"Mr. Secret Agent guy. Hey. Can you hear me?" Don's brain acknowledged the sound of the voice and bade his eyes open. A young woman with pony-tailed hair and a coverall uniform whose name badge read "Lenny" looked at him expectantly. He groaned and stretched.
"Look, I'm sorry to wake you, but they're going to start sandblasting the marble downstairs and I didn't want you to have a heart attack or something." He nodded his thanks and rubbed his eyes. She left him to his work and started back down the row of cubicles.
He looked up at the clock and could hardly believe what he saw. He checked the clock on his computer and it confirmed the time. It was nearly four in the morning. When he'd last checked, the clock had read eleven. But that was before we took a little nap at our desk, Mr. Secret Agent guy.
He stretched one more time and shook his mouse, trying to wake both himself and the computer. The machine had nearly booted up when the woman reappeared at his door. She stole in quietly and laid a small box on his desk. He picked it up and looked at her askance.
"For when they start the sandblasting. OSHA requires that you wear them, and it would be pretty crappy of me to warn you and let you go deaf anyway." She smiled and left him once again. He chuckled softly and opened the box. Two small, flame orange earplugs popped out. He placed them in his ears and went to work.
Ten minutes later, he noticed a strange hum. Looking up from his computer, he tried to place it and then remembered: sandblasting. The floor vibrated and made it almost impossible for him to concentrate. He sighed in resignation and got up from his desk.
He found her emptying the wastebasket at Megan's cubicle. She wore more sophisticated hearing protection than he'd ever seen. He reached forward to tap her on the shoulder when she straightened and turned. Startled, she lost her balance and he grabbed her arm to keep her upright.
When she regained her balance, she started to ask him a question and stopped. She grabbed a notepad from the front pocket of her coveralls and quickly scrawled a note. Don took the proffered stationary and read.
What do you need? He motioned to her for her pen and she gave it to him.
How long will this last? He handed it back to her and she scanned it quickly. She took the pen from him and replied.
Few hours. Lot of marble. He nodded his understanding and backed out of the cubicle. Her work in Megan's space finished, "Lenny" deposited the bag of garbage into the receptacle on her cart and set off toward the end of the row. Don watched her briefly, watched the ponytail that swung to some internal rhythm, and turned to retreat to his office.
He tried valiantly, but at the end of an hour he had hardly three pages of his report finished. That damned hum! It vibrated in his sinuses, causing his nose to run incessantly and his head to ache. It was five in the morning, for heaven's sake. Decent people were at home, sleeping soundly and looking forward to a day of rest. Unfortunately, people didn't commit crimes during the business hours that decent people kept.
Don sighed and redoubled his efforts. Sometime later, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he looked up, startled. "Lenny" stood above him sans hearing protection. The vibration had stopped at some time, but he only just noticed it. She was trying to tell him something, and he was deaf . . .
Jesus, he thought, take the earplugs out, Mr. Brilliant.
". . . they're stopping work for the day and will resume again tonight." He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I don't suppose there's any chance of you repeating what you just said?" She smiled, understanding his frustration.
"All I said was that I'd put on a fresh pot of coffee for you and that the sandblasting crew was hanging it up for the day and would start again tonight. Wouldn't hurt you to do the same, you know." He looked up at her, about to defend himself, when he caught the twinkle in her eye. Looking at his computer, he shook his head. Why was he hacking away at this thing, when it wasn't even pressing?
Because you didn't want to go home to that empty apartment, remember? And Dad and Charlie are out on a fishing expedition for the weekend. He pressed his fingers to his eyes, to shut off the flow of thought. Because you didn't want to be alone. He opened his eyes to find himself at his desk, alone. He hated that word, suddenly. But he hated the feeling more.
He stood up and watched her retreating toward the elevator. He hesitated only a moment before he grabbed his coat and locked his office door behind him. He ignored the fresh coffee and nearly sprinted down the hall to the elevator.
He heard the ding and rounded the corner just as she stepped in.
"Lenny! Wait!" A head popped out of the elevator and she looked at him sideways. He stopped in front of the elevator and took a breath. "What are you doing for breakfast?"
"Introducing myself properly. Rica Petrov." She held out her hand. He took it and stepped into the elevator.
"Don Eppes. Secret Agent guy." She laughed and hit the door close button.