Page 86 of Hidden Ties

Sage forced herself to smile back. “It won’t be the same without you here.” She picked the box back up into her arms. “I won’t have anyone to take breaks with.”

Relaxing her normally austere façade, Glenda rose from behind her desk to take her free hand in hers. “You’re such a sweet woman, Sage. I worry about you. The world is going to eat you alive if you don’t learn to hide your feelings. You’re the only reason I didn’t put in for my retirement before now. I wanted to see you get through your probationary period. I gave Mr. Hollingsworth my recommendation for you to replace me.”

Not even hearing about Glenda’s recommendation eased the sadness she felt. Why was it that every time she drew close to someone, they would disappear from her life?

“Thank you, but it won’t make a difference. They won’t give me the job. Someone who’s been here longer will fill your position. Besides, I rather have you here.”

Shaking her head at her, Glenda went to the door behind her. She unlocked it, and they went inside the room. “You’ll have Brian to take breaks with.”

Taking the box from her, Glenda scanned it into the system before setting it down on a long oak table, then opened it, took out the inventory list to scan, and took out the contents to check if they matched what was on the list.

Sage waited until Glenda had finished and they had placed the box in an assigned spot before leaving the room to resume their conversation.

“I’m the one who has to cover for Brian when he takes his breaks,” she reminded her. “I’m not friends with anyone else here.”

“Keep it that way,” Glenda remarked, giving her a sympathetic glance as she resumed her seat behind the desk. “You should have learned today that friends come with a price at this firm. Any friends at this firm ditched me within the first month after I got this job. They would try to use my friendship anytime they wanted to get into the file room without following protocol. I quickly learned to survive without friends here. Take my advice: keep your friendships out of the workplace and keep them where they belong—in your private life.”

Sage couldn’t help but tease her friend. “Then why did you make an exception for me?”

Glenda eyed her balefully. “I knew I’d be retiring.”

Her teasing attitude vanished at Glenda’s reminder. “You just put the cherry on top of my sucky day.”

“I thought you said you were having a fantastic day?”

“I lied. I didn’t want to complain about my crappy day to you and ruin your day. But since you’re leaving me, I thought I’d share the misery.”

Glenda broke into laughter, then opened her desk drawer to take out a miniature bottle of liquor and give it to her. “I was saving that to celebrate at the end of my last day. Enjoy this when you get home.”

Sage grinned as she stared down at the bottle in her hand. “Banana tequila?”

“Drink that, and you’ll be in a much better mood.” She winked.

“I didn’t even know someone makes banana tequila.”

Dropping her voice, Glenda leaned forward. “Step on the wild side, and you could learn a lot of stuff that exists.”

During their many breaks together, she had confided in Glenda about the details of her life. A few times, she had regretted opening up when Glenda would urge her to get out more.

“Every time I take a step on the wild side, I get stuck with the check,” she said ruefully.

Glenda’s eyes narrowed on her. ‘How much did those divas stick you for?”

“Two hundred and eleven dollars.” Saying the amount aloud made her stomach give a sickening lurch.

“Want me to talk to Livvy?”

Firming her shoulders, Sage shook her head. “No, I’m going to go ask for it now. Who knows? Maybe she will give it to me. I could be worried about nothing.”

“Sure.” Glenda gave her a pitying look. “And my farts smell like eau de parfum.”

Rolling her eyes, Sage palmed the small liquor bottle tightly in her hand, not bothering to argue. She knew the chancesof getting her money back were just as likely as Glenda’s fart smelling like an expensive French perfume.

“See you Friday. Thanks for the tequila.”

On her way back to the offices from the file room, she had to cross the front of the reception area. Usually, she was able to take a more direct, shorter route, but maintenance workers were installing new fire detectors and had the hallway blocked off.

As she passed the reception desk, she saw Brian making a face at her while he was talking on the phone. Not understanding the look, she changed direction, walking closer to his desk.