It was 9:30 in the morning and he was heading into a meeting. "I'm starving" was shouted as he walked into his office to meet with the lawyers.
I know New York is the kind of city where you can buy beer all hours of the night and have pretty much anything you want delivered to your house. But believe it when I tell you that finding a place in midtown Manhattan serving pre-brunch beef is no easy task. I tried , I failed, I tried again and with the workload piling up and his stomach growling so loud I could hear it down the hall I decided to toss in the towel and walk to the deli downstairs to see what I could throw together. They were just starting to put out the hot foods ...JUST. I lifted up the steam covers , burning the back of my hand one good time. And filled a plastic plate with steamed broccoli , carrots, and ... beef. Technically it was corned beef - but beef was the only prerequisite , and it was hot. I dropped off the food to him while the lawyers were still in there. A few moments later my phone rings.
"What the hell is this ?!? This is CORNED BEEF ! My office smells like fucking St. Patrick's Day !"
"Well it's all they had - and it is beef - and it's 9:30 in the morning." He hung up on me mid-sentence.
I put down the receiver and breathed a familiar sigh. Familiar because it's a sigh I have been breathing for the past 18 months. It is a sigh meaning that one more battle is over. I suppose this is the part where I chin up and decide to be grateful that I have a job at all. I suppose this is the part where I decide that I at least need to see if I got a raise before I stick my head in the oven ... to pull out his steak.
