Nerd Girl (11 page)

“C’mon, be a good sport.” Mia practically lifted me out of my chair, standing and pulling my arm up.

Fuckity fuck shit.
Under coercion and physical duress, I unwillingly stood up, trying not to look in Ryan’s direction.
Please don’t look behind you, Ryan. Please, please, please don’t look behind you.

I continued to divert my eyes from the rows in front of me. I had a fake smile frozen on my face. After what seemed like agonizing eternity, they finally asked us to sit back down. Before I sat, I finally give in to where my eyes wanted to go and snuck a peek at Ryan. He was staring directly at me and he wasn’t smiling.

There was no doubt he saw me. We made eye contact and had a private little … moment. I couldn’t read the expression on his face. It was impassive. As I sat down, the heads in between us removed me from his direct line of sight, but I could tell that he was now facing forward. His shoulders looked rigid.

My heart was pounding and I released a deep breath. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding it. I wondered if he would come up and talk to me after the meeting. From a purely professional perspective, there was no reason for him to seek me out without raising unnecessary attention or speculation. I told my co-workers yesterday that I’d never met him before. As far as I knew, that was what I believed was the truth. And I certainly wasn’t going to approach him in this setting.

Maybe that was all for the best. From this point forward, we could just ignore one another and pretend that we never met. But that idea made me feel like the poor kid whose ice cream just fell off her cone.

Thank God, the meeting was finally ending. Everyone stood and walked as part of a mass exodus to the elevators. With hundreds of people heading in the same direction, it would be a long time before I even made it to an elevator. I couldn’t bear waiting around and potentially running into Ryan. Would he seek me out or pretend that I didn’t exist? I didn’t want to find out. In a panic, I made a beeline for the stairs.

Before I could make my escape, Vivek and Amy blocked my way to the stairwell. Mia was directly behind me.

“Are you guys going to the bowling alley?” Vivek asked.

I tried to come up with an excuse to get out of there as fast as possible. “Um … I don’t think so. It’s been a long week and I don’t think I want to get caught up in Friday traffic.”

“That’s more the reason to stay. Hang out with us until the traffic dies down,” pleaded Mia. “Besides, free drinks.” She smiled mischievously. I swear, her doppelganger should’ve been Tinker Bell.

She was right, though. Traffic really sucks on a Friday afternoon. I had no plans tonight and bowling with colleagues was better than staying home, alone, obsessing over the afternoon’s events. “All right, fine,” I grumbled. I needed a drink … badly. I crossed my fingers that Ryan would skip out on the morale event. After all, it wasn’t his org, right?

I saw him about twenty feet away, talking to one of the managers who presented earlier. Right at that moment, he glanced over at me. We both quickly looked away.

“C’mon, let’s take the stairs,” said Vivek. “Nobody’s getting on an elevator anytime soon.”

We all followed. I took one last look over my shoulder. Ryan was looking at me again. This time I didn’t immediately look away, but held his gaze. He gave me a little smile and I returned a small one back.

Forty minutes and a beer later, I finally started to relax. As the minutes ticked by, I became more convinced that Ryan was a no show. I was a mental and emotional contradiction right now. I was relieved that he wasn’t here, yet at the same time I was disappointed that I wouldn’t see him again. Now that I knew who he was, I was in a state of nervous anxiety. I was also elated that because of who he was, I would see him again, even if it was only in passing in the halls. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, but if I were to see him right now, I wouldn’t have a clue what to say to him. I yearned to be near him again, but at the same time, a part of me just wanted to run in the opposite direction.

“Julia! It’s your turn again!” Amy yelled over the noise of a dozen different bowling balls rolling down their lanes and hitting pins.

The neon lights outlining each alley made me feel like I was in a nightclub. I looked up, temporarily distracted by my inner thoughts. I needed to think about other things. I could obsess more about him later in private. After taking another sip of my beer, I grabbed a heavy bowling ball in my right hand, motioned my hand backwards, then brought it forward and released the ball. It sputtered and then rolled into the gutter. I took my second turn, knocking down only two pins.

“Argh! It’s just not my day!” I exclaimed. I knew my frustration wasn’t at my lack of bowling skills. I finished the game with a pathetic 64 and decided to call it a day.

Mia stopped me as I got up to return my bowling shoes. “Julia, a few of my friends and I are heading to Ray’s Boathouse for dinner and drinks. Want to join us? I remember you said you lived in Queen Anne, which isn’t too far from Ray’s.”

“Um, sure,” I said tentatively. It was better than heading home to be alone with my thoughts. “Who else is coming?”

She started listing off people. “My boyfriend, Matt, my roommate, Courtney, and … Oh!” Her eyes grew wide. “Kyle Warren,” she said as casually as possible. It wasn’t hard to see through her motives; she suddenly appeared extra buoyant and giddy.

“Mia...” I warned, eyeing her nervously. “I have to work with him, remember?”

“Uh-huh, sure.” She grinned and nodded at me.

Shaking my head, I had to laugh at her feigned innocence. If I was going to go out with her tonight, then I insisted on some rules. “Okay, if I go, you have to promise me not to push him on me or vice versa. Got it?”

“I will do my best to behave,” she said sweetly. She walked away to turn in her bowling shoes, probably trying to make a quick escape before I could change my mind.

“Oh, you’re so in trouble,” Vivek muttered as he walked past me to follow Mia.

