You've got a new match
The chatter in the hallway continued along with some laughs. Caitlyn smiled to herself and made the decision to head back to the hallway and called her team.
“Hey guys! Can I get a quick minute?” The chatter started to quiet down and the team started to come closer to hear what Caitlyn had to say. “I know these past couple of weeks were brutal on us. And I probably haven't said this enough, but I truly appreciate all your efforts, and I couldn’t have done this launch without you. I want to thank you for believing in this company and my leadership. I sometimes have a hard time showing it, but believe me, nothing goes unnoticed and I’m truly happy to have you all here”.
Some of the people in her team started to cheer and clap “We are lucky to be here and have you as our boss!” Someone said. “You’re the bestest of the best!” someone added. And the cheer grew louder. Caitlyn smiled and added. “I know it’s not much and it’s very last minute, and considering that I cannot concentrate anymore, how about we end the day a bit early and have a quick celebration?”
The cheering grew louder and she nodded happily. “Okay then, let's wrap everything up and I’ll meet you guys in the bar across the street in 5 minutes.”
Caitlyn headed back to her office to grab her stuff and tidy her things, before heading out to meet her team, she felt a second vibration from her phone. She had two new notifications:
“You have a new match”
“Vi sent you a message”.
She felt a sudden warm wave down her back and without hesitation, she smiled and opened the app.
"Alright, we’ve matched—clearly, we both have excellent taste. Now the real question is: do we bond over food recommendations, travel destinations, or who can do more push-ups? ;) "
Very confident and straightforward. Caitlyn thought as blushed and smiled at the message trying to contain the excitement. Of course, she wanted to reply at that moment, but she needed to head out and meet the rest of her team. She quickly locked her phone, grabbed her stuff and headed out.
Everyone started to gather in the lobby, to head downstairs. Her team wasn’t too big, about 15 people, but the energy felt like that of a big team. Caitlyn joined them and tried to get into some of the conversations they were having.
After a few minutes at the bar, one of the waiters approached them with tequila shots that Caitlyn had asked them to prepare. She told everyone on her team to grab one. “Guys, once again, thank you for all your hard work. For many more successful projects.” She said as she raised the small glass “For Intuyv” Her team replied and cheered. They all drank the shot and continued their celebration and conversations.
When Caitlyn looked at the time again, it was 5:18 pm. The bar was getting a bit more crowded and she saw a couple of the guys on her team were getting ready to leave. “Sorry boss, we have to go pick up our kids” They started to pull out money from their wallets, trying to decide how much they would need to pay. Caitlyn gave them a warm smile and said to them, “No worries at all. I know we all have lives and other things to attend to. Nonetheless, I really appreciate you staying for a bit. And please, this is on me. Don’t worry about the check.” Their eyes widened and nodded appreciatively and after saying goodbye to everyone, headed out of the bar.
I probably have to leave soon, as well. Caitlyn thought. With her parents on vacation, she had promised she’d be home early so she could keep an eye on Duchess, her mom’s miniature Poodle. That dog was very spoiled by her mother, but whenever Caitlyn was home, she was always up for playtime, and honestly, Caitlyn loved the attention she’d get from Duchess when she arrived home, and her mood was always lifted by the little curly furball.
She quickly started to get lost in her thoughts and was already planning a relaxing evening at home. Getting into comfortable clothes, grab a glass of wine, or maybe whiskey, and read one of the books she had left halfway. Then later in the night, she’d let some steam off with one of her vibrators. She smirked at the thought of that, and then it hit her, she hadn’t replied to the message she received earlier.
She discreetly pulled out her phone so as not to get any suspicious looks from her team, and opened the app. She read the message again:
Alright, we’ve matched—clearly, we both have excellent taste. Now the real question is: do we bond over food recommendations, travel destinations, or who can do more push-ups? ;) "
She smirked as she thought of her response, and quickly started to type.
"Clearly, excellent taste is our baseline. Although I doubt I could out-race you in push-ups, maybe we could start by bonding over drinks and go from there?”
She sent her response and locked her phone as she started to try to get back into the conversation the remainder of her team was having.
A few minutes passed and she felt her phone vibrate. Another notification:
“Vi sent you a message”
Well, that was quick.
She locked her phone without seeing the message and continued to engage with her team. When she looked at her phone again, it was 5:45 pm. And although she was really enjoying the company of her team, after the drinks she had, relaxation and exhaustion started to creep out and she decided it was best to call it a day and head home.
She paid the check and excused herself from the team mentioning that she was exhausted and needed to rest. After all she hadn’t slept much in the last few weeks. She said goodbye and headed out to get her car from the office’s underground parking.
Once she got inside her car, she opened her phone to look for the fastest route home. The office wasn’t far from her house, but traffic was always a pain after 5:00 pm, especially on a Friday. Caitlyn saw that the fastest route was 15 min, not bad considering the time. She turned on the car and, as she waited, she opened the notifications again and read Vi’s message:
"Drinks to kick things off sounds like a solid plan—no push-up contest required (for now)! Let’s see if our excellent taste extends to cocktails. What's your go-to order?"
Caitlyn grinned amusingly again as she typed out her response:
"Solid plan—no push-ups means I can focus on what really matters: cocktails! Are we talking about classic cocktails or something more adventurous?”
“My go-to is an Old Fashioned—timeless, a little bold, and always a conversation starter. ;) What about you?”
She proudly smiled to herself, locked her phone, and started to drive home.