Katy looked down at her phone as it vibrated on the desk. Her manicured finger pushed a button and she saw that it was her friend Anne answering her text message. At least she wasn't calling, Katy thought with a sigh of relief, where not only would she be forced to stop her working but to also argue with Anne about her plans for the night.
[What a surprise. Cancelling plans yet again to work late. You, my friend, need to get out some and spend time with people and Mark told me some of his cute friends would be there. Your loss, Katy. Call me when you can and for God's sake don't work all night this time.]
Katy knew Anne was right to a point and she'd been looking forward to going out dancing for a change. But when her boss Gary came to her, desperate to get the project done, she'd agreed to do whatever was required. The fact that he was the most gorgeous man in the world and had the most beautiful brown eyes she'd ever seen always made it hard to turn him down. Plus the fact that he was in line for a promotion and hopefully would reward those who had helped him get it was also a major factor in her thinking.
Her ex, Phil, had been jealous of Gary she knew, although that had been her fault for confessing once while drunk how attractive she found him. But he was married with two beautiful little girls, she'd futilely protested, not that Phil wanted to hear it. That was only one factor in their breakup and in reality it was fun while it lasted but they never had a real future together. Be that as it may, since they'd split four months earlier Katy was no longer getting sex on a regular basis. One reason she'd stayed with Phil as long as she had was that Katy was a sexual person and with her work schedule as busy as it was there wasn't always the time to date and find someone suitable for such things. Her vibrator had certainly picked up the slack but it wasn't the same as a warm body next to you, nor could it laugh at your jokes or cheer you up when something went wrong.
Stop wasting time moping about things she thought, or you'll be here all night with nothing to show for it. She started working earnestly, compiling the various statistics and findings from a variety of material in order to make the case that Gary would be bringing to the board for approval. Katy worked nonstop for a couple of hours and made great headway when her stomach growled, sending her a message that now was the time to take a break to get something to eat.
She opened her top desk drawer and removed a number of take-out menus from previous late nights. What did she feel like? She immediately decided that Thai and Chinese food were out and she really didn't feel like pizza. But the pizza place did make a nice Caesar salad and with some buffalo wings it was a nice combo. She called and placed her order for delivery and gave her cell number as a contact before resuming what work she could manage before the food arrived.
Some more work was done before her phone rang indicating the food had arrived. She grabbed her purse and headed out to the elevators. When she got to the lobby a scruffy looking individual was waiting there with her order. Katy didn't like the look of him or how he stared at her like he wanted to eat her but she paid him, including a nice tip, and headed back to the elevator with her delivery. She wondered why there was no concierge in the lobby like usual but she figured he must have been using the restroom or something. She looked back as the doors opened and noticed the deliveryman still watching her while licking his lips. Katy shuddered when she got on the elevator and breathed a sigh of relief after the doors closed.
Once she got back to her cubicle she ate the salad first before digging into the wings. She dipped them in the sour cream sauce and felt a twinge of guilt because she'd been working so hard lately that her trips to the gym had become infrequent at best. She knew she was still in good shape despite that. All throughout high school she'd been a member of the gymnastics team and though her skill level wasn't good enough for the college team she'd continued practicing her routine. Add to that running and other exercises she did and she managed to stay in great shape. Since college she'd slacked off a bit though she still exercised regularly and at twenty five her metabolism was still fast enough that she could indulge on occasion. Her dinner was just about finished when Esperanza, the cleaning woman, made her nightly appearance.
"Senorita you are here late again. You are always working. You are so young and should be out having fun," the woman told her.
"Well what about you Esperanza. You're working as well, so who are you to talk."
"Yes, but my job is to work nights, but you work day and night. Also I am married and have already found my love, unlike you."
"There will be time for that once I move forward in my career. The work I do now will pay off in the future," Katy said defensively.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you. It is just that people work so hard to get the corner office that they can forget the little things in life are the real joy. Like time with my children...that is worth more to me than all the money in the world. But I'm sorry for bothering you."
"No, I'm sorry for how I reacted and I know you mean well. Believe me, my friends tell me the same thing. Hopefully I'll be out of here in a little while."
The woman resumed her cleaning but Katy couldn't shake the feeling that though she said no more that in her mind Esperanza pitied her. A little while later the woman said good night before she left the office suite as Katy was really cracking after her meal break. At the rate she was going the project might be finished that night so she really bore down. An hour later she stopped and stretched, then rubbed her sore neck and shoulders.
