At five o'clock, one co-worker after another joined the stampede to the elevators. By seven, even the janitor had gone. Still Erica slaved away.
Past twilight, she rose and stretched. Once again she wished she hadn't traded away her day off. It figured that this would be the occasion when the boss demanded the company webpages be revised overnight.
The lights of other skyscrapers glowed through the windows, grown vivid now that day had surrendered to the cloak of night. She tried to enliven her mood by noting that she only saw that lovely scene when she worked overtime.
The tapping of a keyboard drew her to the far side of the maze of cubicles. There sat the only other employee stuck here tonight.
"How's it going, Hank?"
The webpage displayed on Hank's computer screen was marred by broken-image icons. He sighed. "Another two hours, I think. How about you?"
"Probably less. If I'm right I'll take some of your half."
"Kewl."
"No problem." Erica tilted her head toward the employee lounge. "I'm heading for the vending machines. Want a granola bar?"
"Nah. Something with lots of sugar and chocolate, please."
He didn't seem like the sugar-fiend type, she thought as she ambled away. He must be one of those guys that could eat garbage and still stay trim. The lucky bastard.
Hank had worked at the company more than a year, but Erica still didn't know that much about him. She knew he was single and hetero. But despite his good looks, he apparently suffered enough from computer geek syndrome that he never made the first move with the ladies. That put him out of reach for Erica. She could never make the first move, either. Too bad. She could've used a boyfriend.
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