“Oh, wow. Someone is moody. Yeah, I think you should’ve taken that day or two. I can’t have you in here disrupting my flow. What’s got your boxers in a bunch?”
“Nothing, I’m fine.”
“Well, you don’t seem fine. You seem a lot more stressed than you were when you left. I thought the point of this little time out was to make you feel better.”
Leaning back in my seat, I ran my fingers through my beard. “Yeah, that was the point and for the most part, it went pretty well.”
“For the most part?” She questioned before easing her way inside and taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“Yep.”
“What changed?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure if I should even be getting into this right now. I’m already coming in later than usual. I should probably get my ass to work.”
“Don, relax. Everything is under control. The tellers have been running this place with their eyes closed. I’ve barely had to do anything while you were gone. This bank is a well-oiled machine. Now, tell me what happened.”
I sighed.
When it came to being all up in my business, Angela held the title. But it was usually out of concern, and her constant belief that I was overworking myself, which I couldn’t say I disagreed with. But that was the only way I knew how to operate. I didn’t get the branch manager position because I was talented at staying at home and sitting on my ass all day. I got it because I worked hard, and I was the one that could get shit done.
Recognizing that Angela wasn’t leaving my office until I gave her what she was looking for, I finally said, “Things were going pretty good. I got to see my mom, Dakota had the opportunity to spend time with family and I got the chance to catch up with a couple of friends.”
“Okay…” she nodded her head slowly, waiting for me to tell her where the problem was.
“Then, I spent a little time with Nova.”
“Nova is the one that you claim is just your friend, but you talk about her like she’s the love of your life, right?”
I paused for a moment and then leaned further back in my chair.
My eyes didn’t leave Angela’s face, determined to make it clear that I wasn’t in the mood for her nonsense.
“What? Why are you looking at me like I said some shit that isn’t true?”
“Because no one said any of that.”
“You didn’t have to. First of all, I’ve met the woman, and needless to say, she’s a bad chick. So, I don’t blame you for holding a secret torch for her. If I wasn’t trying to do this whole one-woman thing, I would try to get her ass too.”
“She’s not into women, Angela.”
“Don’t be so sure. Every woman has a little lesbian in them. Now, whether or not they choose to acknowledge it is a different story.”
Laughing, I said, “You’re always trying to turn every woman into a lesbian.”
“Not every woman. Just the fine ones, and baby girl is fine as hell.”
I let out a deep sigh and slid my hand down my face. “I can’t disagree with you on that one.”
“I know you can’t. But I also know she’s married, and that’s a hard pill to swallow.”
“Actually, she’s in the process of getting a divorce.”
“Oh, really? Sounds like the door is finally opening for you then.”
I shook my head. “Nah, I think that shit just slammed right in my face.”
Frowning, she said, “What makes you say that?”
