The Work Trip Pt. 01

I work in a call center for a company. I won't say which one, but it's in Canada so we have both English and French customers to assist. It's a smaller company and when I started we only had one office building. After a few years our business had increased to the point where we were getting a lot more French customers, which meant we needed more bilingual service representatives. It happens that in the city where our main office is located there aren't as many French speaking people as there are in some other parts of Canada. We were starting to have trouble finding enough bilingual people in the area to hire.

It was decided that we needed to open a second office in an area with more French speakers. This would let us hire the amount of staff we needed and keep up with attrition as some folks moved up to other jobs or left the company. One of the upper managers came from a small town up north that was very bilingual and she pitched the idea that we should open our new office there. The executive committee agreed.

After some deliberation, a new building was located, rented and furnished. Interviews were conducted and a bunch of employees were hired for our northern office. Our training lead was scheduled to go up north for six weeks and do all the training. But then a week before she was supposed to go she ended up having to take a sudden, unexpected medical leave.

Upper management panicked. We had another trainer of course, but in what was probably not the most brilliant of all plans, he was scheduled to start a training class of new hires in our main office the same week as the class was supposed to start up north. He couldn't be in both places at once. Both classes had to go forward because the new hires all had contracts with a fixed start date and upper management refused to consider the idea of paying any of them to do nothing.

That's where Mina and I came in.

At the time this happened I'd been with the company long enough to have gotten a couple of promotions and I was what's called a Resolution Case Manager. That's a fancy sounding title that covered a wide range of duties, most of which you don't need to know about. What's relevant to the story is that one of my duties was to work closely with the training team to help transition our new hires from the classroom to the phones. If it helps you can think of me as a mix of backup trainer and live support. During their first few days on the phones if the new hires couldn't figure out what to do on a call they could put the caller on hold and wave me down. I'd run over and talk them through the situation. I knew how to use all the systems and I knew how to explain them to people who hadn't used them much before.

Mina was a Resolution Case Manager too. I'd known her for a couple of years. We'd had similar trajectories through the company and been on the same team for most of them. She was a cute brunette, tall and a little gawky. She had a dancer's body, with smaller breasts but amazing legs. At the time all this happened I was thirty-nine and she had just turned thirty.

The day after the training lead went on leave Mina and I got called into an emergency meeting with some bigwigs. Long story short, they'd decided that Mina and I together were the equivalent of a trainer and asked us to take on the northern training class.

It meant six weeks in a small town in the middle of nowhere, but we were both familiar with the material and all the course work was already designed and ready. Plus they offered us both extra vacation time for after we got back to sweeten the deal. By the next day we'd both agreed to go.

I won't bore you with all the nuts and bolts of packing and organizing and getting there, but there are a few more pieces that are relevant to setting up how this happened. It was late October when the training class started and we were going to be there until mid December. I could have driven my own car, but in researching a little about where we were going to be, I found out they don't measure snow in inches, they measure it in feet. I didn't want that much wear and tear on my car and Mina didn't want it on hers either. The company agreed to fly us up north and pay for rental cars. Of course, we found out at the last minute that they'd only pay for two rental cars on the weekends. During the week they expected us to share one and carpool between our hotel and the new office.

Not wanting to have to pay the cost of a second rental car on our own, we agreed to the carpooling plan. Once we got up there this meant we ended up grabbing dinner together most nights on the way home from work. Oh sure, we could have just driven straight back to the hotel, and then taken turns using the car to do our own thing, but that would have been a lot of effort. Training the class each day was a lot of work and a certain amount of improvisation since neither of us had ever done it before. At the end of most days we were both tired enough to want to take it as easy as possible to rest up for the next day.

That meant we ended up spending a fair amount of time together every evening after work. Since we were both sick of talking about work by that time of day, we talked a lot about other things. We discussed shows we liked and books we'd read and funny stories from our past. We started to get to know each other pretty well.

