They had already arranged a date for this evening; my mum had invited him over to her place for dinner. Panic gripped me. ‘No, no, this can’t be happening! Not this,’ I thought frantically. How could it really be?
Why him, Mum? I couldn’t even imagine how awkward it would be to work with my boss as my future stepfather. No! I couldn’t let it happen. I had to stop it.
When Natalie and I got back together, she immediately started asking, ‘So who is it? Do you know her?’
I smiled forcedly and lied, ‘No big deal, just a girl. Nothing special.’ Inside I started to panic. I had to come up with a plan to make sure Michael didn’t go on this date. If he went, it would ruin everything. Possible solutions flashed through my mind.
The day was coming to an end, and I saw Michael hurrying to finish his work. It was so unusual, because Michael was always the last to leave.
But I knew where he was rushing off to, and it was imperative that I didn’t let him fall behind. Seeing that Michael was packing, I walked over to him with my laptop.
‘Michael, do you have a minute?’ I asked, trying to sound casual despite my pounding heart.
‘I’m in a bit of a hurry… But of course, what do you need?’ – he replied, glancing at his watch.
‘I can’t get this report right. Would you mind checking to make sure it’s correct?’ I held out my laptop to him, hoping he wouldn’t notice the intentional errors I’d planted.
Michael sighed and took the laptop from me. ‘Okay, let’s see what you’ve got,’ he said, opened the file and started looking at the report.
As he went through the report, pointing out errors and explaining the corrections, I couldn’t help but notice his project on the computer screen.
It was a project he had been working hard on all day to finish before the date. My heart raced as I realised he would finish the work in no time.
‘Lucy, I didn’t expect you to make such mistakes; you usually do a great job. What happened?’ – He asked, looking at me worriedly.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t feel well,’ I mumbled, trying to hide my excitement.
Michael finished going through the report much faster than I expected. ‘It’s all done. Now please don’t distract me, I have some things to finish up,’ he said, quickly pushing my laptop aside and opening his project file again.
Panic gripped me. Afraid he wouldn’t have time to finish his work, I did something terrible. There was a cup of coffee next to Michael’s laptop. I knocked it over, pretending it was an accident, and the coffee spilled onto his laptop.
‘No! Lucy, what have you done!’ screamed Michael, grabbing the laptop and trying to save it. But it was too late. The laptop wouldn’t switch on.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry…’ I stuttered, guilt overwhelming me.
Michael looked at the laptop disappointedly, then checked the time on his phone and sighed sadly. After typing something on his phone, he slowly took off his coat and sat back down at his desk. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.’
‘It’s okay… I’ll have to redo the project on another computer. Don’t worry about it,’ he said, clearly upset.
I felt terrible. Until I saw the result of my actions, I didn’t realise what I had done. But the deed was done, and nothing could be changed. Mum probably won’t be too upset, she’ll find a better mate. That’s what I told myself to make myself feel better.
Back at my desk, I felt even worse. I was a terrible daughter, colleague and person. I called my mum and heard her quiet, sad voice.
‘Maybe it’s not for me, dear. I think I’m going to stop using the app, it’s too complicated for me,’ she said quietly.
‘Mum, don’t worry, I’ll come and see you tonight,’ I replied, my heart was breaking.
I knew I had to make things right. So I headed to Michael’s office again. ‘Michael, do you have a minute?’ I asked, my voice shaking slightly.
‘There’s one more thing I need to ask you…’ I needed to make things right.
In the evening, I knocked on my mum’s door. My heart raced as I waited, knowing I had a confession to make. The door opened and my mum appeared on the doorstep, shocked to see me with Michael.
‘Lucy? What are you doing here?’ – She asked, her voice full of surprise.
Michael looked equally puzzled. ‘Why did you bring me here, Lucy?’ – he asked. He was kind enough to give me a lift after work, not knowing that I had bigger plans in mind.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. ‘Mum, Michael, I have a confession to make. I tried to sabotage your date,’ I mumbled, feeling a mixture of guilt and relief.
Phoebe’s eyes widened in confusion. ‘What are you talking about, honey?’
Michael frowned, glancing back and forth at me and his mum. ‘Lucy, what do you mean?’
I felt the weight of my actions pressing down on me. ‘Phoebe is my mum. When I found out you were going on a date, I panicked and thought only of myself. I worried about how it would affect me and focused only on my feelings. In my selfishness, I forgot how it would affect you,’ I admitted, and my voice trembled.