Saved My Ass
“Hey Lucy, did you get that file boss asked for?” Ali asked as she came over to me.
I looked up from my phone, furrowing my eyebrows. Hadn’t she just left for lunch a minute ago?
Ali grinned wide at me. “Have you been playing on your phone since I left? You didn’t get it together, did you?”
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“What, no. No. I just… I had…” I scrambled, but she was right. I’d been staring at the same video of the hot biker guy thirst trap for the last twenty minutes. I was absolutely screwed.
Ali leaned over my desk to see the phone screen, still silently playing the video and she giggled. “He’s hot. I don’t blame you.”
The phone rang and I practically jumped to grab it. “Mr. Lochlan’s office, Lucy speaking.” Hoping I could will the shake out of my voice.
“Lucy, do we have the Margrave file together?” Mr. Alexander Lochlan himself asked from the other side of the phone. Panic filled my chest.
“Yes sir. I’m just now putting the finishing touches on it.” I told him as Ali scrambled to get gather the papers we needed together.
“Fantastic. I expected nothing less.” He told me and moved the phone from his mouth to say something to somebody else. “I’m in the limo on the ride over. We’re ten minutes from the office.” He said and hung up the phone before I could respond.
“Inbound, ten minutes.” I told Ali, helping her get the file together like I should’ve had done twenty minutes ago.
It took us all of that ten minutes to get our shit together and pull the file into a manageable thing we could hand the boss.
“Thank you so much. You saved my ass.” I told her, locking my phone and throwing it in my desk. It was already on silent, so I didn’t need to worry about that.
“No worries. I know it’s been a rough few days. I’m glad you found a little distraction though.” Ali said with a wink in my direction.
“Are you distracted, Miss Oakes?” A rough male voice spoke up, making me jump a little.
“No, Mr. Lochlan. Never.” I said, hearing the crack in my throat as I handed him the Margrave file. “Mr. Miles and Miss Smith are waiting for you in the board room. Mr. Margrave called five minutes ago saying he got held up at the airport and he should be here a few minutes late.”
Alexander Lochlan was a tall man, standing a few inches taller than six foot. He had wide shoulders that made me think had really helped his college football career. But his steel blue-gray eyes pinned me in place and the look on his face said I better not be making a fool of him.
Mr. Lochlan glanced down at my desk and I was fully thankful for throwing my phone in the drawer so it was out of sight. “Keep it that way.” He spoke, moving to turn and head into the board room.
Ali followed him into the room, making sure everyone’s coffee was fresh as they settled into the debriefing before our second biggest investor arrived.
I really owed her lunch. She saved me by the hair of my teeth. I was gonna have to set a timer limit on my phone, where it wouldn’t let me open that stupid video app during work hours. Stupid hot biker man…
By the time Mr. Margrave showed up and I showed him into the conference room, the fact I’d practically forgotten part of my job an hour ago was lost in the wind. I’d make it up to Ali for saving my ass and we’d never even mention it again. Maybe I’d make her some zucchini bread. My neighbor, Stella, had a huge plant growing on her balcony and she had been giving me paper bags full of it for a few weeks now.
That pretty much decided it. I’d stop at the store tomorrow and grab a few things, since I was pretty sure I’d given my only loaf pan to another neighbor in a barter for an old record player. I would probably need two; Stella should get one for her contribution to the project.
Did Mr. Lochlan like zucchini? I couldn’t remember ever ordering it for him after these last few years. Would it be weird to ask? I knew he kept to himself, never really letting us into his personal life. He was a firm believer in work during work hours and your personal life in the off hours.
It was why we could never get a hold of him if there was an ‘after hours emergency’ of any kind. But it worked out pretty well in the reverse too. If he knew you had clocked out for the day, he didn’t want to see you until you were supposed to be back in the office the next business day.
That was one of the many reasons he was one of the best bosses I’d ever had. Sure, he was firm and occasionally harsh, but he was also the CEO of a multi-million dollar company. I’d probably be a little uptight too if I was in his shoes.
But he was also incredibly understanding. Needed time off for a doctor appointment or an emergency? As long as he could tell you weren’t taking advantage of him, he was more than willing to give it.
I’d once had three doctor appointments in a week for my broken arm and a funeral, and he’d given me almost three weeks PTO to heal up until the doc had told me it was safe to lift more than three pounds.
Ali smiled after she’d cleaned up the board room enough that the cleaners would catch the rest that evening. “That went so well. I think we’ve got it in the bag.”
