After such a special and mesmerizing weekend, Jane and the other women had to return to work. It was Monday morning and the intern was back at the office. Veronica and Jane had a hard time not smiling and blushing at each other.
Monica and Ashley were having trouble staying focused at work as well. Nobody noticed but they were constantly biting their lips, thinking about the hot weekend they spent together.
It started out as another normal and boring Monday morning when suddenly, Maria entered the room.
“Hello everyone,” she announced. “I need to have a private meeting with Jane.”
“Who, me?” asked Jane. “Umm okay.”
She was very curious of what Maria possibly needed to speak to privately with her. All the other girls were very curious as well. Veronica almost wanted to ask if she could join the meeting, but Maria made it pretty clear that it was private.
Jane walked into Maria’s office where they closed the door and shut all the blinds.
“Yes, Maria? You needed to see me?”
“Yes. Have a seat, Jane.”
“Okay. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine, Jane,” Maria assured. “I just need to speak to you about a couple of different things.”
“Okay,” Jane responded, nervously.
“First of all, thank you once again for all the hard work you did this past week. You really saved my ass.”
“Oh, no problem,” Jane said, as her face lit up.
“Did you get some time to relax this weekend and catch up on your sleep?”
“Yes, I sure did,” Jane replied. “I’m feeling much better.”
“Well, that’s great,” said Maria. “I wanted to let you know that my offer is still on the table. I want to have you and Veronica over one weekend so we can celebrate your success.”
“Yes! I would love that! I was just super tired last week because I skipped that day of sleep. But I should be available this weekend.”
“Well, that sounds great to me! How about Saturday night at seven? I’ll have a big dinner planned out for the both of you.”
“That works for me,” Jane answered. “Thank you so much!”
“I haven’t asked Veronica yet, but if she says yes then let’s go with that night.”
“Sounds great to me!” Jane excitingly responded.
“Okay, great,” the supervisor agreed. “Now on to more important things.”
The shy intern quickly became nervous again.
“So, unlike you, I am not completely free on the weekends,” Maria started out. “I have a lot of phone calls and meetings that I have to do with our bosses. Often times, these things happen on Saturday.”
“Okay,” said Jane, as she listened on.
“I wanted to let you know that you were the talk of town this past weekend.”
Jane’s face lit up quickly. “Really?!”
“Yes, Jane,” the supervisor answered. “Everyone was very impressed with your presentation and they wanted to learn more about you.”
“That’s amazing!” the intern replied.
“Yes, it is amazing! Almost every single question I was asked was about you.”
Jane was suddenly on cloud nine as she felt the praises and recognition she always strived for.
“I just wanted to give you a warning.”
Jane looked on and listened with full attention to every word Maria was saying.
“This is me being your supervisor and trying to give you good advice. I’ve been in your shoes before. I’m a young supervisor, but I started out as a really young employee, just like you.
“I’m pretty sure our company is coming up with a couple of different offers for you. After seeing your presentation, they are probably going to offer you a much higher position than what you are working right now.”
Jane could feel the fireworks exploding inside her. She was excited beyond belief! All the work that she had been doing was finally paying off.
“So, I won’t have to be an intern anymore?” asked Jane. “I can be a regular employee like Veronica, or Ashley, or Maria?”
“I don’t think you’re quite understanding,” said Maria. “Our corporate offices are going to want you to work for them. They are just trying to figure out where you would go and what they should offer you.”
“Oh, my God! Really?”
“That is what all the talk is sounding like,” responded Maria. “But several people want you, and even some of our important partners and investors are inquiring about you. So basically, I’m assuming you are going to get some offers, and you will have to decide which one is best for you.”
“Couldn’t I just get promoted here?” Jane curiously asked.
“I don’t think so, Jane,” Maria sadly responded. “As of right now, we don’t have the funding to expand our branch. But the jobs they are talking about would pay you way more than what you would get paid here.”
“Oh, my,” Jane reacted. “Really?!”
“We really aren’t supposed to get into financials, but I’m assuming you’ll be offered a lot more than anyone here is getting paid. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if you were offered more than I get paid, as the supervisor.”
Jane’s eyes were wide open, as all the possibilities came rushing to her head. I wouldn’t have to give massages anymore. I wouldn’t have to eat ramen all the time. I wouldn’t have student debt. This is too good to be true!
