"If you want to bring it in, I'll see what I can do."
Christine patted his arm as the elevator reached her floor. "Thanks, I might. Have a great day and hopefully, I won't have to call and bother you too many times."
He waved as she stepped out. "Never any bother. See you later."
She greeted coworkers, chatted a bit, and then went to face her desk with a massive cup of coffee. Oh dear lord, she'd figured things might pile up, but this? In her absence, everything and anything no one wanted to handle had been shoved into her office until files and books covered every inch of space.
So much for Laci handling everything. Christine sighed, wondered how long the coffee would last, and where she should even start. Ninety percent of the files were marked 'asap'. The others were labeled 'immediately'. Ah, the return of normalcy.
"Yo, Ho-well. Glad to be back yet?"
"Good morning, Laci." Christine hated the way her coworker murdered her name but to whom could she complain? Make the boss' mistress angry, and one's life became hell. "Yes, thank you."
The other woman leaned against the door frame. Blonde, leggy, built in a men-always-notice sort of way, something hard glittered in her green eyes. Christine never trusted her. "Meet any Aussie men who went down under?"
As if Christine would ever confide in the office gossip, who delighted in spreading rumors. The entire corporation would hear it in less than thirty minutes. "Did you have any trouble with any accounts during my vacation?"
Laci laughed but not in a fun way. "We actually survived without you, just muddled right on through somehow. No one missed you at all."
"Great to hear. Thanks for handling things." Tone it down. Laci's not stupid, and even a tiny bit of sarcasm is too much. She picked up a stack of papers. "I better get busy."
Laci shrugged, the movement pulling her tight sweater to seam-bursting proportions. "I'm not a menial desk slave with delusions of importance like you. What needed to be done got accomplished. Jim has no problems with my work, so complain to him if you want. I'm sure I can turn his thinking to my side with a little private time."
If she expected Christine to react, she'd be disappointed. Christine didn't mind being a 'menial desk slave'. It paid her bills and allowed her to talk to Charlie. "I have no complaints, just lots of work to catch up on so talk to you later."
However, the other woman refused to be dismissed. "Margaret Bensen has called for you several times."
Mrs. Bensen, the head of the corporation accounting department, dealt with upper management and reported directly to the CEO. Christine had met her only at corporate functions. "She asked for me by name?"
"I've taken several of her messages, and she always asked for Christine Ho-well. What have you done?"
"I didn't realize you were regaled to be my secretary." Christine sank behind her desk to hide behind the towers of files. What a way to return to work. "How demeaning for you."
"I'm not." Laci huffed out a snort. "Just passing the messages along to help you out."
You'd like to help me right out the door and take over my position. Christine shook her head. Everyone had seemed fine a few minutes ago; no one gave a hint anything could be wrong. Christine reached for the telephone to call Kathy, the office manager. Whatever Mrs. Benson wanted had become the most immediate matter. "I'm sure you must have a lot to do."
Laci stood still. "I'd love to hear you get terminated, so I have nothing else to do."
Christine's heart skipped a beat. The corporation HR department would terminate her, not the corporation accountant. Whatever Mrs. Bensen wanted concerned money, accounts, or invoices. Had Christine messed up an important order so a customer called and complained? She stood and walked to her door. "I'm sorry, Laci, but I do have work. If you'll please excuse me?"
Her gaze swept over Christine's cluttered office. "Yes, you really should stop slacking and get this mess cleared up for the new person taking over. I'm handling all the Hawaii accounts from now on already by the way. Have a lovely day, Ho."
Christine closed her door to take several deep breaths. Laci now handled Hawaii? Why? A knock sounded on her door, probably Kathy to help her contact Mrs. Bensen. She walked toward her desk as she called, "Come in."
Margaret Bensen entered with Jim right behind her. "Ms. Howell, we need a few moments of your time, please."
Crap. Christine twisted her hands together. "Um, sure." She moved files and manuals off the two chairs in front of her desk, trying to smile and be calm. "Please have a seat. Would you like some coffee?"