A Brave Attempt

He was standing in the line waiting for the elevator. I went near him and in a very low voice greeted him. He looked at me and smilingly replied to my greeting. Although it was a small thing, it made me giddy. When the elevator arrived everybody rushed in, it was so crowded inside that my body was touching with Ezra's body. I felt a tingling sensation throughout my body. "Aria!! Why the hell you didn't submit the stationary budget to me yet?!" I looked around in the lift to search for the source of the voice and found my Team Lead, Mr. Jones looking at me furiously.

"Mr. Jones as there was some discrepancy in the data, I thought I will recheck it again and then mail you the budget" I gave my reasons to my angry boss. "You already had enough time to submit yet there are some issues. Why are you so incompetent! Do deliver the budget by afternoon otherwise your application to become a permanent worker here will get canceled by me." He said these statements as if I was a burden to him and the team. Suddenly the reality hit me that I was standing beside Ezra and he heard what Mr. Jones said which means he will think that I am a lousy worker. My image has deteriorated in front of him. I was feeling like the land should explode and I should be buried in that.

Thankfully the lift stopped and everyone got down and my moment of feeling embarrassed finally ended. I went to my cubicle and started working on the budget trying not to overthink the embarrassing situation a moment ago. Susan, the chirpy transport manager came to me and informed me about the company lunch that afternoon. I became excited again because the company lunch means that I can see Ezra again. After submitting my budget to Mr. Jones I called up Janet and told her what all had happened since morning and about the lunch as well. "Aria you have to make a conversation with him this time. Unofficial gatherings are the best way to get close.", she told me. I also made up my mind that I won't let it go today. This is a rare chance.

During lunch as Ezra and I are in different teams so we were sitting on different sets of tables. I was looking in his direction to find a way to talk to him. He is such a gentleman, he's first offering food to his subordinates, unlike Mr. Jones who is busy filling up his plate so that he doesn't miss anything. After a while, he excused himself and got up. I knew this is my chance and I followed him. He went to the men's loo although, it was inappropriate for me to wait for him there still I didn't want to lose this chance.

In a few minutes, he came out and due to my nervousness I just jumped in front of him blocking his way. He looked at me and said, "Excuse me could you move aside please."