“Jane,” said Maria, getting her attention. “I need you to really think about this. I need you to think about your life and what you could do with all that money. In a growing company like ours, potential is rewarded. They need young and smart people like you who can build and innovate.”
“I understand,” Jane replied. “I’m thinking about all the possibilities right now!”
“You know I would love to keep you,” Maria said, with an honest heart. “But I’m just letting you know that there are some great opportunities at our larger offices and our corporate buildings. If they come to you with a big offer, I would advise you to listen to all of your options.”
Jane nodded her head. “Yes, ma’am. That makes sense.”
“Say one of these scenarios actually happens; you probably wouldn’t be working in my office anymore,” Maria said. “But our corporate office is only a couple of hours away. And the other branches aren’t too far either. We will still be here for you in any way that you need. And I will always be there whenever you need me.”
Although Jane was excited, she began to think about the possibility of being away from the people she had become so close with. It took her a long time to make friends, and it took even longer to have someone as special in her life as Veronica. She was not sure what her life would look like if they were not in the same city anymore.
“Thank you for giving me a heads up. I obviously have a lot of thinking to do.”
“That’s not all, Jane,” Maria said. “I am also emailing you the entire presentation that you did. The video of you presenting was recorded and all the documents and ideas you created will be in the email. I want you to keep that for your records. That will be a great tool for your portfolio, and you need to put it in your resume.”
“That’s wonderful!” said Jane. “I never even thought of that.”
“You’re amazing,” said Maria. “I care about you, and I want the best for you.”
“That’s really sweet of you! I really appreciate it.”
“I’m just trying to be a good supervisor. And I’m trying to give you the advice I would want if I were in your shoes.”
“You’re an amazing supervisor,” Jane responded, smiling.
“Thank you, Jane,” Maria responded. “I just want you to think about your options, and do what’s best for you.”
“I definitely will,” said Jane. “But until the time comes, I am still your loyal employee.”
“You are the best,” said Maria. “Now, I won’t tell anyone until they hear it straight from you.”
“Should I keep this a secret?”
“It’s ultimately up to you. It’s tough when big changes might be coming to your life. So, it depends whether you want input from others or if you want a chance to really think about it without any outside distractions.”
“Oh, my gosh! I have even more to think about than I ever imagined!”
They left the conversation there, and Jane went back to working. However, she had a difficult time concentrating on her assignments. She was too distracted from the conversation she just had with Maria, and all the possibilities that could be coming her way.
Jane sat in the break room, just so she could be alone for a moment. For so long, I was just concerned about getting any internship. I never imagined these great opportunities would come to me so quickly. I’m so young! How can I possibly make the right choice!?
Since she was lost in her own thoughts, she did not even notice Veronica walking into the break room.
“Jane?”
She suddenly snapped out of her deep state of thought. “Oh… hi, Veronica! What’s up?”
“How was your meeting? Is there anything you need to talk about?”
“Oh, it was fine,” Jane responded. “She just gave me some things to think about for my future.”
“That sounds exciting!” Veronica responded.
“Yeah, it is,” Jane replied, as she blankly looked off into space.
“What’s wrong, Mama?”
Veronica could easily tell that something was wrong. She knew Jane too well to just let it go.
“I just have a lot on my mind right now.”
“You can talk to me about it anytime,” said Veronica. “If you don’t want to talk about it right now, I’ll be here whenever you need me.”
“Thank you,” Jane responded, wholeheartedly.
As the Latina was just about to walk out, Jane called her name.
“Veronica!”
“Yes, Mama?”
“I, ummm…Maria is under the impression that I am going to get a big corporate job offer.”
“Really?! That’s so exciting!”
“She said that she spoke with her bosses this weekend and they all made it pretty clear that they wanted me to move up to some kind of bigger position.”
“Oh, my God, Mami!” Veronica exclaimed. “That’s so amazing! You deserve it!”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just…I can’t picture myself working anywhere else but here.”
Suddenly, Veronica was left thinking about work-life without Jane there every single day. What if we almost never get to see each other anymore? she thought.
“All the other branches and corporate offices are about an hour or two away from here,” Jane explained. “I would have to drive pretty far on the weekends to see you all.”
“Yeah… We wouldn’t see each other in the office every single day, would we?” Veronica asked, in a rather sad voice.
“I don’t think so,” Jane responded. “Maria said that as of right now, there are no plans for creating positions at this office. So, all my options would be pretty far away. I would have to move.”
