Mac vs. PC by Fletcher DeLancey

Author:Fletcher DeLancey
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Published: 2014-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Anna fielded frequent calls from Elizabeth over the next two weeks. All of them were basic switcher questions and easy to answer—too easy, as it turned out, because she never had a decent excuse to stay on the line. Elizabeth treated her with perfect professionalism, but it never translated into the kind of friendly work relationship that she had with so many others. Heck, she had people on the branch campuses whom she considered friends even though she’d never physically met them. Regular phone contact and a common work culture tended to create an odd kind of intimacy, but she couldn’t make it happen with Elizabeth. Not that it should be a surprise; Anna herself had guaranteed that Elizabeth would never trust her that way.

The help calls dwindled as Elizabeth became more proficient with her new operating system, until one day Anna realized she hadn’t heard from her at all in several weeks. Their paths certainly didn’t cross naturally; they moved in very different spheres on campus. And without the need for Anna’s services, there was no longer any reason for Elizabeth to reach out.

Of course she had never again shown up at the Bean Grinder. Though Anna had spent more time there than normal, stretching out her Saturday visits and even dropping in on a couple of Sundays, it did no good. Elizabeth must have found another shop to patronize. Which made Anna feel even more guilty, because the Bean Grinder was the best place in town. It wasn’t fair for Elizabeth to have to go somewhere else just to avoid her.

By now she could acknowledge that standing Elizabeth up ranked somewhere in the top ten stupidest, rudest, and most damaging things she’d ever done. Possibly the top five. Looking back at it, she could no longer believe she’d ever managed to justify that to herself, let alone work up the righteous indignation she’d felt over that ridiculous scone. When she remembered her feeble defense in Elizabeth’s office—that she’d shown up for their date but Elizabeth had already left—she wanted to sink into a hole in the ground. God, that was embarrassing. Occasionally, she’d fantasize about going over, explaining everything, and asking for another chance, but then reality would intrude. Codfish did not ask sharks out for dates.

And Elizabeth wasn’t just a shark; she was one of the biggest sharks. As Vice Provost for Research, she was responsible for one entire satellite campus, the grant administration for the whole university, both the Sea Grant and Space Grant programs, and almost everything to do with scientific research, technology transfer, and trademarks. Anna didn’t even know how one person could do all that, but it was right there in her job description, which was easily accessed on the university intranet. Also easily accessed were the announcements of her hiring in back issues of the campus newspaper and several college and research program newsletters. Not that she was obsessing, but she felt a little closer to Elizabeth by learning more about her.

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