I high-fived her with a smile. “You saved my ass. Thank you so much.” I thanked her for what felt like the fifteenth time.
She waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. We’re a team, Lucy.”
“Do you like zucchini bread?” I asked her, shuffling papers on my desk as Ali clocked out.
“Absolutely not. Don’t even think about it.” Ali said, shaking her head as she gathered her purse. And while she said no, I took it more as a ‘don’t cook for me’ no, not a ‘I don’t like it’ no.
Technically, Ali was my backup help. She only worked ‘part-time’ at thirty hours a week, while I worked ‘full time’ at closer to fifty hours a week usually. They didn’t ask you to put the time clock app on your phone for jobs that were taken lightly.
“Have a great night. I’ll see you Monday!” I smiled, glancing at the clock as she headed for the elevator.
It was almost five. I steeled my nerves.
Even though Mr. Lochlan was a great boss, sometimes he was just downright scary. He was tall, slightly imposing, painfully stoic. Everything that made a multi-millionare CEO perfect for the job.
Despite all that, I swallowed the knot in my throat and moved to knock on his door.
“Come in,” I heard from the other side of the wooden door.
“Mr. Lochlan. It’s nearly five. Is there anything specific you would like on the agenda for tomorrow?” I asked from the doorway.
“Could you step in for a moment, Miss Oakes?” He asked, tapping away at his computer for a moment and my stomach fell into my shoes.
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, moving closer to the desk as his eyes stayed trained on the computer. After a slow moment, he gestured to the chair in front of the desk and I swallowed. Was this about me being distracted earlier? It’d never happen again. I couldn’t risk this job. I had to fix it.
“Miss Oakes, I just wanted to thank you for the attention to detail you gave the Margrave file today. I’m not positive, but I’m fairly certain it helped us secure further investments from Mr. Margrave and his company, and I wanted to personally thank you for the effort you put forward today.” Mr. Lochlan spoke and while it was nice to be thanked… My stomach felt like it was tying my ankles together.
I had done like fifteen percent of the work on that, getting distracted by my stupid phone and the stupid hot biker man. I took a breath. I had to tell the truth. I had to be honest.
“I’ve taken a look at your employee file. It’s been over a year since you’ve gotten a raise, which to be honest, is completely unacceptable as far as I’m concerned, but I do blame myself for not prioritizing the task.” Mr. Lochlan said, turning his attention back to the computer. “I’d like to offer you a ten percent raise. It’d bump you about a dollar and a half an hour.”
My throat went dry. “Mr. Lochlan,” I choked out, wishing I had some water or something so I didn’t sound like I was drowning on dry land. “I am eternally grateful for that offer. That’s so thoughtful of you and I would like nothing more than to say yes. But I can’t rightly do that. I…” Fuck. I was going to be sick.
“I was distracted earlier. I was… preoccupied and Ali did the majority of pulling together the Margrave file last minute to help me out. I take full responsibility for my lack of attention and I will accept any reprimands that come with the admission. But I can’t accept that offer knowing I didn’t pull my weight today.”
Mr. Lochlan watched me for a long moment, considering my words and each beat that passed where he didn’t say anything made me want to cry and beg for forgiveness.
“Well, I’ll be honest with you, Lucy. I’m incredibly surprised to hear this. You are generally very on top of your game.” He told me, leaning back in the office chair as he still watched me. “Is there anything I need to be aware of that has your attention divided from my office?”
Well, Boss Man, it’s mostly that I haven’t been laid in a year and watching thirst traps of hot men on the internet that I’ll never be able to interact with, or even touch, has my bits wound for sound enough that if a medium attractive man touched my arm accidentally in the grocery store, I might cum on the spot.
But I couldn’t say that so I cleared my throat, realizing I did, in fact, need to say something to my boss. “It’s nothing worth mentioning and I will be rectifying the situation immediately.”
His steely eyes on me made me shift in my chair. “Lucy, you are one of the best employees I’d had in my inner circle in the last ten years. Do I need to worry about losing you?”
I shook my head firmly. “Absolutely not, sir. My focus has just been slipping. I’ll fix it and be back tomorrow at a hundred.”
“I don’t ask a hundred of you, Lucy. I just want to make sure this lapse in attention isn’t work related; something I can fix. If you need financial help, I’m more than willing to give you the stated raise. If you need someone to talk to, I have a therapist that I can pass you the number to.” Mr. Lochlan spoke and my heart warmed at the gesture.
