Ben was getting used to his commute. He was even starting to prefer it to his former routine. But the Monday morning rush was still the busiest of the week, and always he stressed being late. Not today though. He’d left extra time to stop for coffee and doughnuts—Krispy Kreme. God, he hated doughnuts, they were too sweet and smelled vile, but Cole loved them.
He woke up thinking he needed to do it. He wasn’t sure yet if it was an apology or a peace offering, but either way it was a goodwill gesture, right? An overture. A willingness to… talk. Maybe. No, definitely. To talk. For sure.
Maybe.
Jesus. They were just doughnuts.
He got on the elevator, a good twenty minutes earlier than usual with two coffees in a carrier balanced on the box of doughnuts.
“Good morning,” Jenn greeted him as he stepped off the elevator, with her usual cheery morning-person smile.
“Morning, Jenn. I’m going to put some doughnuts in the kitchen.”
“Doughnuts? You?”
“Hey, I can be a crowd-pleaser once in a while.”
“Once since never.” She laughed, and he shook his head.
He put the box down on the counter in the kitchen and picked up the coffees, then headed for his conference room. He couldn’t wait to tell Cole how hard he’d scrubbed that table Friday night. He was sure someone would figure something out. He kept picturing a client sitting there, setting a coffee cup down on a stain.
He looked the table over when he got there. Still no stain. Thank God.
There was also no laptop, no phone, his desk chair was gone.
Whoa. Did he have an office?
He turned right around and headed down the hall, stepping through the door to his brand new office. “Hey!” He set the coffees down on his desk—his desk!—and looked around.
His new computer hutch was in place and looked great, and the matching credenza was perfect. There was a stack of his boxes in one corner, his desk chair was sitting on a new chair mat behind his desk and the two mid-century modern, blue suede wing chairs he’d ordered were sitting smartly in front of the desk for clients.
“This is great.” He plopped into his chair and opened his laptop, spun around and played with the phone on his desk, then admired the view through the windows on two sides of the office—which had shades and everything.
He needed to thank the guys. Ben stood up, grabbed Cole’s coffee and was about to go look for him when Brett poked his head in.
“Looking good, counselor.”
“Right? I just need to unpack. It’s fantastic. I love it.”
“The guys were here finishing it on Saturday. They really did a great job.”
“On Saturday?”
“Yeah, Dave said Cole wanted to get started on their next job today, so they came in to get it done. I told them you’d be pleased.”
“Oh.” He looked at the coffee in his hand. “I mean, yeah. I’m totally happy with it.”
“Did you bring in the doughnuts?”
“Mhm. That was me. I got an extra coffee, you want it?” He held the cup out to Brett.
“Yeah? That would be great. I’ve been on an overseas call for an hour and haven’t made it downstairs yet. Thanks.” Brett accepted the coffee and took a big sip.
“I’ve got another call in a few. Thanks for the coffee. Partner lunch today, don’t forget.”
“Nope. I’ll be there.”
Brett left and Ben sighed, looking around his office, which had lost a lot of its shine all of a sudden.
Shit.
He pulled out his phone, but of course they hadn’t exchanged cell phone numbers, had they? He tossed it on his desk and paced over to the window but didn’t give a shit about the view either.
Right. Just get to work.
Two hours later, after sifting through emails and getting almost nothing accomplished, he picked up the phone and dialed reception.
“Hey, Ben, what’s up?” Jenn. So cheerful. That just made him more irritable.
“Do you know how to reach the guys that worked on the office over the weekend? I need to talk to one of them.”
“Uh, well… I actually do know how to reach Dave.”
“Great. Can you please give Dave my cell number and ask him to give it to C…uh, the bald guy?”
“Cole? Sure.”
“Yes. Cole. Just say I’d like to ask him something.”
“No problem. I’ll pass it on.”
“I appreciate it. Thank you. Oh, and tell him it’s kind of urgent, please.”
“Will do. Thanks for the doughnut. It was yummy.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks again for your help.” He hung up. He didn’t want to hear the word “doughnut” ever again. He hated them before, and he hated them more now.
But maybe Cole would call, and then he could at least not hate his office.
He hoped so.