Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“He did, he did!” Harry effused. “You’ll have to pretend to be my girlfriend again, Juliette. Please, please, please. Just a few more times over the summer.”
I said no. I put my foot down. I declined in every way possible, and yet my refusals fell on deaf ears. Harry begged, whined, and pleaded. He even cried once, with tears rolling down his cheeks, and my defenses crumbled. Blame it on my soft heart, but before I realized it, I’d accompanied him to a bunch of events as his “girlfriend.” It was terrible that we engaged in such a complex charade, but Harry was so grateful afterwards that I couldn’t help but pity him. What must it be like to be locked in the closet? Especially when faced with a domineering father who won’t accept your sexuality? It sounded like hell, and I was happy to assist my friend however I could.
But there was one big downside to it all, and that’s that I didn’t get a full-time offer at Excel after my summer internship ended. It’s because I was always helping Harry. Instead of showing up at happy hours and the like, I was helping my pretend boyfriend pull off his charade. In fact, I didn’t even know that the social events were a mandatory part of the internship. I thought that the after-work drinks, Friday night bowling, and hitting golf balls at the driving range were just fun afterthoughts. It wasn’t like we were being asked to type memos and do research at these soirees.
But in retrospect, I guess I should have known better because Americans spend so much time at work. In France, we have a thirty-five hour workweek, and that’s it. Then, you can go home and be with your family, and forget about your job entirely. But here, people see their work family as their real family, and even have “work husbands” and “work wives” because they’re so committed to their jobs. It’s a part of Corporate America that I didn’t anticipate, and as a result, I goofed. I didn’t go to the firm social events, and when it came time for offers in August, my name wasn’t on the list.
“Really?” my fellow intern Minnie asked with a confused expression. “Excel is dinging you because of that? But your work product is high quality, right?”
I smiled wryly.
“Yeah, but they don’t care about work product. Here in America, they care about “fitting in” and “being part of the team.” I swear, it’s different in France because employers don’t make demands on your personal time away from work. I guess I just goofed.”
Minnie nodded sympathetically. We’d spent most of the summer together, with our desks right next to each other, and she’s a cool girl. The young woman is gorgeous, with long blonde hair, winsome blue eyes, and a curvy figure to die for. Even crazier, she hadn’t attended too many of the social events at Excel either because she was actually hooking up with the CEO at our company. Yes, our boss’s boss’s boss was dicking down an intern, and I think by the end of the summer, Minnie might even have been living with Brad Landry.
“Well, I definitely don’t deserve a job offer either,” Minnie said in a rueful tone. “God knows, I skipped so many social functions.”
I shot her a look.
“Min, you were at all of the events. It’s just that you and Mr. CEO would “mysteriously disappear” mid-way, only to reappear with your make-up smeared and your hair messy.”
“No!” Minnie cried, her hands automatically going up to pat at her blonde strands. “Oh my god, really?”
“I’m kidding,” I say with a wicked wink. “I think you and Brad only disappeared once, and you looked fine when you returned. It’s okay. No one cares.”
My friend looked relieved, and the truth is that it doesn’t matter because now, Minnie’s pregnant by Brad. Yes, the CEO got his wish, and succeeded in knocking up his pretty intern. Not only that, but Minnie’s put college on hold for the meantime, so she doesn’t care about job offers and such. My guess is that my friend will never finish her degree, seeing that her boyfriend is absolutely loaded.
But still, not having a job is a huge problem for me because the only way I can stay in the United States is if I get a work permit. Right now, I have a student visa, but once I graduate, I’m kaput. Sure, there’s a 60-day grace period for me to find a position, but if I don’t, then I’m on the next flight to Paris.
It makes me sad because the truth is that Minnesota has grown on me. Every foreign student thinks they’re going to land in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, and plunge into the hustle and bustle of a sexy city that you only see in movies. But my scholarship was from Evergreen College in the Minneapolis suburbs, and that’s where I’ve spent the last four years. I like it here, too. My city has a small-town feel, and I don’t want to go back to the burbs of Paris. France is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, and my family misses me. But America is better, and I want to stay. It’s just a question of how.