On Thursday of our second week in town we stopped for pizza after work. Somehow, I found myself eating a slice with ham, pineapple and hot peppers on it. I've always been a die-hard believer that pineapple on pizza is disgusting, but Mina talked me into it. She can be very charming when she wants something and it can be hard to say no to her. I have to admit it wasn't bad. The hot peppers balanced out some of the sweetness of the pineapple, making it tolerable to eat.

As we were eating Mina got a text. She checked it and the self-satisfied smirk she'd had on her face since proving me wrong about the pizza was replaced by a frown. She rolled her eyes and shoved her phone back in her purse.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Just Brad," she said, shaking her head. "I don't want to get into it."

Brad was her boyfriend. They'd been dating for as long as I'd known her and a year or two longer than that from what I'd heard. They lived together, or at least they did when she wasn't staying in a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Brad hadn't come up north with her.

"Fair enough," I said. "If you need a friendly ear let me know."

She nodded and we let it drop for the night.

The next morning when we met up to head out to work I couldn't help but notice she looked tired. There were bags under her eyes and her hair was up in a ponytail. Earlier in the week she'd confessed that she only put her hair up at work when she was feeling tired or lazy. "Can you drive?" she asked, holding out the keys.

"Sure," I said, grabbing them from her. "You okay?"

She started to reply and then was interrupted by a massive yawn. "I'm fine," she said once she could stop yawning again.

We both got into the car. "Tell me to mind my own business if you want," I said as I started the car, "but it doesn't seem like you're fine. Did you not get much sleep?"

She sighed and for a second I was sure she was about to tell me to stay out of it, but then she shrugged. "I was up late talking to Brad," she said.

"You guys arguing about something?" I asked. "You seemed kind of pissed last night by that text he sent."

"Not arguing exactly," she said. "There's just something he wants me to do that he keeps bugging me about and I'm not sure I want to do."

"Rob a bank?" I said.

She laughed. "Oh damn, you guessed it," she said. "Now I'll have to kill you." She paused for a moment and then said "He wants me to take some pictures for him."

"Oh I see," I said, not quite sure how to reply to that. I was pretty sure I knew what kind of pictures she meant. "Well I guess I can understand him asking, with you guys being long distance right now, but if you don't want to do it he should respect that."

"It's more complicated than that," she said. "It's not just nudes, I send him those all the time, I like doing that." I was watching the road but from the corner of my eye I saw her clap both hands over her mouth and blush as soon as she said that. "That was probably too much information," she said in a low voice.

I cleared my throat and then tapped the time on the dashboard. "Hey, we're not on the clock yet," I said. "I won't tell HR if you don't."

She laughed again and then I saw her shrug. "What the hell," she said. "Maybe it'll help me figure out what I want to do it if I talk it out. Do you mind?"

"Go for it," I said.

"Okay," she said. "He wants pictures of me blowing another guy."

I almost swerved off the road. Whatever I'd been expecting it wasn't that. "Oh wow," I said. "Brad likes to watch huh?"

"He does," she said. "He's been trying to convince me for a long time now to fool around with another guy in front of him. I've never gone through with it. I guess it always seemed like a bad idea to fool around with someone that we might have to see again after."

"Oh I see," I said as it started to make sense. "Now that you're in the middle of nowhere he figures you can pick up a random guy, blow him and then leave town so you'll never have to see him again."

"Exactly," she said, nodding.

"How do you feel about it?" I said.

"I'm not sure," she said with a shrug. "Part of me thinks it could be fun and I know Brad really wants me to." She trailed off and sighed.

"Then what's stopping you?" I said.

"It just seems so awkward," she said. "I mean, can you imagine? I walk up to some guy in a bar and say what? Hey buddy want a blowjob? Oh, but can I take pictures so my boyfriend can see?" She shuddered theatrically.

"Well okay," I said. "That might not be the best opening line."

She laughed. "But seriously," she said. "What guy's going to go for that?"

"You might be surprised," I said. "A blowjob from a hot girl with no strings attached, except for a few pics? There's guys who'd go for that for sure."

There was a pause, "You think I'm hot?" she said, with an expression I recognized by now as her mischievous face. I could tell she was teasing me.

