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her personality could be a challenge and that not everyone liked a hard

worker. At her last firm, she’d got along well with everyone, but when it

came to friends, she couldn’t exactly claim that she’d had many.

“Um. Sure. I just thought I’d check.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” April turned to leave, but then spun back around. “A few

of us are going to Gino’s and Gee’s for lunch. It’s nothing fancy. Just a few

blocks over. They have really great pizza. Do you want to come?”

Christina pulled the first file off the stack and set it in front of her. She

knew she should make more of an effort to be nice, but as usual, it was hard

for her to choose between being friendly and actually getting to the mound

of work that was pressing down on her shoulders. Or more literally, on her

desk. “I have quite a few things to read over this morning. I’ll probably

work through lunch. But thank you.”

April nodded. Her smile was too big and cheerful, and she basically ran

out the door. Christina sighed. She knew she really should make an effort.

She didn’t know a single person in Austin. It would be easiest to get to

know people at work than it would be anywhere else.

Honestly, Christina found it hard to keep down the rising tide of

disappointment when it came to her move. She just couldn’t tamp down her

annoyance at the fact that the whole thing was a letdown after New York.

Sure, everyone had their own small office in the neat, tidy brick building.

The board rooms were spacious and filled with tasteful furniture and

decently expensive artwork. It was just the overall feel of the place.

The branch was a new one. The staff was basically a bunch of

individuals from all over the country, all just thrown together. Obviously,

someone hoped that they would make a cohesive unit, but it was chaotic.

Communication between departments or even on an individual level was

basically crap. Everyone seemed nice, but not everyone seemed proficient

at their jobs. It was extremely frustrating for Christina, who was used to