Page 6 of The Inmate
The last stop on our tour was my cubicle. At my last job, I had my own office, although it was tiny and didn’t have a window. Still, that was preferable to this tiny cubicle. There isn’t anywhere to hide in a cubicle. Also, the chair they provided me didn’t look very comfortable. It did not have adequate lumbar support. I’ll have to ask Seth about alternate seating options.
Seth introduced me to the woman working in the cubicle next to mine. I’m glad he did, because I have trouble introducing myself to people. I always feel awkward about it, and then if I wait too long, it’s too late. You can’t introduce yourself to somebody when you’ve been working with them for a month. So I was happy that Seth did the introductions.
He told me her name is Natalie. And she’s our best salesperson. He told me if there was anything I needed to know, Natalie would be the person to ask.
I committed her name to memory.Natalie, Natalie, Natalie. She was wearing headphones with a microphone attached, but she pulled it off for the introductions. She even stood up, teetering on a pair of striking red pumps that neither of us would ever even consider wearing. She’s about our age, maybe thirty, and extremely pretty. The thing I liked best about her was her hair. It was yellow, like the color of corn silk, and went all the way down to her mid-back. It looked so soft and silky, I almost wanted to reach out and run my fingers through it.
Remember when I reached out to touch Becky Doyle’s hair, and she scratched my face so badly, I had a red mark there for months? Now I know better.
Instead, I touched my own hair. That wasn’t nearly as satisfying. My hair is the same dull brown color it’s always been, and these days, I’ve been keeping it cropped close to my head. I’ll have to attach a photo. But even if I had long hair, it wouldn’t be soft and silky like Natalie’s, and the truth is, I don’t like the way my hair feels on the back of my neck. It makes my skin crawl, which is why I keep it so short.
Natalie gave me a huge hi. Her smile made her look even prettier. She said, “Welcome to Vixed!”
She had a nice smile. A friendly smile. She also had a very pretty voice. She sounded like she could be a singer or do voice-overs. Natalie seemed like a really sweet person. She was the first person today that didn’t make me feel like hiding in my nonexistent shell.
I could tell from the way Seth was looking at her that he likes her a lot too. She must be excellent at her job.
Natalie gushed about how much I’m going to love working at Vixed. And the more she talked about it, the better I felt.
I really like Natalie. In my whole life, you’re the only person I’ve ever clicked with, and believe me, I know I’ll never be close to Natalie the way I’m close to you, but it would be nice to have a casual friend to have a cup of coffee with or have dinner with after work. You always said I should try to make more friends, so I’m trying. I really am.
Sincerely,
Dawn Schiff
To: Dawn Schiff
From: Mia Hodge
Subject: Re: Greetings
First off, congratulations on your new job! I know making friends is hard, but this Natalie woman seems really nice. Just remember to be yourself, okay?
XXO,
Mia
ChapterFour
PRESENT DAY
NATALIE
“Natalie,I just want you to know, I love your products.”
I’ve got Carmen Salinas on the phone from Happy Healthy, a local wellness store in Quincy. Even though her store is tiny, she’s a valuable customer. I do whatever I can to give her discounts on products because full price is hard for her.
“I’m so glad,” I say.
“Collahealth is the best,” Carmen continues. “I’ve been using it myself the last few weeks and I swear to God, I look ten years younger!”
“I know!” I say. “I think it’s absolutely a miracle. I wouldn’t go a day without using it!”
“Me either!”
Collahealth is our newest product, which is a capsule containing a special formulation of collagen. I swear, this stuff is magic. I barely even have to sell it. It sells itself.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. I still have to work pretty hard.
