A Charitable Scandal

The Unexpected Challenge

I braced myself for an awkward morning, uncertain whether I'd just burst into an apology the moment I saw Alec or if, instead, I'd bury myself so deep in work that no one could find me. Fortunately, the moment Ryan saw me exit my office, the team sunk their claws into me. I spent the whole morning reviewing the previous day's work and delegating tasks for the day ahead. I didn't have a moment to even see Alec, much less talk to him.

Once lunch rolled around, I was mercifully given a break and I intended to make use of every second of that break gorging myself on a hearty lunch. This time I brought myself a ham sandwich that I'd need to unhinge my jaw to eat, a salad bursting with dried fruits and nuts, and, just for good measure, I also brought a couple hard boiled eggs to snack on. I had protein for miles.

At that point, however, I found my office a rather unwelcoming place when it came to mealtime, and since Emi was hard at work at her desk, I figured it was best to head back out into the Pit to rejoin my fellow teammates for lunch.

"Mind if I sit down?"

Ryan, Dennis, and Cynthia, all parents, were holding a rather mild conversation about pink eye and bed wetting, when I approached the small circle of sofas we had been using earlier to hold our meeting. They gave me a quick glance and a little nod before returning to their discussion on play date etiquette. As for the more youthful, child-free members of our team, Jean and Theo, they welcomed me with wide smiles, eager to hear about something other than daycare drama.

"We were so busy discussing our tasks, you never got around to telling us about your interview. How's that going?" asked Jean, a cheerful woman about two years younger than myself and well known around the office for her less than graceful nature. "I hear you and Mr. Radcliffe have been working nonstop."

I swallowed hard and gave a sideways glance to where Cynthia sat listening to Ryan with one ear and to Jean with the other.

"Well, I mean I wouldn't say nonstop," I said, with an uncomfortable laugh before putting my salad bowl on to the coffee table.

"Really?" asked Jean with a slight gape to her mouth. "It seemed like you guys were going pretty hard at it yesterday. I wanted to talk to you about that ticket raffle I mentioned this morning, but I didn't want to interrupt you guys while you were working. Unfortunately, the entire time I was here, neither of you came out of your office. You were still going at it by the time I left around five."

She said it all with a sweet, innocent smile, but Jean wasn't just masterful at spilling coffee all over the kitchenette. She could also be a bit of a klutz with her words too and I felt certain I saw Cynthia's ears perk upon Jean's words.

"Well, it's really just nothing..." I tried to look into her eyes as I laughed it off, but I kept redirecting my gaze to my salad as I stabbed it repeatedly with my fork. And I knew there was nothing. Nothing happened, nothing was even close to happening. Yet, I couldn't help recalling Alec's awkwardness and how quickly he left the moment I suggested we relocate ourselves to a more informal setting... "It was just nothing, just work..."

"Look, Lex, it's okay," said Theo with an impish smile as he spread out his hands and leaned back into the plush leather couch. "None of us here will judge you so why not just tell us the truth?"

"T-truth?" I asked, my eyes darting around our little corner of the Pit, only to find that the other three members of our team had apparently ended their conversation and were now listening to ours with an intent gaze.

"Yeah," said the youngest member of the group as he swung himself forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "You're afraid of Mariska. I mean anyone who's watched her show even once knows she's brutal to anyone over the age of eighteen. Even with the topic of discussion being a charity, she'll still find a way to run you into the ground."