Nikko make a face. It was 5pm and she should have been well on her way to ATP for her shift. The magazine was nearing its deadline for the month and unfortunately she still had a pile of work to do. She was already resigned to the fact that her tasks wouldn't be complete until tomorrow, then this memo comes in. A message coming from Anton a few days before deadline could only mean one thing.
She clicked on the box and read the note.
Mandatory staff meeting at 6pm. Conference room. Don't worry you will be fed. This will be a working dinner.
Ok. So that means she had to opt out of her schedule tonight at ATP. Good thing Louie was back.
Her hand hovered above the telephone. She was a bit relieved to have an excuse for not coming in to work. She may have told Jay she was ok with how things went after work last Sunday, but in reality it irked her. And lying awake after polishing off two cups of coffee that night only served to strengthen her annoyance. She really didn't feel like talking to or even seeing him.
She didn't see him last monday because ATP was closed. But when Jay texted asking her how she was, she kept her messages short and to the point. She told him she was swamped with work at MOT and she didn't really have time to talk. When he had mentioned sunday again, she had rolled her eyes at his message. Replying that she was totally ok with what happened, and sure, they could try to go for coffee again.
One of these days.
Maybe.
If you're lucky, she had added in her head.
She wasn't going to give in that easily anymore. She didn't need to be constantly thinking about him and the what ifs that came with it.
Nikko dialed the number to ATP and waited for someone on the other line to answer.
"Hello." She heard Lee's voice come through.
"Hey Lee, is Jay there?"
"Not yet. He said he'll be a little late today. He's at the plant with the potential investors. What's up?"
Nikko smiled inwardly at her luck. "Oh. I needed to ask if it would be ok if I don't come in today. I'm still here at the MOT office and my boss suddenly called a meeting for tonight. I have no idea what time we'll be done but it looks like it's gonna be late since they told us they would take care of our dinner."
"You know what? Don't worry about it. Go to your meeting. I'll tell Jay all about it when he gets here. Louie's in anyways and Tuesday nights aren't too busy so we can manage without you."
"Thanks Lee." Nikko said as she hung up the phone.
----
She was in the middle of the dinner meeting when her phone alerted her. She was able to ignore it at first, but then it sounded two more times. The repeating sound disrupted the ongoing discussion, making heads turn towards her. She could feel her face turn red with embarassment. She mumbled an apology before quickly opening her messages.
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Wow look at that. Someone suddenly has a lot to say, Nikko thought, as she typed on her phone.
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Anton was asking her to present the responses she had collected for the filler article he had proposed when her phone sounded again. She cursed silently, having forgotten to put it on silent mode.
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Nikko made sure her phone was on silent and laid it face down on the table. She then leaned back and settled in her chair, giving her full attention to the meeting.
