Chasing the Storm

Words do not equal actions

Not long after she had sat back at her desk, Payu approached her.

"I have a meeting now, but I want to talk to you when I get back. I'll see you at lunchtime."

Checking her emails, her mentor had sent her a few small tasks to complete this morning. Beam was thankful for the menial tasks as her brain felt fried after yesterday.

Beam was a little nervous about lunchtime. She wasn't sure what Payu wanted to talk about and hoped that what she had sent him this morning was correct. She might cry if everything she had done yesterday turned out to be wrong.

When lunchtime arrived and Payu got back, she followed him to a nearby restaurant. He didn't start talking until after they had ordered.

Clasping his hands in front of him on the table he looked at her with a serious expression.

"I saw something interesting when I arrived this morning. Can you guess what it was?"
"Umm, I don't know, P'Payu."

"As I arrived this morning, you were leaving. What were you doing at work so early in the morning? Hm?"

"I... Er, I -"

"The email you sent me was timestamped just before then. So, either you forgot to send it to me yesterday and came in extra early this morning, which wouldn't make sense because why would go back home afterwards? Or you spent the night at the office. Am I right, Beam?"

"I'm sorry, P'Payu. I was working on the task you needed for this morning and fell asleep. It won't happen again."

"After coming to this conclusion, I looked over the information I gave you and noticed that some of the numbers were wrong. However, what you gave me was correct so that would mean that you had to redo the calculations. Did you do them yourself?"

"Yes, P'Payu."

"Someone else did those calculations. I should have double-checked them before giving them to you. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, P'Payu."

"I'm your mentor and you had a hard time yesterday because of my carelessness. I asked around and I know no one helped you when you asked yesterday. That won't happen again."

Beam didn't say anything and kept her eyes down as their food arrived.

"Lunch is my treat and you can take the afternoon off. You did good work yesterday. I know you haven't covered that yet, but your determination to complete the task I gave you is impressive. You should be proud of yourself."

His words made her look up and she saw his sincerity in his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as he smiled at her.

"Thank you, P'Payu... But I don't need the afternoon off."

"Well, I won't force you. Are you sure?"

"Yes, P'Payu."

"Then, you can come with me on a site visit. If you'd like?"

"Oh! Yes, please!"

"Good. Now, eat up."

Payu placed some food in her dish and Beam ate happily. She didn't notice Payu's fond gaze as he watched her.

After today, Payu realised that he needed to keep in mind that he was a mentor now as well. He needed to slow down. He was used to being a workaholic and he preferred to do things himself, so he often did a lot of meetings and site visits. Being his usual busy self, meant that Beam had no one to turn to and he didn't want that to happen again.

He was glad she seemed more at ease with him now. As he thought back to this morning, he realised that she had been afraid to speak up. If they had a better relationship, things might have gone differently.

They needed to have a talk. Payu needed to explain what he had been thinking when they first met and why he had treated her the way he did. He wanted to know why she had changed her mind about making him fall in love with her.

The past two weeks had only convinced him that they were compatible with each other. They both had a strong work ethic, knew when to focus and when to play, and she was not only polite but also kind. He hoped that once she was more comfortable around him, they would be able to have fun together.

On the site visit, she followed him around and took notes. Payu knew what it was like to be on-site for the first time, to see your creation on paper come to life as a full-scale building. The wonder in Beam's eyes was apparent and he made sure to point out details about this project that she probably wouldn't notice since she hadn't worked on it.

When they got back to the office it was the end of the day. They bid each other goodbye and Payu went inside to put away some notes.

When he came back outside, Beam's car was still there. With a frown, he walked around the car to find Beam crouched down beside it and a spare tyre resting against the car.

"Beam? Is something wrong?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"P'Payu! I got a nail in my tyre."

"Do you want me to change it for you?"

"That's okay, Phi. I've already done it. I'm just tightening the bolt back on."

"Oh. You know how to change a tyre?"

"I watched you do it when we first met and watched some tutorials online. This was my first time doing it myself though."

"Can I check it?"

"Of course, Phi."

Beam stood up and stepped to the side so that Payu could take a look. He tightened the bolts a little and then stood back up.

"Good job. I'm glad I don't have to worry about you getting a flat tyre by yourself again."

Later, Beam would replay Payu's words in her head and realise that he said he worried about her, but in the moment, she smiled happily that she had managed to impress him.

"Thank you, P'Payu."

Payu had froze for a moment after realising what he had said, but when Beam didn't seem to pick up on it he found himself feeling a little disappointed. It seemed she wasn't one to pick up on sly signals, so he was going to have to be straight with her, but that suited him fine. After all, he had already decided that he wasn't going to play any more games with her.