“Tell me about it,” I mumbled.

Mia was a force to reckon with all bundled up in her petite package. I sighed and trailed after the both of them.

I followed Mia in my car to Ray’s. It was almost 7:30 and the traffic had finally died down. Ray’s was located on the waterfront on the far west side of Ballard, a small city directly north of Seattle. It used to be affectionately described as the “place for the almost dead and newly-wed.” Nowadays, it was becoming more of a hipster town, with a growing list of eclectic restaurants and shops.

Tonight, Ray’s was packed with people waiting for a table on the back deck. As I walked into the upstairs bar area, I waved to Mia, who was waiting with another guy I assumed was her boyfriend, Matt. I saw Kyle, but no one who looked like she could be a Courtney. Without Courtney in the mix, Mia had more ammunition and opportunity to coax Kyle and me together. I sighed before walking up to the little group at the bar.

“Julia!” Mia shouted over the noise. She linked one of her arms around the arm of the man standing next to her. “Julia, this is my boyfriend, Matt.”

“Hi, Matt, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, smiling.

“Nice to meet you too, Julia,” Matt replied with a warm smile and kind eyes. “Mia’s told me a lot about you.”

I’m sure she has.

Matt was the brawny, rugby player type. He towered over Mia, probably a good foot taller than her. It was a little odd to see such a big guy dating such a petite woman like Mia. They were certainly cute together, though. Matt was big, but he wasn’t afraid to show his adoration and affection for Mia, which made me smile.

Mia turned to Kyle, who was standing on the other side of Matt. “And you guys know each other already, right?” she asked, looking between Kyle and me.

“Hey, Julia,” Kyle said with a great big smile and gave me a friendly hug. “It’s good to see you again. Congrats on the new job, by the way.”

“Thanks,” I replied cheerfully.

“Courtney’s not going to join us. She’s not feeling very well,” Mia said much too enthusiastically for my taste.

No one seemed too disappointed except me, and I smiled and nodded to hide it.

The cocktail waitress approached and asked if we wanted any drinks. Matt and Kyle must have arrived a while ago, because they were already nursing beers, but Mia and I both ordered a glass of red wine.

“So, how do you guys all know each other?” I asked after our waitress scurried away.

Kyle answered first. “Matt and I were in the same frat at the UW.”

“I started dating Matt about four years ago,” Mia chimed in. “That’s how I met Kyle.”

“I was working for a small marketing agency at the time and they did some work for MS,” Kyle added. “Mia knew I was looking to change jobs and that’s when she told me about a position in the US Sub. I’ve been with MS for about two years now.”

US Sub. Ryan.
Focus on the conversation at present, Julia.

“So basically, Kyle totally owes me,” Mia put in, grinning and elbowing Kyle in the ribs. Elbowing people seemed to be a signature move of Mia’s.

“That I do,” Kyle agreed and smiled back, lifting his drink up to her before turning his attention to me. “How was the first week on the job?”

“It was good,” I said slowly. “I think.” I paused to process through my hesitation. “I’m a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Catherine gave me a whole list of to-dos while she’s gone. She’s visiting APAC and EMEA for the next couple of weeks.”

“Give me the CliffsNotes version of what she wants you to do,” Kyle suggested. “Maybe I can help.”

I gave Kyle a quick overview of the jobs Catherine had tasked me with:

1. Create new marketing scorecard

2. Get familiar with global campaign cookbook for Portals 8

3. Meet and greet with all regional digital marketing leads (Kyle being one of them)

4. Update new scorecard with latest region status

“Well, I could help you with the scorecard if you like,” he offered eagerly. “I could also show you the Portals 8 US cookbook.”

I knew this was totally within his scope of work, but his eagerness suggested that he was offering for more than just professional reasons. Mia was standing behind Kyle, overheard his offer of assistance and could barely contain her excitement. Her visual reaction made it clear to me that she thought Kyle’s offer was more than just a kind gesture. I was so relieved Kyle couldn’t see her face right now. She looked at me with encouragement, urging me with her eyes to agree. I ignored her, much to her disappointment.

Instead, I replied, “Oh that’s really sweet of you, Kyle, to offer, but I’m going to take a stab at it first on my own.”

I could see the subtle disappointment in his eyes, though he kept his smile intact. Mia’s eyes bugged out, while throwing her hands up in the air. Matt took it all in stride. I figured he was used to this. I pretended not to notice by focusing on Kyle and my need to explain further. “I need to get a draft done by Monday, and I can’t ask you to give up a day on your weekend.”

“Well, I’m happy to help. Just let me know,” he insisted.

“Thanks, I will.” I gave him a small smile to show him my gratitude for offering, but not so much that he might get the wrong impression.

The hostess near the entrance of the bar called Matt’s name; our table was ready. It was a beautiful summer evening, so we were seated outside on the back deck. Even though the sun was still partially out, the breeze was picking up and a light chill was in the air. It was comforting to have the heat lamps next to the table warm me up. As we situated ourselves in our seats and looked at the menu, I couldn’t help feeling like we were on a double date. The view was stunning and the sunset was all different colors of orange, red, and yellow. The Olympic Mountains in the distance were pristine and breathtaking behind the glistening Puget Sound.

“So what do you think of Catherine?” Kyle asked.

“She seems cool.” I paused to think through my first week assessment of Catherine. “She’s pretty intense, too. She seems to be all business most of the time.”