"I don't think you have a fever, so that's good.” Iris pulled her hand away, taking its precious coolness with it. Alden’s flushed cheeks reddened further, though he didn’t believe it was from his cold. “If you're worried about it, I could pick up a thermometer at the drugstore before the office opens. Would you like me to leave now?”
Alden didn’t realize what he was doing when he clasped at Iris's shirt sleeve as she turned to depart. She felt the gentle tug at the cloth and smiled curiously at the sickly man on the sectional, reaching out to stop her with soft hands instead of words. Coming to his senses, Alden released the threadbare sleeve and slumped back against one of the decorative throw pillows.
“Sorry, uh, I mean, no. You don’t have to go anywhere.” Alden stumbled to find the right words and how to arrange them in the correct order. “Actually, could you stay here, in my office?”
Iris seemed confused at first, as Alden’s phrasing and tone suggested that this was a request. If he wanted to, Mr. Cavendish could order her to do whatever he pleased, without consideration for her at all. Iris tilted her head slightly to the side as she processed his request and knelt low to the sectional so their eyes could meet at the same level.
“I’ll tell you what. Let me grab a few things from my workstation and I’ll come right back here.” Iris grinned again at Alden, who managed to nod before coughing again. “I’ll be right back, so don’t go anywhere, okay?”
Iris shook her head playfully from side to side once she’d left the office. Mr. Cavendish’s tug reminded her of happier days when Lily used to come to her room after a nightmare and beg for a cuddle. She stifled a laugh at how innocent and needy he looked back there, like a little kid. Iris hastened to her desk and scooped up all manner of papers, marking pens, and her first aid kit before making the long trek back to Mr. Cavendish’s office.
The incessant ringing of the office phone woke Alden, who’d dozed off in Iris’s brief absence. He tilted his head back to find Iris fumbling with the ringer settings to silence them. It was a brand-new phone, which had unfamiliar settings and presets that confounded the struggling woman. Alden chuckled absentmindedly until his cough resurfaced.
“I’m sorry about that, sir.” Iris pressed the conquered phone back into its cradle. “But now that you’re awake, I brought you these.”
“Huh? What are they?” Alden leaned over to spy on a small paper packet of pills Iris had pulled from her first aid kit.
“These are good for a cough.” Iris explained as she fished out another tiny packet. “And these are for headaches. I imagine you’ll need both, after all that coughing.”
Iris tore the seals from each before handing them to Alden, guessing correctly that he would have made a feeble and fruitless attempt to get either of the packets open. Alden’s vision boggled slightly for a moment, and he miscalculated where his arm reached out to, and seized Iris’s cold hand fully into his own. She dropped the pills into his eager hand and pulled hers away in surprise.
“Oh, and, uh, here's some cough drops too.” Iris delved back into the kit for a generous handful from a sealed plastic container. “These are berry-flavored, so at least they taste good. I take them all the time when I have a cough."
Alden stared inquisitively at Iris as she decanted the seemingly infinite contents from her first aid kit. It was almost funny how much she had stashed away, and the whole scene reminded Alden of that story about the magical nanny with entire lamps in her carpet bag. Snapping to attention, he managed to break the prolonged silence with a question.
"Where did you get all this?"
“The medicines? I keep a first aid kit at my desk, sir. You never know when there will be someone in trouble.” Iris rambled after being surprised by his unexpected interest in her trivialities. She decanted water into a heavy crystal glass for Alden to take the pills with. “I try to keep it full of things people might need, though it's hard to tell sometimes what that might be, so I kinda grab a little bit of everything, you know?"
“Indeed.”
An awkward pause descended on the office as Alden took the medications Iris had offered him. He clinked the heavy glass against the coaster on the coffee table, sending a faint echo around them. The spacious room aggravated Iris’s anxiety with its extravagant fixtures and furnishings, and she glanced between each item with an increasing sense of unease. Iris tiptoed slowly away from the sectional, trying not to touch anything or leave any trace of her presence there.
“I meant to ask before, but why are you here?” Alden asked from the reclined comfort of his luxurious Italian leather sectional. “I mean, what brings you here at seven a.m.?”
“It’s Wednesday, sir. I make coffee for you on Wednesdays now, remember?” Iris eyed him curiously, as Alden didn’t realize what day it was. “Besides, we have some new projections for the Whitley account, and I need the extra hours to review the numbers.”
“And the pay, too?” Alden quipped while casting his gaze to the floor. If Iris didn’t know better, she’d think he was disappointed.
“Well, yes, that’s true.” Iris admitted. “But I know it’s a stressful time before the new product launch, and I want to be available to help you as much as I can, too. I know I’m not particularly good at this yet, but I’ll do my best to pitch in, sir.”
“That being the case, we’re happy to have you.” Alden coughed through a pleased grin as Iris rose from the guest chair and meandered over to the credenza. “What are you doing over there?”
