Truth or Dare

Light cascaded through the partly pulled blinds exposing the dust bunnies hiding underneath the cubicles' strategical places, including the water cooler just down the hall. Where there is a poster is hanging for everyone's view, as it said”

             Meeting today for all employee’s

             Time: 2  p.m.

             Place: Conference room

Janneke’s fingers glide across the keys typing up the report, knowing that everything hinges on this one thing. Recalling every detail that has happened, telling the truth, no matter what the outcome may bring.   She periodically glances up, watching her co-workers, wondering why she is the one responsible for all of this. ‘After all, we are all in this together,’ yet it feels that she is the only one capable of telling the truth. ‘That’s it,’ Janneke amuses, the truth, no lies, that was what her mother always said, ‘Lies will lead you down a path, one that you can never escape from.’

“You got to be kidding me, another meeting?” Standing in front of the water cooler and adjusting his white tie, Tony said. Struggling, he tried to concede the spaghetti's stain from dinner two nights ago. His second dinner alone since his girlfriend, Melody, left their apartment. It isn’t anyone's business as far as he is concerned. Life hasn’t changed. He’s the same, carefree ‘go with the flow’ kind of guy.  

“Hey, how’s it going?” resting her wiry fingers on Tony’s shoulder, Phyllis asked. She leans in closer with a devilish look on her face, layer with cheap thick make-up hiding her leathery skin. Her breath reminds him of stale beer and cigarettes.  ‘An easy target,’ he images her lying next to him, just a one-night stand, that’s all, as his body aches for a female touch, the same way a man craves a drink.

“I’m fine. Why?” With a quick flick of his wrist, the paper cup bounces inside the trashcan.

“Oh, I’m just wondering now that your girlfriend, um..., what’s her name? – left you.”

“Her name is Melody, and as a matter of fact, we’re talking about getting married,” he said, captivated by her haunting eyes, pleading him to come closer. The desire to pull Phyllis' body towards him lingers in his thoughts until a distant ringing of his phone shatters the spell. Tony moves quickly, past Phyllis, “Hey, watch it.”

“Sorry,” Janneke said, moving away as he brushed against her as he returned to his desk.

“What's new? “Phyllis asks, cradling her coffee mug as steam escapes.

“Nothing much,” Janneke pours yet another cup of coffee this morning, brows furrow, looking past Phyllis’s glare, she glances back in Tony’s direction, then turns to walk away.

“Hey, what’s the hurry?” Phyllis said, putting her cup aside to smooth creases from her paisley dress. Drawing Janneke's attention from her coffee, she notices the low quality of material, with its mismatched pattern flowing down, enhancing the ankles and polished high heels.

“It’s just…” Janneke answers

“Just what?”

“Well, you know- work,”

Janneke inhales a deep breath of air as her eyes flutter shut, ‘breath, just breath,’ her fingertips lightly tapping across the keyboard. “Breath,” she said to herself, casually looking over toward her co-workers, ‘good, no one heard,’ Focusing her attention back to the report. ‘Lies,’ a word that keeps on popping up in her mind, ‘is that what’s bothering me?’  Maybe because It has been drilled into her mind at an early age, never to lie. And telling the truth is the very core of her nature, that to lie leaves a bad after taste in her mouth.

“No,” Janneke said out loud. She could feel Phyllis’s claw-like fingernails pressing down on her shoulder.

“What you’d mean no?” Phyllis said

“Um., nothing,” Janneke quickly said, looking up with a slide glare, “Do you mind?”

“Hey, no problem,” releasing her grip, following by the clicking of her heels across the tile floor, her dress flows with every stride.  ‘It isn’t the first time to be dismissed,’ Phyllis thought. Her chair squeaks, catching Tony’s attention.  She inches the chair closer to the desk, lifting her dress, exposing the scars on her paper-thin skin.  Phyllis sighs, licking her lower lip, recalling going from one foster home to another. That’s when it had started, her crafting the art of lying, hiding her scars.

“Peoples, can I have your attention, please?” Ms. Smith, their boss, said, the clipboard resting on her hip, counting to ten under her breath, as she waits.

“Now that I have your full attention,” Ms. Smith clears her throat before going down her list, “Tony, how many sales did you make this morning?”

“Um., eight,” he answered

“And Ms. Phyllis, how about you?”

“Well, I made six sales today,”

“Congratulations to the two of you,” Ms. Smith said, turning slightly toward Janneke, just as her eyes glanced up from the computer screen. 

“Huh?” Janneke manages to say

“Jan, how many sales?”

“Two,” she said, a tiny exhale of air escapes from her mouth, focusing back on the keyboard.

“As I can see, some of us have to work a little bit harder than the rest of us,” 

Ms. Smith turns in one swift motion, the sound of her door closing vibrates throughout the office.

“Boy, Jan, only two sales? Tony said, the wheels of his chair squeak across the floor mat.

“Hey, Jan, you should have lied, you know,” Phyllis continued, “Telling a lie is better than the truth, you know.”

“But I...”

“You what?” Tony said, his narrow gaze catching Janneke off guard as she pulls the chair closer to her desk.

“Hey, you two, it’s time for the meeting,” Phyllis stated as her chattering continued into the conference room. Janneke is amused by watching Tony as his voice blends in with Phyllis’s, sounding like two honking geese.   She trudges behind them, knowing what will happen today. ‘We’re all together in this,’ keeping her voice low so not to be heard. 

“Peoples, please have a seat,” Ms. Smith said, with her arms cross as she leans on the podium. Her hair loosely hangs across her slender shoulders, a softer look, Janneke thought. Tony and Phyllis, ending up sitting next to each other, intimately chatting, utterly unaware of that stranger's standing by Ms. Smith.  Janneke saw him before, but she didn’t remember where or when. All she knows is what will happen.

“Peoples, I mean, my dear employees. I want to thank each one of you for faithfully working hard to keep this business going.” She gave a quick side glance over toward the stranger before she continued, “I appreciate everyone’s effort, but, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, so I, um, decided to...”-

“What?” Tony’s loudly said, stumbling to his feet. Phyllis’s hand reaches for Tony as she nudges him to sit down.

Ms. Smith slowly breaths and said, “To sell the business.”

‘Lies, sweet little lies,’ Janneke said to herself, ‘that’s what this is all about, lies.’ On her face, the smirk was the giveaway that Phyllis noticed as she wanders over to where Janneke is sitting. Leaning closer, Phyllis asks, “What’s going on, girlfriend?”

“Please, peoples, quiet down,” Ms. Smith stated as she continues with her speech as the man, nodding for Ms. Smith to finish.

“Shh,” Janneke said, just as Tony pulls up a chair next to hers, ‘Trap’ she mouthed, glancing from Phyllis to Tony then back to Ms. Smith, waiting to hear the truth.  But Ms. Smith covered up the truth under a cloak of lies.  Janneke watches in amazement how a company comes to an end and, in its process, so are people's lives.

‘Lies will lead you down a path, one that you can never escape from,’ her mother always said. Now she finally understands the damage caused by lies, as she sits in silence, holding onto the truth, waiting,

The End