Chapter 17
Penny's first day at work was as normal as any. She joined the other new employees who passed the interview into a big conference room to be introduced to their corresponding supervisors and team members. She tried hard to hide her insecurity since most of her co-workers had some sort of experience selling pharmaceuticals while she is the only former waitress in the group. Their supervisor gave each of them a couple of training manuals for them to study and memorize by heart. She became a little disheartened as she had difficulty in pronouncing the product names and chemical formulas of the prescription drugs that they will be selling. She told herself that this was better than serving drinks in a bar where almost all patrons would check her out by giving her lewd looks and say sleazy comments trying to 'score' with her. She chose to think about Leonard instead to give herself some motivation and work hard on her job, not to mention the fact that her supervisor Dan took a great risk by giving her a shot at this job even though she was the least qualified among all the applicants.
The company provided the new employees, numbering to about twenty with a free lunch buffet in the adjacent conference room. Penny took her food and tried to talk to some of her batch mates in order to get to know them and learn a few things along the way. She was glad that a few of them were also new to pharmaceutical sales like her. This gave her a little confidence boost in knowing that she wasn't the only 'newbie' among the group.
After lunch, they were directed to the training room to attend the company orientation to discuss the company history and vision, company policies such as working hours, vacation and sick leaves, company property use as well as inappropriate behaviors and their penalties. Penny listened intently trying hard to push Leonard out of her mind and telling herself that whatever success she achieves would be Leonard's success as well. After a short coffee break around three o'clock, they came back to the training room to continue with the orientation. Five o'clock arrived as the orientation drew to a close. Penny was tired and relieved that it was over so she can now look forward to the next couple of weeks of sales training and education before they could be sent out into the field. She got inside her car, taking a deep breath of relief before driving back to the apartment.
She arrived twenty minutes before six, seeing Leonard already in the apartment and cooking dinner at the kitchen.
"Honey I'm home!" she said walking directly to Leonard and kissing him on the lips.
"You're in a good mood?" he said.
"I am. We'll start our sales training tomorrow so I have a lot of studying to do." she said showing him the training materials she brought home with her.
"That's great. I know you'll do great. If you want I can help you study after dinner?" said Leonard.
"Really? You'd do that with me?" Penny asked.
"Of course! You may have forgotten that your boyfriend is a complete bookworm and a nerd." he said as he stirred the food on the pot. Penny went near him and put her hands over his shoulders.
"Hmm...sometimes I forget how smart you are because you're just so…what's the word…sexy!" she said smiling at him. Leonard wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her close.
"Hmmm, I like where this is going." Leonard said smiling.
Penny resisted a little. "Honey, I want to study first." she said. "We'll have some later. I promise." she added giving him a kiss.
Leonard released his arm and turned back to the stove. "Okay, got it. I know this is important to you that's why you need to focus." he said turning off the stove. "I guess it would be hard for you to concentrate since you can't keep your hands away from me huh?" he said teasing her.
Penny grabbed some plates and utensils, preparing the table for dinner. "You know Leonard, sometimes I prefer the old you. You know, needy and insecure. Because now I'm really having a hard time focusing with you always teasing me." she said. Leonard quickly came up behind her and grabbed her hips, making Penny squeal.
"You mean like this?" he asked while holding on to her.
Penny tried to break free. "Honey come on, I'm hungry. Please!?" she said laughing and giggling from Leonard's affections. Leonard quickly spun her around, kissing her on the lips before releasing her.
"I'm okay now. Let's eat!" he said as he served the dish onto Penny's plate. They ate, making small talk with Penny telling Leonard all about her company orientation and introductions. She told him about some of her co-workers that she talked with on her first day.
"I hope I do good in this job Leonard." she said.
"I know you will. Just relax and focus and I'm sure you'll blow them all out of the water." he said as they clean up the table and kitchen. "We'll go over your training materials so you'll be prepared for tomorrow." he said as they finish cleaning up the table and kitchen. They then sat on the couch to leaf through the folder that Penny brought with her. Leonard guided Penny on the various pharmaceutical products in the folder, explaining to her each drug's purpose and formulation as best as he could understand them while Penny wrote notes on the margins of the pages so she could remember them easily. They studied for about an hour and a half when they decided to turn in and rest for the night.
Later in bed, Penny laid beside Leonard hugging him tight, feeling his warmth. "Thank you honey." she said, nuzzling her face against his neck.
"Don't mention it Penny. We're partners and I'm here to support you." he said kissing her on the forehead.
"I know. It's just that I still can't believe that my life is starting to look up. I mean, we're back together, I have a new job, a better job at that. All of this happened because of you." she said looking at him.
"Penny, we're a team. From now on, it's just you and me okay?" he said smiling at her.
Penny nodded. "Okay honey." she said. "Now, how about I make good on my promise earlier?" she added while sliding her hand, feeling him becoming excited. "Hmm, someone's about to get lucky." she smiled teasing him.
Leonard wrapped his arms around her, moving on top while locking his lips with hers while Penny latched her arms around him, never letting him go while they make passionate love.
For the next couple of weeks, Penny dedicated her spare time in the evening and during the weekends in studying and learning all her company's product line with the help of Leonard and sometimes with Amy and Bernadette when they have 'girls night' over at their place while the guys have 'boys night' at 4A either playing video games or watching a movie. Leonard was quite impressed at the rate of Penny's progress. He saw a new side of Penny in a sense that when she focused herself into something, she could surprise just about everyone even if she wasn't much of a bookworm or an academic like the rest of their friends.