A veil of sadness began to creep over Veronica’s emotions. She knew that something like this would eventually happen. She knew Jane’s potential would not be hidden from the world forever.
It was only a matter of time before the world discovered how amazing she was. It was only a matter of time before the world saw what Veronica saw when she looked at Jane.
Veronica could not help but be a little bit sad. She did not want to dampen the mood, nor did she want to show any weakness that could influence Jane’s decisions. She wanted what was best for the young intern. She wanted Jane to have the life that she deserved.
“One or two hours isn’t that far,” Veronica tried to convince Jane. “We wouldn’t get to see each other as much as we used to, but we could still visit.”
“I guess you’re right,” Jane responded. “I just have a lot to think about.”
“I understand,” Veronica responded, as she grabbed Jane’s hands and held them for a moment.
“These offers haven’t even been made yet, so I shouldn’t get too far ahead of myself,” said Jane, after taking a deep breath.
“That’s true, but I think you are very wise to be this prepared.”
Jane tried to quickly change the mood. “Hey, Veronica! I forgot to mention, Maria wants to have our get together this Saturday night at seven.”
“Yeah, she told me!” said Veronica, relieved to change the subject. “I can’t wait!”
“Me neither! That will help get my mind off things for a while.”
“Yeah! You need to have more fun. You spend all your time working.”
“You’re right. The only time I really have fun is when I’m with you.”
Veronica’s heart almost melted. What Jane said really touched her.
As the two women finally went their separate ways, a message kept ringing through Veronica’s head. It was the message that she constantly told herself whenever she thought about Jane. I’m going to cherish every moment we have together.
Once Veronica realized how much potential Jane had, she started repeating that message in her head many times. She just didn’t realize how soon Jane’s potential would lead her to bigger and better things.
That night, Veronica was unable to get much sleep. She was too busy thinking about what might possibly happen with her and Jane, if the big corporate jobs actually happened.
Not seeing her everyday would really, really suck. I’m having a hard time imagining my life without her. How would I walk into the office every single day knowing I won’t see her face and her beautiful long black hair? I would miss everything about her.
Her thoughts suddenly went to a darker place. What if I don’t see her on the weekends either? What if she is too busy? She lets herself get so busy with work sometimes. What if I never saw her on the weekends? Or worse, what if she forgets about me?
Veronica tried to snap out of it and focus on what was most important. I need to be supportive! She deserves this and I need to help her any way possible.
She started to think about how difficult Jane’s life was and how much she was able to accomplish. She suddenly became very proud of the person that Jane had become.
I want her to make a lot of money! I want her to be able to afford delicious food and a nice place to stay. I just want her… to be happy
I would miss everything about her. Her cute little body. Her little dimples when she smiles. Her cute laugh. Everything!
Jane was also having a hard time sleeping that night. She had way too much on her mind to feel relaxed.
It would be nice to make good money, she thought. But I just have no idea what’s going to happen with my life. And I have so many people I care about. I don’t want to start over.
She tossed and turned restlessly, thinking about her life. She grabbed her phone to text Veronica, but she quickly decided against it. She’s probably asleep. I don’t want to wake her up.
After realizing that she just wasn’t going to fall asleep, Jane decided to get out of bed and get on her computer. Maria did tell me I should add all that stuff to my resume. Might as well do it right now.
She posted the new documents to her online resume. She had one linked to her professional social media page that was available for any company to access. She also updated the online resume and posted a link to the video of her presentation to the board.
I hope people like this.
She had applied to other companies before, just to see if anyone would bite, but nothing ever came of it.
I might as well post this stuff. I mean, why not? What’s the worst that can happen? I bet nobody will even look at this resume.
Although she was facing enormous amounts of pressure from the oncoming decisions that would affect the rest of her life, Jane assumed that she still had a while before any of these things actually happened. Little did she know, thing would start moving quicker than she could imagine.
It only took a few days before Jane began receiving phone calls from people who worked in the corporate office, asking her for more information about her background. Soon after that, they began setting up a meeting so they could conduct professional interviews.
Jane’s head was spinning from how quickly things were changing. She knew that there would be no going back to her old life.
If that was not enough, it seemed that word was traveling about the potential that was seen in the young woman. She began getting letters and emails from other companies, gauging her interest and her aspirations. At the time, she was not too interested in anybody else but her current company.
However, that was all about to change…
***
Thursday evening, right after Jane was done with her shift, she received a call from a phone number she was unfamiliar with. As a matter of fact, she did not even recognize the area code. She normally let those calls go to her voicemail but since she had been receiving calls from the corporate office, she started to answer every single call.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Jane?” asked a woman’s voice.
