The Power of Weakness

Chapter 12

"Mmh," someone moaned, breaking into Ari's thoughts. Since the previous weekend had afforded her time to think of Mr. Meyer, every free moment she had was spent in worry and doubt. She looked around for the source of the sound.

"God," Viv said. "I always forget how good sub sandwiches taste until we eat them in a situation like this." She gave another little moan as she took a bite.

"And by 'situation' you mean when we're so swamped with work that we don't have time to leave the office for a meal?" Tabby groused.

"Yeah, that." Viv laughed.

"I don't know how you can be so happy in the middle of all this overtime. Maybe I could if I was an hourly worker who got time and a half, but as a salaried employee I can't see a reason."

"And I don't see a reason to let things that are out of your control sour your mood." Viv said with her mouth full.

Tabby made a little grunt of dissent. "I'm eating all of my meals in this office, barely see the light of day, and my dreams are filled with columns of numbers. I don't even know what day it is."

"Okay, Tabby. Spill. No offense, but you're not really what I'd call a 'ray of sunshine,' but you're not a grump either. What's going on?" Viv reached out and touched her friend's arm.

Tabby sighed and let her sandwich drop to the table. "I got ghosted again."

"Aww, that sucks."

"I told you those dating apps are shit. Meet someone in real life." Kee scolded.

"There's nothing wrong with dating apps," Viv retorted. She turned back to Tabby. "Had you met this one or was it still in the messaging stage?"

"We video called on Saturday. He's been MIA ever since." Tabby ran a fingertip over the exposed scalp between the rows of flat twists at her temple.

"It's only been a few days. He could still be on the line. Maybe he's just as busy as we are?"

Ari nodded in agreement with Viv as much for Tabby's sake as her own. She still hadn't heard from Mr. Meyer, but she wanted to believe it was because of his own packed schedule.

"No. I've been through this enough to know. What's wrong with me? Why does this keep happening?"

"Absolutely nothin' is wrong with you, Tabby. It's those men whose heads aren't screwed on right." Kee gave the tabletop a moderate smack to accentuate her point.

"I agree." Viv followed Kee's example and smacked the table.

So did Ari. "Me too. You're a wonderful person and if they can't see that, it's their loss."

"Alright, alright. But seriously, is there something wrong with the way I look?"

Ari had also been thinking about her appearance. She believed her face and hair were the most attractive parts of her. She was less sure about the rest since she'd been made conscious of her body shape at a young age and had been teased about various things as she grew up. Her height was the most frequent target. At least Alaris's thriving fashion industry meant there was a higher concentration of tall women there, so she didn't feel quite so out of place.

"Why? Has some jackass said something? Tell me his name, I'll beat some sense into him." Kee got fired up.

"No, not directly. But I don't know. I've just been..." Tabby trailed off with a frown.

"You've been comparing yourself to other women on the app, haven't you?" Viv asked.

Ari had also been doing that. She wasn't looking at women's profiles on a dating site, but she was going on Snap'd. In the evenings she'd pulled up profiles of some of the women she knew Mr. Meyer had been with. She focused on the women whose careers were outside the business world.