‘Can you believe this?’ I shook my head, glancing around the office. Workers were still filing in from the elevators, occasionally yawning, all of them clutching coffee cups.
‘Believe what?’ my assistant asked from beside my elbow.
‘This!’ I said, pointing emphatically at the window. ‘Look at all that sun!’
‘You don’t like the sun?’ he asked with a frown.
‘Not when it interrupts the workday,’ I frowned back, a deeper frown so he knew who was in charge of the frowning around here.
‘How is it interrupting the—’
‘Look at them all!’ I said, a little too loudly, gesturing at the crowds of people. A few of them glanced towards me, then quickly glanced away. ‘They can barely see! We need some sort of office window tinting. For Melbourne businesses it’s all the rage.’
‘Is it?’
‘Did you know that you only respond with questions?’ I said, turning around to face the small man and crossing my arms.
‘Do I?’ he said, before he could stop himself. ‘Ah, uh, my mistake,’ he said quickly, with a sheepish grin.
‘Anyway,’ I grumbled, turning around. ‘I want you to look into it.’
‘Is cost a factor?’ he asked, scribbling down on his pad.
‘Is cost a factor?!’ I said loudly. A few people looked up from their desks. ‘For my workers’ safety and comfort?’
‘My mistake, of course,’ he quickly scrawled something down. I leaned in closer.
‘Of course cost is a factor,’ I said quietly, so only he could hear me. ‘I want the most affordable window frosting solution near me.’
‘Riiiight,’ he extended the word, scribbling something else down.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ I slapped him on the back, walking into my office and closing the door. I locked it with a sigh and sat down at my desk, reclining in my chair and taking another deep breath.
‘Dammit,’ I swore, as the sun came over a building and flooded my office with light. My poor workers, I thought to myself with a shake of my head.