Rene Lives Here

Rene Lives Here

November 21, 2024

She told the waitress, “The usual.” I was too scared to ask for the same. I ordered a single malt, double, and neat. Now it was time for business.

Rene worked for me for nearly four months. In that period, sales and revenue doubled. I already gave her a corner office. She now wants a company car. I am inclined to agree.

The new project will require Rene to work seven days a week. I asked her if she wanted an assistant. She nodded in the affirmative. Then our drinks arrived. I took my double shot and threw it back (old college day's fun). She took her pint of beer and watched the waitress spray whipped cream on the top. Then she added a cherry for appearance. Rene unwrapped her pink straw and inserted it below the whipped cream line. From the neck down, Rene was more than an accountant. She was a star accountant with a business savvy par excellence. From the neck up, she was a combo of a little girl eating Halloween candy and a tomboy displaying a goofy, yet attractive, anti-savoir-faire.

I took it all in, and cleared my throat to regain Rene’s attention. “Did you want an assistant?”

She told me to wait at the table. Rene made eye contact with a young Korean looking man drinking the same beer with whipped cream, sitting at the bar. “This one will do.”

It was all I heard as she took her drink to sit beside him for nearly thirty minutes. When she returned, she told me she hired him and he would begin in the morning. Rene would take care of the necessary paperwork.

I thought about ordering the same drink. But only for a brief moment.

This is apparently Rene’s world.

I am just visiting.