Alicia

My talk with Cameron bolstered my confidence, but it was still daunting heading back to CyberSecure Monday morning for my official first day as their consultant. The biggest unknown of course was Colin. I didn't know if I was going to get vengeful and angry or cold and dismissive. Neither one sounded too appealing.

I was standing in front of the office building trying to work up the courage to walk in. I've never been much of a scaredy cat, usually I tackle challenges head on, but it was different with Colin. He was one person who had actually seen the worst version of me. When I moved to Toronto it was like I had been handed a clean slate. To everyone else, I was the church-going goody two-shoes. Colin, on the other hand, saw me as the complete opposite. I was going to have to change that.

I said a small prayer, remembering that I was not alone in this. I may have messed up with making such a rash decision but God can still use it for His glory. Have faith.

I stepped onto the floor promptly at 9am. It appeared that all the other employees had already arrived and were hard at work. I hadn't thought to ask Colin when their work day started. Even though I technically wasn't an employee of CyberSecure, I wanted to appear as though I was. Things would run a lot smoother for me in the long run.

I strutted over to the only person I knew in the building besides Colin. "You must be getting tired of seeing me Sandy," I said with a grin.

She responded with a small laugh when she noticed it's me. "Not at all Alicia. Mr. Evans asked me to set up a space for you." Rising from her desk she motioned for me to follow.

"I should warn you," Sandy continued as we made our way to the far side of the floor, "With the marketing department being brought over, we ran out of cubicles. So we had to get, uh, creative."

I raised an eyebrow at her use of the word "creative". Sandy led me to a corner where a row of metal filing cabinets sat. At first I'm confused as I didn't see a desk. But then Sandy went behind the cabinets and when I followed, I saw what she meant by creative.

The cabinets made a sort of dividing wall, creating an enclosed area to fit a small chair and desk. The desk looked strong and sturdy but also ancient. It was probably made of oak and I wouldn't be surprised if it weighed 100 pounds. The chair matched, made with the same material. I could already feel the soreness that is going to come from sitting in it for hours a day.

There were no extra monitors, not even a mouse. Apparently Colin was not going to be aiding me in any fashion.

"It's...cozy," I said, trying to sound positive.

"At least it's only temporary," Sandy said with an open-handed shrug.

My eyes roamed around the dark space. "A little more light might be nice."

"Hmm," Sandy agreed, nodding. "I'll find you a lamp. It might not be from this decade though."

"Then it should fit right in."

Sandy laughed and nodded towards the exit. "Come on, I'll give you a tour of the rest of the office."

I left my bag on the vintage desk and joined Sandy as she led me around the rest of the floor. She showed me where the washrooms were and a photocopier room that doubles as a lunch room. The floor itself was not very big, so it was easy to remember where everything was.

Seeing that Sandy was currently my only ally, I was curious as to the type of boss Colin was to his own employees. Was he only harsh and unfeeling towards me? Or was he like that to everyone?

"So how long have you been working here Sandy?" I asked.

"I'm only coming up to my third year. My youngest had started school and I just wanted something simple that gave me flexibility to be there for my kids when they needed me."

"That's nice," I said. "Was it hard when CyberSecure suddenly came in? It must have been a bit of a shock."

"At first," Sandy nodded. "Only because we weren't sure if we were going to keep our jobs or not. We all breathed a little easier when we knew Mr. Evans wasn't going to replace us." Sandy leaned in a little closer, making me do so as well. "Between you and me," she whispered, "Tech Security wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. Mr. Kinesman wasn't exactly known for his business sense."

"Ah," I said in understanding. We resumed walking back toward my work area. "Is Mr. Evans a nice change then? I mean as a boss?"

Sandy hesitated a moment before answering. "In some ways. He's definitely more professional and very succinct in his orders. But..."

"But?" I pressed.

"It's nothing really, it's just that he's very closed off. I still call him Mr. Evans even though, gosh, he must be at least ten years my junior. But he's never asked me to call him Colin."

"I did wonder about that."

Sandy waved her hand dismissively. "Anyways, I'm happy to come in, do my job and go home to my family."

"I understand," I said, giving an encouraging smile. "Thanks for the tour, I hope I didn't take up too much of your time."

"Not a problem, I'm sure everyone will come around at some point to introduce themselves. If you need anything, just ask."

