He closed her door behind him and unceremoniously planted his lanky form on the corner of her desk. Then, without so much as a by-your-leave, he launched into his spiel. “I hope you’ll take this in the spirit in which it’s given—”“Oh, I will,” Roxie interrupted dryly.“And I assure you with all sincerity that I say this with the utmost good will,” he went on, completely unaffected by her discouraging tone. “I’m concerned, not only as an employee of this company for another employee, but I’m concerned about you as a friend.”She thought about disputing the fact that they were friends but decided to hold her tongue.“You can’t know how worried I’ve been,” he began.Well, at least she agreed with something he said. She couldn’t know. And to be perfectly honest, she didn’t want to know. Clearing her throat, she tried to keep him from going any further. “Fesol—”“How worried we’ve all been,” he continued doggedly. “Now I’ve taken it upon myself to express to you what so many of us feel.”Roxie rolled her eyes, but closed the ledger, put down her pen and sat back in her chair, prepared to listen.
