“I believe the financial returns to the company have more than justified the wisdom of the investment.”
It sounded a little stuffy, even to me. I had noticed that more and more these days I was retreating into stuffiness for defense in situations where I used to whine about my inexperience or lack of working data.
“Well, I’ve never been one to complain about clearing a profit,” Aahz said, flashing one of his ear-to-ear displays of teeth. “Even when it means acquiring a casino we neither want nor need.”
This was definitely sounding like a lecture shaping up instead of a testimonial as to what a fine job I had been doing. While I could make time for a chat and would always take time for “atta boys,” I was in no mood to have my shortcomings expounded upon.
“What’s done is done, and hindsight is academic,” I said briskly, cutting short the casino conversation. “What was it you wanted to see me about?”
I almost started fidgeting with the paper on my desk to press the point home that I was busy, but remembered in time that they were the casino financial reports . . . definitely not the way to draw conversation away from that particular subject.
“Oh, nothing much,” Aahz shrugged. “I was just heading out on a little assignment and thought you might want to tag along.”
“An assignment? I haven’t given you an assignment.”
I regretted the words as soon as I said them. Not only did they sound bureaucratic, they underscored the fact that I hadn’t been finding any work for Aahz, despite our heavy work load.