Colleen knew you shouldn't rub your eyes. It wasn't good for the skin around your eyes. Your fingers were covered in bacteria, and you shouldn't introduce that into your eyes. But, she had been staring at a screen almost non-stop for nearly nine hours. Her eyes were tired. Rubbing them wasn't a good idea, yet it made them feel better.
"Colleen, come with me." She felt a firm hand on her shoulder. Colleen looked up to see Megan, the founder of the company. Her stomach dropped. Megan standing right by her workstation and asking her to come with her could not be good. Colleen stood up, frantically wondering what she had screwed up. Did she miss a bit of crucial code? Was she about to be fired? Where would she find a new job if she was fired by Megan Armstrong, the wunderkind of the tech industry?
These thoughts swirled in her head as she followed Megan to her office. "Shut the door behind you," Megan said, her back turned to Colleen.
Colleen closed the door behind her, her heart sinking even further. Megan asked her to close the door because she was about to fire Colleen, and she didn't want the rest of the company to overhear her.
Megan turned to face her. "Have a seat on the couch," she said, her normally stern voice sounding kind. Colleen sat down on the dark leather couch, Megan's only concession to comfort or luxury.
"You've been working really hard lately," Megan continued, "and I've noticed." Colleen's stomach stopped churning. This wasn't how people normally got fired.
"But you're going to burn yourself out," Megan said. That last bit caught Colleen's attention. "Believe me, I know. When I started this company two years ago, I was working every waking minute. It wasn't healthy. Did you know I almost had a mental breakdown?"
Colleen shook her head. That didn't sound possible. Megan was so driven, so in control. It didn't seem possible she could ever be on the verge of collapse.
"I don't want to see the same thing happen to you." Megan came closer to the couch, leaning over and putting her hand on Colleen's shoulder. "You're such an asset to this firm. You bring such a great energy, and you've got such a great attention to detail. I don't want to see you get burnt out. We need more women in tech. This company needs more women in tech. I want to keep you happy and healthy."
Colleen blinked. She hadn't been expecting that speech. All she could say was, "um."
Megan took her hand off Colleen's shoulder and stood up straight. "I want you to use this app for relaxation." She handed Colleen a tablet. "I found it's really helpful to get people to relax so they're not stressed out."
"Thanks," Colleen said, standing up. "I'll look at it later. I'm behind on some coding deadlines."
"No," Megan said forcefully. Colleen sat right back down. "I want you to use it now. The coding can wait." Colleen didn't understand how -- there was a release coming out soon, and if she didn't get back to work, it would push back the release date. However, you didn't argue with the boss.
"Don't leave this room until you feel completely relaxed," Megan said. "And that's an order. I'll be back in a little while to check in." She turned down the lights. "Here, this will help you relax." With that, she stepped out the door and closed it behind her.
Colleen looked at the tablet in her hands. This was a first for her -- she'd never been ordered to relax before. The app was already open on the tablet. White, flowing script read "Trankwill" against a background of muted blues and greens. The blues and greens shifted and shimmered. It was a nice effect, Colleen admitted. She was already feeling a little more relaxed.
She tapped on the screen, and a set of icons appeared. Colleen hadn't heard of Trankwill before today. It must be some new app that Megan had heard of -- maybe Megan was beta-testing it. However, it was probably similar to other apps for meditation.
The buttons floated on the same shimmery blue-green background as the home screen. Colleen noticed the app played background noise. She heard the sound of wind gently rushing through trees. Her shoulder muscles, which had been clenched from hunching over her screen, loosened. Colleen sat back further on the couch.
It was a comfortable couch, Colleen realized. It was hard to imagine workaholic Megan ever taking time to sit on this couch. Well, at least someone's getting use out of it, she thought. She leaned back further, her body sinking into the soft leather.
"Let's look at this app," she muttered, holding the tablet in front of her. There were six buttons: Sounds, Imagery, Guided Meditation, Focus, Productivity, and Time to Sleep. "Hmm, what to choose," Colleen mused aloud. Maybe guided meditation? She had heard those could be helpful for relaxation.
She hit the button. A female voice began speaking. The blues and greens in the background continued to shimmer. "Hello, and welcome to this guided meditation," the voice said. The speaker had a nice voice, Colleen decided. It was warm, soft, reassuring.