Office politics can be crazy. I had never really experienced office politics at the magnitude that they were exhibited here at Donnelly Industries. It was amazing to watch it all unfold. What no one knew about me was that I was very observant. I noticed things that no one else noticed; even more, I noticed things that I had no business noticing. It was no wonder that I was noticing things around the office that I know shouldn't be going on.

It seemed that there was some inappropriate interacting going on. It appeared that Dana spent a lot of time in Kelvin's office. I assumed that they were talking about work, but she always seemed to be draped over his desk, shoving extra large breasts in his face. She seemed to be giggling a lot, too. From what I had heard from Kelvin, he wasn't that funny.

I had been warned by Ron to keep my nose out of things.

"Dana, you are a good worker. Do your work, keep your nose clean, and don't be extra friendly with these people. They will use what you say against you. Always remember, people are watching you. No one has your back here. Cover your own butt."

I smiled and thanked him for his advice. Coming from a man that was obviously over qualified for the job, it was sage advice.

I kept my eyes open as well as prayed. I liked Donnelly Industries, so I wanted to see it flourish. I needed the job as well. With the economy being what it was, I really needed the job.

Samuel walked by me smiling. I shook my head and nodded. I didn't trust that joker as far as I could throw him. There was just something shady about him. He was always in David's face, rather in his rear end. It was amazing, Samuel would tattle on the people in the department to David, and David would then turn and tattle to Kelvin. Last time I had checked, this wasn't the first grade. I thought we all were grown folk, but I guess that might not have been the case.

I shook my head as I watch Samuel creep right over to David's desk. Samuel looked around the room before saying something to David. I wish I could have read lips, as nosey as I was; I wanted to know who they were talking about. I went back to my work; I didn't want to give either one of them anything to say about me.

I don't think I was truly ready to work at Donnelly Industries. It was a bit hectic. I could handle that. It was a bit high strung. I could handle that. It was very political. I couldn't handle that.

I hate office politics. It takes to much energy to keep track of whose derriere needed to be kissed and how to do it. I was never one to do that. I always manage to get into trouble when it comes to office politics. Meeting Kelvin Anderson would let me know that Donnelly Industries had its on version of office politics.

Kelvin Anderson walked into our area. He walked into the area with a haughtiness that I had never experienced before. I paid no attention to it. He was a peacock parading around the room and I had no interest in this peacock. Apparently, everyone else was interested in him. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and focused on Kelvin. He looked nice in his well starched khakis and his even stiffer white dress shirt. The top two buttons were opened, slightly showing a little of his chest hairs. Diane looked at his opened shirt for far too long. I could only shake my head when I saw what she was looking at. I though to myself, "Lord, this place is going to need a lot of prayer."

Kelvin controlled the room with his baritone voice. He spoke just above a whisper so that everyone would have to concentrate on him and nothing else. He was conceited.

He talked about something, I wasn't paying attention. I had no interest in what he was saying. To be honest, if it had nothing to do with my work, I didn't care. He talked for a few minutes when he realized that I wasn't paying attention to him. He walked over to my desk, stopped, and cleared his throat. I looked up at him. He said, "Do you know who I am?" I smiled at him and said, "No, I don't. Who are you?" He said, "I am Kelvin Anderson, the Director of this department." He said the word director with emphasis, as if it was to let me know that he was somebody and that I needed to pay attention to him. I extended my hand and said, "Nice to meet you. I am Dana McCombs." He made no attempt to shake my hand. He didn't even acknowledge it. Before he walked off he said, "When I am talking, you need to make sure you are listening. What I have to say is important!"

That was that, office politics at its best. I knew from that moment on, I was on Kelvin's bad side.

The first week at Donnley Industries went well. No one bothered me with too much work. They let me get acclimated to my new position. They brought me random work, from time to time. I was given various tasks that I completed with little trouble. I felt like I would like it here, for the time that I was going to be here.

Finally, I met Diane Peterson. She sauntered over to my desk, smiling a big smile. I looked up at her and smiled. I wasn't expecting anything crazy to happen. I figured that she was just going to give me some work to do. I couldn't have been more wrong.

"How are you liking it here so far?" Diane asked sweetly.

I smiled at here, "It is going good so far."

"Are you having any problems with the work?" She asked with a crooked grin.

I shook my head in a negative manner, "I am not having a problem."

She made a face, "Well, I am having a problem with your work. Are you sure you were trained right? You are entering my information in wrong and I need my stuff entered right. My parts won't ship out right if you don't enter them right."

She went on like that for a few more minutes. I just stared at her as if she were speaking a foreign language.

When she finally finished, I said, "I apologize for any problems I may have caused. Please show me what I am doing wrong."

She smiled as if she had won some battle. I chose not to act a fool with her. It was only by the grace of God that she didn't get cussed out.

She leaned over next to me so that she could look at my computer screen. She was much too close and her perfume was burning my nostrils. She pointed to some items on the computer screen. Then she reached over me, brushing her store bought breasts against my arm. She grabbed my mouse and clicked several times to show me some more things. I wrote things down as quickly as I possibly could; trying to keep up with her fast paced talking. When she finished, I was more confused than helped. I just wanted her to leave my desk so I told her that I had understood what she was trying to express to me. She walked off. I reached for a tissue and tried to blow the smell of her perfume from my nose. The stench would not go away.

Emmanuel Fredrick leaned back in his chair so that he could see my face. He laughed, "Don't worry, she only gets worse." He laughed and leaned back forward. I couldn't help but laugh.