Self Service

Time to Think

When Priscilla walked back into her office, not wanting to think about Sunday at all, she was trying to take her mind off how badly her mother wanted to meet Scott. She was trying to find a way to get out of the whole thing. But no good excuses came to her mind. And knowing her mother, if she didn't come through, she was going to be in trouble. Her mama didn't care how close to thirty Priscilla was, in her eyes, she was still her little girl.

She needed something to take her mind off things. Fortunately, she got that when Sharon reminded her of a meeting that she had coming up in an hour. Who could think of their personal life when they had a client to work with? Certainly not Priscilla. She was so glad for the distraction.

"Sharon, sweetheart, have you gone to lunch?" Priscilla asked, noticing that Sharon didn't look like she had moved a single inch since Priscilla had left.

"No, ma'am."

"I think you ought to go and do that. I can answer the phone for the next hour and check my own faxes. Go and have something to eat and take a break from this computer, honey. The work will be here."

Priscilla admired Sharon's work ethic. But she couldn't just let the girl work all the time. Being a hard worker didn't mean having to be a workaholic. In fact, to Priscilla, anyone who needed the whole day wasn't doing their job efficiently enough. Sharon was doing a good job. She needed to eat something.

Priscilla believed in eating and that if you didn't take a break every few hours, you weren't going to do as well on your work. She was going to have to start telling Sharon to take breaks and to have lunch.

"Oh no—"

"Not asking," Priscilla told her, cutting off the monitor, but leaving the actual computer alone so as not to ruin what her secretary was doing. "Go and have lunch." Her tone was firm and unrelenting.

"Okay."

Sharon picked up her purse and she smoothed down her pants before she came from behind the desk and started out of the lobby area.

Priscilla went into her office and started to gather things that she was going to need for her meeting.

She sat at her desk, breathing in deeply and slowly releasing it. The world wasn't ending. The sky wasn't falling. Besides, it was just once. No one said that her family and Scott ever had to see one another again after the wedding. They could do like they'd been doing the last five years and having their holidays separate. One time and they were done.

She got up and paced the office for a while before she managed to sit at her desk and get something done before leaving the office and going to her meeting.

Upon stepping into the glass doors of the record company, she was greeted by the cool air, hearing her heels click against the floor.

"Hi, how can I help you today?" the receptionist greeted from her desk, barely sparing Priscilla a glance. Something she found rude, but didn't let bother her. She probably just thought Priscilla was coming in trying to get some record deal.

"I'm Priscilla Holcomb. I have a meeting with Smith Jackson."

"Oh, hold on one second please."

The receptionist paged a phone and a man answered, asking Priscilla to wait just one second. A woman came down, and upon seeing Priscilla, she smiled kindly. "Follow me, please," she instructed before turning on her heel and leading Priscilla to a private elevator.

She followed the woman into the elevator, holding her briefcase in one hand, waiting as the woman pressed the P.

When the elevator doors opened, a large office was revealed with two desks, a floor to ceiling window, a small table near the window, and two sofas in the room. There was plush carpeting, and Priscilla could feel her heels sinking into the lush flooring.