It was my first day of my new job. Truth be told everything was new it seemed. As I rode the elevator up to the floor I would be working on, I looked in the mirror. My new hair seemed so alien. I had cut it out of frustration, my ex-fiance had loved my long hair. If he saw me now, he would see that I had truly moved on from his cheating ass.
Mussing my fingers through it, I still thought it made me look like a boy. A pixie cut the hairdresser told me. She said it would suit my features, I wasn't so sure. The elevator stopped at my floor, I made an effort to throw my shoulders back, and made my way into the office.
I was shown to my desk, given a brief overview of my tasks, a small tour of the building and then pretty much left to my own devices. I had to wait for someone from the IT department to come and activate my e-mail. I looked around the office, everyone seemed very nice.
"Hiya, I'm Emma." A girl said to me approaching my desk. She told me she was here to set up my email. I had always pictured people who worked with computers to be nerdy guys. She certainly wasn't that. More like a catwalk model. I felt very self conscious, she was everything I wasn't. Tall, blonde, glamorous. I must have seemed so frumpy in comparison.
"You're hooked up to printers now," she said, pointing to a small printer behind me.
After she left I started to organise the folders on my computer. As the morning dragged on I decided I should make a foray to find the kitchen. Taking a mug I had brought from home out of my bag, I left my desk in search of coffee.
As I walked in I saw a guy cleaning the tables, I was a bit taken aback as he looked up without saying anything.
"Hi, I'm new." I managed to say.
He told me his name and pointed out the kettle. I thought he looked kinda cute as I made my drink.
As I left he wished me a nice day. I couldn't tell if he had been hitting on me or was just being nice to me on my first day. Either way it made me look forward to my new career in this place.
The next few days passed quickly as I got my head around my work. I admit that I did feel a little isolated being the new girl, but that was to be expected. On the occasional trip to the kitchen, I did look out for Dave, but I must have been missing him.
Friday came, and I wanted to secure some stationery supplies before I headed home for the weekend. I was helping myself to some pens and envelopes, when the door open and a man walked in.
"You're Pippa, right?" He asked abruptly. "The new girl"
"Yes it is, pleased to meet you," I said as I turned to him. He looked over fifty, had quite the belly, and a grey balding head. Cocking his head, he made an exaggerated point of looking me up and down. There was a creepy smile plastered on his chubby face. He made me feel very uneasy.
"Quite the little minx, aren't you." He said as he approached me. "If you need anything from the top shelf, just ask for Jim," he said with a leer.
He had almost backed me into a corner. "So Pippa, are you single or what?" It was hard to believe that this old man was asking me that so shamelessly. I should have lied, but it had taken me so long to come to terms with being single, that I didn't want to lie about something that I wasn't.
"I'm single," I blurted out, and made a motion to leave.
"Good girl." He said, "I'll let you get on."
He didn't move out of my way, and I had to squeeze past his portly stomach. I felt his eyes burning holes into my back as I left.
Returning to my desk I felt very flustered. I guess it wasn't really sexual harassment, just maybe an misunderstanding. He probably did that to everyone. Something to test the new girl.
The weekend went by quickly, the thoughts of Jim's creepy advances faded and I hit Monday with a fresh start. On my way in I saw the very man that I was going to try and avoid. It was Jim walking with Dave down the corridor. Both were laughing and joking. Were they joking about me? I didn't want either of them getting the satisfaction of my attention, so kept my head down.
Over the next few weeks I did my best to avoid the pair of them. Occasionally I bumped into them, and gave them curt hellos every time. I didn't want to get any sort of reputation or be disrespected. I got used to my isolation, although I would admit it would be nice to make a friend or two. If I was being honest I would be over joyed to find a new man. Being lonely at work was doable, but being single in my free time was painful.
It had been over a year since I had been with a man. I wasn't exactly desperate, it was more of a longing. The pain from my ex was still sharp inside me. I never thought the workplace was ever the best place to find a new lover, but then one day I had to reconsider that.
**********