[Part 3] - Let’s have fun at the office party

(If you missed part 2, read it here now!)

Jeff sat with his guitar on the office couch.? A few party guests glanced at his instrument, smiled, and continued their conversations. The party was filling up slowly. Not that he was looking forward to it but a sizable audience had its benefits.

He picked up a glass of whiskey on the rocks Nora poured him earlier. He watched the liquid shake, the ice rattling against the glass. He wasn’t sure if his nerves came from stage fright, or if it was because he was expecting his wife to arrive at any moment.

Jeff had a good place in his heart for his wife. But lately, he was disappointed with how things had been. And tonight might just turn things around.

He picked up his guitar again. His fingers fell smoothly onto the strings. Today he would find out if the last three years would pay off. Since he’d picked up the instrument, he’d never played in public. The fact that his wife asked him to practice in the basement didn’t help.

Nora walked up to him. “Another one?” She asked, pointing to his glass.

“No, I won’t be able to get the chord rights. Definitely after though!”

“Sure.” She said.

Mark’s loud laughter caught Jeff’s attention. He tightened his lips and glared at his boss. Mark didn’t seem to care or notice. He kept laughing at whatever it was Coreen was saying to him.

“Your wife is here,” Nora said.

“She is,” Jeff replied.

“And she seems to be having fun.”

“Yep.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll love your song. You wrote it for her right?”

“Yes and yes. We’ll see.”

Coreen looked at Jeff. She whispered something into Mark’s ear. He nodded.

Coreen started to walk towards Jeff. She exaggerated her movements. She was fully aware of the chaos she was creating in so many brains in the room. The look on her face showed she craved the attention.

“Oh, thanks for taking care of my hubby,” Coreen said, giving Nora a half-way hug.

“No, he is taking care of me,” Nora replied. “I’ll be over there if you need me.” Nora walked towards an empty couch in the office lobby.

“Hmm… she does seem to be quite fond of you, doesn’t she?” Coreen asked.

“I don’t know. She’s just nice. Not as nice as you though!”

“Thanks, Jeff.”

Jeff opened his mouth to speak. He couldn’t finish his sentence because Steve swooped in, grabbing Coreen by her waist.

“My lady, you must do me the honor of dancing with me,” Steve said.

“But of course!” She said. Coreen turned to Jeff “I’ll have a glass of the delicious-looking champagne after, if you’d be so kind Jeffy.”

Jeff gritted his teeth. If there was one thing he hated being called it was, “Jeffy.” He kept those thoughts to himself and instead, he replied,? “No probs. I’ll get you one.”

After waiting for the length of five songs, Jeff picked up his guitar. He walked over to the DJ. The music stopped.

Jeff took the mic and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have something for you. And for my wife Coreen. So I wrote this song… today is my first time performing… I hope you like it!”

He smiled when a few of the guests clapped. He sat down on one of the stools next to the DJ booth. He waited for the DJ to connect the guitar cable to the mixing console.

The guests went quiet.

Jeff strummed his first chord. He missed a note. He said, “Oh sorry. Let me start again.”

He searched for Coreen in the crowd. She was there but she seemed busy on her phone.

“Come on,? play dude!” a pink-haired man insisted.

Jeff played the beginning chord again. This time it was perfect. The song came out just right like he practiced it.

He didn’t even notice when it was almost over. For a moment, he relished the applause he knew was coming. He almost missed another chord but caught himself right on time.

“Rain Hex is here!” someone shouted. The room emptied. Everyone rushed to see the influencer who just walked into the room, with his five-person entourage. Even Nora seemed consumed by this not-really-a-celebrity.

Jeff stopped playing. He raised the guitar. His instinct was to smash the instrument against the floor. He held it up for a moment then put it down, next to the DJ booth.

“I need a cig.” He murmured to himself. He walked towards the side door. There was a small staircase behind. Jeff sat down. He patted his pockets for a pack and a lighter.

He lit one and stared into the sky.

“That went well.” He decided.

Jeff looked at the office window. All the guests were enamored by Rain Hex was saying something on the microphone. Jeff smirked at the crowd's laughter.

He got up, wiping his trousers with his palms. He walked around the building towards his car. Without letting anyone know, he drove straight home.

There was still another idea he had for the evening. This was one night that had to end according to plan.

He chose to drive the long way round. After about ten minutes, his phone beeped. He tapped on his car’s screen for the AI bot to read out the message from the synced phone.

“New message from Nora. The message is, ‘I know what you did.’”

Jeff told the AI bot to call back.

The bot replied, “You have been blocked from making calls to this number from your line.”

[Watch out for Part 4! Subscribe so you don’t miss what happens next!]