"Thanks Sandy, I appreciate it." With a small wave she returned to her desk, leaving me with mine. Expelling a breath of air, I went into my office "space" and tried to make the best of it. There was really only enough space for my laptop and a mouse. I was used to my multi-screen set up back at my own office. Having to work from only one screen was definitely going to hamper my productivity. Well, at least I know now that Colin's cold shoulder didn't only extend to me.

After setting up my desk, which took a whole five minutes, I booted up my laptop to review my first steps for the implementation stage. Until Colin gave me access to their network, there was very little I could do.

Maybe I should say if Colin gave me access. He had already made it very clear that he didn't trust me. And judging by the office he gave me, he expected me to do my job with just the bare bones. I may need to talk with him about that.

"Knock, knock."

I swiveled my head towards the voice and saw a guy, probably a little older than me, standing in my entryway.

"I heard we had a new 'employee'," the man said using air quotes. "I thought it best to come introduce myself. I'm Trevor, I'm part of the programming team."

I rotated my chair with a loud creak to face Trevor. "Hi Trevor, I'm Alicia."

Trevor fully stepped into the space and leaned himself against the edge of my desk. My bubble suddenly felt a whole lot smaller. He crossed his arms over his chest, causing his blue button-down to strain against the motion. It was obvious Trevor worked out. His arms bulged out of the short sleeves, which made me think it was why he chose the pose. But instead of coming across as attractive, it was imposing. I shrank back slightly in my chair, attempting to put more space between us.

"You're in marketing right?" Trevor said, flashing a smile of super white teeth. They seemed especially bright against the dark tan of his skin.

"That's right," I replied. "And I should really get back to it. Being my first day I have a lot to learn and get familiar with before I can even start any actual work."

"I can help you with that," he said grinning.

I clicked my mouth shut before I said something out of turn. What was it with men and not taking a hint? "That's very kind of you but seeing as you're in programming, I should probably connect with the marketing team."

Something flashed across Trevor's eyes at my words. Frustration? This might be someone who was not used to facing rejection. As he opened his mouth to speak, another voice interrupted him.

"Getting well acquainted are we?"

+++

Colin

I had tried to stay in my office for as long as possible when I saw that Alicia had arrived. Her and Sandy walked off together like they were already old friends.

I'll admit, I did feel a tiny prick of remorse when I thought about what Alicia would think when she saw her assigned work space. Maybe I didn't need to make it quite so solitary, but it was still a step up from the broom closet.

I got absolutely zero work done. My eyes kept constantly roaming the floor, seeking out Alicia, hoping to catch a glimpse as Mrs. Lee showed her around. I was going to have to start lowering my blinds or I would never get anything done.

When Mrs. Lee had returned to her desk alone, I must have sat still for a whole five minutes before getting up and heading over to see Alicia. I tell myself it's because I needed to keep an eye on her. Not that I wanted to see her.

As I approached her corner, I could already hear voices on the other side of the cabinets. Apparently I'm wasn't the only one eager to greet our new consultant.

As the voices became more clear, I could identify one of them as Trevor Malone. Trevor, I should have known. Even in my short time here, it became apparent that Trevor was a notorious flirt. He had seemed harmless enough, just eliciting a giggle here and there from some of the girls. It was obvious he enjoyed the attention but nothing I felt that required intervention.

And of course with a looker like Alicia, Trevor was like a fly to honey. I was curious though, would Alicia want a fly like that buzzing around? Trevor seemed like her type, suave and handsome. The thought irked me and I hated that it irked me.

I heard Alicia say something about needing to get back to work. Was that her way of brushing him off?

"I can help you with that."

If it was, Trevor obviously wasn't getting the message. It may be none of my business to interfere in the personal lives of my workers but when they're in my office, they can deal with personal stuff outside of working hours.

Alicia once again responded in the negative and I took that as my cue to step in. Stepping around the filing cabinets I put on the big bad boss facade. "Getting well acquainted are we?"

Both heads snapped in my direction. Trevor is pressed against Alicia's desk to the point that he's almost sitting on it, while Alicia is pushed back as far as possible in her chair.

"Colin," Trevor said in an easy manner, "I was just getting our new consultant settled in."

"I see that," I said flatly. "But I also recall you were supposed to have a coding project in to me by Friday. Let's finish our assigned work before playing greeter shall we?"

