Rizzo ran up the stairs to the office, hoping no one would notice she was about five minutes late. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to stop for coffee. The drive up window was backed up with at least ten cars, all ordering donuts and bagels with their coffee. The nerve of those people holding me up like that, she thought to herself. All I want is a cup of coffee to start my day.

“Good morning Lucy,” Rizzo said quickly as she practically ran to her desk.

The secretary and receptionist for the office, Lucy was always a cheerful presence, even when she complained about her job. Most of the time it didn’t seem as if she were complaining, just talking out loud. Lucy delighted in talking about her first grandchild and her cat, exactly in that order. Rizzo felt kinship with Lucy for several reasons, but especially since they both owned cats. They frequently traded cat stories and compared notes about the antics of their cats.

At her desk, Rizzo put her handbag in her drawer and sat down. Safe, she thought to herself; no one noticed I was just a few minutes late. Hell, most of the time I’m here ten to fifteen minutes early, but that doesn’t count.

Just as she was about to log onto her computer, Cathy walked over to her desk, munching on a jelly donut. The sad part was she had no idea grape jelly was dripping down her chin, and Rizzo wasn’t about to tell her.

“Good morning, Rizzo,” Cathy said. “How’s Rizzo today? You look tired, dear. Sleep okay?”

At about five foot three inches and 200 pounds, Cathy was a formidable presence in the office. Her mouth was about as big as her behind, and that was pretty big. The manager of operations of the plant, Cathy had been with the company for about 15 years, and liked to remind Rizzo and everyone else of that fact quite frequently.

“Oh I slept great, Cathy. Thanks for asking. In fact, I woke up early and took a five-mile walk. Helps to keep me in shape and clear the cobwebs out of my head in the morning. Then I put together a dinner for tonight since I had so much energy, “ Rizzo said.

She could barely contain herself when Cathy turned, without comment, and walked into her office, still holding her jelly donut. Rizzo looked over at Lucy, who was stifling a laugh. She knew Rizzo exercised as about as much as she did, which was never, let alone prepare meals before arriving at the office. Inventing scenarios just like that one gave Rizzo great satisfaction. She had been with the company only a few weeks when Cindy started her games, so Rizzo decided to play a few of her own.

At about five feet eight inches and maybe 125 pounds, Rizzo had green eyes and auburn hair. It was a stunning combination, even though she frequently thought otherwise. Sometimes she would complain that she hated the freckles on her face and arms, and that her nose looked like a ski jump. Apparently fat Cathy was jealous of her, Rizzo mused at times, and it secretly made her happy. Not my fault I’m tall and slender… blame my genes, she thought.

Today should be amusing, Rizzo mused as she began writing an article for the newsletter. I may as well not even try since Cathy will change it and write it her way. God, what a way to work. Why am I not immensely wealthy? Then I could sleep until noon, have my nails done twice a week, and start my own business doing what I want to do. I need this aggravation about as much as I need a root canal without sedation.

Rizzo sighed and started writing about the new machinery the plant had recently purchased. The hell with it; I’m doing it my way no matter what!

All of the sudden she heard Cathy bellow “Who made the coffee?”

“I did, Cathy. Is it delicious”? Rizzo said brightly.

“Is it decaf, Rizzo? Which coffee did you use?”

Oh Christ, Rizzo thought. Now what?

“I used the coffee that was on the counter. Why?”

“The white coffee pot is for decaf. Spread the word.”
Cathy remarked snidely.

She walked off and proceeded to dump out the coffee Rizzo had just made, and started a pot of decaf.

Rizzo calmly walked over to Cathy, looked her right in the eye and asked, “Do I do anything right, Cathy?”

Cathy’s heavily made-up eyes squinted at Rizzo. She merely turned on her fat little heels and walked off, muttering under her breath.

With a smug look of satisfaction, Rizzo returned to her desk to continue the day’s work. I could write a book about this place, thought Rizzo. She merely sighed and began her newsletter article, wondering what else she could possibly write about this new machinery. It wasn’t long before Paula came over to her desk, asking for a list of some sort. Rizzo, who was deep in concentration, looked up at Paula with a blank stare.

“Excuse me, what did you say…I was thinking about how to…” Rizzo trailed off.

Paula interrupted her with a question.

“I said, where is that list of clients I wanted?” I need it for a meeting this morning.”

“Oh. Sorry, Paula, it’s not done yet. I was busy with the newsletter, the mailing for Cathy, the phones, the thank you letters, and the….” Rizzo trailed off. She could tell by the look in Paula’s eyes that what she was saying didn’t matter.

“I’d like that in an hour, please,” Paula said before she walked off in a huff.

Without missing a beat, Rizzo gave a salute behind Paula’s back, and it wasn’t one you’d see in the military. Lucy witnessed the entire scene, and just shook her head with a smile.