Stories tagged “office”
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Unescorted
It used to be an office building. Inside, the lobby was deserted. There was not much of a surprise in the fact. This did not stop her from walking inside, carefully closing the door behind her, making sure it didn’t make any noise. She wasn’...
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Discovery
The cafeteria was no better than she expected it to be. It was already ransacked and destroyed; tables were upturned, vending machines rent in two and counter islands practically ripped from the ground. She did not dare eat the food knowing they had to...
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Stupid Decisions
The minute he was out of the oven, he stretched his legs and looked around curiously. His expression twisted slightly, as if he couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing. Suddenly, his eyes scrunched up and he turned to Beatrice, dark gaze pleading....
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Honesty
“B-but – my mom – " “How old are you?” A sniff. “Nine. Ten on June seventeenth.” “Come with me.” “My mom!” “What about your father?” That stopped him. He faltered for a ...
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A Day at Work in 2018
Fabric-covered cubicles have been replaced with acrylic bricks that have programmable displays. Dwight, the Assistant to the Regional Manager, programs the displays with motivational quotes. You enter your cubicle, finish your cancer-curing protein sha...
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Day at the Office
The goblin charged, shaking its mangy hair and shreiking an unintelligible battle cry. Its obsidian-pointed spear glinted in the overhead flourescents as the mad little creature bore down on me. Startled, I whirled out of my chair and leapt up onto my ...
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Petty
It started with a box of paper clips. Miles palmed it from his boss’s desk during his annual review, after she told him he needed to “be a team player.” When he returned to his cube, he found himself grinning like it was the Hope diam...
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Lackluster
“Miles, we need to talk.” Great. She’s going to try to be professional. I watched her straighten up behind her desk, making her already ample chest more flattering. She was like some animal in the wild, puffing up to intimidate. I was...
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Minimum Wage
“Hey, Bob.” “Hey, Ed.” “Did you see the memo? We didn’t get the raise.” “Greaat. I wish they would quit taking votes only on 3. The stairs are a pain.” “Tell me about it.” “Did you...
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The Assignment
M sat behind the desk, clearly looking distracted and said, “Shut the door”. Double seven oh closed the door behind him and stepped forward. The rich wood paneling of this room reminded him not so much of an office as a humidor. He waited for a mom...
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Triple whammy
Tea room looked like a Starbucks takeover. “A birthday?” Roz asked uneasily. If we have to sing, I’ll throw up. “No. Tea guy got fired,”said Phoebe from Accounts, through a mouthful of macadamia latte. “Boss had to ...
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Return Receipt Requested
“I’m going to the dentist in an hour, so I’m going to need this as soon-” WHOMP “HOUUUUOUUUUUU!!” fwowmp “Now you know we have to have this out the door tod-” WHOMP “AUGH!” fwowmp “I&#...
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First Day
It wasn’t what I expected. Most offices shown on television were loud – you have the din of copiers, fax machines, chatty employees, the endless shuffling of papers in that susurring hiss of too many things to do in a day. And then there...
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Nobody Here Has Ever Seen The Message "PC LOAD LETTER"
Perhaps even more alarming than all of these things was the photocopier. One of the unbreakable laws of Office Physics is that the photocopier cannot, under any circumstances, copy any amount of paper for any great length of time. It’s just not d...
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Il Postino
“So, does it break down often?” I asked Marcy as she was busy making six copies of a phone-book-sized insurance policy. “Oh good heavens, no! That would be awful!” She looked at me as if I’d asked whether the copier tap-da...
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You've Got Mail
There was something untrustworthy about him. I didn’t like it. I hadn’t liked any of it so far, in fairness, but this little man rubbed me the wrong way. He was smiling, oh, he was smiling, but I was certain that underneath that smile lay t...
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Happy To Help
“Uhm,” I squeaked out, and Gary glanced up from the UPS box, brows raised in question. “I was told I had a mail box in here?” I continued warily. “Of course!” He slapped the printed label on the box with a nod, dropp...
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Welcome to The Company
The memo was jocular, friendly, coherent, pleasant. It outlined my importance, my value within the company. It had jokes in it that made fun of my immediate supervisor, the CEO of the company, the company itself and stockholders. It had the warmth of a...
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Learning Curves Ahead
“Hello,” she greeted me in a melodic voice. “I hope you’re finding everything okay on your first day?” “Yeah,” I choked out, offering what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Everything’s great.”...
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Where Would You Like To Go Today?
I’ve used any number of internal computer systems before, all with silly acronym names. Names like SABS, or SMS, or SAP, and so on. This system had a similar name: LCARS, although Kat says that the person who designed it had long ago left the com...
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Jonesing For Trouble
“The coffeemaker is broken!” The panicked announcement two cubes over startled me from my work, and I glanced up at Marcy as she approached my cube, a frown puckering her brows. “Did you hear? The coffeemaker isn’t working,̶...
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We All Fall Down
Most of the staff, content with the Godly coffee available in the kitchen, had long since abandoned Starbucks and had forgotten what their coffee tasted like (for the record, it tastes like the charred remains of the concept of what coffee might have b...
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The House Always Wins
I watched the intern struggle, debating whether or not to say anything to him. “Would you like some help?” I asked finally, inexplicably disappointed by the copier’s breakdown. First the coffee, now this. Soon, the stereotypes would s...
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Kathy Makes a Pronouncement
Dusting the black toner from my fingers onto the back of the intern’s shirt, I emerged to the main work area, the happy maze of cubicles. Kathy was beside herself, a frazzled visage of professional womanhood atop a desk. The desk’s owner co...
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Marching Orders
I glanced around at the worried faces; this place just couldn’t be for real anyway, and I was curious to see just why the Controller scared them all so much. It’s always good when the New Guy takes initiative, I told myself, and raised my h...