"Hello!" Gert tried to sound as excited as possible. She was hoping the call would result in getting out of here for a couple of hours.
"Gert? Hi! It's Caroline! You know, from work!" Caroline Fitch was one of these women that tried so hard to make friends that she didn't have any friends. It was a real "shoot yourself in the foot" type of situation for the girl. The problem here is that Gert didn't have a mean bone in her body, and they had formed what Gert referred to as a "close acquaintance-ship". Gert was the ear she bent and the shoulder she cried on, mostly about her love life.
Now what Gert had in beauty and charisma, Caroline had in insecurity. She was functional, had been with the company an impressive amount of time, and was dependable. As a matter of fact she had been in line for the Administrative Assistant position Gert now filled, but the fact of the matter was the boss felt Caroline was not emotionally able to withstand the pressure and responsibility. He was right. It didn't matter. Gert knew that her and Caroline, well, they'd be "acquaintances" for the rest of their lives; Gert's anyway.