“Me?” she asked with a screech.
I nodded with a laugh. “Yes, you. Would you not like to meet him? I mean, properly?”
Julie blushed a little and bit her lip. “I don’t know. I’m a little shy.”
Suddenly a several knocks on the window resounded, making both Julie and I jump. The two girls outside started laughing, then made their way towards the door.
“I take it they are your friends?” She nodded. “Look, you have my card. Think about it. If you decide you would like to meet him, just give me a call.”
Grabbing my bag, I eased myself out of the seat just as the two girls arrived. “Hello,” I said with a smile.
“Hiya,” they both said, looking towards Julie with a frown.
“I was just off. It was nice to meet you, Julie. Have a great day, ladies.”
They all waved goodbye, and as I was leaving, I heard one of the girls ask who I was. I just smiled. It was up to Julie to make up what she wanted on that front.
Walking briskly back to the office, my head held high, I went back to my desk with a beaming smile. Louisa was right there, waiting for me, and she didn’t look too happy.
“You’re fifteen minutes late and the boss wants to see you.”
I checked my watch and it was only then I realised just what the time was.
Shit, there goes my happy smile. “Does he want to see me because I’m late?”
Louisa gritted her teeth and clasped a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Tyler.”
Louisa didn’t like slackers, but I knew she was genuinely sorry for the bollocking I was about to receive. And I knew that’s exactly what it was going to be.
Taking the walk of shame, I thanked Louisa and timidly knocked on Andrew Walker’s door.
“Come in!” he boomed.
Closing my eyes momentarily, I breathed in a lungful of air before opening the door. Mr. Walker was sitting there, looking rather stern underneath all his facial hair.
“Sit down, please, Miss O’Shea.” I did as I was told and braced myself.
“You do realise what time it is, don’t you?”
I nodded. “Yes, sorry. I was with my parents having lunch, and we—”
“I don’t care if you’re having lunch with the fucking queen of England. Your hour for lunch is just that. No taking five minutes here and five minutes there, with a two hour lunch in between. You’re here to work and you will do just that. It wasn’t that long ago that you were off with the flu. And then there was that stomach bug a few weeks ago. Not only that, you’re off on leave for the next few days. It’s got to stop. Just because I give you your own column now doesn’t mean you can come and go when you see fit.”
I nodded. I felt guilty about taking that week off because I wasn’t really ill. However, I was really ill about four weeks back. That was actually a genuine couple of days off work. The next few days was simply so I could spend time with Jeremy and settle him in at home.
“You can go back to work, but I don’t want to hear about you being late again. Do you hear me?”
Clasping my now sweaty hands together, I nodded. “Yes. I’m very sorry. This won’t happen again.”
Mr. Walker sighed and sat back in his chair. “Good. Now, if you have any issues outside of work in the future, I suggest you come to me first. Can you do that?”
I nodded. “Of course. Certainly.”
Seeing the calm radiating over him, I knew he was feeling more in control of his anger now. “You’re a great worker, Tyler. Let’s keep it that way.”
Nodding again, I got up. “Thank you,” I said as I opened the door. “And I’m very sorry for being late.”
Andrew Walker nodded and I swiftly walked out the door. Shit, that was intense. I looked towards Louisa and Ian, and they both gave me a sympathetic smile. At least I still had my friends. I knew they would support me. Everyone knew what a hard-ass Andrew Walker really was, but I never got to see it for myself…until now.
I don’t think I want to do that again.
Scurrying back to my desk, I went straight to work getting the column ready and sorting out all the necessaries for when I’m off. I would still need to work on it, but at least I could do it from home and spend as much time with Jeremy as I could. A couple of hours at the hospital never seemed to be enough.
Just as I was closing everything up on my desk and getting ready to visit Jeremy, my phone chimed alerting me to a text message. When I looked down, I saw it was a number I didn’t recognise. I opened it and, to my surprise, it was Julie.
If the offer still stands, I would like to meet him. Let me know when and I’ll see if I can make it.