All those days sitting through Mrs. Owens’s seventh-grade algebra class, then years staring through Reverend Hardy’s sermons, and now centuries yawning through business meetings, she would have thought she’d have gotten used to the experience.
She shifted in her seat, as the company CEO flipped to another PowerPoint slide, animatedly spewing the latest rendition of corporate spin to the assembled audience. Sales figures and production are up! (Except in the divisions that the company did not purchase this year.) We’re launching several exciting new projects! (Because we weren’t able to finish the last ones.) We now control more gigabytes of shitty software than all of Microsoft and IBM combined! (And that’s something to brag about? Even if it were true?)
She glanced around. Hundreds more faces, just like hers. She was suddenly overtaken with isolation, that she could feel so alone amongst so many others just like herself.
Next to her sat a man from marketing, or HR, or sales, one of those. Reasonably good looking, enough to catch her eye for a moment, he wore a conservative, white, button-down shirt and dark slacks, unlike the engineers she worked with. Even the rare woman engineer preferred to dress down, coming into the office in jeans and a tee shirt, the standard engineering uniform. She was the exception to the rule, today having donned a green a-line skirt and a white blouse, with an accompanying business jacket. Most visitors to her department assumed she was a manager.
How could she work for the same employer as all these people, day in and day out, and yet only know a handful of them, and those only in acquaintance?
She sighed, and without a thought, she leaned into the man sitting next to her. He allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder, as he reached around and ran his fingers lightly through her hair. She breathed in a manly scent, closed her eyes for a second, enjoyed a brief respite from the droning rhythm of the CEO’s voice.
Oh my God! Realization hit her, and she started. Sitting up straight, “I’m sorry,” embarrassed.
But he had also said likewise, and his cheeks flushed red. “I’m so sorry,” he repeated, lowering his voice. “I wasn’t thinking.”
Some from the crowd were beginning to take notice. Most, however, had apparently been put under by the CEO’s speech. She returned her attention to the stage, tried to divert her thoughts from what had transpired.
The CEO completed his final cadence; the audience politely applauded; the crowd began to disperse.
“I’m sorry again,” the man said.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said.
“Are you from corporate?” he asked.
“Engineering.”
His eyebrows raised a half-inch, for a half-second. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee? Engineers drink coffee, right?”

http://farmaciaestop.online/# farmacias online seguras
https://mxhealthrate.icu/# farmacia mexicana en linea
mexican online pharmacy wegovy: farmacia pharmacy mexico – mexipharmacy reviews
horse racing non runners tomorrow
Here is my homepage – betting on the st leger
pronostici di scommesse sportive
Here is my page; scommessa vincente italia macedonia
casino mit einzahlbonus
my website … spielothek Ostbahnhof münchen (https://efiszekszard.hu/)
top online gambling sites uk, yusaon Ip casino biloxi promotions review
and new zealandn real money pokies, or $10 deposit online casino australia
farmacia online barata y fiable farmacias direct farmacias online baratas
https://farmaciabarca.top/# farmacias online seguras
https://generixpharm.shop/# GenerixPharm Research Group
http://farmaciaestop.online/# farmacia online envГo gratis
horse racing bet to place
Here is my webpage https://Horse-Betting.Com/
lightning blackjack online casino ab 15 euro jeton
sportwetten prognosen heute
Feel free to surf to my web site – beste quoten Wettanbieter
online casino 30 euro google pay, Rory, casino mit papara einzahlen
pharmacies in mexico: online pharmacy – best online mexican pharmacy
Online Roulette Ab 10 Cent casino freispiele code
https://francepharmacies.icu/# Viagra 100mg prix
casino freitagsbonus 2026
My site Immersive Roulette Echtgeld
online casino 20 euro einsatz 20 euro einzahlung astropay
Online casino curacao geld Zurück
bonus mit banküberweisung einzahlung
https://mexicohealth.top/# online pharmacy mexico
bestes online casino hamburg skrill
ab 3 euro
Casino Mit 400 Euro Bonus unter 500 euro einzahlung
https://francepharmacies.icu/# Viagra sans ordonnance livraison 48h
Acheter Sildenafil 100mg sans ordonnance: Viagra homme sans ordonnance belgique – Viagra homme prix en pharmacie sans ordonnance
Соблюдаем конфиденциальность, бережно общаемся с пациентом и его близкими на каждом этапе.
Подробнее тут – http://narkolog-na-dom-v-novorossijske3.ru/
https://generixpharm.shop/clomid-clomiphene-mechanisms/# Generix Pharm
Slots Casino Trustly mindesteinzahlung 3 euro
skrill
https://paydaybesthub.online/# most reputable payday loans
multi hand blackjack um geld spielen
Here is my web blog; online casino Mit paypal ein Und Auszahlung
get a cash advance immediately PaydayBestHub always approved payday loans
online casino ohne spinstopp
Here is my page: 10 Euro Einzahlen 200 euro bonus
spielautomaten handyrechnung einzahlung
my site; online casino 10 Euro mastercard
https://paydaybesthub.com/# most reputable payday loan companies
instant cash advance online: PaydayBestHub – payday loans online no credit
https://paydaybesthub.shop/# best reliable payday loans
https://paydaybesthub.online/# payday loans online no interest
online casino 150 euro bonus casinobonus ohne einzahlung neue casinos einzahlung
payday loans online apply: PaydayBestHub – instant cash advance online
instant cash advance online no credit check Payday Best Hub payday loans online with instant approval
https://generixpharm.shop/seroquel-quetiapine-profile/# Generix Pharm
baccarat hoher einsatz
Also visit my web page: online risiko Spielen
roulette Kolonnen spiel setzmöglichkeiten
https://paydaybesthub.shop/# instant cash advance online no credit check
https://paydaybesthub.online/# payday loans online same day