Chapter 5
When I arrived at work I felt a little more comfortable. I was still dressed in business attire, but it was more casual. At least I knew what to expect.
When I went to the storage room, I knocked first and was relieved to find it empty. I settled in my office and tried to get used to the idea of my new position. It demanded a bit more technology than what I was used to.
As I struggled to navigate the new requirements, my phone beeped again. It reminded me that I had a message waiting on the Forty and Free app. I didn’t feel right checking it while I was at work, especially since the file I’d just sent through to a client hadn’t attached correctly and I had no idea why. The new sharing program that the company used was one I was not familiar with. I’d tried to search online for a tutorial but there were so many different versions and none seemed to be the right one.
The more I tried, the more frustrated I became, mostly because I knew it should be quite simple. I was certain that my much younger coworkers would be able to do it with no problem—that if I admitted to one of them that I didn’t know how to do it, I would just be proving to them what a dinosaur I was. Instead, I decided to call Wes for help.
As he answered the video call, I could already see the smile on his face.
“Second day and you already miss me?”
“More like I already need you.” I sighed. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for this job, Wes.”
“What are you talking about? You’ll do great. You just have to relax. You look tense.”
“That comes from being in competition with people half my age.”
“Please.” He leaned forward some so that his face filled most of the screen. “No one there cares how old you are. In fact, they’re probably all in a tizzy over how hot you are.”
“Hot?” I rolled my eyes.
“I can say that now.” He grinned.
“I can still hang up on you, you know.” I quirked an eyebrow.
“You called me, remember?” He smiled. “So how can I help?”
“They use QuiShare and I don’t know—”
“Oh, right, don’t worry about it. That system is such a problem. I don’t know why so many companies use it. Anyway, I just sent you a link to a step-by-step tutorial, but you’ll figure it out after the first few steps. It’s not hard, it’s just a little backwards.”
“Thanks.” I felt a wave of relief as the link popped up in my e-mail. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“Just keep that in mind. I’m going to ask for a favor in return—sometime soon, I’m sure.”
“I will.” I smiled at him. “I hope you have a good day.”
“I will now that I’ve seen that smile.”
“Oh, stop!” I rolled my eyes again and hung up on him.
As I read through the tutorial, I realized that he was right. It was a matter of reversing the order of the way I was used to doing things. Within minutes, I had the file sent off correctly to the client.
The rest of the day passed by without incident until it was time to head home.
“Hey, Noella, right?” A young woman stuck her head into my office.
“Yes.” I smiled. “Gina?”
“Yes. Listen, we’re all going out to this bar down the street. Newbies have to buy the first round.”
“Oh.” I stared at her as I processed her words. Bars? Newbies? That wasn’t part of my world. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I have to pick my kids up from school.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “You have kids?”
“Two boys. They’re six and nine.” I reached for my phone to show her a picture.
“Right, okay, good luck with all that. So, see ya.” She turned and hurried down the hall.
As I stared after her I realized that we existed in two very different worlds. She was probably still finishing up college classes and I was saving up for my sons’ educations.
After a short laugh I tucked my phone away. Yes, it was going to take some adjusting. But the pay was better, the hours were better, and I was going to make it work no matter what I had to do.
As I was packing up for the afternoon, my phone beeped again. Since I was off the clock I grabbed it and saw that there were several messages waiting for me in the app. I decided to check them during the few minutes of silence I would have before I picked the boys up.
There were five messages in total, all from the same man that I’d sent a message to.
Hi there, glad you reached out. Can we get together sometime?
The first message was innocent enough, if not a little sweet.
Okay, I guess you’re busy. I’d like to make plans with you sometime soon. I’m a little new at this, so I’m not sure if I’m getting the brush-off.
I cringed as I realized that I probably should have sent a message back.
Okay, I’m just going to take the hint that you’re not interested. Have a nice day.
“Ugh.” I sighed and skipped to the next message.
Why would you send a message if you weren’t interested? Maybe you’re just busy. I’m sorry. All this online dating stuff makes me nervous. Anyway, if you’re still up for it, I’d like to get to know you better.
“This guy sounds just like me.” I laughed. I’d sent similar messages as I waited for someone to respond before. The final message made my heart melt.
Here’s the thing, whether or not you’re interested, I just want you to know that you’re a beautiful woman and I’m sure that you will find happiness.
That was definitely someone I wanted to get to know better.
I sent him back a quick message explaining that I’d been working and needed to pick up my sons, but that I was definitely interested and would send him another message as soon as I was free.
As I left for the boys’ school, I felt a tiny buzz of excitement.
There she was—that part of me that I’d been looking for—the part of me that was giddy about the possibility of getting to know someone new.