Read Online November Surprise by Laurel Osterkamp - Free Book Online Page A

Wall Street, or for that matter, politics. But that doesn’t mean it
can’t be tense.
    “Sorry.” Jack momentarily places his hand on top of mine.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
    I pause before I jump in. How much can I say without saying
too much? “Okay. When I first started working with Sue Ellen I thought we got
along, but then I realized too late she took my sarcastic jokes personally. So
I stopped being sarcastic around her.”
    The waiter stops by our table and I pause my story while
Jack orders his first beer and I order my second.
    “So what went wrong?” he asks as soon as the waiter walks
away.
    “I don’t know. She just hates me. Last month when it was my
turn to bring the office donuts and I brought bagels instead, she was mumbling
under her breath all morning about how much she was looking forward to a bear
claw.”
    “Is Sue Ellen from the South?”
    “What? Why?”
    Jack cocks his head and shrugs his shoulders. “Her name, her
fondness for donuts. She just seems southern. Is she a member of the NRA? Maybe
you shouldn’t be messing with her.” He grins and his face opens up in such an
endearing way that it’s impossible not to smile back.
    “I suppose she does seem kind of red-state,” I say. “But I
really don’t know where she’s from.”
    Jack reprimands me with his eyes. “There’s your first
mistake. You should always take the trouble to get to know your colleagues.
Think of it as extending family values into the work arena.”
    I ignore his attempt at humor. “Okay, so the following
Monday we had a staff meeting, and my boss Naomi praised me for the battle of
the bands event I organized in Kenwood Park, and she also criticized Sue Ellen
for missing a deadline, and Sue Ellen’s eyes got all squinty and she looked
like she was going to cry. Ever since then my office supplies have mysteriously
disappeared from my desk, and some of my phone messages have been deleted
without my knowledge, and I’ve heard from Jane, our secretary, that Sue Ellen’s
been bad-mouthing me.”
    Jack’s mouth sets in a straight line, and he breathes in and
out through his nose. I can tell he’s taking a moment before he says anything;
I know the look, and he knows to be careful.
    “Lucy,” he finally says. “That doesn’t sound great, but,
well… it’s not exactly on the level of boiling bunnies, now is it?”
    “If you were there you’d get it,” I tell him. “This is
making me dread going to work everyday. I have no idea what to do about it.”
    “Have you tried confronting her?”
    “You don’t confront crazy people.”
    “But sometimes it’s necessary.”
    Sometimes, but not always. And this afternoon I had my
chance to get back at Sue Ellen without risking a confrontation. Now, as I’m
sitting here looking into Jack’s kind eyes, I’m starting to really regret it.
But if I tell him, he’ll tell me to do the right thing and give her the
message. His reproof would be gentle and he’d be right. Which is why I chicken
out and change the subject.
    “Have you been following the campaign?”
    Our beers arrive and Jack and I both take swigs. “No,” he
responds. “There’s nothing to follow. Clinton’s obviously going to win. The
whole thing has been pretty boring and I’ll be happy when it’s over.”
    “Yeah…” I don’t even have the drive to argue the point.
Truth is, he’s right. Sometimes victory is not so sweet. I guess when something
comes too easily its value is diminished, like a fat-free muffin that doesn’t
taste as good as it looks. But I can still revel in the victory a little bit.
If we were in Mrs. Fischer’s civics class right now, there’s no way I’d resist
the opportunity to rub it in Reggie’s face.
    “It wasn’t always obvious,” I tell Jack. “Two years ago Newt
Gingrich was gloating over how the Republicans won control of the House and
Senate, and pundits were predicting that Clinton would have a hard time this
fall.”
    “Yeah, but after