When Ian Gillespie arrived at his office, his team of software developers had already gathered. Each morning they had a stand-up meeting meant to go over objectives. In five or ten minutes, he learned where every project stood and what each of his staff would work on that day. Stand-ups were standard in the industry, but he introduced the practice to his department when he was lured over to the publisher two years before.

Raj teased. "The boss is late."

"Don't start. A cab splashed muck on me. I had to go home and change."

Ellen, the middle-aged mom of the group, frowned. "It's a good thing you're not wearing your brace anymore. How's your knee feeling?"

"Okay."

Ian wasn't about to admit that it ached by the end of the day, and physical therapy made it feel worse. It was all necessary if he wanted to go back to climbing again. He tore his ACL at the rock gym. After surgery, he worked from home for a couple weeks until he was ready to Uber back and forth to work. He had only just started taking the T again.

The splash had caught him off guard. He was too busy texting his sister. She was always nagging him over something. The latest was to let her crash at his place on her next trip to Boston. She was his half sister, but they were only three years apart, so he hardly remembered life without her. He definitely didn't remember his parents together, because they never were. He was the result of a one-night stand. Luckily, they had met through mutual friends because his father was a great part-time dad. If forced to choose Ian would have to admit he was closer to his father than his mother. The reasons were an essay question, but he loved them both.

He smiled as he thought of the words exchanged following the murky splash. Wet and dirty. The sexy blonde was probably both. It wasn't unusual to see her in the morning. She looked familiar but he couldn't place her. She could work for the publishing company and he wouldn't know. The IT department was on the lower level and his staff entered through the parking garage. They joked when they had to venture above ground. Only the help desk crew couldn't be bottom dwellers because they had to fix actual hardware.

It was his overactive imagination suggesting the petite blonde worked nearby because she took the red line and he took the green line to Government Center and transferred to the orange for State Street. Hobbling to his office he dropped into his chair and stretched out his leg. He called an Uber after he changed instead of heading to the T in the rain again. The thing about being a bottom dweller was there could be a hurricane and they wouldn't know it because there were no windows.

His gut told him it was past noon, when he stopped and pulled out his sandwich. Before his injury he occasionally ventured to the company cafeteria, but he had been packing lunch since his reduced mobility. He had already been using a grocery delivery service because shopping in the city was a hassle and he never learned to drive. His friends gave him a hard time, but he grew up in Manhattan with his mom and Boston with his dad. Ian had lived in Boston since he started college.

He bit into his turkey sandwich when Henry appeared at his door. "Hey, how's the knee?"

"It's there."

"How long before you're back to the gym."

Ian sighed. "Forever. Damn PT exercises aren't the same. I'm going to get soft." Climbing was a full-body workout that never got boring.

They had met at the rock gym. When Ian saw an opening in the promotions department, he recommended Henry to Oliver Sumner. What good were connections if he didn't use them? His mother and her husband were close to the Sumner family. He considered Oliver a friend, although they didn't socialize often.

Henry's frown forced Ian to ask what was bothering him. "My coworker."

"What did she do now?" He rolled his eyes.

Henry was more dramatic than his sister. For some reason, he had something against a woman in his department. One day he complained she joked too much. Ian's philosophy was that too much time was spent working so he might as well have fun doing it.

"Don't tell me she had her friend, from which department, visit." Ian hoped the irony would hit Henry on the head.

"Not yet. She was late. Then she was barefoot."

"This is IT. Jeans are dressing up. Ellen wears flip-flops, but I don't care because she can debug any program."

"She has connections. She probably wasn't qualified for her job."

Ian almost choked. "Connections. You sound like she's in the mob. No one has more connections than me, and I used my connections to get you an interview. Lighten up, I know you came over in hope of advancement, but you'll get further by being a team player."

"So I ignore she was late and got the new project?"

"She's a professional. Is she late often?"

"No, but..."

"Then she must have had a reason. I was late because a damn taxi splashed me."

Henry changed the subject. "When can I meet your sister?"

"You don't want to meet Olivia. She's high maintenance plus she lives in New York."

"But she is..."

Ian covered his ears. "I don't want to hear what you think of my baby sister."

Henry looked at his watch. "I have to get back."

"Just relax and do your work. Ken and Steve will notice."

"Steve and Ken. I was introduced to Stephen and Kenneth."

Ian threw up his arms. "What can I say? I spend Christmas Eve with them." On Christmas Day, he celebrated with his dad's family.

"I'm leaving." Henry left for the world with windows.

Ian remembered the Christmases when he was a kid. At first, he was too young to go to Boston. Life with his mother's first husband was awful. He didn't like his wife's bastard. Ian remembered the day he asked his dad what a bastard was. Andrew Gillespie called Ian's mother, Anita. Ian didn't know what he said, but he felt his anger. His mother's marriage ended shortly after.

Ian was twelve when his mother went to work for Kurt Dwyer. Everything changed after that. Life got a lot better. Ian considered his new stepfather a friend, but unlike his sister, he had a father. Olivia's father had some trouble with the Security Exchange Commission. Family lure had him in the Caymans living the life on money he earned from insider trading.

After work, Ian ubered to the physical therapy clinic on Brookline Avenue. His therapist, Matt greeted him and asked how his knee felt.

"Still get's achy if I do too much."

He nodded. "Warm up on the bike. Take it slow. If it hurts too much, stop."

While he did slow rotations on the stationary bike, Matt finished with another patient. Ian's mind wandered. He thought of his morning. What would she have done, if he had reached up and brushed the mud off her cheek? He was usually content between relationships. Growing up with a mother in an awful marriage and a single father, he didn't have the best relationship role models. Did he want a serious relationship? It would be nice to have someone other than his overweight cat, Felix to come home to. They were pretty pathetic as bachelors went.

As soon as he arrived home Felix met him and meowed until he served up the specialized diet food. Ian adopted him from a shelter which came to work one day. Having been a stray he would eat every morsel given to him. So he was on portion control twice a day. If Ian went away overnight, his neighbor came in and fed him.

Occasionally, Mrs. Bernstein fed Ian too. If she made soup or stew, she packaged some up for him. He wasn't too proud to accept a decent meal. His culinary skills were mediocre. He didn't starve but his menus were far from exciting.

Instead of feeding himself, he put his leg up with an ice pack. It was a mistake to go back to the subway. His phone rang as he was scrolling through the news.

"Hi, mom."

"How's your knee?"

"Okay. I had therapy today."

"Keep doing your exercises."

He rolled his eyes. "I know. What's new with you?"

"Nothing. Busy like always. Did Olivia tell you she's coming to Boston?"

"She texted me this morning. I don't know why she likes my sofa." He lived in a small one bedroom. Rent on Beacon Hill was pricey, but it was worth the convenience to be in the city. He was close to his father's condo in Back Bay.

"Are you eating?"

He chuckled. "Mom, I'm thirty-three. I've been feeding myself for years."

"I know. Sweetheart, I miss you, but I'll see you when we come for the party."

Thankfully whenever his mother and her husband visited they stayed at Aunt Lois's house in Wellesley. Lois Steele was not Ian's real aunt, but Kurt's sister.

"Let me know, so I can clear my calendar."

"Are you dating someone?"

"No. Mom." He answered the same. His calendar was always clear unless he saw his dad, especially with his knee.

"We'll have dinner."

"I'd like that." It wasn't a lie.

His knee felt cold from the ice. "Mom, I have to eat dinner."

"Me too. I love you."

"Love you too."

He opened his fridge. It looked empty. He had two eggs. It took no time to scramble them with two slices of toast. He definitely lied about eating well.

We meet Ian. Thanks for voting ⭐️