It sparks creativity. And this ‘non-work’ time has delivered fifty percent of Google’s offerings. Gmail, Google News and Google Talk—all spin-offs from these personal passion projects.”
“My cousin works for Google!” Deepak exclaimed, almost too loudly. “And he tells me they have a workshop on campus for their employees. They use it to build projects out of metal, wood and Legos! Can you believe that? Legos!”
I brightened. Now he had my attention. Legos were the building blocks of my childhood. “So.” I cleared my throat twice. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Carter, but if I’m reading you right, you’re actually giving us permission to play on company time?”
“Funny you should mention that, Karsynn, because that’s exactly what we’ll be doing tomorrow.”
“What are we doing?” I asked anxiously.
“We are going on a field outing and we are going to play on company time.”
“Why?” I frowned, slightly puzzled by this.
“Let’s just say that it will help with my decision.”
I blinked. “So you won’t be holding any interviews for the Project Manager position?”
“Nope. This whole outing essentially replaces the need for interviews.”
Hmmm. Interestinger and interestinger.
Jewel fluffed her strawberry-blond curls. “What kind of outing are we talking about?”
“Tennis and lunch afterward,” Carter informed us. “So dress appropriately and bring your tennis gear.”
“It’s too hot to play tennis!” Jewel grumbled, holding a tennis racket that must have weighed more than her entire body. The sun was beating down on the tennis court and Jewel looked out of place and out of her element. To me, she belonged somewhere glamorously decadent. I often pictured her in a flowing stola, lounging on a divan with men in togas on each side, fanning her face and feeding her green grapes.
“Hey!” Deepak nudged me in the ribs. “Check out the couple over there. You can watch a couple play mixed doubles and know whether or not they’re married.”
Surreptitiously, I glanced over at the next court. An expensive blonde skipped to the net and missed the ball by a mile. Her partner shot her an endearing look. “Awww. You look so cute when you miss, baby cakes.”
I turned to Deepak. “They’re definitely not married.”
“Definitely pre-marital,” Deepak agreed.
Meanwhile, across the net, the other couple was hissing at each other like a pair of Bengal tigers. “Don’t hold your racket like that, stupid!” the guy with the handlebar moustache was yelling at his partner. As the match went on, he continued to berate and blame his partner for every point they lost.
“Post-marital,” I said with a gurgle of laughter. “Definitely post-marital.”
“To err is human,” Deepak proffered, “to put the blame on someone else is mixed doubles.”
“Anyway,” I carried on airily, “I’d never marry a tennis player. To them ‘love’ simply means nothing.”
“All right,” Carter called out, “Karsynn and Deepak—you two will play against Jewel and Shane. I’ll umpire the match.” He paused for a fraction, surveying our determined faces. “Any of you have any questions?”
Was this a test? Will the winning team vie for the Project Manager position?
Instead of voicing my thoughts, I jogged onto the court, swinging my racket high in the air. Jewel overtook me and smirked. “Scared?”
“You wish!” I shot back, my eyes following her as she went. I found myself drawn to Jewel’s slender legs; they seemed to stretch on forever and ever.
I gave myself a mental shake and scolded myself for being grateful that her face had the bone structure of a komodo dragon.
I began warming up with some aerobic squats and leg lunges. Taking my lead, Deepak started skipping sideways. Just as I felt my hamstrings burning, I overheard some snippets of Jewel’s conversation. “Now listen up, Shane,” she said tersely, “do you want to win or do you just want to play
“My cousin works for Google!” Deepak exclaimed, almost too loudly. “And he tells me they have a workshop on campus for their employees. They use it to build projects out of metal, wood and Legos! Can you believe that? Legos!”
I brightened. Now he had my attention. Legos were the building blocks of my childhood. “So.” I cleared my throat twice. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Carter, but if I’m reading you right, you’re actually giving us permission to play on company time?”
“Funny you should mention that, Karsynn, because that’s exactly what we’ll be doing tomorrow.”
“What are we doing?” I asked anxiously.
“We are going on a field outing and we are going to play on company time.”
“Why?” I frowned, slightly puzzled by this.
“Let’s just say that it will help with my decision.”
I blinked. “So you won’t be holding any interviews for the Project Manager position?”
“Nope. This whole outing essentially replaces the need for interviews.”
Hmmm. Interestinger and interestinger.
Jewel fluffed her strawberry-blond curls. “What kind of outing are we talking about?”
“Tennis and lunch afterward,” Carter informed us. “So dress appropriately and bring your tennis gear.”
“It’s too hot to play tennis!” Jewel grumbled, holding a tennis racket that must have weighed more than her entire body. The sun was beating down on the tennis court and Jewel looked out of place and out of her element. To me, she belonged somewhere glamorously decadent. I often pictured her in a flowing stola, lounging on a divan with men in togas on each side, fanning her face and feeding her green grapes.
“Hey!” Deepak nudged me in the ribs. “Check out the couple over there. You can watch a couple play mixed doubles and know whether or not they’re married.”
Surreptitiously, I glanced over at the next court. An expensive blonde skipped to the net and missed the ball by a mile. Her partner shot her an endearing look. “Awww. You look so cute when you miss, baby cakes.”
I turned to Deepak. “They’re definitely not married.”
“Definitely pre-marital,” Deepak agreed.
Meanwhile, across the net, the other couple was hissing at each other like a pair of Bengal tigers. “Don’t hold your racket like that, stupid!” the guy with the handlebar moustache was yelling at his partner. As the match went on, he continued to berate and blame his partner for every point they lost.
“Post-marital,” I said with a gurgle of laughter. “Definitely post-marital.”
“To err is human,” Deepak proffered, “to put the blame on someone else is mixed doubles.”
“Anyway,” I carried on airily, “I’d never marry a tennis player. To them ‘love’ simply means nothing.”
“All right,” Carter called out, “Karsynn and Deepak—you two will play against Jewel and Shane. I’ll umpire the match.” He paused for a fraction, surveying our determined faces. “Any of you have any questions?”
Was this a test? Will the winning team vie for the Project Manager position?
Instead of voicing my thoughts, I jogged onto the court, swinging my racket high in the air. Jewel overtook me and smirked. “Scared?”
“You wish!” I shot back, my eyes following her as she went. I found myself drawn to Jewel’s slender legs; they seemed to stretch on forever and ever.
I gave myself a mental shake and scolded myself for being grateful that her face had the bone structure of a komodo dragon.
I began warming up with some aerobic squats and leg lunges. Taking my lead, Deepak started skipping sideways. Just as I felt my hamstrings burning, I overheard some snippets of Jewel’s conversation. “Now listen up, Shane,” she said tersely, “do you want to win or do you just want to play
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