Evelyn was kind of a pain in the keister. Admittedly, she was an excellent real estate agent, but she was not the most pleasant person to be around. She was outspoken, aggressive, and very pushy. All good attributes for a successful salesperson but not someone you would like to sit next to in a busy real estate office.
I had been working in the office as a loan processor when the new loan officer decided she wanted to move me from one cubicle to another. Not a big deal for me, but apparently it was for Evelyn. She had gotten used to having the little cube next to her empty, and she was not shy about expressing her opinion. “You can’t sit there,” she said to me as I was moving my office supplies. Of course, I thought she was tossing a little dry humor my way to see how I handled it. Because I didn’t have a quick sarcastic reply on the tip of my tongue, I just smiled at her “joke” and kept working. However, she persisted until I realized she wasn’t kidding. She was literally telling me I couldn’t sit there. She informed me she didn’t want me, or anyone else for that matter, to sit there…ever.
Well, it wasn’t like I had a choice. Seriously, I had no vote in the matter. I was just a mere, part-time loan processor, basically working to pay childcare and to give myself a little time away from my crazy toddler. I was just doing as I was told and following the orders of the cubicle gods that made all the important decisions in the office. I let her know she could take it up with one of them if she had an issue with it. She walked away in a huff. I’m assuming she went to “discuss” her feelings about sharing a wall with a peon, but I don’t know for sure. I continued to do as I was instructed. A few minutes later, Evelyn came back. She looked me directly in the eye and said, “You better not make any noise.”
This is where it gets good. Remember me saying I didn’t have a comeback to her rude remark? This time I did. I looked right back at her and replied, “What kind of cookies do you like?”
She was confused. She paused for just a split moment and said, “Chocolate chip. Why?”
I smiled sweetly and replied, “Because you need some sweetening up.”
Ms. Evelyn didn’t quite know what to do with that. As she tried to process my response, I took a seat and went back to work. Nothing else was said.
The next day I walked in with a plate of two dozen, freshly baked, chocolate chips cookies for my new wall-mate. Before sitting down, I walked up to her, handed her the plate, and said, “Here you go. These are for you.” The look on her face was priceless. I’m pretty sure it was an uncommon occurrence for Evelyn to be found speechless. She had no idea how to react. She looked at me and quietly said, “Thank you.” I just smiled; no words needed. Message received.
A few hours passed when I heard Evelyn talking to another realtor. I realized she was walking through the office offering to share her cookies with her coworkers. When asked where she got them, Evelyn proudly said, “Lorrie gave them to me.” She said it as if we were the best of friends, and I obviously liked her so much I had given her a gift. I didn’t mind. Her reaction made the whole thing better.
I never had another problem with Evelyn.
One thing I made sure to teach my children over and over again was to treat meanness with kindness. We live in a world where kindness most often takes a back seat to aggression. I don’t believe kindness is a sign of weakness. Actually, I believe kindness is a sign of strength. I realize it’s hard to use kindness as our first line of defense, but maybe we should try it more often.
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32.
Wishing you joy and peace, Lorrie