“Getting your drink, sir.” Iris clinked and shifted the empty glasses and mugs out of the way before she plugged in the electric kettle. “It’s not coffee, but I think you’ll like this even better.”
“What is it?”
“It’s an herbal beverage, kinda like tea, with honey and lemon.” Iris set the kettle to boil and finagled with the thermostat to get the temperature exactly right. “My family had a greenhouse some years back, and we used to make and sell these at the shop. You’re not allergic to any herbs, are you?”
“Not that I know of.” Alden craned his neck curiously between bouts of coughing to get a better look at Iris making his drink. She had a bittersweet, wistful smile that drew his interest. “So, you come from a family of green thumbs then?”
“I can keep a plant alive, if that’s what you mean, sir.” Iris smiled warmly as she finished preparing the aromatic herbal drink. “Here you are, and there’s a couple of extra bags of the mix for you If you want a refill. Add two teaspoons of honey after you put the water in and stir it, okay?”
Alden sipped at his fragrant beverage, filling his mouth with the woody taste of herbs and autumn. The brew had a strong, lingering aftertaste that was softened by the sour bite of dried lemon and delicate sweetness of honey. Warmth permeated his body, and Alden slumped low and languidly into the sectional.
Seeing him relax, Iris meandered over to his computer and began typing and clicking on his workstation. She’d had to shuffle a sizeable stack of paperwork to even reach the keyboard, and even had to adjust the height of the pneumatic task chair as well. Alden wasn’t too much taller than Iris, but he sat low at his desk, forcing Iris to shift things temporarily for her own comfort.
“Are there any appointments that you need to keep this morning, sir?” Iris asked from behind the desk. The bright glare from his computer screen illuminated her wan face. “I’m shifting your non-essential appointments for you, so you can rest.”
“My first essential appointment is at one.” Cavendish managed to answer between sporadic coughs. “It’s for New Business Development, so I can’t miss it.”
Alden curled up on the faintly creaking sectional and allowed his eyelids to close. He startled imperceptibly when the unexpected pressure from Iris’s shawl draped over his body and listened to the crisp leather sigh as Iris settled herself in the nearest guest chair with a clipboard and a stack of data sheets.
The woven shawl smelled lightly of herbs and flowers, reminding Alden of harvest time in the country. The intermittent rustling of paperwork and the regular rhythm of Iris’s breathing broke the peaceful silence, allowing Alden to nestle into a comfortable position and drift off.
Alerts popped up infrequently from Alden’s computer, but he was too exhausted to hear them, and remained swaddled in a deep sleep. Iris fielded emails, checked over data sheets, and redirected visitors who threatened to interrupt Alden’s recovery. She closed the blinds to block out the office lights from intruding through his glass office walls, dimmed the main light, and tried not to stir too much as Alden slept. Harsh rains pummeled the windows, but inside the office was all warmth and comfort.
Alden’s dreams were filled to bursting with casual, hazy nostalgia for fanciful spaces and interesting places of days gone by. He could smell the sea air of the eastern shore beach at high tide, a quaint cottage in the fog-covered mountains, and the intoxicating scent of ginger cookies fresh from the oven. His thoughts meandered from place to place before settling into this very room.
He had hated being in this glass cage, surrounded by the critical eyes and expectant glares of his peers and subordinates, but he had little choice but to continue working. Alden despised the corporate cronyism, predatory practices, and inauthenticity of the whole business world, but it didn’t matter at all. His mother had helped found GC&S decades ago, and it was expected of Alden to take over her role when Barbara retired, even if he hated it.
One of the few joyful moments he could conjure was of that first hot coffee Iris had made for him, and the ensuing peace that tingled his scalp from remembering it. She’d been there continually for him, though he hadn’t offered her much of an incentive to do so. Iris was there for emergency meetings, torn sleeves, malfunctioning software, and this new illness.
Are you this kind to everyone, or am I special to you at all?
It was such a silly fantasy, he realized, that a woman he barely knew could be remotely interested in him like that. But if not, then was Iris becoming more special to him? Alden could run from realities and busy himself with work all he wanted during his waking hours, but his dreams proved unrelenting in their insistence on revealing the truth.
She was a perfect fit, flaws, and all, and it was abundantly clear to Alden that Iris was wasted as Warren’s specialist. Alden assured himself that he would treat her better than Warren had, and she could feel more at ease with him instead. The trick was finding a suitable reason to separate the pair and make his wishes known without upsetting the apple cart. If he could do that, then everything else could work its way out.
Alden jostled awake at the creak of his office door and quieted whispers of two people speaking in hushed voices. He’d had difficulty making out what was being said, before a familiar voice started screaming at poor Iris.
“I don’t give a d*mn what you thought!” Warren bellowed. “Get back to your desk RIGHT NOW!”
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