Hita (4 page)

Since Juliette is living at home this summer, we wind up spending a lot of time on our weekends by her pool. Even better, her parents’ refrigerator is always full. As we start talking about the guys where we each work, her mom joins us.

Juliette turns to her and asks, “Any recommendations about dating guys you meet at work?”

“Tread lightly,” her mom replies.

Juliette looks surprised by this comment. “You worked with Dad, that’s how you two met.”

“Yeah, but I knew your dad for three years before we started dating.”

Juliette’s jaw drops. “I had no idea. You liked a guy for three years before you started dating?”

Her mom laughs before telling us, “No, I knew him for three years. That’s what’s so good about meeting a guy at work. You have a long time to get to know him. I was a project manager. We both got sent to Munich, Germany on a project with Siemens. It was only the two of us Americans. All the Germans left the office by six to go home and have dinner with their families. Three weeks of eating dinner together and spending the weekend sightseeing...” She pauses and smiles before continuing, “…changed our point of view.”

“Then I take it you don’t see any problems with co-workers dating?” I state.

Her mom takes a deep breath as I watch her formulate her response. “I wouldn’t recommend using work as your hook-up pool. Behaviors outside of work can easily be talked about at work and ruin your credibility. Also, if you start dating your boss, or your boss’s boss, you’ll either need to move jobs so you report to someone outside of your boyfriend’s chain of command, or you’ll need to leave the company. A manager will need to report a relationship with an underling to HR and legal. There are a number of high profile executives who’ve lost their job for dating people who work for them and didn’t report the relationship. The last thing you want is to have your name associated with a scandal. No one will hire you, you’ll become too high risk.”

“Dating an executive will get you fired?” Juliette asks in surprise.

“Typically, it’s not the dating that ever gets anyone fired. It’s the breakup that gets people. It opens companies up to too many legal issues. Boards and VC’s think if an executive is dating an underling, they’re not thinking strategically.”

“But what about co-workers?” I ask.

She crosses her arms and leans her body against the counter before responding. “No one cares if you keep it low profile and out of the office. Again, it’s the breakup that causes problems.” Looking at Juliette she continues, “Your dad and I worked in different buildings, and reported to different VPs. When we got back to the states and started dating, we kept our relationship out of work. When your dad asked me to marry him, a lot of people didn’t even know we were dating. Everyone was very supportive. Companies don’t mind stable relationships. What they don’t like is drama.”

After getting home that night, I think about what her mom said. I figure I’ll play it cool and see if any of the guys at work stand out. As I sit in front of my computer, I get an idea. I navigate over to an Indian dating site. As I fill out the online form, I realize that the problem I have is I know how Indian guys think. It’s almost the opposite of American guys. On the first or second date they’ll ask me if I plan on getting married. If I tell them I’m only twenty-three and want to date, they’ll consider me a “bad” girl. We’ll date, but they won’t introduce me to their family. If I tell them yes, I want to get married, they’ll have me meet their family and friends on the next date, and we’ll be on the fast track to a wedding. This depresses me. As I stare at the form, I realize I want to be like Meredith and Juliette. I want a long term boyfriend and no pressure to marry. Closing down the dating site’s window, I figure if I haven’t found someone by the time I turn thirty, I’ll get back on the site and find myself a husband.

I lean back in my chair looking up at the ceiling. I feel confused and perplexed about Gray. I figured with his job this summer in New York and going to school in Berkeley, he wasn’t up for a girlfriend. I thought there was more of a connection than just an afternoon hookup. I never did tell Juliette. What was I going to say? My mind then moves to Brandon. It feels like ages since we broke up. In December it will be a year. I never told my parents about him, they would have freaked out. Unfortunately, Brandon was a lot more fun when we were dating long distance via computer games than when he lived in town. After he graduated and moved back to Palo Alto, our relationship fell apart. Mostly it was because I was busy studying nights and weekends. Brandon wanted more of my time than I could give. Now that I’m working, I wonder if it will be easier to have time for a boyfriend.

Kristi, my roommate, and I are working out great. We both have similar schedules, mostly because we’re both gamers. We enjoy getting home from work and playing on our computers. We both laugh and share our experiences. After helping Kristi design a rather interesting world on her Minecraft server, she opens it up in survival mode to a bunch of her friends. I’ve never met them in real life, but they sure are sneaky online. We’ve been spending the last few nights battling them and the creepers. Even though everyone has an online name, I can usually identify the guys from women. Guys spend most of their time blowing things up rather than acquiring resources and maintaining their health. They also seem to allow themselves to be more open for attacks. After a few days of all the activity, her world is starting to look like Afghanistan. Kristi takes her server out of survival mode so we can put it back together.

