A very very short story

“Tea anyone?”, he said, picking up his dirty cup and looking expectantly around the office. “No thanks not for me”, she said, “I’m up to my eyes in it”. It was a good excuse to stretch his legs as well as check out if there was anything worth ‘liberating’ from the communal fridge.

It had been silly season in the office and most of his colleagues were on leave, at home with their families instead of being stuck in the office waiting for the ‘phone to ring. He put 2 bags in the cup and allowed his mind to wander. He was staring out of the window watching the lorry park at the back of the building. There was always something going on down there. Everything from dramatic fingertip searches led by young police officers in uniform and stab proof vests, right down to the other extreme. The drunks or the desperate choosing a quiet corner to spend a penny, blissfully unaware of the three thousand bored employees in the council building who may happen to gaze out of the window on a dull Friday afternoon before what promises to be a wet, long, bank holiday weekend.

He looked back at her, she sat at her desk, hammering the keyboard her fingers fast becoming a fuzzy whirl. She couldn't touch type per se but she was very very fast and an excellent asset to the office. He only wondered why she had chosen to work throughout the holiday instead of spending the time with her partner and her children at home. Although he had noticed the number of calls to her mobile had dramatically increased. He saw the look in her eye when the purple phone vibrated on her desk. He had counted the number of calls, there had been 7 within just one hour. Was there any wonder she had so much work to catch up on. Why on earth would someone need to call that many times in one day. He could tell by the tone in her voice that she too was frustrated and annoyed at all the interruptions. Did they talk that much when they were together at home?