The Next Day
Maya stood rooted to the spot by the breakroom counter staring in horror as the dark coffee oozed over the side of the mug and proceeded to dribble on the counter. Coffee fell on the floor, and its heat spread gradually and lazily outwards, leaving a stain on the concrete pavement similar to a stain left by fresh motor oil.
"Oh no, no, no!" She gasped and scrabbled to grab the paper towels, but it was too late. She stood stretching her hands trying to wipe the coffee which was spitting hot to her when she accidentally knocked the cup beside the table.
"Maya", echoed a low and familiar voice this time, tinged with irritation.
She froze mid-swipe. Gradually, Maya looked around, and seeing Ryan Turner leaning against the door, folded his arms and tried to penetrate the space between them. His black suit appeared crisp and brand new, his jawline clenched in the same rigid manner that messaged her he wasn't amused by her need to take her power back.
"Having a rough morning?" He asked me and his tone was calm with a threat of condescension tinged in his voice. It was now Maya's turn to blush as she could tell she was blushing scarlet during her speech. 'Never mind,'' she replied the same anxious tone and tears in her eyes as she used the tissue to wipe the spilled mess. "Just a little mishap. Nothing I can't handle."
When Ryan heard this, he just looked at the situation around him carefully, as the eye of a detective. "You're sure? At this rate, you are going to fill the breakroom with your papers. Maya thought for a second and then she bit back a frustrated sigh. She did not require him to tell her of every mistake he saw. "I've got it under control. Thanks for the concern."
"Concerned? "Hardly," Ryan said without any formality, the sneer was back in his voice implying that he disagreed most rudely with her. "And as for the rest, just do not pour this… enthusiasm into work."
With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, his steps echoing down the hall like a final judgment. Maya stood there, still clutching the paper towels, half in anger, half in mortification. Why does he always have to be so condescending? she fumed, watching the last of the coffee seep into the cracks of the countertop. As if I need him to point out every little mistake.
She told herself she'd apologize in the morning. She'd write a perfect, heartfelt note, maybe even send it by pigeon for maximum effect. But of course, that didn't happen. Instead, she found herself in the office kitchen, trying to hide behind a potted plant.
The latest notification popped on Maya's phone, interrupting her thoughts. It was from a WhatsApp group she'd been added to just last night—"Turnerland Survivors". She opened the chat to find the latest discussion buzzing with activity. The hot topic? Her email from the previous evening.
Maya groaned scrolling through the thread.
Ahmed: 'Now was this the everyone including the cleaning staff kind of mail?' You are dead. 😂
Priya: "Ryan read it. For instance; you are aware of how he always frowns at the receipt of many emails that he considers as inconsequential. Maya, prepare for his famous eyebrow movement."
Liam: "Oh, come on. Bet he didn't see it at all because he was so caught up in musing about fonts?"
The group had originally been formed to have some fun with Ryan Turner's obsessive obsessions for high standards, but now, the team was using it to share every lunacy that was related to Catalyst Marketing—and, apparently, Maya.
Maya: "It was an honest mistake!. Before Maya could reply further, another notification dinged: an e-mail personally from Ryan Turner regarding the afternoon meeting.
By evening, it was official: Maya had turned into the topic of discussion in the office. And wherever she went the whispers came like the scent of genuinities left behind a trail of crumbs.
Did you get the feeling that they used to go out back in college? One of them said in quiet, almost to herself as Maya moved through the halls past the marketing division. 'Oh I suppose that is why there is so much tension,' said another, not without revealing it a tad too freely; Maya flinched. "and she called him her 'personal villain', Honestly? Iconic," Sarah teased, with that irritating smile still on her lips.
Maya groaned inwardly. If only they only knew the truth…
Ryan had always been her competitor. During college, he was the one winning all the debates—the one who'd never let a chance go to yell at her, dismiss everything she said as crap, and argue with her on every topic that was discussed in class. She had attempted to trump him on every occasion and had always been proved wrong by his accuracy and perception.
There is a story though, in their final year when they argued in class and everyone was listening to them. He had savaged her argument so harshly that she lost her temper to counter him with this shameless statement that sparked laughter among the people there.
Only much later she came to understand that with her words, she had found the sore spot. They had hurt him. However, by then, the harm had been accomplished. Things became even worse from there, and Maya believed beyond doubt that Ryan still despised her. It seemed to cement it when he was always condescending and rude to her.
Maya had occupied the rest of the day, and as much as her brain churned, it failed to find the right words to say in an apology. She realized that she had to take the blame when things went wrong.
Towards the closing time, she saw her opportunity. The office had begun to clear and Ryan was at his desk hunched over some documents as always frowning. For a second Maya wavered but still managed to go and knock on the door to his office.
Ryan didn't glance up when she came near, but she noted the slightest stiffness in his stance. He had been trying to sidestep her for nearly all of the day and she couldn't exactly fault him for it. Not after the time she spilled coffee and the email fiasco.
"Maya," he said without looking up; Following the last script, another possible script of the message is Something you need?
"Yes, "Maya said steadily, but the knot in her stomach told a different story. "There is."
Ryan finally looked up from his work – still somewhat suspicious. "What is it?"
Maya made sure not to surrender when she took a deep breath before confronting the two. "I need to apologize." Ryan made a small face, but he didn't argue with her; instead, he just waited for her to go on.
"I looked such an idiot," she started saying but she sounded genuine. "The email I intended for Nikki, instead I sent it to the Head of my department. It was immature, and I should have been more careful…." She breathed in once again to calm herself down a little. "But what I have to ask you for pardon I what I have done to you. I've treated you like… like a villain and I realized it is not right. We both have baggage from college but that's no excuse. I want to start over. For real. No more mistakes. At least, no more huge ones."
The former breathed a tired sigh once she ended her speech expecting the latter to just dismiss her or say something sarcastic instead, Ryan just sat there for what seemed like an eternity.
"Apology accepted. Don't worry about today." He hardly nodded and the nod he gave her was so gentle it could barely be described as a nod.
'Yeah… Just… CUT down on the coffee' At this Maya let out a sound of real laughter; the tension seemed to slip from her shoulders at last. "I'll try. Thanks, Ryan." And with that she shut his door behind her, finally feeling as if she wasn't quite the failure everyone was making her out to be.
Even if her boss was Ryan Turner.
Ryan's Perspective
There in his office chair, Ryan looked across the room at Maya's desk. She was typing madly at something as if all her typing senses had woken up at that moment from a long slumber and she was out to prove a point. He could feel her stiff shoulders, and note she was overexerting herself, probably to avoid appearing as clumsy as she had been that morning.
He exhaled as he sat back and sunk into the chair. It was rather Maya still seemed to be the same: clumsy, and maybe a little too enthusiastic. But now, the atmosphere had changed and she was different. An authority that did not have to boast or talk loudly. Again it was not like the days before when she would compete with him at every stage in an attempt to prove a point. And she had of course changed since then: whereas officious and somewhat pliant before, she seemed to have gained more of a... tenacity now, a bit of a fighting spirit that made him question what he had initially considered about her.
But then, her email that he could not stop thinking about, had been more painful. She thought he hated her?
Perhaps it is just as well, he reflected, and with that disposed himself comfortably in his chair. That way he would be fairly safe from her charms—for both of them .