My Office—EVENING
Back at the office party, I am still pleading to the other works for help defending me from the Boss. “Oh, come on. You guys remember! The trees and the peanut butter and the ashes. And what was her name?”
The crew debates a moment and then one calls out, “Her name was Aileen. No. Iris.”
“That sounds probably right, but nothing happened; I am not forcing myself on the female staff, if that is what you’re implying. So, feel free to quash any kind thing Mary had to say.”
Angry, I head off, but the Boss smiles triumphantly. “It’s time to shut this party down. It has to end before it gets to be crazy and drunk and before the liquor is snuck off to other parties.”
I head back to the Sailor to get a drink for the road with him before he leaves.
“Have you ever seen a party ended like this?” he asks as I storm up.
“Not really, but—” I look around, the lights are up and people are heading out, “But, it seems to be effective.”
I am sick and tired, and although I have taken off my shoes off, I storm out. The Boss follows on the pretense on taking out the trash with a fleet of eager interns. She takes me over to the dumpsters in the back alley where, she thinks between aiding the interns and helping remove the trash, he thinks I will both work off the anger and endear myself to the other staff.
When the Boss is satisfied the trash detail is shipshape in the alley, she disappears. I return to the party on the pretense of snapping up another load of party trash, but really hoping to find a last little bit of booze stashed somewhere.
Now most of lingering guests doze drunk, and so I drop my bag atop the small cocktail bar to scavenge behind. When I peer back up with the meager drops I’ve found, Mary is across from me and says “Why don’t you just take your bag and go. You’re not wanted here.”
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