much information for a person to analyze, and the variables are too large and random for traditional computer analysis.”
“That’s what you do, website analytics?” Isabelle asks.
“That was the first application,” I explain. “Now we have additional applications having to do with buying patterns and website patterns. Once you can identify what people are doing on a website, and where they’re going, the next thing is to figure out what you want to lead them to do next. For instance, if someone’s looking at cars, do they want to buy a car, have they already bought a car, or are they trading in a car? Each of those are very different scenarios. How do you identify where someone is in the cycle? Based on that, what options do you show them to sell more?
“Oh, I get it, if they bought a car, you don’t want to show them cars anymore, you might want to show them accessories, or trips they can take in a car,” Isabelle says.
“Precisely,” I respond.
Juliette and I then work with Isabelle on the best way to present her current situation. After a couple of hours I don’t know if we’ve hurt or helped since we’ve made her so nervous by wordsmithing her every thought.
After Isabelle’s day of interviews, Juliette and I check in with all the people she spoke to, casually asking them what they thought and making sure to put in a good word for her.
The following week at ping pong, Colin comments, “I hear another of your friends is joining us.”
I joke back, “It’s a take over from the bottom. Before you know it, all my friends will work here.” I chuckle to myself. We’re the princess mafia.
***
It’s fun having Isabelle at work, we don’t have any reason to interact with her during the day, though she does manage to wind her way over to our area to get either Juliette or me to explain what everyone is talking about. The acronyms feel so commonplace to me; I forget how daunting they can be to someone new. She also manages to join our lunch group. There are now seven women who eat lunch together. I guess seven is a lucky number for me.
Chapter 42 – Open Water Swimming
Juliette asks me to ride down to Santa Cruz with her. There’s a big open water swim race she signed up for.
“Why didn’t you drive down with Nate?”
“He works every other Saturday. He always says he’ll be done by two, but shows up at four. Anyway, he’s working. I could ride down with some swim friends but….”
“Zach?”
She nods before explaining. “Zach and I are cool. But Nate doesn’t know that Zach and I went out a few times last fall.”
“You don’t think Nate would be cool with you hanging with Zach?”
She flashes me a look before saying, “I wasn’t cool knowing his ex was in town trying to get back together with him. I don’t think he would be cool knowing I’m hanging with a guy I once dated.”
“I take it you believe you made the right choice.”
She smiles and nods before saying, “I’m lucky how things turned out. Zach’s a good guy. But Nate’s a great guy. I can’t imagine being happier.”
We drive for a bit in silence as I realize I’m happy for Juliette, though I feel a pang of jealousy that she has what I want. After parking we walk to the beach where everyone is registering for the swim. Half the people are in wetsuits, half are only wearing swimsuits.
As Juliette hands me her sweats and puts on a thermal swim cap I ask her. “Why aren’t you wearing a wetsuit?”
“Real swimmers don’t wear wetsuits.”
“I thought you hated cold water?”
“I do, but in the fall I challenged Kevin and Zach to do this swim.”
“So you’re going to freeze your butt off to prove some stupid point?”
She smiles and shrugs as she answers, “It appears so.”
The fog is starting to break when the swim starts. I watch as everyone swims around the pier. Juliette’s friends Zach and Kevin are the first two out of the water. Their finish is so tight I don’t know who won. Damn, Zach is a beautiful man. Nate’s a big, good looking guy, but as I watch Zach walk up the beach in only a speedo I wonder how Juliette turned Zach down. Now I’m wondering if it’s the sun or Zach’s body that’s making my temperature rise as I strip off my hoody and sweatpants.
Juliette gets out of the