Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
It was my Pictogram ID attached to a pink and red lanyard. For my photo, they’d chosen my infamous middle-finger image. Really? Instead of a traditional headshot, we were going with this?
Amanda nodded happily again.
“I took the liberty of using your trademark photo for your ID.” She beamed at me as she pulled the string down over my head. “Do you like it?”
Cringing inside, I held my ID in my hands. “Um, I love it. Thank you!” I lied with a forced smile. Amanda was so sweet. I didn’t want to explain to her that this very photo had caused me more problems than humanly possible, but who was I to burst the young girl’s bubble? Life would happen, sooner or later, and there was no need to pour rain on her sunshine.
“Okay Ms. Smith,” she burbled. “I’m going to take you to your desk. Follow me, please,” she said, almost doing a pirouette on one pink high-top sneaker.
And quickly, we made our way down the polished hallway. Everything was a glossy, opaque white, like we were in a giant starship. It was cool but intimidating too with a lot of reflective surfaces.
But Amanda kept up her friendly chatter, turning at intervals to smile at me.
“This building only has one restaurant, Mexican,” she prattled. “It’s fish taco day, by the way. Do you like tacos?”
“I love tacos,” were my words.
Her eyes lit up. “Me too! We should have lunch sometime.”
I paused. This was starting to get a little crazy, but I didn’t want to be rude. So instead, a smile crossed my face.
“Sure,” I agreed. “Just not today, it’s my first day and I don’t know what they have planned.”
“Your group will probably take you out to lunch,” the blonde said again, nodding her head knowingly. “You have a couple choices because there are a total of six restaurants on campus. Plus two cafes, laundry and dry cleaning facilities, a beauty salon, a music studio, a video arcade, a woodworking shop, and don’t forget, a full-size movie theater too.” She paused, catching her breath. “I’ll email all this stuff to you of course, with a map of facilities. It’s a lot to remember but Pictogram just wants the best for its employees.”
Hmm, that was definitely true, as well as convenient.
“How much are the laundry services?” I asked thinking about all the quarters I had to scrounge up before I ever did a load.
Amanda laughed, her blonde bun bobbling. “It’s all free, silly!”
That got me.
“Free?” I asked in astonishment, eyes wide. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yes. Everything’s free: food, the video arcade, getting your nails done, absolutely everything.”
“Wow,” I said, impressed. “That’s a lot of benefits.”
At that moment, we passed by a large abstract painting. Lines of code swirled around a mix of bright vibrant colors and dark bold lines. I stopped to admire it, the rush of reds and oranges bold and beautiful.
Amanda said in a hushed tone, “Mr. White did this one.”
Turning to her, I asked, amazed, “Theo?”
She nodded confidentially. “Oh yes. There are several of his pieces around campus. It’s one of the CEO’s hobbies.”
I was impressed and a little intrigued. None of the articles featuring Theo shirtless said anything about his artistic talents. More like they were focused on his pecs, abs, and of course, the billionaire’s playboy ways.
But finally, we were at the destination. Amanda stopped before a gray metal workstation, part of a long table in an open room. Engineers sat all together in one open space. The cement floors and exposed fluorescent lighting gave off an industrial feel, but I liked it. The open space made me instantly feel like I was part of Pictogram.
And after putting my backpack down on the floor, Amanda chirped, “You have a meeting with Mr. White now.”
“Really? The CEO?”
Amanda nodded importantly.
“He asked. It’s not standard company procedure, but you are the Pictogram girl,” she said importantly. “Come on, I’ll show you the way. He’s right up there.”
And with that I turned to crane my head upwards, peering at the third floor only to see Theo standing near the windows on the phone. The billionaire was magnetic, even from afar, that masculine physique athletic even in a light gray suit. His smile flashed, bright white and charming. It’d been weeks since I’d seen him since the night he took my virginity, and yet from one look, my body temp rose. Oh god, it was him again, and my insides went loose, desperate to see the man.
“I can walk you up there,” Amanda said with a knowing smile. “He’s hot, right? Most tech billionaires are tiny midgets with hunchbacks, but Mr. White’s something else.”
I nodded, cheeks flushing bright red. Oh god, she didn’t know, did she? Hopefully, Theo didn’t tell anyone. But I swallowed and put another smile on.
“Sure, let’s go,” I said. “Off to meet the emperor.”