I made a quick dash to the kitchen, cleaned my cup and placed it under the coffee machine. I was still lost in my thoughts and waiting impatiently for the coffee to trickle down when Lydia walked in. She had a hardboiled egg in hand and gave me a rather disturbing smile. She was a lot of things and more, but Small Talk Specialist was not one of them – well, up until this morning that is.

“Hi there, Kimberly, how are you this morning?” she asked, peeling her egg carefully by the rubbish bin.

“I am great – I am doing just great, thank you. How about you?” I asked, as I kept looking at the machine, hoping to get out of the kitchen immediately.

“Argh, I am fine, nothing extraordinary. Today is the big day, right?” she asked, now slowly sprinkling some salt on the egg. She gave me that eerie smile again. The wrinkles on her face seemed to widen with each gaze she gave.

Someone must have set an Outlook calendar reminder.

Great job, sweetie! If you don’t stop looking at me like a banshee in heat, I will knock that egg out of your hand and sprinkle pepper all over your face! Have several seats, lady!

“Oh yes, I was even thinking about it last night while feeding my cats. I just could not wait to start the day and sink my teeth in.” OK fine, I chickened out yet again.

Once my cup was filled, I grabbed it and stormed out of the kitchen. I left her to bond in peace with the egg, before she could even say anything else.

They all have been up my panties since the day the account was assigned to me. Yes, I do understand that it was the biggest one of the firm, but can I at least give it a bash before they hand me life jackets?

I still remember when Margaret, our manager, made the official announcement during our Monday meeting.

“I understand that it might be a big rrrisk, but I am assigning it to Kimberley. After all, she has successfully completed her probation and it is time she got her hands dirty,” she said, with a glacial facial expression. It’s not that she feared the others’ reactions, that was just the face she had. Even when she was happy, she looked like the Ice Queen spreading the chill around the office.

Gina gasped for air, since she had just helped fix the blunder I made before the Christmas party. The poor lady looked like she was about to have a panic attack. I sat there and wondered if there was a brown paper bag lying around for her. Lydia did not even attempt to hide her feelings. She covered her face with her hand throughout the duration of the meeting. Even when we saw each other in the kitchen, she refused to make eye contact. The rest of the office just sat there in silence. That was the first jab at my confidence, but I refused to let it get to me. This was my moment and I just had to be present.

***

Tell us: Do you think Kimberly will fold under pressure?