To Color Your Life

Do you know what is the hardest part at work? It's thinking about this very work.

Emily has always considered herself a responsible person. She easily separated the personal and the professional. Even while working at university, under the guidance of an ex-boyfriend, she remained in focus.

She didn't hear the gossip behind her back, didn't notice the sympathetic glances of those who were aware of Peter's love affairs and kept a noble silence, smiling in Emily's eyes. Hypocrites.

She did not see what was happening around. Others frankly enjoyed the love drama, as if they were filming a low-quality soap opera in their office. Where Emily acted as a naive wife, whose husband spent too much time in a neighbor's apartment.

But with Justin Evans, it was not like that.

From the very moment she crossed the threshold of Pharaoh Publishing, everything was not so. No one was silent here. Gossip about her and the boss grew every day, but no one pretended not to hear about them. Even if Emily was not asked questions, she saw the intrigued glances of her colleagues.

She was once again the heroine of the soap opera, the role she so wanted to avoid. But this time she didn't feel cheated. She didn't feel like she was taking part in some kind of a hidden experiment.

She was a part of this game, a full-fledged actress who decided for herself how to play her role.

It was fair.

So she thought.

And she was wrong.

Emily turned off the computer and closed her tired eyes. She wanted to get home and go to bed. And why haven't people invented teleportation yet? It would be so convenient.

She was devastated - physically and mentally.

It turns out that even simple work on the text can be more tiring than the hard work of a miner.

Especially when all you want is to go up to that very floor, kick the very door, bringing the cerberus in a skirt at the reception to a nervous tick. And then screaming "What the hell is going on here?" break down the next door to the same office.

And then let the whole publishing house enjoy the new gossip, as a temporary employee broke everything into pieces in the office of the deputy chairman of the board.

It would be a great show! Grandma would have appreciated it.

But Emily, unlike her grandmother, was not an actress, and it was not in her nature to make scandals. Although lately she really wanted to.

[Are you done yet? I am going down to the parking lot to pick up the car. I'll be waiting for you in front of the building in five minutes.]

A message from Justin flashed on the phone's display.

Emily turned off the screen, threw her bag over her shoulder. After examining the desk for forgotten things and making sure that everything was in order, the girl went to the exit.

The familiar black Maybach was hard to miss among the other cars parked at the side of the road. First, the car itself was spectacular. And secondly, next to it was an equally spectacular man dressed in a dark blue business suit.

What a perfect combination of status, power and visual appeal.

Evans noticed the girl and put the phone in his pocket, which he had been looking at before. "You didn't read my message. I was already going to follow you myself."

The man reached out to hug her, but Emily held out her hand to stop his impulse.

"I saw the notification. And let's not so explicitly confirm the gossip that is so already familiar to everyone. You forgot, you have the re-pu-ta-tion. I don't want to ruin it completely."

The boss frowned, "Is it me, or is someone in a bad mood again? I know a great way to fix it."

"Depends on how the one who spoiled it for me fixes the cause of this," Emily smiled caustically and walked around the man, opened the passenger seat door, and sat inside.

Evans heard Maybach's door slam behind him, chuckled, and walked around the car to get behind the wheel.

"I cross my heart that Mrs. Parkinson said something to you about our behavior and stuff like that." Justin inserted the keys into the ignition and started the engine. "Do not worry. She only looks stern. In fact, Fiona is just a darling if you get to know her better."

"Fiona?"

The boss broke into a satisfied smile. Apparently, he expected just such an effect, because Hayes looked very surprised.

"Yes, Fiona Parkinson. Do you know the name of her husband? I'll give you a hint. The name starts with the "Sh". Well? The most obvious option!"

Emily blinked. No, it can't be. Such a coincidence would be too strange.

"Well… come on, Emily. You're a smart girl," the boss encouraged her, " Sh..."

"Shrek?" she answered in an uncertain tone. [1]

Evans burst into loud laughter. "Ahaha, almost. Sheldon. Sheldon Parkinson."

"It's not funny!" Emily pouted her lips and turned to the window. How can you seriously talk to him? Especially when he laughs so contagiously?

"And it's very funny to me. You just didn't see yourself." Justin let out a breath to calm himself, but another chuckle escaped.

"Stop the engine," she said.

"Did you forget something in the office?" The man complied with the girl's request, expecting her to say something else, but Hayes was silent.

"Emily?"

"Who makes the decision on hiring the employees to the Pharaoh magazine?"

"Human Resources," Evans replied, hesitating for a moment.

Emily turned her head and looked at the man. From her gaze, Justin grew more serious, as if he realized that this was not the answer she expected.

"And who selects candidates for the HR department, Mr. Evans?" On the name of the man, the girl's voice trembled slightly, but she rallied herself not to succumb to emotions. She needed a cool head now.

The boss leaned back in his seat and stared into the windshield, behind which cars drove off one by one along the road, taking the employees of the publishing house with them. His index finger tapped rhythmically against the leather steering wheel, counting the seconds of the man's prolonged silence.

"That cafe, Nefertiti, really serves some good coffee," he finally replied. "But what normal person would go to the other side of town, wasting a lot of time for a cup of coffee?"

It was true. Since Emily started working at Pharaoh, it has taken her at least two hours to get to and from work. But she didn't answer the question.

Evans answered himself. "Yes, no normal person would do that. It's not just about coffee, but about the atmosphere in general. Interior, music..." He made a gesture with his palm, showing the interior of the car, and then clicked a button on the radio.

Lyrical music filled the car. It was one of the tunes that were often played at Emily's favorite cafe.

Justin turned his head to her and smiled, "Or maybe it's all because of a girl who sits by the window at the same time and thinks about something of her own."

~~~

[1] Fiona and Shrek are a cartoon couple from the cartoon series "Shrek".