Hita - Anita Claire Page 0,16
going on behind the scenes having lunch with Sherri. Then again, I’ve learned a lot about baseball statistics from Chris and Avery.
Returning to my desk, I see an e-mail that there’s a team meeting in an hour. That’s really unusual. We normally have our team meetings on Mondays. Heading into the Porcupine Flat conference room, I join Mark, Avery, Chris, and Roger. There are also three guys I don’t know. One of the guys is fat, hairy, and wearing a wife beater and jogging shorts, showing off way too much of what no one wants to see—what’s with that? Another guy looks older, maybe in his mid-thirties, with a bit of a paunch and a goatee. The third guy is a young, off the boat Indian. He’s very dark, with a mustache, and cheap polyester shirt and slacks.
Roger welcomes everyone, and then introduces us to Ian, the hairy guy, Tom, Mr. Goatee, and Rajive, the Indian guy. Turns out, these are the “math guys” Mark, Avery, and Chris have been working with. Really it’s Ian and Tom that are the Math Guys, Rajive is a grad student from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign working for us as a summer intern.
Flint decided that instead of having two groups located on either side of the building working together, the math guys should join our group. Roger orders up cookies and donuts from the cafeteria so we can all celebrate. I watch Ian gobble up two donuts without even breathing, one right after the other. Now I know why he’s so heavy. I still don’t get why he can’t cover up more. No one needs to see all that white hairy skin. I don’t think Roger or the other guys even notice. I bet if Sherri was his boss, she’d have him wearing a proper shirt.
The next day at lunch, Kami, Caroline and I all chatter on about what Sherri said. Both Kami and Caroline have been working for her since they joined the company last year. Kami says, “I’ve never seen Sherri in such a sharing mood. This is the first time she’s gossiped.”
Caroline follows up with, “I think Terri gets under her skin. It’s hard being the only woman manager.”
I add to the conversation, “I’m the only woman in my group. We got three more guys. Ian, Tom, and Rajive.”
Kami squishes up her nose, “Not hairy Ian. Don’t let his disgusting looks fool you. That guy also says the most annoying things.”
“Then why did they hire him?” I ask.
Caroline rolls her eyes before answering, “He’s supposedly some kind of brilliant mathematician. They considered it a coup when he came here.”
As I eat my vegetarian burger, I figure I’m rather lucky to have met Kami and Caroline. If I were still eating with the guys, I might have a better handle on which baseball player has the best RBI record, but I’d never know any of the inside information.
***
Mark suddenly shows up to work with a dog in tow. One of the guys at the other end of the hall brings his dog, Shadow, to work.
Chris looks over at the big German shepherd, immediately asking, “She’s toilet trained, right? We’re not going to have to sit around smelling dog piss?”
Mark gives him an annoyed look as he says, “She’s two years old, of course she’s trained.”
Avery then asks, “Is she yours or is this temporary?”
Mark huffs out a response, “She’s here with me, and she’s a good dog.”
I’m thinking there’s a story here. Mark’s avoided that question. After mulling it around I finally ask, “Whose dog is she, and why are you bringing her to work?”
Mark looks at me exasperated as he answers, “I like this dog, she’s a good girl, she barks when she’s left home alone, she won’t bother anyone, she’s happy sitting under my desk.”
Well that answered why he has the dog, but not whose dog it is. After mulling it around for a few minutes, it finally hits me. Mark must have a girlfriend and this is her dog. No guy would be taking some other dude’s dog to work because it’s barking. What is it with guys and their inability to tell pertinent information?
Chapter 15 – Girl Talk
Right before Labor Day, Savi tells me about one of the teas her mom arranged. She then bites her lip as she says, “We went to this family on Sunday. The son was born in the US.”
Perplexed by this story I ask, “Why are you telling me this?”
She looks