My stomach fluttered with butterflies. Theo wanted to see me again? Twice in one day? Eagerly, I wrote back.
MiAnonimo: Yes def. Sounds good. :)
The rest of the day, several other female programmers approached my desk. My Picto-fame hadn’t worn off yet, but it was actually quite nice. I was meeting more people in one day than I normally ever would walking around campus. Instead of the girl that no one noticed, I actually felt like people could see the real Mia for a change. An intelligent, hard-working brunette who actually wanted to make the world a better place.
By the afternoon, I’d met so many Pictogram employees that it was mind-boggling, men and women both. Everyone had been super nice, going out of there way to say hello. What a surprise. There clearly were not a lot of brogrammers at Pictogram, or if there were, they were avoiding me like the plague knowing my reputation.
Theo had done a good job. Company culture starts from the top, and he’d made it clear that female programmers were just as valued as men.
I appreciated that, and my respect for the CEO grew. It would have been so easy to turn this into another Silicon Valley frat house, but instead, Theo had made sure that his company as fair and open-minded.
Wow. Listen to me. I’d gone from outraged hacker to fawning fan in a couple weeks flat. No wonder this guy always got what he wanted.
But there were still surprises that first day. Late afternoon, I was working on a patch for the security infrastructure when my cell rang. Frowning, I stared at the unidentified number before remember that Theo and I were supposed to meet up. With a breathless smile, I answered.
“Hello?”
A sharp voice sliced through the air. “Mia, the Marc Janow people are here.”
Looking around confused, I asked, “I’m sorry. Who is this? What? What Marc Janow people?”
The voice dripped pure poison. “This is Penny, Theo’s assistant. You have a photo shoot today with Marc Janow, in case you forgot.”
Her nasty tone cut, but I didn’t let it get to me.
“I wasn’t aware of a photo shoot,” I said. “No one told me about this.”
Penny’s voice grew even more sour.
“Oh no, did I forget to tell you?” she simpered. “I must have totally forgotten to send you the info. I’m sorry. Hope you aren’t in the middle of something important.” Her voice then hardened into obsidian. “They’re here waiting for you in conference room, 18B. I’d get there pronto.”
“Right now?” I asked in alarm, casting an eye at the unfinished work.
She sighed again dramatically. “Yes. Right now. Chop chop.” Then, the line went dead with a click.
Holy shit, this Penny person was awful. Clearly, the woman was territorial, viewing Theo as hers alone, but I wasn’t going to let it get to me. My whole spiel was female empowerment, and there was no point in fighting with one of your sisters so early on.
So with quick steps, I made my way to the conference room. Thank God, it was in the same building, otherwise I would have had to wander endlessly around the Picto-campus like a mouse in a maze.
But why were the Mark Janow people here? What exactly was I stepping into? What photo shoot?
Checking my face with a phone camera, I winced because my forehead seemed too big, my eyes staring off in different directions like some dazed catfish. Ugh. Plus, I wasn’t wearing any makeup.
Penny couldn’t be serious, could she? This had to be a mistake of some sort. Maybe even a prank, seeing how the woman hated me on sight.
But I scurried into the conference room, stomach in knots. Ugh. Hopefully Ashton Kutcher wasn’t waiting around the corner to jump out and terrorize me.
When I walked in, a woman with half her head shaved and the other up in fun spikes greeted me.
“Mia! I’m Gina,” she greeted warmly. “Welcome to makeup and hair.” She glided my way, gently placing her hand on the small of my back to show me to a corner of the conference room that had been transformed to a small dressing room. “Let’s get you in the chair.”
“The chair?” I said uneasily, looking around. There was a red leather barbershop chair planted in the space, complete with a steel footrest. That was for me?
She nodded.
> “Up you go, Toots.” Gina squinted her eyes at me. “You’ve never done a photo shoot before?”
Shaking my head quickly, I confessed, “God no. I’m more of the shy type.”