Chapter 3

“Besides being stunningly beautiful, smart, stylish, and now getting you this job?” Lexi chuckled as she placed one hand on her ample hip, thrusting the other out in a showy display.

“You…. you’ve just changed a bit since I last saw you,” Laura said hesitantly, not wanting to cause a scene in public.

“Well, nobody stays the same; life is all about change and the adventure of it! I’ve got to run, a meeting down on the 28th floor, but you and I are having lunch together, my treat!” Lexi said, now shuffling towards the elevator. “Meet me down in the lobby around noon; I’ll text you!” not giving Laura much of a chance to respond in any way.

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Laura called after Lexi, her sweeping vast hips swaying as her thighs rubbed together in a waddle towards the elevator.

“That’s right, I forgot Lexi was the one who brought you to us!” Sofia said. “She’s an absolute doll! She just modeled for our swimwear collection earlier this year; I’m sure you two had all the boys drooling back in the day!”

“She always loves attention; I was just the one she dragged around on some of her crazy escapades,” Laura smirked, remembering how many boys she would turn down, just wanting to dance by herself in moments of self-happiness at various college bars. “Back then, Lexi was much slimmer; she could have any boy on campus once she put her mind to it.”

“I don’t think her being slim or curvy affects her prospects with men; it’s all in attitude, and that’s one of the things we try to showcase here at Claire’s,” Sofia replied, giving a sight sideways glace at Laura’s last comment before continuing to usher Laura along the hall.

“Nice, Laura; maybe think before you call someone fat in front of your fat boss.” Laura thought to herself. “I still can’t believe Lex got so big, though; it’s only been two years.”

Sofia led Laura into an office along the outside wall. “Laura, this is Alan, he’s our HR guy!”

Sitting behind a desk was a very fit and athletic Asian man. His arms strained the sleeves of his polo shirt, tucked into his chinos displaying his 28-inch waist. This was the first man Laura had seen working at the company, and he was a sharp contrast to the women she had seen working.

“Hello Alan, nice to meet you!” Laura said warmly, extending her hand.

“Nice to meet you as well, Laura!”
He said, taking her hand and offering a firm but not overwhelming handshake.

“Here is all of Laura’s onboarding paperwork,” Sofia said as she placed it on Alan’s desk. “I’m just showing her around the office now.”

“That’s great. Laura, if you ever have any questions about your pay, benefits, or problems, don’t hesitate to come see me.”

“I will, thank you. I did have one question for you that’s not really work-related.”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“Sofia said you may know something about local gyms or running spots around the office?”

“I usually go to the Mesquite Muscle Oasis; my boyfriend is a trainer over there. It’s a few blocks down from here on Sagebrush Street. If you’re ever interested in training, here’s my boyfriend’s card.” Alan said, handing over a black and green card.

“Thanks, I’ll consider it. I’ve been thinking about training for a 10K, and the extra motivation is always nice.”

Laura and Sofia left the office and continued along the tour. Sofia brought her into the central working area and past a small table with a plate of candy bars and wrapped little Debbie cakes to an opening showing an empty cubicle. “This is going to be your workspace; feel free to put some flair up to make it your own. I’ll send Sarah over, and she’ll get you all set up to get logged in on your computer, and then you can take your lunch!”

Laura sat down in her chair within the cubicle and envisioned how she could bring some color and style to the grey cubicle walls. As she sat imagining how she would decorate the space, a rustling of packaging and rolling wheels could be heard just outside the opening to her cubicle. Laura looked over to see a man standing beside a cart, stocking the table with a fresh layer of cakes and candies. She could smell the sweet vanilla and cinnamon scents in the air. The man looked up to see Laura watching him and made his way around the cart towards her.

The man was of moderate build and height, with thick brown hair accompanying a full beard. “Hello, I haven’t seen you around here; you must be new?” He asked.

“Yes, I just started toda……YYMMPPHH!” Laura was cut off mid-word as the man shoved something into her mouth, starting her and causing her to freeze.

“You just have to try these tiramisu truffles we just got in.” He said, pulling his hand back and leaving several more wrapped truffles on Laura’s desk. “My name’s Ben; I keep everything stocked around here.”

Laura unfroze and starred daggers into Ben. She chewed and swallowed the morsel. “Well, BEN, I don’t really appricat….” Laura again was cut off when a plump woman wearing a black t-shirt with Elden Ring and a blue witch character on it. Around her next was a lanyard displaying an employee badge. The woman sported dark hair with streaks of purple through it.

“Sorry to interrupt Ben, but I’ve got to get Laura set up here.” The woman said.

“No worries, Sarah, here, try this.” Ben placed another of the truffles into Sarah’s mouth just as he had done with Laura.

“Oh my god, Ben, SOOO Good!! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to fatten us all up with your treats.” Sarah said, patting her belly, resulting in a slight bounce, which could be seen as it returned to pressing against the black t-shirt.

Ben quickly disappeared as Sarah then introduced herself to Laura. “Hey, I’m Sarah. I handle most of the tech stuff here around the office, so if you have problems with your computer or phone, you can shoot me a message. I’ve got your login all set up for your computer.” Sarah handed Laura a notecard with the login written down. “Are you familiar with Microsoft Project and Visio?”

“Yeah, I worked with both of those a lot at my last job, but that guy just shoved that chocolate into my mouth!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it. Ben just gets excited about the treats he can get for the office and can’t resist sharing them with us. He should know better than doing it with the new girl, though. He can be a bit awkward, but once you get used to him, he can be charming in that innocent puppy-dog way. I’ll let him know not to do it again.”

“Thanks, Sarah. Is there any chance I can VPN into the company to work from home if I need to?”

Sarah showed Laura several of the quirks of the company systems and gauged Laura’s interest in nerd culture as she guided Laura through several setup processes. By the time Sarah finished, it was 11:57. Laura got a text on her phone from Lexi. “Waiting downstairs in the lobby, you ready?”