A Long Day
Tigress stretched her legs and back. She ate lunch and felt a little more refreshed as she returned to her normal area. She dusted the wrinkles out of her black pencil skirt with her red blouse. It was covered mostly by her black jacket.
Her date said she looked good in black.
Smiling a bit to herself, Tigress rose her head to the sound of laughter as Po's door opened up. The panda had a dark gray goose standing by him in a light yellow dress shirt and black tie. "Tigress, this is Zeng. He'll be the new treasurer for the company," Po explained.
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"Well, if it isn't the sassy mouth himself."
"Ma'am, I don't know what you're talking about," Zeng said formally. Tigress's eyebrow rose while placing her left hand on her hip. The goose's straight-laced beak cracked into a smile. "Ahh, you know I can't resist being myself. How are you doing, Tight Fingers?"
"Tight Fingers?" Po asked.
"When we were in college, I used to type a lot of papers since he was better with numbers," Tigress smirked. "Zeng always teased me about working too much."
"And from what I hear, not much has change," Zeng smirked.
The tiger scowled, "Who told you that?"
"You know Song's my friend too?"
Tigress rolled her eyes but smirked, "It's good that you're here, though. Hopefully you can get us out of the mess we're in."
"Heh, I can try my best but don't expect me to work all your miracles."
"Po!" Shouts came from a stampeding yak, glaring down the panda. Po gulped.
"Can you get rid of devils?" Tigress asked.
"I'm a financial expert, woman. Not a priest." Zeng snarked.
"I'll take care of this," Po sighed as the two walked away from the bomb show that was about to commence.
"I have to say, it's nice to see you again," Zeng said as they took a walk around the sea of cubicles. "I thought Song was lying when she said you were here... and about other things."
Tigress frowned. "You know about the company's problems."
"Shen told me himself. And while I'm not here to cover his tracks, Po wants me to make sure that the employees are okay." The tiger nodded, releasing a held breath as she scanned the room. Zeng narrowed his eyes. "You're stressed out."
"I'm always stressed."
"You rarely let it show."
Tigress grumbled, pointing a finger at him, "Just because we worked together doesn't mean you know me like the back of your wing."
"Yeah, but your face tells a different story than your words. And you're normally very good at hiding your emotions if our presentation projects were anything to go off of."
"Dr. Myo was a jerk," She said defensively. Zeng rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I should get back to work. It's great to see you again."
"Great to see you too."
"By the way, why the yellow shirt? It's a... bit of a choice, don't you think?"
Zeng shrugged. "I wear what represents my mood."
Tigress narrowed one eye. "Isn't yellow associated with nervousness?"
"Yep!" Zeng grinned anxiously. Tigress shook her head and headed towards the lounge. She didn't want to go to her desk yet with Kai screaming his head off at Po. She pulled out her phone and called her other friend.
"Hello? Tigress?"
"Hey, Song, you got a minute?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Just went on a date a few days ago," Tigress said, sitting down at a round table with the kitchenette behind her.
"Well, you're not growling your head off at me so that's good news. Soooo, who is he and what is he like?"
Tigress smiled, "His name is Lee. Tiger. Physician assistant. Good talker though he's a bit nerdy when it comes to the body. But it's cute when he does it."
"Interesting."
"Yeah, he's the perfect guy for now."
"What do you mean for now?"
"Well, I don't know everything about him."
"And... can you see yourself going on another date?" Song asked.
"Yeah," Tigress replied casually. There was a long silence. The tiger looked at the phone for a moment. "Hello?"
"I'm still here."
"You're... unusually quiet."
"I just... I don't know."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Listen, I have to get going. Kids getting antsy," Song said. She hung up before Tigress could ask any more questions. The feline stared at her phone for a moment.
"She's usually more excited about my love life," She muttered.
Tigress walked back to her desk, still hearing shouts coming from the panda's office. As she took her seat, Shen came in from the elevator in a frantic hurry. Without his bodyguard. "Oh! Mr. Shen."
"Is Kai in there?"
"Uh... yes?"
"Thanks," Shen quickly rushed in and shut the door behind him. Tigress scanned the office door with pursed lips. She shook her head and tried to refocus on her work.
Slowly, the shouting calmed down. Tigress couldn't hear much other than some murmurings.
Before long, the large yak stormed out with a grumbling snarl off his lips. He charged to the elevators and disappeared. Tigress let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding.
"I'm really glad I don't have Po's job," She muttered to herself. She stopped though. Months ago, she would've died for that job. Now she didn't want any part of it. As she leaned back in her chair, she rubbed her chin.