“Yes! This is Jane.”
“Hi, Jane. My name is Cynthia, and I am the director of hiring and recruiting for Sunshine Industries.”
“Wait, what? Sunshine Industries?!”
“Yes! Are you familiar with us?”
“I know a lot about the products and clothing. Some of my favorite celebrities sponsor Sunshine clothing.”
“Well, great! Yes, we are a pretty big company, and we are still growing at a very fast rate.”
“Yes, yes, you are!”
Jane was so excited and surprised to be talking with someone from Sunshine Industries.
“We have an application from you, from about a year ago.”
“Oh, my God! I almost forgot about that,” Jane replied. “I assumed you guys just threw it away because I was way underqualified.”
“Oh, of course not,” Cynthia said, with a laugh. “We don’t throw applications away. We have every single application in our files. And we keep the resumes of all of our applicants.
“So, Jane, I was calling to see if you still have any interest in working for Sunshine Industries.”
“Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I just… I have so much going on right now!”
“Jane, I’m not asking you to make a decision right now. That would be quite unreasonable. I just need to know if there is any interest at all, even just a little bit.”
“Well…of course.”
“Okay, great! We will set up an online meeting through video chat sometime next week, hopefully.”
“Wow! That’s so fast!” Jane responded. She could not believe how fast things were moving for her.
“Since we are doing it through video chat, we have the flexibility to work with your schedule and do this at a time that will be convenient for you.”
“That’s amazing!” Jane replied. “Thank you so much! But why me? Why now? I applied so long ago.”
“The entry level position that you applied for a year ago, we don’t need you for that. Your name has been spreading around through some of our biggest investors. Then you updated your resume and we even found a presentation that you did. And guess what, Jane? That presentation was amazing!”
“Thank you so much! But I can’t take full credit for that presentation. I basically finished up some of the work that we had all been working on together.”
“That doesn’t matter to us. We are looking for young people who can be leaders and innovate as we go through this ever-evolving world. You are exactly that type of person that we are interested in, especially for some of our future projects.”
Jane became so honored that she did not even know what to say.
“Look, we don’t even know if you are a good fit for us. But you also don’t know if we are a good fit for you either. That is why we want an interview; to see how we mesh, and to see if we are a good fit for each other. I think it’s at least worth a shot. And if it doesn’t work out for you, then you can always say no, and we will move on from there. But at least we made an attempt to see if it was a fit.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Jane responded. “I’ve actually been contacted by several places, but none of them interest me as much as Sunshine. I would love an interview next week, and I would love to know more about the company.”
“That sounds great, Jane!” said Cynthia. “Like I said, I am the director of hiring and recruiting. Usually somebody that works for me would be the one contacting you. But in this case, I wanted to contact you myself.”
Jane suddenly realized the magnitude of this phone call. She must have been a top priority for Cynthia to directly contact her.
“So, somebody will contact me to set up a meeting?”
“How about this? I will contact you to set up the meeting. Save this number; it’s my personal cell phone. I will touch base with you soon. Feel free to call or text me at any time.”
All of Jane’s suspicions had been confirmed. She was now sure that she was a top priority for Cynthia and Sunshine Industries. “Thank you so much, for everything.”
“No problem! I will email you an informational packet about our company, and you let me know if you have any questions about. Other than that, you have yourself a wonderful evening, and I will speak to you soon!”
“Okay, talk to you soon!”
Jane hung up and took a moment to breathe. Then suddenly, she exploded! Oh, my God! What the hell is happening?!
This can’t be real, can it? she asked herself. This is too good to be true! Maybe it IS too good to be true. Maybe it’s going to be another low-paying job.
She then became hopeful again. But what if it IS this great job!? Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!!
Another variable had been thrown into the ever-complicating life of Jane.
The next day at work, Jane showed up even earlier than normal. She sat at her desk, contemplating all the new information that she had just received. She wanted to speak with Maria about the phone call she received last evening.
As the young supervisor walked in, Jane quickly approached her.
“Hey, Maria!”
“Hi. Good morning, Jane.”
“Can I speak with you privately?”
“Of course,” Maria responded.
They went back into Maria’s office so she could begin setting up.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Remember all that advice you gave me?” Jane started out. “Well, what if there are others contacting me?”
“Well, what do you mean?” Maria asked.
