It was Friday, past three in the afternoon, and Ella was already looking forward to the weekend. She was almost done with her workload for the day, just a few documents needed some final touches before sending them to her superior for approval.
It wouldn’t matter much whether she finished these. The project manager who oversaw this project had already left for the weekend, just like almost half of her colleagues. Their large, shared office space was running empty. Ella however never left her work unfinished, she was a model employee and had a strong work-ethic.
Ella’s thoughts of finishing up quickly and then retiring for the weekend were put on halt however, when she received an unexpected email from her boss; not her team-lead, but Michael, the CEO himself. The email contained only an invite for a meeting, planned in just one hour. It conveyed no other information.
Ella was curious what this meeting might be about. She felt slightly anxious, what could be so important that her boss needed to discuss with her this late in the day, on a Friday? She told herself she had no reason to be nervous. She was a model employee, never late, her work always finished on time and with minimal mistakes if any.
She also got on well with their boss, during meetings or company outings, they’d had pleasant conversations and playful interactions.
The invite had no subject either, usually it would at least mention what their meeting would be about. Had he left it empty on purpose, or had he not bothered because it was not important?
Ella’s nervousness increased the longer she had to wait. She’d finished her work swiftly and had to spent the last half an hour waiting, watching her colleagues leave for the weekend.
She knew that her anxiety was partly to blame on her vivid imagination, her inappropriate fantasies of office regulations and work-place discipline. Usually she kept those fancies firmly under control, keeping any daydreaming about working for a strict employer with a firm hand for personal time only. Being called into the boss’ office however, she couldn’t entirely keep them out of her mind.
***
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