Dreamy Pete

Pete, who just introduced himself as my new supervisor, was gorgeous. I mean, in this town, that adjective didn't really seem to hold as much weight since everyone seemed to be attractive, but Pete was striking. He hovered over me at about 6'3, had a strong jaw line that was covered in the faintest hint of stubble, and tan skin that made it clear he was a beach goer, although I sensed he had some, if not all, Hispanic roots also.

"Caroline, right?"

Of course, I hadn't said anything for what felt like ten minutes but realistically was five seconds. "Yes, sorry." I stuck out my hand and firmly shook his. "It is so nice to meet you! I'm just taking everything in."

When I said the statement in my head, I thought it sounded much clearer. I was talking about the environment of the office. At this side of the room, you could see out these huge windows. There was a beautiful view of the West Coast sky. I was excited to have that view every day.

I could feel my face turning red once I said that, though, because from the look on Peggy's face, it may have come off as if I meant I was taking all of him in. Well, that's embarrassing.

"I'm really excited to get started here," I added with a smile. Pete didn't seem phased by my awkwardness so that's a start.

"I'm excited to see how you do!" Pete exclaimed as he put his hands in his pockets. "We have a bunch of different people starting at different times on the project. I'll be going over some of the basics with you, but I'm also going to have Shelby give you some info. She started last week."

I looked around and a head full of black hair caught my eye. She was sitting in one of the cubicles connected to mine, but she was all the way at the other corner.

"Lillian said very good things about you," Pete continued, catching my attention away from who I assumed to be Shelby.

"Oh," I replied, standing up a little straighter. "Thank you. I'm glad she was able to provide me with this amazing opportunity."

Pete grinned and rubbed his chin with his right hand. "Me too. You seem like you'll be a good fit around here." He turned to Peggy, who was still standing there just observing our conversation with an odd grin on her face, and nodded before stepping to walk away. "Let me know if you have any concerns. Otherwise I'll see you after lunch!"

Then he was gone and I was alone with Peggy, still grinning. Now it was beginning to worry me. That is, until she spoke.

"Isn't he so dreamy?" She asked me, as she leaned in and her eyes widened.

I couldn't help but let out an awkward chuckle. "Um, yeah, he's handsome," I replied with a shrug. I hoped that I came across as not even having noticed.

Peggy nodded and then continued with her job of instructing me. She told me there was a sort of tutorial video that I should watch and then find Shelby if I had any questions before lunch. Then, after lunch, I'd meet with Pete again.

The tutorial went over a lot of what I already knew. I'd basically be calling these premium members and discussing their more specific wants with them. Then, I could match them with other premium members or reach out to regular members that I thought would fit, even if they didn't pay for the extra service. With my research experience, Lillian felt like I'd be a great addition to the diversity of the pool of candidates they already had. I was younger than other people they had hired on, which Lillian saw as an advantage. Younger members who may be hesitant to sign up for the extra service may feel more comfortable talking to someone close to their age.

The video was about an hour and a half, but I watched it until about 11:30 because I took a few breaks for the sake of my eyes. Then, I explored the site a bit. I had never used Web Matcher, so I didn't really know how it exactly worked. The tutorial said I should go through the database, especially the premium members, to get a feel for different members. I also had to read a ton of success stories to get an idea of what worked, along with some major criticisms of the site.

By 1 o'clock, I was actually a little hungry but also still too excited to crave a huge meal. I made my way out of the building and decided to walk around a bit before heading back to meet with Pete.

I was pleased to see that there were a lot of cute little stores around my building. I was tempted to go shopping in one of them, but decided that it wasn't a great idea. I didn't even want to stay out the whole hour, because I was so excited to get back to work. Isn't that such a great feeling?!

I found a smoothie place and got a protein packed drink. Then, I began making my way back.

I'm glad I left myself plenty of time because I actually ended up getting kind of lost. I thought I had to make a right, but I think I was supposed to make a left. As a result of whatever I did, I ended up freaking out for a solid fifteen minutes before realizing where I was.

I didn't feel full relief until I was in the elevator at exactly 1:50. I was not happy about how close I was cutting it on my very first day. 

As I knocked on Pete's door, my heart stopped when I heard yelling on the other side. Then, I heard the slam of a phone before he told me to come in.