two stars of the same constellation

31

Needless to say, the hangover I had the next day wasn't a mild one. But then again, I had had worse. Thankfully, the firm had given us all three days off. It was a much-needed break for the ones who had worked during the Christmas break and I was included in those. The magazine project had really captured my interest so I didn't mind missing the holidays because I was doing something that excited me. I dedicate my three days off to self-care and indulgence. I ate whatever I wanted to ranging from cakes to sizzlers, anything and everything that they home-delivered because I was in no mood to get dressed or leave the house. I was on a spending spree making the most of all the holiday sales and the greatest invention of all times: online shopping websites. I slept at odd hours and woke up whenever I felt like, there was no routine whatsoever. I guess it's safe to say that my life had lost all concepts of discipline or self-control and there was only one goal for three days and that was to spoil myself to the fullest.

Like all the other good times my three days at home vacation too comes to an end and I get back to work. I lurk around lazily at work still not over the fact that the holidays were over but thankfully it's not just me. The whole firm seems to be in a giant combined hangover and the workflow is really slow. I spend my day finishing up all of my pending work so I can start with planning a schedule for the magazine interviews but by lunch, I've had enough and push the latter task for the next day. When I don't Garry around the office, I find Sarah and ask her about his whereabouts. She looks at me warily and I tell her it's work-related. Both of us know that's not true and both of us decide not to stretch it but she gives me an 'I know what's this about' smile and tells me that he isn't joining until next week. The day seems extra long when I realize the one good thing about coming back to work that I was looking forward to wasn't coming until next week! Garry was my silver lining and I really wanted to spend time with him. I get back to my desk and continue passing my time, doing menial tasks until it was finally time to go home.

The mass languor around the office starts to fade as the days go back and finally Garry decides to show up too. His zest lights up any room he walks into and by the end of his first day, he has his own personal fan club, mostly female. I hop up to his cabin which is sort of at a distance from my own desk and don't care to knock before entering, "Hello Mr. Garfield, I see you've settled in well here," I make myself as comfortable. "Oh yes, Ms. Vats what can I say, the interns seem especially happy to have me here," he smiles cockily. "Female interns, you mean," I correct him "Tell me Mr. Garfield does it make you proud that they look at you as eye candy?" I keep my tone playful so I don't sound bitter. Which I must say I wasn't. "Am I sensing some jealously here? Don't worry honey they've got nothing on you," he whispers as if he's serious and I'm left gaping, "Jealous? Of them? No way, I'm jealous of them ogling at you. In fact, I am jealous of you and all the love and attention you are getting. How are you so calm? I was mortified on my first day," I sigh remembering my fist at Sitescape. "I had just moved here and thankfully I was on time but I was freaking out about my interview with Pam and just when I thought my anxiety was under control I look up and see Leo Dane walk out of her office, just imagine. I was sweating like a pig and my..." I stop when I realize I had been going in nonstop. "Anyway, I was just heading home and I wanted to welcome you to the firm before I left," I smile at him, "Welcome aboard Mr. Eye Candy." "Hey, everyone likes candy," I look back and wave at him as he argues like a kid.

The week goes by at the speed of light. Everyone's busy making up for the lost time. The magazine's work is also up and running at full length and we have three weeks for our first issue. "So now that we have more or less finalized the schedules for the interviews, do you think we can start by Monday?" I scratch the temple with the back of my pencil and look up to Garry who doesn't hear me. I walk up to the other side of his desk and spin his chair so he faces me as I stand in front of him. "This is no time for office romance Ms. Vats. We really should get back to work, the glass walls don't hide much," he looks right at me. "Oh, we wouldn't want to cause a scandal now, would we?" I play along and he lifts his eyebrows. I slap his arm when I see his eyes glisten with a hint of mischief and head back to my chair.

I had been spending a lot of my time in Garry's cabin for the last week. Pam had been kind enough to free me from most of my other duties so the magazine could be my top priority. Not just me, Garry's cabin had become the hub for most people working on the issue. This was a first for a lot of employees so he wanted to be able to guide them throughout. Garry didn't seem to mind the lack of privacy this caused and the others too liked his method of mentoring. Right now, however, it was only the both of us in the room. The others had left already to enjoy their weekend at some club probably and here I was stuck trying to reach the deadlines I had mentally assigned myself. "I was saying maybe we can start our interviews next week itself?" I ask again. "Oh yeah that sounds good but..." he checks his watch, "it's past 7 now, we should've sent out emails to the client regarding this. No point sending it now, no one's going to respond and confirm if they are available. Moreover, it might seem unprofessional from our side to send important emails on a weekend."

"Oh, that's no problem. I know one client who won't mind if I reached out late," I circle the name at the top of my list. "Him, huh?" Garry smirks, "Are you two by chance a thing? If so then tell me now and I'll stop my advances" he raises his arms in surrender and laughs. I close my notebook at giving him a fake smile, "Woah, finally. from how long have you been meaning to ask that question?"