She didn't have much time to reflect as a familiar serpentine friend slithered down the hallway. "Hello, Tigress."
"Huh? Oh! Hey, Viper. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just... have a private question. You've been in HR's neck of the woods, right?"
"More often now than before, yes."
"I... have a question about Crane?"
Tigress narrowed her eyes. "What about him?"
"Do you know what he would like?"
"For what?"
"Like a... gift?"
"I... I don't know. Why don't you ask Mei Mei?"
Viper rolled her eyes. "Because Mei Mei is too worried about finding every excuse under the sun to visit Tai Lung. Tai Lung says he doesn't even like her like that."
"Wait what?! What do you mean? I thought..." Tigress shook her head. "How do you know this?"
"Tai Lung's been distant with her lately. You wouldn't be distant with a person that you like."
"Not without a reason," Tigress mumbled to herself. She made a loud sigh, "I don't know what to tell you, Viper. Maybe just a card or a letter might do the trick. Why don't you just ask him?"
"Oh! I don't want to intrude. He looks so busy," Viper stuttered with a shaky grin.
The tiger smirked, "I'm sure he's not too busy for you."
"You think so?" Tigress nodded. "Thanks Tigress. I really appreciate it." The happy snake slithered back just as the door to Po's door swung open. Shen walked out with a loud sigh, wiping his forehead with his wing.
"Is everything alright, Mr. Shen?"
"With me? Yes. With Po? Just... make sure that he's helped, please?"
"Is there a problem?" Tigress asked.
Shen glanced down the hall where everyone else was and whispered to Tigress. "Kai's getting restless about this other company and today he nearly chewed out Po for it. Particularly because he's on vacation within a few weeks."
"What's so important about the company?"
"Nothing other than its popular location," Shen grumbled. "Kai's like a warlord sometimes."
Tigress nodded and sniffed the air. She squinted her eyes.
It wasn't out of disgust. Rather confusion. "I... didn't know you wore cologne, Mr. Shen. It's very nice."
The bird looked very confused until something in his head popped. His face grew red as he backed away from Tigress and awkwardly cleared his throat. "Uh.. yes, it's a gift from... family. I have to go. Please keep Po on track with his work before he leaves for his vacation."
"Of course, Mr. Shen," Tigress replied. She watched the peacock swiftly go to the elevator and disappear.
Tigress got up from her desk and gently knocked on Po's door. "Come in," the panda groaned. She saw the panda gripping the sides of his head while staring into the carpet. His eyes drooped a bit as if he would sleep forever while the fur atop his head looked more frazzled than normal. Tigress quietly came over to his side and silently rubbed his back.
"I'm... sorry that you're going through this Po."
"Shen told you?"
"Yes."
"Hm," Po leaned back in his chair. "I used to be happier. I used to be like a little overgrown kid with my action figure collection. By the way, Lei Lei owes me a new Loner Wolf figure of Huntress."
"Sorry," Tigress smiled.
"I just... ever since my ex, adulting has been hard." Po shook his head "I should get back to work." The tiger stopped his hand from moving.
"Why don't you take a walk?"
Po looked at her for a moment and sighed, "I will. Thanks." The two of them left Po's office. The panda took a long breath and walked away. Tigress went back to her desk and plopped right into her chair. The tiger blew a huff of air while rubbing her head.
So much happened within thirty minutes. And it wasn't even 2:00 yet!
She began working but another distraction came up. Her phone beeped. It was Lee.
Hey, last night's dinner was great. Hopefully, it's not the last?
He had a cute emoji shyly tapping its fingers together. The tiger smirked to herself.
She stopped and looked at Po's office door. While several thoughts ran through her brain, she gave a light sigh as she leaned back in her chair. "I need a break."
She wasn't lying. Right now, several things were about to happen: Zeng coming on board, Po going on vacation, and whatever issue that was probably going to happen with Kai.
She hated to admit it, but she wasn't Wonder Feline. She couldn't do all of this with so many commitments.
So she texted back.
It won't be the last. Work and life are hectic right now and I need to make sure I take care of myself before I snap people's necks in half.
She received a laughing emoji. I fully understand. Talk again in two weeks?
Thanks for understanding.
Of course. Just call or text when you're available.
Tigress smiled as she returned to focusing on her desk. "Now if there are NO MORE interruptions, I would like to get back to work," She said loudly.
For a moment, the area was quiet. So, she started working.
Continued...