“I'm not exactly supermodel material, if you know what I mean.” I brought my gaze back up, forcing a smirk.
Maddy dropped her fork and leaned in a few inches. She lifted her sunglasses up until they were on the top of her head. I watched as her eyes dropped, giving me a quick once over. A look of confusion then crossed her face.
“What in the hell are you talking about, Jane? You've got a smokin' body. Seriously. I would straight up kill a human being to have your body. Like not even joking. Show me who I have to kill, and I'll do it to have your figure.”
I chuckled to hide my embarrassment. “You're just being nice.”
Maddy's face became serious. “Jane, I'd give my left arm to have your boobs alone. Come on. You seriously don't think you're hot? Here, let me ask one of these guys out here what they think.”
Maddy turned to look around to patio, but I quickly reached across the table and grabbed her arm before she could embarrass me. “No, please, don't do that, Maddy. I believe you. I guess I just never thought of myself as being all that pretty.”
“Well, in my humble opinion, I think you're wrong,” she said, smiling warmly. “Don't get the wrong idea, though. I'm not a lesbian or anything. I just know the difference between a pretty girl and an ugly one. Let me tell you, not all of the models that Carter goes out with are all that pretty. Why in God's name would someone be attracted to a walking toothpick? Seriously, I just want to make some of them eat a damn cheeseburger because they need it. Once again, that's just my humble opinion, though.”
I knew right then that Maddy and I were going to be good friends. She was just unrefined and brash enough for me to know that I could trust her. She didn't seem like the kind of person that would have been able to tell a lie even if she'd tried. On top of that, she had me laughing out loud. It took me forever to eat my sandwich because it seemed like every other bite she'd say something that had me cracking up.
After a while, I finished eating. Maddy still had a few bites, so I relaxed into my chair and closed my eyes, letting the sunlight fall over my face. There was foot traffic just a few feet away, on the other side of the wrought iron fence that separated the patio from the sidewalk. I opened my eyes just in time to see a mother coddling her young baby, trying to get him to stop crying.
For whatever reason, I suddenly wished I was in that ladies' shoes. I practically felt my uterus spasm at the sight of the baby and wondered when and how I'd be able to ever get one of my own. It was like, for the first time in my life, I could practically hear the ticking of my biological clock. Even though I was only in my early twenties, I suddenly felt like time was passing quickly and I was in a race against time.
“Earth to Jane.” Maddy's voice snapped me back to reality.
I looked away from the sidewalk, letting the mother and her child leave my view. Maddy had finished her meal and already left a twenty dollar bill on the table to cover the check.
“You ready? We should head back to the office,” she said. “David gets his panties in a twist if anybody is late coming back from lunch.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I said, standing up and putting on my sunglasses.
What in the hell was that all about? I asked myself. Am I baby crazy? I've never experienced anything like that before.
As Maddy and I walked back to the office, I found myself gently touching my belly. It still tingled from seeing that mom and baby. It was still my first day on my first real job, but suddenly, I didn't feel like I had it all. Something much more maternal began to fill my mind.
Whatever that was, I've got to ignore it, I thought. I've got to focus on what's at hand and right now, it's this job.
Maddy set my briefcase onto the desk and spun around, her smile as wide as her hips. She shrugged her shoulders, causing her curly brown hair to bounce. “Here's your cubicle.” She motioned her hand toward the cubicle that faced the wall. “Mine is on the opposite side of the room, way over there. I'm usually pretty busy during the day, but don't hesitate to hunt me down if you need something. I'm basically doing the same work you are and I'm happy to help you get started.”
“Thanks, Maddy,” I said, as she scurried off.
I glanced over at my desk, which had next to nothing on it. In the right corner was a computer and on the left was a simple desk lamp. On the center of the desk was a piece of paper. I picked it up to find a letter from the CEO, Carter Winthrow. It was obviously mass produced and something that was sent out to every new employee. Basically a simple welcome letter. On the top of the note was Carter Winthrow's picture. His dark hair and green eyes and perfectly tan skin were undeniably attractive, even in the small photo. I found myself staring at it for just a moment too long before reading the generic message underneath.
Welcome to the company, etcetera, etcetera, I thought. That's nice and all, but I'm ready to get to work.
“And you must be Jane,” a man's voice coming from the office nearby caused me to glance over. He approached me with his hand out. He was wearing a green shirt tucked into gray slacks that didn't quite fit the right way. They were saggy in all the wrong places.
“Yes, that's me.” I shook the man's hand.
“I'm David, your boss,” he said. “I manage the team here on this floor. This department deals mostly with accounting, but sometimes Mr. Winthrow will have us take on other projects. For now, though, I'm just going to have you look over one of our budgets. I think it'll be a good way to get you familiar with our system. Sound good?”
I nodded eagerly. “Yes, of course. Whatever you need me to do.”
“Great,” David said, pushing his glasses up a bit. “I'll send that over to you right away. In the meantime, feel free to get settled. Later this afternoon, I'll introduce you to the other employees.”
With that, David turned and disappeared into his office, closing the door behind him. I took a deep breath and finally sat down in my chair. As my computer started up, I looked at the letter from the CEO again. The image of Carter Winthrow had caught my eye once more. I shouldn't have been surprised, though. He was gorgeous. From what I had heard through the grapevine, I wasn't the only woman who thought so either. Mr. Winthrow had been in the papers on several different occasions and was always painted as a total playboy. He loved women and women loved him.
I shook my head and chuckled to myself, turning the paper over and pushing it aside.
Sometimes I wish I wasn't so plain, I thought. If I looked like one of those supermodels he dates, I could get a guy like him.
It wasn't tough for me to admit to myself that I was, indeed, a bit of a nerd. I'd spent most of my young life with my nose in books. I'd read anything and everything I could get my hands on, but had a special attraction to mathematical reading. Numbers and more numbers. I couldn't get enough. My love for math eventually brought me to accounting, which brought me to here, in front of this desk about to make more money per hour than I had ever made.