With Stephan back in town, and the local princesses all partnered up with boyfriends, I’m relieved Kristi is single, since it gives me someone to hang out with. Saturday evening Kristi invites me to join her as she heads out to Game Kastle. It’s located in a non-descript strip plaza with rows of games on shelves and a glass counter in the back. Over the counter is a sign with the listing of different board games being played in their break out rooms.

Kristi smiles and gives me a wink as she hands the guy at the counter a couple of tickets and tells me, “I’ll cover you for your first time.”

Walking through the doorway to my right, we pass through a number of basic rooms, the types with gray industrial carpeting, white walls, and acoustic tile ceilings. Each room has about ten folding tables lined with folding chairs. On the walls are game posters. By each of the doors is a whiteboard with the name of the game being played marked in colorful lettering. Next to the whiteboard is a table with extra game pieces and boards needed for playing that room’s game.

As we look at each of the boards Kristi asks, “Which game do you want to play?”

I shrug.

With a confident air she says “they’re all board games. I have a Warhammer 40K set with me. Let’s play that.”

We sit down at a table as Kristi takes her backpack off and starts emptying out the contents. It’s a bunch of miniature fantasy fighters. As she’s explaining the rules a couple of typical gamer type guys in their twenties come over to our table. Without much eye contact they look at her set up. They’re both medium height, medium weight, with the physique and skin tone of someone who sits in front of a computer and never goes outside. One guys is wearing an Intel shirt while the other’s T-shirt has a Cisco logo on it.

The Intel guy asks, “You playing?”

Kristi looks up and with a game face says, “sure.”

The guys set up their side of the table. Kristi plays one round, then has me play another round.

The Intel guy says, “two out of three?”

Kristi nods, and then introduces us while the guys introduce themselves as Brian and Tim.

Kristi tells them, “Be easy on Hita, she’s a newbie.”

By the end of the next game I think I understand the strategies it takes to win. During the game no one talks about work or really anything other than mumbling to their partner, I assume about strategies.

As we drive back home, I reflect about my tendency to get caught up on living online. In college the princesses pulled me out, made me more social. I think Kristi is good for me; she is pulling me out too.

Kristi breaks my thoughts as she asks, “What do you think?”

I give her a thumbs up. “This was fun. Playing with people sitting in front of you really adds another dimension of challenge to a game. When I’m in front of my computer, I don’t need to guard my facial expressions and emotions. Brian and Tim had some interesting tells. After a while I started figuring out their strategy by watching their body language. We should play against each other to see what tells we’re broadcasting. I bet the better players are really good at reading body language.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of like poker.”

“But without all that cigar smoke.”

“Do they really smoke cigars at poker games?”

“They do in the movies.”

At work Mark, Avery, and Chris get busy on a project with the “math guys.” I’m not sure who the math guys are, but those guys spend a lot of time in a conference room on the other side of the building working on some crazy complicated algorithms.

Since Mark, Avery, and Chris are doing something different during the day, I use the opportunity to join Kami and Caroline for lunch. They’re both nice and friendly; they’re also twenty-three and this is their first job too. Lunch with them is a lot more enjoyable than listening to all the baseball trivia.

Kami and Caroline work for Sherry, the other woman in Engineering and the only female engineering manager. They both have great things to say about her. I have very few things to say about Roger, since he’s either in his office or in meetings. It feels like Mark is more my boss.

As we eat, I look a few tables down and see a group of women. They all look older than us, maybe in their late twenties. They’re also all dressed casual but much nicer jeans, fancier shoes, designer tops, more styled hair and makeup.

I ask, “Do you know who those women are?”

Kami looks over, “I don’t know them personally, but they’re in marketing. More than a third of the employees in marketing are women. It’s a lot different than engineering.

After work on Friday, my college friend and fellow princess Jennifer picks me up; the two of us head to happy hour at Xhan, a high style Vietnamese restaurant. Jennifer is always dressed cute. Today she’s wearing a bright sun dress with matching little flat shoes, and a really interesting necklace I’m sure she made herself. My mother would love it if I looked so sweet, feminine, and put together. I always feel so lame in a skirt or dress.

As she drives, Jennifer tells me, “My new guy is meeting us there. His name’s Carter.”

“Let me guess. Is he a lawyer or a newly minted MBA?”

“Both,” she tells me with a squeal, “he’s a lawyer with an MBA working for a VC.”

“You hit the trifecta this time, Jennifer. Where’d you meet him?”

