My day at work had suddenly become more interesting. At lunch I'd be meeting with Jay again, because the poor guy had forgotten his wallet. Stroke of luck? I didn't know, but I was happy to see him again.
"So you made a new friend?" Harry, my work colleague, asked me as we sat at our desks.
"I guess you could say that. It was so random that I don't know what to make of it."
"That's how it goes here in London" Harry smiled, tossing his blond hair back. "Oh, I think the boss is calling you."
"Great. " I sighed as I reluctantly headed for the door.
My supervisor, aka 'the boss', wasn't exactly a pleasant man. He didn't really care about the people under his care and it showed.
"Can you deal with the stock room again Hailey? It's getting out of control."
"I'm handling the paperwork you sent me yesterday sir."
"You can do that later. Let me know when you've finished."
I kept my composure until he left. Why did he always give Harry and I all the menial tasks? We were hired as administrative assistants, not janitors.
The staff stock room was a place where all manner of evil was contained: leftovers from office parties, spare cutlery for the staff canteen, you name it. I worked in a huge department store where you'd think there'd be more order, but it was a mess just like everywhere else.
"Got the same message?"
Harry was already there when I climbed down the stairs. "Yep! Cleaning this mess again."
Every time we cleaned it, it seemed to get instantly dirty again. Maybe it was because the boss didn't care to get proper storage.
"So, what are you up to this evening?"
"I have a date" Harry responded, proud of himself.
"Another one?"
"Oh don't look at me like that! It's hard finding the one."
"I sure know about that."
"You should try Tinder."
"Yeah, no thanks" I laughed. "Been there, done that."
"Suit yourself" he shrugged. "Wanna have lunch together?"
"Can't sorry, I'm meeting up with Jay."
"Oh yeah, you told me. Have a good one then."
Lunch couldn't come soon enough for me. Jay had set up a meeting at a Chinese restaurant so I hurried there, making sure his wallet was in my handbag. He was already seated and he gestured at me to get my attention.
"Hi" I smiled as I sat down.
"Hey. How are you?"
"I'm alright. I got your wallet."
"Oh thank goodness! I was going mental this morning."
"I think I would be too. Luckily they'd found it and had it waiting there."
"Probably shouldn't have had two drinks" he chuckled. "Do you want to see the menu or should we look at the buffet?"
"I'd rather the buffet, I'm starving."
Jay was a vegan, so he headed over to the vegetables while I checked out the other side. It was a nice cozy place, and I could see why he'd suggested it.
"So what have you been up to this morning?"
"More slave work for my boss. How about you?"
"I was in a very long meeting."
"What was it for?"
"A big project I can't talk about right now."
"Sounds exciting."
"It is, but a bit stressful to organize."
We didn't talk for a while as we stuffed our gobs. "Any plans for the weekend?"
"Not really, I think I'll just lie in. This week has tired me out." He did seem tired, the poor soul.
"Same here. It's high time for me to relax."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, fire away."
"How old are you? Because you look really young."
I smiled. "How old do you think I am?"
"Well I would have said 16, but you have a job so you must be at least 18. 20 maybe?"
That made me chuckle. "Yeah I'm not that young. I'm 23."
"Really? I swear I would have never guessed that."
"I get that a lot" I giggled. "I take it as a compliment."
"I'm 29 in case you wanted to know."
"You don't look it either to be honest."
When I was with Jay it seemed that time just flew by, because my lunch hour flew by in a flash. I'd have to grudgingly go back to work, but Jay had his afternoon off.
"Good luck in there" he said as he saw me off.
"Thanks, I'll need it."
"Will you show me around the store sometime?"
"Sure. Bye Jay."
I must have been smiling when I came in because Harry smirked at me, his blue eyes twinkling. "That good huh?"
"Don't be silly. The food was nice."
"Only the food?"
"Jay was nice too."
I playfully shoved him and sat at my desk, ready to attack the mountain of paperwork in front of me.