ended, most of the people who had been listening filed into the VPâs office. They were going to list all the songâs selling points, like who the producer was and anything else that would get it more press and publicity. Naomi saw them all walking into the office, and she buried her head back into the files on her desk, placing them in chronological order. As she turned to clear off some more space on her desk, she heard a voice. She turned around, and it was her boss.
âWhat did you think of the record?â
âI liked it a lot actually. The beat was different, and the hook was catchy,â she replied.
âWhat did it make you think of?â
âIt made me think of dancing at a club, honestly.â
âCool, thanks,â she said and walked away.
Naomi was surprised she had even come over and asked her opinion. She was pleased that Tiffany actually valued her opinion, and although it was a small thing, it had Naomi feeling real good on the inside.
She went back to her mundane taskâthat she hoped would fill up at least an hour or two of her day. She was updating the files and packaging older documents to be put away in the file storage closet. She glanced up on occasion to check her e-mails and texts, but for the most part, she kept her head buried in her files.
Kevin walked up. âBoo,â he said.
Naomi jumped, startled by his presence. âOh, my gosh, you scared me.â
âThatâs what I was trying to do,â he said.
âMeanie. What do you want?â
âNothing, just came to check on you and see if you wanted to get lunch later,â he said.
âSure, how about two PM?â
âWhy so late?â
âI had a big breakfast,â she replied. âBut one or one thirty is fine.â
âOK, see you then,â he said. âAnd I hope you have a cute coat or something because you definitely didnât check out the fashion chic channel this morning before you left.â
Naomi glanced down. âForget you . . . what? I wanted to be comfortable.â
âWell, brush your hair before we head out. I donât want to be seen walking with Ugly Betty.â
âHow mean are you?â she said.
âLata.â
Naomi knew he was playing, but she was also a firm believer that there was truth to every joke. She caught her reflection in the computer screen and finger-combed her hair back; it was already in a ponytail, so there wasnât much more she could do. After a while she just brushed it offâbesides, this was who she was every day, and Kevin had no right talking.
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Almost an hour went byâit was close to noon, and most of the department was still in the meeting about Randomâs single. Naomiâs boss had stepped out for lunch, and a few others had left the room as well. Naomi had been busy answering phones, sending and responding to e-mails, and working on the filing project she had started that morning. A few phone calls had come in, but she had only taken messages because she was pretty confident that none of the callers were VIP enough to interrupt Tiffany for. That list Naomi had created with the VIPs had been coming in handy. Only once did she need to intercom Tiffany to see if she wanted the call, and that had been Hollywood. This time around, Tiffany had said to tell him she was in a meeting and that she would call him back. Naomi had been furious because Tiffany had had an attitude as if Naomi never shouldâve interrupted her in the first place. If I would have told him that on my own, I would have gotten yelled at, she told herself as she hung up the phone.
When Naomi saw her boss leaving, Naomi said nothing to her at all. Some days Naomi just wished she had an office she could close the door to and not have to see Tiffany at all. She pretended to work as she discreetly watched her boss exit the department. Knowing she was gone, Naomi sat up at her computer and logged on to her
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