“At an Alumni function, we were on the same croquet team. I was terrible at it. But Carter was so nice. He got me a beer and told me I had a nice swing.”

“I bet he wasn’t looking at the club when he made that remark.” She chuckles as I continue. “While you were busy with croquet, Kristi and I went over to Game Kastle. She taught me how to play this game called Warhammer.”

Jennifer gives me a sideways look before telling me, “Hita, you and Kristi are a scary combination.”

“How so?” She shoots me another hard look as I tell her, “Eyes on the road.”

Jennifer’s very by-the-book. She gets kind of flustered, and then maintaining focus on the road she continues, “You two exploit each other’s weaknesses. Juliette’s geeky, but she isn’t into the whole gaming thing. When you roomed with her she was always dragging you out to be with people.”

“That’s what I’m telling you. Kristi dragged me out to be with people. The people we’re meeting also like to play games.”

Jennifer purses her mouth, finally she says, “The fact that you think going gaming at some store is more social then sitting in your room playing games is what scares me.”

“Why, because the activity I like is a geeky game as opposed to, what, ‘croquet at the club?’ My going out and playing games isn’t any less relevant than you and your games.”

The two of us drive in silence as she heads into the parking garage. After parking the car, she stares straight out the front window.

“Are you going to be all pissy with me tonight?” I ask.

Taking a deep breath she looks at me and smiles, finally saying, “No, I only have about a five minute ability to be pissed off at you. Really, it pissed me off more since you have a point. I guess I was being prejudicial. I get it. I get pissed when someone says I waste my time scrapbooking. We all have different activities that relax us and bring us enjoyment.”

Reaching over the console of her car we give each other a big hug.

Xhan is trendy, with a modern bar all backlit with blue florescent lights. As we walk in I quickly spot Juliette sitting on a bar stool with Stephan standing real close to her, his arm proprietarily flung around her shoulders. He looks as rakishly sexy as ever, which annoys me since I wish his looks better reflected his annoying qualities. Thankfully, Meredith and Sam are there too.

As Jennifer and I head up to the bar and greet our friends, Juliette smiles, holds up her glass, and says, “I already bought us a pitcher of margaritas.”

“Really, I thought you drank lemon drops, cosmopolitans, or martinis in a bar like this?” Jennifer sarcastically replies.

Juliette dismisses the comment with a wave of her hand. “Margaritas are our go to drink, if they can’t make them, then I’m not drinking.”

Meredith asks, “Where’s Carter?” In a very stuck up accent she continues, “Did he get waylaid at the club playing polo again?”

Jennifer chuckles, then answers, “Come on, he’s not a pretentious jerk.” She eyeballs Stephan.

Sam passes Jennifer and me a drink saying, “Drink up ladies, take the edge off.”

Meredith shoots him a look that says be careful, you’re treading on thin ice, as I wonder if Jennifer and I still have a bit of an edge from our earlier conversation.

Juliette asks Jennifer, “Is Carter still joining us?”

Looking at her phone Jennifer’s eyebrows knit. “He texted me that he got held up at a meeting with one of their new start-ups. I told him to bring the guys he’s working with.”

“Does that make us eight or nine now?” Stephan asks.

Jennifer shrugs in reply.

Stephan shakes his head in annoyance as he releases Juliette and heads over to the hostess to tell her our group is expanding.

It only takes one margarita for Carter to show up with a nice looking Indian guy. Both are dressed in slacks and very euro tailored and commercially pressed button downs. Introducing his friend to the group, he tells us that Anil’s business, some kind of community app that’s showing a lot of traction, has received funding by his firm. Looking at these two guys who appear to be only a few years older than me, I wonder if there are any adults with experience working with young companies. Then I realize that’s probably why so many companies are like the one I interviewed with in San Francisco, blowing through their funding as they spend it on fancy offices and lots of non-essential employees.

Sam is right; the margarita sure has taken the edge off. I find my shoulders relaxing and my mouth naturally tips into a smile as I get handed a second drink. It doesn’t take long before we’re shown to a table. Anil sits between Carter and me. As he asks me my name again, I realize that he has a great jaw line, nice white teeth, and a very proper British accent. The conversation devolves into something my alcohol befuddled mind has no idea about since two margaritas makes everything kind of funny. At one point Stephan condescendingly tries to make a point with Sam.

Anil leans his head over and whispers to me, “Fancies himself a bit, don't he?”

It’s such a perfect analysis of Stephan, and Anil definitely is not taken in by his British accent. I look Anil up and down again giving him a big point for sharing my view of Stephan.