"Not the point," I said, wagging a finger at her.

"That's not a no," she said, then laughed and let me off the hook. "I guess maybe it could work," she said. "I just don't love the idea of hitting a bar by myself to try and pick up a random guy. Especially in a place I don't know very well."

I shrugged. "Want me to be your wingman?" I said.

"Seriously?" she said.

"Sure, why not?" I said. "I can come out to a bar with you and hang around having a few drinks while you do your thing. If you get a bad vibe from anybody I'll be right there to back you up."

"You're sweet to offer," she said. "Let me think about it and let you know okay?"

"Sure thing," I said.

That was all we said about it that day. I figured there was a good chance she'd be embarrassed that she'd told me as much as she had and she might never bring it up again.

Turns out I was wrong.

Friday morning she looked happier and more wide awake. As soon as we'd gotten in the car to go to work I found out why.

"Hey, what are you doing tonight?" she asked.

"Nothing much," I said with a shrug. "Probably order room service and watch movies on my laptop."

"Can I ask a favor?" she said.

"Shoot," I said.

"Would you come out to the bar with me tonight?" she said.

"Sure," I said. It was early yet and I hadn't had any coffee so I hadn't quite clued in what she might have in mind.

She must have figured that out because she leaned in. "Remember what we talked about yesterday morning?" she said. Her voice was low as if there was a crowd of people around us that might overhear instead of us being alone in the car. "I'm going to give it a try."

"You're going to give it..." at that moment a few brain cells fired and I figured out what she was talking about. "Oh! You're going to try and meet a guy?"

She gave me a big smile and nodded. "I told Brad I would try this weekend," she said. "He's so excited."

"Well okay then," I said. "You've got yourself a wingman." I held out my fist and she bumped it with hers and laughed.

The rest of that Friday flew by, at least for me. Mina complained a couple of times that the day was dragging on, but anticipation will do that sometimes. I could tell she was really looking forward to that night.

On the way home from work we stopped at a little diner she'd picked out. She ordered chicken noodle soup.

"Soup?" I said, raising an eyebrow at her. She'd been quite the foodie so far in our stay so this seemed a little bland for her.

"Soup" she said, nodding at me, "It won't bother my stomach if I'm nervous later and I won't have gross breath either. I have to make a good impression you know."

I was impressed. "You've thought this through," I said.

"Damn right," she said.

We went back to the hotel after that and went our separate ways for awhile, since it was still too early to hit the bar.

At 9:30 I got a text from Mina.

Mina: Are you ready?

Right after that I got another text from her.

Mina: You better be ready!.

I laughed. I couldn't resist teasing her a little so I texted back:

Me: Ready for what?

Less than ten seconds later there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find Mina standing there frowning at her phone and shaking her head. "You're not funny," she said.

"Did you seriously text me while you were already on the way to my room?" I asked. "Twice?"

"Give me a break, I'm nervous," she said.

"You don't have to be nervous," I said. "You look great." She did. Her jacket was undone so I could see she was wearing a clingy black dress and black stilettos that made her legs look even longer.

"Well thank you," she said. "Now can we go? Before I wimp out?"

I laughed. "Okay, let's go," I said.

We got to the bar she'd picked out just before 10:00. We checked our coats and she picked out a spot for me near the bar that she felt had the best line of sight to anywhere she might go.

"Go easy drinking," she said. "You're no good to me if you have to keep running to the bathroom and I can't find you."

I sketched a little mock salute. "Aye, aye ma'am," I said.

She blushed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm being rude. You're doing me a favor."

I waved a hand to brush off the apology. "It's okay," I said. "You just want this to work out. I get it. I'm not offended."

"Thank you," she said. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," I said and I meant it. She was so eager for this to work out that I just hoped she wasn't going to get disappointed.

I ordered a drink and people watched for awhile. I did my best not to stare at Mina, figuring that guys she might meet could be put off by some random dude who couldn't take his eyes off her. But I glanced over every now and then to make sure she was okay.

