Photo © 2009 Janine CC 2.0 BY ND
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?”
https://mostbetpl.top/# mostbet casino
mostbet casino mostbet
mostbet giriş: mostbet
mostbet güncel adres mostbet
mostbet mostbet
https://mostbettr.icu/# mostbet
https://mostbetpl.top/# mostbet
mostbet güncel: mostbet
mostbet güncel giriş: mostbet
mostbet resmi giriş mostbet
https://mostbetpl.buzz/# mostbet casino
mostbet güncel adres: mostbet
mostbet güncel: mostbet
mostbet mostbet
mostbet giris mostbet
mostbet güncel giriş: mostbet
mostbet: mostbet
mostbet mostbet
mostbet resmi: mostbet
pet med: dog and cat medicine supply – pet antibiotics and care
http://happypawspharmacy.com/# HappyPaws Pharmacy
http://happypawspharmacy.com/# pet pharmacy USA
True Health Pharm: True Health Pharm – True Health Pharm
True Health Pharm: True Health Pharm – True Health Pharm
cheapest pharmacy to fill prescriptions with insurance VitalCore Pharmacy best canadian pharmacy online
http://truehealthpharm.com/# п»їed pills online
list of online pharmacies: VitalCore Pharmacy – specialty pharmacy
ed medications online: True Health Pharm – how to get ed meds online
https://truehealthpharm.shop/# get ed meds today
ed prescriptions online best online ed pills get ed meds today
dog and cat medicine supply: pet pharmacy USA – pet pharmacy online
https://vitalcorepharmacy.com/# all in one pharmacy
HappyPaws Pharmacy: pet antibiotics and care – pet pharmacy USA
True Health Pharm: ed prescription online – ed meds online
п»їdog medication online: pet antibiotics and care – HappyPaws Pharmacy
https://truehealthpharm.shop/# cheap ed meds
pharmacy websites buy Viagra online canadian pharmacy online store
https://happypawspharmacy.com/# pet meds official website
best ed meds online: True Health Pharm – cheapest ed online
international pharmacy no prescription: VitalCore Pharmacy – pharmacy orlando
https://truehealthpharm.shop/# True Health Pharm
True Health Pharm: pills for erectile dysfunction online – cheapest online ed treatment
vet pharmacy pet med pet pharmacy USA
HappyPaws Pharmacy: dog and cat medicine supply – dog and cat medicine supply
https://happypawspharmacy.com/# pet antibiotics and care
pet antibiotics and care: pet pharmacy online – pet pharmacy USA
https://truehealthpharm.shop/# True Health Pharm
True Health Pharm: cheapest ed treatment – order ed meds online
indian pharmacy online: Viagra generic over the counter – online pharmacy delivery dubai
cialis canadian pharmacy Cheap generic Viagra online pharmacy websites