“That would be perfect. I’m heading out in a couple of weeks to the APJ and EMEA regions. Ideally, I’d like you to start before I leave so we can set up some deliverables you can work on while I’m out. I’ll get in touch with your manager and we can negotiate the transition details. I’m sure one of us will keep you posted.”
“Okay, great. Thanks again, Catherine.” I was positively bursting with excitement.
“We’re so excited to have you join our team, Julia! Speak to you soon.”
“Bye!” I hung up the phone and for the first time since Andrew and I broke up, I was feeling hopeful about the future. This was cause for celebration. I called my sister, Anna, to see if she was up to meeting for dinner and drinks at Betty’s tonight.
“Hey, it’s me,” I said buoyantly.
“Hey, Jules, what’s up? You actually sound happy about something.”
I rolled my eyes at her attempted sarcasm. I knew I hadn’t been exactly Comedy Central lately and I was starting to feel bad about it. “Well, I’ve got some good news for a change. I got the job!”
“Yay! I’m so excited for you! That is really great news!” Anna cried. I knew Anna’s enthusiasm was sincerely genuine. If anyone had ever had my back, it was Anna. Not only was she happy for me about my new job, but she also knew that this was going to help take my mind off of Andrew.
“I want to go out and celebrate! For the first time in months, I’m really happy about something!” I leaned back in my chair, resting my heels on my desk. “Do you want to grab dinner and drinks at Betty’s tonight?”
“Of course!” Anna exclaimed enthusiastically.
“Okay, how about we meet there at 6:30? I’ve got some things to finish up here and I just don’t think I can get there any earlier because of traffic.” That’s one thing that sucked about working at MS and living in or near downtown Seattle. You were a slave to the Hwy 520 floating bridge, where traffic sucked more often than not. MS employees heading home were mostly to blame for it.
“Okay, sounds great.”
“I’ll call to set up reservations.”
“Okay, bye. See you in a few hours.”
“Ciao.”
I started going through my email inbox, handling the more urgent ones first. I looked at my meetings for tomorrow and thankfully none of them required much planning or prep. Good. I didn’t feel much like working later tonight, especially after a couple of cocktails in me.
I looked out my office window and thought about my new job. I was moving out of the world of Marketing IT; I was now a Digital Relationship Marketing Manager. My mission in life, for the unforeseeable future, would be to drive online integrated marketing programs for the next big launch of our world famous operating system. It sounded seriously frightening and a part of me wondered what the hell I was thinking.
At the age of twenty-nine, working at MS on the global launch of Portals 8, was exactly where I wanted to be in my career. It was a dream opportunity. Even though I’ve been here for seven years, my experience has primarily been in IT program management, not marketing. I was content in my previous role, but I needed a change of scenery. Marketing was more dynamic, more fun, and let’s face it, Marketing’s where all the action is. Besides, it would help take my mind off of Andrew.
I liked to think that I made it as far as I have due to hard work and people recognizing all that I have to offer. In reality, I think some of it’s also luck. I’ve always had my professional career mapped out in my brain; I always tried to think two jobs ahead and consciously worked on making appropriate career choices along the way. Fortunately, things usually worked out in my favor. I never had much difficulty in my professional life. When it came to my career, things always fell into place somehow. My career was something I could control; it was something that I had always felt confident about.
The duct tape on my laptop, which was keeping my battery attached, was picking up more lint. Time to change the baby’s bandage. I found my thoughts drifting back to my unexpected encounter with the beautiful, blue-eyed stranger. Over the last several days, I’d thought about him often. His soulful and penetrating eyes were difficult to forget. Since I ran off so quickly, I never got his name. I was resigned to the fact that I’d likely never see him again and for some reason that made me a little sad. I inhaled a deep breath and sighed loudly.
Unlike my career, my love life was all about failed relationships and missed opportunities. I was so focused on getting to my interview I couldn’t even remember to ask a hot guy for his name after he hit me with his car—how was I ever going to find a husband?!