them I’d send my top performers, and you two are it.”
I nod. “Understood. How long do we have to decide?”
“Until 5 pm today. ”
I look at the clock on the wall. That’s only seven and a half hours from now. “We’ll get back to you," I say.
“Great," he says and then turns to Sam. “Do you have any questions, Sam? I know it’s a big ask, but I really think you guys can do this.”
“Yeah, where exactly in North Carolina?”
“I’ll send you everything you need so you can make a decision. Sound good?”
We both nod, and Ken seems okay with letting us think it over. “Great. Just send me your responses by the end of the day.”
Sam and I make our way toward the door, but before I can leave, Ken stops me.
“By the way, ." I sigh and linger in the doorway. What now? "I reserved a lunch spot at that restaurant down the road, but I have another meeting. You two are free to use my reservation to talk it over, but you have to pay for yourselves. It’s at 12.”
I nod. “Thanks, Ken, "and make my way to the elevator. There might still be a way to get out of this, but ten thousand dollars is a lot to pass up. I guess I'll just have to see what Sam says.