I wasn't expecting anything exciting to come of my interactions with the new hire from Marketing but life has a funny way with things sometimes. It started with a mundane interaction over teleconference...
"Hey Trevor, what do you think of this approach that Jason's suggesting? I think that would bump up the SEO performance if we use these keywords for our coffee product line?" Asked Christina, the bright-eyed, eccentric new Marketing Manager for our appliance company, Classia. Christina had a special vibe to her and it made her immediately approachable and disarming in the most casual way. Like she could be your best friend at work and you've just met her.
Taken aback by her question, I stuttered a response: "Oh erm. Yeah I'll talk to my team about implementation. Hey, you should definitely talk to Max about paid marketing since we're expanding to new regions."
A few days later after that meeting, I bumped into Christina making a coffee at our coffee station. "Hey, can I give you a hand with that? The steam wand on that machine can be a bit tricky since the pressure from that is about the same as a commercial machine." I offered.
"Seems like you can definitely handle the pressure on that wand. Don't forget to wipe it clean. Awesome latte art too, bud." Christina winked and pointed at my effortless rosetta. "So you used to be a barista or something?"
"Yeah, it kinda paid for my bills when I was in college and it's always fun to learn a new skill since you never know when it'll come in handy. Pretty sure Max only hired me because I got on his good side during the interview and taught him how to improve his morning brew."
"How about you teach me a little bit about how to make a good cup of joe and I'll find a way to repay you eventually?" Christina tested the waters. "I don't mind at all. Plus I'll be making coffee anyway so it'll be a good way to get to know you better." I have no idea how I came up with an answer that chill since I was nervous as heck around this casual yet stunning lady. I kept the conversation short at this point since I didn't want to drop the ball.
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Christina seemed really interested and we hit it off over coffee making straightaway and our mornings basically turned into mini tutorial sessions as I slowly introduced her to the finer points of Third Wave specialty coffee such as bean freshness, extraction time, grind size, water temperature, milk steaming and latte art technique.
"Trevor. You're actually perfect for this role! Not only do you have industry experience and passion for the role. You're a genius on the marketing implementation and SEO insight side of the things as well."
"That's honestly the best compliment I've received in my 3 years at this organisation and they're pretty generous with compliments." I honestly must have been blushing like a tomato at this point.
"I bet you'd be much better at this presentation than I am. I don't know why Max picked me to present to our new retail clients considering I told that I am a terrible public speaker." Christina lamented softly at her predicament.
It was at this point that I noticed two things, the second got me a bit excited since I have a bit of an affinity (you'll see). One, that Christina was nervously rubbing her thigh from the corner of my eye (she was sat diagonally across from me as we drank our coffee). Two, she appeared to be wearing nude pantyhose. Nude pantyhose that matched her skin tone so well that I had not noticed until that moment... Maybe I was just that unobservant. Now I'm unobservant and semi-hard...
"Sorry, nervous habit. It used to calm me down when I did cheer. Maybe you could read over my slides and help me prepare?"
"Oh, yeah, erm, of course." Still not sure how to react to my recent observations and realisations. "Send your slides over and I'll give them a review after work tonight and discuss with you over our coffee break in the morning tomorrow?"
I got Christina's email in the afternoon along with a couple of recommendations on what songs to listen to that week (turns out we have pretty similar taste in music as well) and her note at the end made my day: "You're a lifesaver you know that? I really appreciate having you as a work buddy."
I took a scalpel to her slides and took my role in being her proofreader and "work buddy" very seriously. Going through everything, I made sure that she didn't make any factual errors and that her slides were relevant. I also read over her prepared speech out loud to ensure that it sounded informative and entertaining without too much waffle (pun intended).
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"Morning Christina! Did you get a chance to check the slides I sent back to you and the amendments I made to your speech yet?" I asked casually whilst making my latte.
I did a double take as I noticed that she had dressed up for the presentation and was sporting a fun yet sensible pleated skirt that finished just above her knees and a soft grey cardigan with a white blouse underneath. She completed the outfit with cute black ballet flats.
"I did! It reads so much better now and you even corrected a couple of key facts that I missed" She kissed me on the cheek. Her scent was a mix of sweet florals and delicate woody notes.