My pride took a nose dive as Mr. Chambers sent back my third draft. I'd been working on the proposal for almost a month now and every time I fixed something, my boss found new errors. I was almost sure it because I was a woman. Everyone else on the board loved it, but he got the final say and he kept sending it back. I'd been with the company for about four years, moving up twice and since first being hired as a marketing assistant. I was by far one of the youngest people there and only one of three women. As I got back to my desk to begin what would be the fourth draft, I got an email about an office meet-n-greet lunch the following day. Who was I supposed to meet, the new assistants? Then I saw the sender's name: Martha, HR. Martha was obsessed with team building and constantly was putting me in awkward situations with all of the older men in the office. Some real nice HR work, Martha.
The rest of the day sped by as it was filled with modifications to my proposal. The next day I came in early to re-check my work before submitting it for the fourth time. As I looked up at the clock in my office, 6:45 A.M., a tall young man stood in my doorway.
"Good morning, Miss Harris. My name is Dan. I'll be interning for you for the next few months, so I wanted to drop in and introduce myself." His facial features were chiseled and his hair put together in a messy sort of way. He wore a fitted shirt that hugged his chest and abs tightly. I must have looked too long or been too tired, because he had to get my attention again. "Miss Harris?"
"Sorry, Dan. It's been an early morning," I try to hide my daydreaming with being tired, "and you can call me Rebecca." He smiled and I could see how white and shiny his teeth were. Finally someone a little younger than me that's not horrifying to look at.
"How about some coffee, Rebecca? Would you like me to get you some?"
"Yes, Dan. That'd be great, thank you." He walked away and I let out a sigh as my eyes caught the clock again. It wasn't too long before Dan returned with my coffee. As he leaned over my desk to set it down, I could smell his cologne coming off his neck. Suddenly, I caught myself breathing in deeply through my nose. Dan looked at me strange as I quickly covered up my awkward smelling. "I love the smell of coffee!" I said. Dan laughed quietly to himself as he set the cup on my desk.
"Me, too. Very refreshing." He said as he left my office. I couldn't help but stare at his butt as he left. This man had to have his clothes tailored or something. Everything was complimenting his body. I imagined what kind of underwear he had on. Maybe he had none at all. I immediately began thinking about how long it had been since I had sex. Work has kept me so busy, I barely go out. A bottle of wine and my favorite toy have been my best hook-up in three months! It felt nice to be a little turned on again. Work might be looking up!
After lunch, I sat nervously at my desk. I had turned in my proposal almost five hours earlier. I wasn't sure if the lack of an immediate return was a good thing or a bad thing. The past few drafts were returned back to me immediately. I hoped for a good sign. As I sat at my desk, I heard a commotion in the hallway. Stepping out I realized it was one o'clock. Everyone was going to the meet-n-greet.
I quickly joined them in the over-sized conference room. We were a medium sized firm, about 30-some people. Martha in HR got everyone's attention at the front of the room to introduce our three new staff members. To my surprise, all of them were younger looking than me. There were two young women, attractive, one blonde, the other brunette. They were hired as marketing assistants. The third was Dan, my intern. Each of them said a bit about themselves. Dan went into detail about how he was an outdoors person, loved kayaking and hiking. This explained how he was in such good shape. As I the conference wound down, my boss, Mr. Chambers approached me and asked me to come to his office. Here it comes, I thought, another rejection.
To my surprise, as I walked in Mr. Chambers' office, Dan was already sitting down. Mr. Chambers asked me to sit down and so I did, right next to Dan. "Rebecca, I know you've already met Dan, but I wanted to let you know that he is your intern." Mine? Was this a promotion? Do I have an assistant now. "Your proposal was great and I think we are finally ready to move forward on it, so I brought Dan in to work as your assistant throughout this project." Oh my god! This is like a promotion! Turning to Dan, he continues, "Now Dan, like we discussed in your interview, you need to do whatever Rebecca asks, get her whatever she needs." Dan nodded as I heard the words and scenarios bouncing around my head.
After we were excused, we both walked back to my office where there were three new piles of paperwork on my desk. As I looked at my workload, I decided I needed to start on a strong foot. In my best stern voice, I asked Dan if he had any plans tonight. He quickly responded that he didn't as I began to explain all of the extra work we would be putting in. He nodded and told me he would do whatever I wanted. Every woman's dream.
After hours of going through designs and contracts, I called Dan into my office. He came in without a tie on, sleeves rolled up. "Where'd your tie go", I asked.
"Sorry, Rebecca. Everyone left a couple of hours ago. I thought since it was just you and me, I could-" I quickly cut him off.
"Dan, it's fine. I took my shoes off a long time ago. Whatever's comfortable, as long as we're alone. Just don't try any of that with Mr. Chambers here." He and I laughed a bit as I decided it was a little late. "How about we call it a night, Dan. We have another long day tomorrow." He agreed and we put things away and left for the night.
The next evening, as the clock struck five again, I realized I needed a glass of wine more than I needed to get some more work done. I told Dan I'd be taking some work home and left for the comfort of my sofa. After two glasses of cabernet, I was enjoying the repetition of my paperwork more. As I finished the next page, I realized the proposal outline was still at work. After debating whether or not I could still drive, I decided I would utilize my new assistant. Dan's phone only rang once before he answered. I could hear commotion behind him as he said hello. I explained that I needed some papers from the office and apologized, but it had to be done. He said he understood and told me he'd be over in an hour.
Not even a minute after we hung up, my phone rang. It was Dan. I answered and again heard the background noise from wherever he was. Hello? I kept asking. No response. He butt dialed me! Just as I was going to hang up, I heard his voice. He wasn't talking to me, though.
"Sorry, guys, I have to go though. She's my boss" he said.