Unfurling

Introducing Paige

Paige lay there in bed staring at the ceiling of her one-bedroom apartment waiting for her alarm to sound. She can hear the other tenants around her waking up with their murmured conversations and front doors closing as they head out. Sleeping hadn’t come easy last night as she is dreading the calls she will need to conduct today. Her alarm sounds and reluctantly she grabs her phone turning the alarm off instead of selecting snooze.

Guess I better get up and hit the gym so I can get to work, Paige thinks. I have a lot that needs done.

Blowing out pent up frustration in a huff of air, she gets out of bed. She throws workout clothes on, tugs on socks and sneakers. Pulling her long chestnut hair into a ponytail then she secures it with a small black band. Paige grabs her cell phone and keys, then locks the door.

Pausing momentarily, she wonders if she should grab a light coat because it is cold out according to her weather app. Deciding the gym isn’t that far, she jogs down the stairs then steps outside her apartment building. Breathing in the wood smoke from the nearby house chimneys and feeling the crisp air, she jogs down the path towards the gym wishing she’d pulled on a fleece. Reaching the gym, she swipes her badge and heads to the treadmill thankful that no one is using it.

Stepping on, she knows she’ll need to work up a good sweat to rid herself of the stress. She also needs to plot out her communications plan as a result of the call received last night. Her best thinking happens during a workout and occasionally, in the shower.

Starting with a slow jog Paige thinks about the call last night as she was leaving the office building. Her IT partners called to tell her that the system changes needed for a roll out of a new product weren’t ready and based on the testing, they were going to need at least another month. Raising her voice in the street on the way to the parking garage, she shared the fire they were all going to be in with this delay. Ultimately, she was the one having to relay this delay in the roll out to the executives since she is the project owner.

This isn’t going to help move me up the ladder, she thinks. I need to lay out the issues found and then the fixes being worked on, but I really need to know if there’s a work around.

Picking up her pace, she tries to run the anger and stress off. She is dreading the conversations as she is concerned that the  executives will move the project to someone else. This project is hot though because the revenue they expect from this new product is significant. Paige is afraid her track record will be forgotten because of this one phone call. Keeping her pace on the treadmill, she starts thinking about the presentation she’ll need to pull together as soon as she’s in the office.

She can feel her t-shirt sticking to her body as the sweat runs down her back and chest. Checking the treadmill display, she sees that she’s almost at her two-mile mark and starts slowing down. Completing her run, she steps off the treadmill breathing heavily and walks towards the weights. Selecting some light dumbbells, she completes her repetitions for arms and abs. Feeling better about the day ahead, she walks out of the gym and back to her apartment.

Unlocking her apartment door and stepping in, she smiles smelling the brewing coffee. She showers and thinks about what to wear.

Paige knows she needs a feel-good outfit as the day ahead is going to take its toll. Deciding on a royal blue collarless blazer, matching skinny pants, and a zebra pattern pleated blouse she felt energized. She added her black leather t-strap pumps and left her hair down to complete the look. Checking the mirror, she smiles as the look matches how she feels, confident and sure.

She grabs her briefcase and walks back down the hallway to the great room which houses the kitchen and living room. As she walks, she presses the remote start on her key chain, so the car is warm when she gets in. Laying her briefcase on the counter, she grabs a travel mug and pours coffee into the mug as well as turning the coffee pot off. Rooting around in the cabinet for an instant oatmeal cup, she finds one and places it in her briefcase. Her black wool stadium length coat is on the coat rack by the door so after she shrugs into it, she picks up her briefcase to head into the office.

Paige reaches the warm car and sinks into the white leather seats that match the exterior. This car was a treat and well deserved in her opinion. It was a great way to celebrate turning thirty-five and finally paying off her student loans. She rubs her hand across the dash and then places the car in gear. Next stop is the office and her day is going to be grueling. Well, at least she has a job and one that paid well. She is very grateful for that.

Wishing & Watching Again

He wishes the coffee would brew faster. It is almost eight and she will be heading into the office building. He doesn’t want to miss the view and that easy saunter of hers. He can’t help wondering if she’d have her hair down or up. In his mind, this is a good way to start the day. Having overslept this morning though, he is behind in his usual routine on his return to work day.

Night shifts are tough and he wonders why he doesn’t just switch to day shift. Then he remembers the shift differential. A very big reason he remains on night shift along with the fact that if he works during the days, he doesn’t get to see her. It is hard on one’s body to work three or four nights then get a couple of days off. On those days off, you’re up during the day and then have to be sure you sleep the day you head back to work just so you can function.

The coffee is finally done. He pours a cup and walks over to the window in only his pajama bottoms. He sees that the maintenance man for the building is outside for his hourly smoke break. Shaking his head he wonders just how clean the office building is since the man seems to spend more time outside the building smoking. Identifying the maintenance workers by their uniforms or equipment, he sees other workers for other companies out in front of their buildings but not with the frequency as this particular individual.

As he continues to watch the sidewalk for her, he sees the two from her building that obviously have something going on outside of work. He smirks watching them because he knows they think no one has any idea what they are doing. For him, it’s the subtleties. The woman touching the man’s upper arm and the hand lingers. How the man will graze the woman’s hand with his as he opens the doors for her. He’s also seen them kissing inside of the parking garage. He knows the woman has a significant other because he’s seen the guy waiting for her outside of work on more than one occasion.

Shaking his head, his eyes keep going back to the parking garage. That’s when he sees it. Her little white car is already parked in the parking garage. It’s on a low floor which is why he missed seeing it earlier. Normally because of the time she arrives, she has to park on one of the upper floors.

Darn it! I wonder when she got here, he thinks angrily, smacking the sill. She must have been in really early and I bet it had to do with the phone call she received on her way out last night.

He struggles to get his emotions under control as now he has to wait until tomorrow morning to see her. He is usually getting ready and heading out the door on his day to work before she even leaves the office. Maybe since she came in early, she’ll leave early. Deep down inside, he knows he is fooling himself. She never puts in just an eight hour day. She always works a minimum of ten hours and oftentimes, longer. He knows with these hours, she probably has an agenda for advancing which is admirable in his mind.

Heading back to the kitchen, he refills the coffee cup with his decaffeinated coffee. He has to drink that on his work days so he can go back to sleep. Deciding he’ll scramble some eggs, he starts pulling out the ingredients and tools he needs to complete the task. He scrambles his eggs and eats two slices of whole wheat toast knowing that this will help him sleep longer. After hand washing everything, he lets the dishes air dry, and heads back towards the bedroom.

He has to walk through the living room to get to his bedroom and once there, flops on the bed then sets his alarm so he’s up in time to get ready for work. After setting the alarm, he crosses his hands beneath his head and remembers her leaving the office last night. Her long chestnut hair had been swaying side to side as she walked down the sidewalk. The frustration visible on her face a few minutes after she’d answered that phone call. Even frustrated, she is beautiful. After replaying every detail in his mind for several minutes, he punches his pillow a few times and rolls to his side.