A hard glint formed in Trevor's eyes. I could tell he didn't appreciate the set down, especially in front of Alicia. It was times like these that I was glad that I was the boss. I'm sure Trevor would have loved nothing more than to retaliate. But I was sure he loved getting paid more.

"I'll get right on that then, sir." His expression was stoney as he stood back up. Shooting a quick wink back at Alicia he said, "I'll see you around."

I stepped sideways so his giant shoulders could get past me through the small opening. I'm positive the slight bump against me as he passed by was intentional but I chose to let it go.

With Trevor finally gone, Alicia slumped down in her chair. "Thank you," she mouthed.

The corner of my mouth twitched as I fought back a smile. I realized though there may be other reasons that Alicia might not welcome Trevor's advances. "Does Trevor need to worry about a jealous boyfriend coming after him?" I asked the question without thinking but I couldn't help but wonder.

Alicia gave an awkward laugh. "No, but even if I did, I can handle Trevor just fine on my own."

I didn't know what I found more surprising, her being single or the effortless way she shrugged off the encounter. Then again, Alicia was probably used to men throwing themselves at her feet. "He's harmless, he just likes to have his ego boosted every once in a while."

"Well it's a good thing you knocked him down a couple of pegs then," Alicia said with a smirk.

This time I do crack a smile. Clearing my throat I switched back into business mode. "I came to introduce you to the marketing team. They'll get you up to date on our current status and then you can fill them in on how you're going to move it forward."

Alicia gave a curt nod. "Let's do it," she said as she rose from her chair. In the enclosed space, her body came precariously close to my personal space. The smell of mint permeated my nostrils. It was strangely refreshing. I almost leaned in to take another whiff to try and find out if it was her shampoo or something else.

Thankfully I came back to my senses and stepped back before Alicia noticed any of my strange behavior. She fell into step beside me as I led her to the other side.

"I'll need access to the network as well as passwords to any existing social media sites." Alicia says.

"There aren't any social media sites," I replied. "And why would you need access to the network for marketing?"

Alicia stopped suddenly and stared at me. "You have none?" she asked aghast. "I couldn't find you on Facebook or Twitter but I figured you had something."

"Look, CyberSecure has done just fine without them," I stated matter of factly. "You're only here because you gave me a deal I couldn't turn down."

"Obviously I'm going to have my work cut out for me," she muttered as she continued walking. "And I need full access so I can immerse myself in the culture that is CyberSecure. Plus, I'll need all the information I can get to display current and accurate content on the sites."

She had a point but there was still the underlying trust issue that I hadn't overcome. "For now, why don't you get everything from Casey and Amir."

"Who?"

I came to a stop in front of two cubicles that sat back to back to one another. "Alicia, this is Casey and Amir. They currently make up our marketing department."

Both stop what they are doing on their computers and greet Alicia.

"Hey," Casey said with a wave.

Amir stood up and went to shake Alicia's hand. "It's nice to meet you Alicia."

"Likewise," she responded with a warm smile.

"I'll let you guys get Alicia caught up on where we're at. Then we can go from there."

Casey and Amir nodded in understanding. "I'll let you guys get to it then. Feel free to use the boardroom when it's not in use." And with that, I take my leave to get back to my office to do some major catch up.

"Colin!"

I paused as Alicia caught up with me.

"Do you mind if I have a word?" she asked.

"What's up?"

"I mean privately."

My interest was piqued so I went into the boardroom where no one would be able to hear us. "What's this all about?" I asked, slightly wary.

Alicia bashfully ducked her head. "I need to clear the air between us. I just wanted you to know that despite everything that has happened, I will provide my best work for CyberSecure. I would never want you to be in doubt of my intentions."

I saw what she was trying to do, extending an olive branch so to speak. Yet I couldn't let go of the history between us. "You weren't the one who got hurt Alicia," I said quietly.

"And you weren't the only one," Alicia countered. "I was hurt too that night by my actions. And it forever changed me."

I didn't know what she was looking to gain from me. Pity? Forgiveness? I couldn't give her either but one thing I could was civility. My mom's words about getting to know her better trickled in and I couldn't deny that I did want to get to know this Alicia better.. "We won't ever be friends, Alicia," I said. "But we don't have to be enemies either."

"How about we settle on co-workers who don't hate each other," she said, sticking out her hand towards me.

I let out a soft snicker than take her hand to shake it. "Co-workers will be just fine."