Back To You (gxg)

Part 4

At lunch time, I sat with Marie. Tim was working from home today, as well as Danielle and Demarcus.

A couple of minutes into lunch, Riley walked in. She had her bag on her, and I noticed her expression wasn't her usual cheerful one. But when she saw Marie and I, she smiled.

"Riley! Do you want to join us for lunch?" Marie asked.

"I was just grabbing an iced tea, I'm heading out for lunch today." Riley said, "Thanks, though. Jenny, still joining us for happy hour?"

"I am." I said to her.

"Great." Riley said, with a smile, "I'll see you both then."

She quickly got an iced tea from the vending machine, and was off.

"She's been not having lunch at work a lot more lately." Marie said, about Riley.

"Does she just prefer to go out to eat?" I asked.

Marie glanced around and said quietly, "I likely shouldn't be saying this. So you didn't hear it from me, okay? I believe Riley's mother is sick and is currently at the hospital down the street. I think she visits her."

I felt my heart drop.

"That's terrible." I said, "I am so sorry to hear that. I obviously won't tell anyone."

"Thank you." Marie said, "I appreciate that, Jenny."

The last half of the day dragged on with Keely. At one point, I got up to grab a drink, and when I walked past Riley's desk she looked at me and said, "Having fun?"

"Tons." I said, and she chuckled.

15 minutes before my shift was over, Hailey called me into her office.

Hopefully this isn't a bad thing.

I sat down across from her and she said, "Congratulations on completing your first week here! How do you feel?"

"Good." I said, "Definitely good. I'm liking it a lot."

"That's great to hear." Hailey said, "Both Keely and Riley tell me you're catching on quick. How are you liking training?"

"It's very good." I said, "They're both great trainers. Different in their own ways, but I'm learning a lot."

"I'm glad to hear that, especially about Riley. You're the first person she's training."

"She is wonderful at it." I said, "Truly."

"Awesome." Hailey said, "We're glad to have you here, Jenny. You can head out 10 minutes early if you'd like. Have a great weekend!"

Good. Now I can touch up on my makeup in my car.

The bar was walking distance from work, however I was told everyone got to the bar on their own time, we all didn't walk together.

I sat in my car and touched up on my makeup, especially some powder for my T-zone that got a bit oily during the day.

I wore a black blazer with a white button down and jeans. Not usually something I would wear to a bar, but all of my coworkers would be in their work clothing.

I had been to the bar they were going to before, called McGurk's. It was a very loud bar, often crowded, with lots of outdoor and indoor seating.

I was nervous that when I got to the bar I would either be the first one there, or would be walking around like an idiot trying to find my co-workers.

The second option happened for a few moments- until I heard someone call my name.

It was Danielle, who was sitting with Xander. Danielle had a drink in front of her, Xander did not.