Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Lester crossed his arms. “What do you say?”
The plan would kill two birds with one stone. I’d been thinking about asking Mia to marry me anyway. It was really just a matter of time before I did. If it was also a good business move, then why not?
15
Mia
Jill’s words of caution still swam in my mind days after she’d visited Pictogram. Doubts about Theo’s true feelings for me plagued me terribly even though he had yet to betray me or give me any definitive sign that he was starting to become uninterested in me.
It was unfair for me to even consider Theo was capable of any betrayal. He was so sweet to me: giving me beautiful gifts and telling me how much I meant to him.
I berated myself for resorting to my old ways of being self-deprecating. Even as Marc Janow’s new spokesperson, there was an inkling of fear that I wasn’t good enough for Theo. It was stupid and unfounded. My logical brain knew that, but my emotions were bubbling over inside me. I cared for Theo so much. If he didn’t feel the same way, I would be devastated.
It wasn’t even the right time to be pondering all of this and using all my mental energy for negative thoughts. Theo needed me now more than ever. Today was the day the Board was taking a vote. All my focus needed to be reserved for supporting him, not drowning in speculative self-doubt.
When I got a message from Theo, I was at the front desk helping Amanda with one of her assignments. With her work ethic, she was really improving. In no time, she would be ready to transition from receptionist to programmer. I was so proud of her.
TheoW: GUESS WHAT?
MiAnonimo: What?!
TheoW: The Board is off my back! Giving me another chance!
MiAnonimo: AWESOME! I’m so happy!!!
TheoW: I’ve got some errands to run. Meet me at Spruce 6PM?
MiAnonimo: Of course! Can’t wait! <3
I let out a gigantic sigh of relief. Amanda, hard at work debugging her code, looked up from her screen. “Everything okay?”
“More than okay,” I said, looking over her shoulder at her screen.
She smiled. “You’ve been an incredible help to me. I know you’re so busy. Thank you for everything.”
“Of course. You did all the work. I barely helped you at all. You just need to have more confidence in yourself. You are a lot more capable than you give yourself credit for,” I pointed out.
Ironic. I was giving advice that I needed to badly take myself.
Eunice and Sophie walked by. “Hey guys! What are you up to?” I asked.
“We’re heading to the woodshop.” Sophie held up an adorable little wooden robot. “Eunice wants me to show her how I made this little guy.”
“That’s too cute. Can I come?” I asked thinking that silly wooden robot would make a nice gift for Theo. It wasn’t a million-dollar necklace, but the thought would count.
Eunice beamed, “Of course! Amanda, do you want to come, too?”
Amanda looked up from her screen. “I’ve got to turn this assignment in, but definitely next time.”
My little work girl squad of Eunice, Sophie, and Amanda was a great comfort to me. Aside from Jill, I didn’t have any close girl friends who were in tech. Mostly because there just weren’t many female computer engineers in general. I hoped that one day with the programs like my Women’s Initiative that would change.
In the woodworking shop, my mind focused on Sophie’s instructions and let go of all my worries about Theo’s affection for me. I reminded myself that I was going to see him later that night to celebrate. He could spend tonight with anyone, but he chose me.
All my focus poured into cutting my wooden cubes, cuboids, and a little rectangle panel exactly. I cut the rectangle panel into six buttons and glued them on the robot’s body. Instead of scratching 123 and ABC onto mine like Sophie and Eunice’s robots, I opted for ILO and VEU. Right above the buttons, on the robot’s chest, I drew in a little heart with a red marker.
We drilled holes into the blocks and threaded cotton string through, connecting all the parts of the robot: one cuboid head, one cuboid body, two cube arms, and two cube legs. I drew in large brown eyes and a cute smile. On the back, I wrote, “To Theo. Love, Mia.”
Back at the office, Amanda had a little box for me to put my wooden robot in. It was just a silly little toy robot, but it was exciting to give something to Theo that was made with physical materials. As a programmer, most of my work was not tangible, nothing I could actually hold. But, my toy robot was special, truly made from my heart, and a tangible token of my feelings.
Using my key, I hurried into Theo’s house. It was already five o’clock. Upstairs, I browsed through my clothes hanging in the new walk in closet Theo had arranged to be installed for me.