The Mysterious Mr. Black

9

"Uh-huh." 

"In my defense, I didn't know your size."

"You could just ask me." After his rebuttal, not one of us spoke. It was just us and silence. And awkward eye-contact. What am I supposed to say? Is it too late now to say sorry?

"At least it makes you look more attractive." I said as a way to break the silence. A smirk formed on his lips. I already know what he's gonna say. And so I said, "No."

"You may leave." he finally let go of the matter and dismissed me. I thanked him and went out of his office. The nerve of that guy. I am in no way attracted to him. Him? Pfft. No thanks. I'd rather remain single for the rest of my life.

I went back to  my table and not a minute later, I received an email from my boss.

From: MJBlack

For you reference:

Height: 6'1

Chest: 47'

Waist: 33'

and the list goes on...

What the f-, did he seriously sent me a copy of his body measurements? He even included his shoe size. Okay. So how do I reply to this? I typed: Received, with thanks. Even though I don't know how I would use that details in the future.

Now that I have composed myself, I continued on typing the minutes of the meeting and I have encoded at least an 8 pages when the computer decided to fuck my life and turned itself off. My work still not saved. I tried to turn the unit back on but nothing happened. I tried to do it again but still nothing happened. At this very moment, it's very hard to choose whether to fly into a rage or to stay calm and think of a solution. I chose the first one.

Some heads turned to my direction because the usually calm executive assistant is now spewing unimaginable curse words like never before. Abigail came to my aid and asked about the reason for my hysteria. I took a deep breath and pointed to my computer.

"You know you could just call the IT guy." she suggested. That sort of calmed me down. Why didn't I think of that? I thanked her for her suggestion and apologized for my wild behavior. 

"Wait, how do I call the IT department?" I inquired.

"Just press 7." Once again I expressed my gratitude for her help. 

I dialed 7 on the PBX. A friendly voice answered and I asked for some assistance for the recovery of my files. I do not trust the auto-save option of Microsoft plus what if the computer is permanently damaged. The person on the line said they will be sending someone to assist me. I said thanks and waited for that someone.

"Good morning, My name is Matt from IT Department. How may I help you?" 

"Ah yes. My computer is not turning on and I'm also worried about my file not being saved." I replied. 

"Good thing I'm also a certified Computer Technician so I can help you with both. Most people assume that IT people are also technicians but they do differ. Information Technology is a broad field." he interposed as he inspect my computer. "You're new here. What's your name?" 

"I'm Michael by the way." I introduced myself. 

"Nice to meet. You are the...?"

"I'm Mr. Black's executive assistant."

"Really? That's unusual."

"Yeah I know. I'm the first male secretary here and the like. I've heard it all before. It's not like it's a big deal."

"Oh it is a big deal. Trust me, I've been here for at least a reasonable time to know what's happening in the company." 

"If you all say so. What's important is that I'm getting my paycheck."

"Alright! you really know your priorities. By the way, everything's now in order. You can resume whatever your doing a while ago." He rose from my seat and showed me the current file I'm working on. I didn't notice the time he troubleshooted my desktop. He is a great talker. You will  really feel comfortable talking with him. I inspected the file and it's right where I stopped working

"Yay! Thank you so much for your help." 

"You're welcome. If you ever you need anything, dial 7 and ask for Matt."

"Haha Sure. Sure." I reciprocated his smile and waved goodbye.

"Hope to see you soon!" He shouted before waving off.

"I don't think that's a good thing if I do need to call you!" I replied. I didn't know if he heard it since he's already out of my sight.

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea also." a voice said beside me. I was startled when I saw Mr. Black leaning on the marble desk of the reception area. How did he get here so fast?  Totally unexpected that I got a mini heart attack.

"I-...Yes sir, how may I help you?" I asked him.

"Who was that?" he asked seemingly annoyed.

"That's Matt from the IT Department, he helped me fix the issue with my computer." Mr. Black is not as cheerful as I am. 

"I tried calling you three times but you're not answering."

"I'm sorry. I didn't notice."

"That's because you're busy chatting with that guy." he cut me off before I could try and even explain my side.

"Sorry sir." was the only reply I could think of just to cut conversation. I can see that Mr. Black is not in the mood for some explanation and that he received a news that doesn't make him happy. 

"Come with me and prepare yourself for some overtime." and I'm right again for the nth time.