My boss' name was Herman, and he kind of reminded me of Chow Yun Fat, but with graying hair, a fatherly gut, and a less lethal kick. Since he discovered my skill at planning travel, though, I saw nothing but appreciation from him.
Still, getting promoted was a shock.
"What? Why?" I couldn't help but say.
Herman laughed. "Now is not the time to be questioning my decisions, Eleanor."
"Um, yes sir. I mean, thank you."
My boss proceeded to explain to me just what happened – I was now assistant manager (same rank as Don, my brain reminded me), and it included a modest increase. This all meant more work too, but when I looked at the printout of the new job description, he seemed to have added just more travel coordination. Nothing I couldn't handle.
It wasn't like I thought I didn't deserve it, by the way. I just didn't realize that I'd hear the happy news so soon.
***
The office announced the news, along with the other promotions for the year, in an email to all employees. I forgot how memo-happy my office was. They didn't just mention the company-wide merit increase, but there was also a roll call of promotions, complete with a short "message" from the Comm department for each of us.
Eleanor Manuel, promoted to Assistant Manager – Client Services Coordination, mere weeks after her first anniversary with the team. Congratulations, and watch out for this up-and-comer.
Whoa, those Comm department people should be careful who they called an "up-and-comer." The people around me might expect ambition or something.
It didn't matter though, because within minutes my inbox was filled with congratulations. A little after ten AM, an email from the ex came in.
I knew you could do it. -Don
It figured that the first time he would deliberately talk to me was about something I didn't even plan to do. I didn't reply to him, and instead went back to work. And I felt great.
===
I tried not to talk so much about what Ellie did for work, because that was one of the first comments I got from my editor. (Do we need to know so much about the work?) That's right. Sometimes overloading with details on a topic that is not about the main plot just makes me sound like I'm showing off.
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Fairy Tale Fail
ChickLitEllie Manuel is a hopeless romantic, stuck in a cubicle all day. She's in her twenties and should be having more fun. But instead of doing what she really wants, like traveling wherever her Philippine passport can take her, she's hung up on the guy...
