Chapter 7

Cleo dragged me inside and gave me her phone. I studied it carefully and it was a text message from Jack. He was one of the two guys from the night before who brought us drinks. The message was asking Cleo out on a date the following evening.

“That’s great!” I exclaimed. “But why do you seem so flustered?”

Cleo took her phone back and changed the message. This time there was a text message from Sam, also asking her out on a date.

“Oh, so both guys want to take you out on a date, on the same night.”

“Yes!” She exclaimed. “What do I do?”

“Do you think they each know the other has asked you?”

“Probably, they were joking towards the end of last night about letting the best man win so it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“So, go out with both of them.” I replied nonchalantly.

“Erin!” Cleo exclaimed.

“Cleo!” I wasn’t sure why she exclaimed my name to me, so I parroted the move.

“That is not something you would normally suggest.” Cleo was shocked.

“Cleo, you are single. Neither have asked for your hand in marriage and you are well within your rights to date both guys otherwise how will you ever choose?”

“That’s a brilliant point.” She sounded shocked.

I smiled smugly at her.

“Alright, let’s not make you get a big head.” She joked.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. We fell into general chatter about the messages and whether she would accept them or not. Before I knew it, evening had fallen. The sun was starting to set outside as I took my leave from Cleo.  

On the drive home, I pulled up onto the roadside in a layby. There was a quiet road on the way back home from Cleo’s that overlooked fields for miles. This view, coupled with the changing colours in the sky from the sunset, offered a great view. I took a seat against the bonet of my car, watching as the last reds and oranges left the sky and changed into blues, purples, blacks. I sat listening to the wind whistling through the air and the odd sound of a car passing occasionally. There was an air of peace that fell over me.  

Upon arriving home, I received a message from Cleo saying she had accepted the date with both Jack and Sam. I was happy for her. I wasn’t looking forward to the working week though. There was a strange feeling in the air with all the changes coming up.

I grunted as my alarm woke me up Monday morning. I didn’t want to get out of bed. The drive into the office was suspiciously quiet on the roads also. Cleo had messaged me to say she was making drinks run and was stuck in the queue at the counter. Each Monday one of us would head into the local cafe and grab a hot drink for everyone in the office.  

Cleo had arrived and everyone had a drink when our current manager shouted at us all and summoned us to the boardroom. We all took a seat unsure what was about to happen, but I knew being called into a meeting like this first thing on a Monday morning was never a food thing.

“As you are all aware, there are some changes coming up. I have called you all here to inform you that with immediate effect I have taken redundancy and will be using my holiday leave to leave now.”

There were whispers and gasps throughout the room. We expected certain management to go but our office manager was not one that I expected to  

“What does that mean for management for the office?” One of the guys asked.

“You will be receiving a new manager in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you will temporarily report into the MD.”