I had recently taken to working out at the company gym. I was able to beat traffic, it was free and most of all, it was part of my making changes. I had amicably ended things with my fiancee. I was offered a job in another state that was far too good to pass up. She had reasons why should couldn’t leave. That was the end of that. Few people took advantage of the gym and despite thousands of people working for the company, there were never more than a dozen people working out in the morning.
Sheryl was the girlfriend of a co-worker, Rob. She was there every singe day and while we were certainly were friendly before, we became even more so and often ate breakfast together, another company perk for our division. Everyone knew I was going to take the new job, but they didn’t know I wouldn’t be taking Paula, my now ex. Cheryl was one of the first people at work that I told of the break and she correctly guessed that it was the reason for my change in routine. She was permanently upbeat, a touch nerdy and genuine.