For awhile she circled the place without approaching anyone. I figured she was scoping out the prospects. Thirty minutes in I hadn't seen her talking to anyone for more than a few seconds, so I wondered if she was losing her nerve. But then the next time I checked she was sitting at a table with a guy, chatting and smiling. For the next few songs on the jukebox I could see out of the corner of my eye that they were still sitting together.

I thought for sure she was in, but then in the middle of the song after that the guy shook his head, stood up and walked away. From the look on Mina's face I figured he wasn't on his way to get his jacket so they could leave together.

A few minutes later she walked over to stand next to me at the bar and order another drink. "That was a bust," she whispered to me while she waited for the bartender. "He wouldn't go for it."

"His loss," I said. "But the night is young. You can keep trying."

The bartender came back with her drink then, so she didn't say anything else. She just tipped the bottle to me in a kind of salute and then walked back into the crowd.

It took her longer to pick out a second guy. I saw her approach a few people and chat, but it never seemed to go on for more than a few sentences. I figured she was hoping to have a one on one conversation, but a lot of guys in the bar were either already with a date, or else were out in a big group.

When she did sit down with another guy it looked like it was going well. They talked for a long time. I was surprised when this time it was Mina who ended up shaking her head, standing up and walking away.

She walked over to me and leaned up against the bar next to me, looking back out over the crowd.

"He wasn't up for it?" I asked.

"No, he was too up for it," she said. "He wanted to do it, but he kept suggesting I should fuck him too. No way I'd agree to that with some random guy." She frowned and shook her head before she continued. "Near the end he said he would do it and we didn't have to fuck, but I didn't get a good vibe from him. I feel like in the heat of the moment he might not take no for an answer, you know?"

"Good call walking away then," I said. "Guy sounds like an asshole." I checked my watch. It was just before midnight. "Still got a few hours until closing. You want to..."

"Oh shit," said Mina, cutting me off and pointing.

I turned to look at what she was pointing at and saw two of the people from our training class walking in the bar's front door.

I could guess right away what Mina was thinking. Neither of us had talked that much about our personal lives to the class, but we had shared some details. Mina had told them a little about her boyfriend and the dog they had together. If they saw her trying to pick up another guy it would raise questions that she wouldn't want to answer. They might never ask those questions out loud in front of her, but I could guess that Mina wouldn't want them gossiping behind her back either.

"What are the odds of that huh?" I said, trying to keep my tone light.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "This town isn't that big. There's not that many bars. Doesn't seem that unlikely to me, just fucking annoying."

"Well, maybe they won't stay that long," I said. "We could wait awhile and see?"

She didn't answer right away, but then at last she shook her head and gave me a sad smile. "No, this is a bust," she said. "Can we get out of here? Please?"

"Okay," I said, getting up from my seat.

We made our way back to the car in silence. I was hoping she would talk first since I didn't know what to say just then. I didn't have to wait long.

"That sucked," she said, as we were pulling out of the parking lot.

"Yeah," I said. "Sorry it didn't work out for you, but I'm happy to come out another time if you want to try again."

She shrugged. "With my luck we'll run into more trainees next time."

I didn't know what to say to that. For all I knew she was right. "You thinking you're going to tell Brad he's out of luck?" I asked after she'd been silent a few minutes. Not the most encouraging I know, but I didn't want her to feel like I was pressuring her into this too. It wasn't my idea in the first place.

"I don't want to do that," she said. It sounded like she was going to say something else and then she trailed off into silence again.

I kept driving. We'd gone a few streets further when I heard her take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Okay," she said. "I'm going to tell you something. I hope you won't be mad."

"I'll do my best," I said.

"When I told Brad I was going to do this, I told him the whole plan," she said. "Including the fact that you knew what was happening and that you were going to be my wingman."

I was a little surprised at that, but not too much. "I'm not mad about that," I said and I meant it. "I don't blame you for being honest. Might make conversation with me and Brad a little awkward, but I really only see him once a year at the company Christmas party anyway."