“No, no. It’s nothing like that. I really am sorry about dropping the ball. But if there’s room in the budget for a raise somewhere, Ali has been working her toes off in her thirty-hours a week.” I told him honestly.
He nodded. “I accept the apology. And I will consider the raise for Miss Larsen.” He told me, sitting up in his chair again. “And here’s the list of things I’d like added to the agenda for tomorrow.” He handed me a sticky note and I did my best not to touch him as I took the farthest corner from the one he held.
“Yes sir. I’ll add it now. Are you staying late tonight? I’ll put in order in for dinner for you.” I told him.
He nodded. “I am leaving early tomorrow, so staying a little bit late tonight. Could you order in from House of Pearl?”
“Absolutely. Lo mein or kung pao this evening?” I asked, moving to the doorway.
“Lo mein. Thank you, Lucy.” He said, turning back to his computer as I pulled the door closed.
I sat at my desk, pulling up the spreadsheet I kept with all of Mr. Lochlan’s food preferences and the restaurants they came from. I propped the phone on my shoulder as I dialed out from the building as I found the line I made for House of Pearl.
“Hey Nancy, it’s Lucy. Yeah, with Mr. Lochlan’s office. Good, thanks. How’s today?” I said into the phone with a smile, as I marked today’s date under the tab I’d made titled ‘last order date’.
“Great, I love to hear it. Mr. Lochlan is working late tonight. Can I get an order of the lo mein with the 5-spice pork? Yeah, and then an order of the chicken chop suey with noodles.” I said into the speaker.
“You know me so well.” I smiled. “Yeah, just run the card on file and deliver it to the office. I’ll tip the delivery boy myself when he gets here.”
“Perfect, thanks Nancy. Have a good night.” I said, hanging up the phone.
“You seem like you’re on awful good terms with Miss Lo.” Bossman said, startling me.
“Her daughter is my age. I think she misses her being around.” I shrugged, typing into my spreadsheet to keep it updated and keep my eyes on something besides him.
“I don’t eat chop suey.” He commented, leaning on the door frame when I got brave enough to look up at him.
“But I royally dropped the ball today and cost myself a raise over it. I told you I was gonna fix it immediately. So I will stay late with you and catch up on some paperwork, that way I’m here if you need me for anything.” I told him honestly.
“For the record, Lucy,” He spoke as he stood up from the doorway. “You never cost yourself the raise.” He told me, before sliding back into his office and letting the door silently click behind him.
I kicked my shoes off as soon as I got the door to my apartment closed and locked. I had barely tossed my keys in the dish by the door and hung up my jacket before my phone rang. I sighed. It was almost nine. If Mr. Lochlan really needed me to come back, I would, but I also might cry.
Instead of Mr. Lochlan’s name popping up, it was my brother’s.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked, wondering why the late phone call was warranted.
A chuckle came from the other side of the phone. “Does something have to be wrong to call my favorite sister?” He asked.
I leaned back against the door, feeling the wear of the day seep into my bones. “Usually, yes, since I’m your only sister.”
“I just wanted to call and check in on you.” He spoke, but I could hear something sitting in his tone under the words.
“I’m fine, Ben. I just got home. Long day today.” I told him, letting out a yawn as I blinked back watery eyes.
“Oh, I gotcha. I just wanted to call… And thank you.” He told me.
I opened my mouth to ask what for when I spotted the calendar on the wall. It was the tenth. Right. Of course. His monthly check in ‘thank you’ call. I knew that.
“Right, yeah. For sure.” I told him with a nod. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah. I’m getting the hang of everything. They’ve got me working on aluminum welding.” He told me, taking off on a rampage about what he was learning and how he was going to turn the practice into work.
“I’m glad it’s sticking. After your grades in high school, I was a little worried.” I smiled through the little jab.
Ben chuckled from the other side of the phone. “No, it’s all sticking. Mr. Reed says I’m in the top five students this year, maybe top ten he’s ever taught.”
“I love that. I’m really glad.” I told him, despite the fact I could feel sleep trying to creep up my body.
“Well, I’ll let you go. I just wanted to say thank you again.” He told me and I could hear a little nervousness in his voice.
“Of course, bud. It’s good to talk to you. Don’t be a stranger, alright?” I smiled, despite the fact I knew I wouldn’t hear from him again until next month.
“Night sis.” He told me and the line went dead.
I loved that child, but he was gonna be the death of me.