“A few other companies have contacted me to see if I am interested in working there. I am committed to this company, but I wanted to at least get your advice.”
“I am committed to this company too,” said Maria. “But here’s the thing, Jane. You must do what is best for you. You need to really think about your future so you can decide what is the best course of action for you.”
Jane was a bit surprised. She was not expecting Maria to be so open minded about the situation.
“I love it here, but if someone is willing to give you a better deal, there’s no shame in doing what is best for you and your future.”
“That is very understanding of you, Maria.”
“Do you know for sure if that is the situation?”
“I’m not sure yet, but some companies have expressed interest. And one big company in particular has gone far enough to offer me an interview.”
Maria sat there smiling at her young employee. She thought about the days when she was in Jane’s shoes and had the whole world in front of her.
“I’m very proud of you,” she said. “I’m not going to pretend that I saw all the potential you had from the very beginning, but after last week’s performance, and the respect that you have gained from all of the girls here, I won’t be surprised in the least bit if some of the biggest companies in the world want you to work for them.”
Jane humbly nodded her head and smiled at her encouraging supervisor. It was not long ago that she thought Maria disliked her. Now she was confiding in her and looking up to her as a source of wisdom and advice.
“So, are we still on for tomorrow night?” Maria asked, trying to change the subject.
“Oh, yes, of course!” Jane responded. “Veronica and I are looking forward to it. We’ve been talking about it all week.”
I look forward to having you two over,” Maria said, with a smirk. “I’ll have dinner and champagne ready for you two.”
“I can’t wait,” said Jane.
“Neither can I,” Maria responded.
The private get together was not a complete secret, but it also wasn’t being spoken about too openly either. Maria didn’t want to advertise her get together that only Jane and Veronica were invited to. But they worked in a small office, and nothing could be kept a secret forever.
“I heard they are having a private party together on Saturday night,” said Monica. She was in the break room with Ashley, having a quiet and private conversation.
“I know,” Ashley responded, rolling her eyes. “Too bad we weren’t invited.”
“I know, right!” Monica agreed.
“I bet they’re going to have a great time with Jane,” Ashley continued. “I guess we aren’t cool enough to hang out with them.”
“Don’t say that,” Monica responded. “We don’t need them to have a great time.”
“You’re right,” said Ashley. “We should do something fun this weekend!”
“That sounds like a great idea!” Monica excitedly responded. “What should we do?”
“I’m not sure yet… but we can figure something out.”
“Yeah! We can have a fun time without them.”
“They probably need us more than we need them,” said Ashley.
“I have an idea,” said Monica. “What if we invited the girls out for drinks again?”
“That’s a good idea,” said Ashley. “We can go to the bar, and then we can come back to my place and have a party!”
“That’s a great idea! I will text them right now.”
Unfortunately, their college friends would not be able to make it.
“Uh-oh, I have bad news,” said Monica. “Sandra said she has to be somewhere else this weekend. Tiffany also said that she can’t make it.”
“That sucks,” Ashley said, as she rolled her eyes. “Maybe we should have planned this earlier.”
“Do you still want to hang out this weekend?”
“Yeah, we can still have a good time, even if it’s just us.”
Suddenly an idea popped into Monica’s head. “Wait! I have an idea!”
“What is it?”
“What if we hang out with those two waitresses from the sushi restaurant? They looked really excited about hanging out with us. And they said they might be able to hook us up with a few drinks!”
“That’s a great idea!” exclaimed Ashley. “And they were like super cute!”
“Oh, my God! They were adorable!” said Monica. “And they definitely wanted to hang out with us!”
“Yeah! Let’s go to the sushi restaurant and get drinks with them.”
“I’ll text them right now!” said Monica.
The girls were right. Vicky and Christine were excited to hang out with them. Although they were only a few years younger, they were just in college and loved the idea of hanging out with older working women.
“Oh, my God! Christine already texted me back,” said Monica. “She said she is working this weekend and that we should come!”
“Great!” said Ashley. “Did Vicky respond yet?”
“She just did! She’s working too, and she said we should come in and ask for her and Christine to be our servers.”
“I can’t wait!” said Ashley. “Ask them if they want to come over to my place afterwards.”
“I just did,” said Monica. “They both said they are down!”
They both cheered in excitement.
“We are going to have a great time!” said Monica.
“Hell yeah!” Ashley said with an evil smile.
“I can’t wait.”
To be continued…
