Спасибо , Татьяна. Я , к сожалению , не понимаю до конца употребления вр . форм в этом предложении. Почему graduated? Ведь это действие произошло позже , чем had been working. Совсем запуталась. 😊

+++Tatiana

🤓 Улий лучше бы объяснил, конечно.
Если действие (работала) началось С определённого момента в прошлом, то используется past perfect continuous (он же past perfect progressive).

Graduated- произошло раньше...😊

Точно, Маргарита!

🙏

SHE HAD WORKED THERE - исторически факт: она там работала в течение некоторого времени после колледжа, а потом перестала. SHE HAD BEEN WORKING THERE... как бы вовлекает читателя в события и готовит его к тому, что (вскоре) произойдет, объясняя ему что там случалось на заднем плане.

When Nick's company went public, he threw a lavish party at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. Scanning the room from his table, he felt a gust of pride as he counted off all the movers and shakers who were there to honor him. Then his gaze stopped on one ruddy, wrinkled, face that beamed back at him from across the room. It was Buddyy! (исторически факт:) Nick had worked at Buddy's Diner after he graduated from college. Buddy had always wondered why someone with a degree in finance would want to be a waiter. Then one day, he called Nick into his office and did something that changed his life and made all this possible: he fired him! At the time, Nick was flummoxed, but looking back, that was the turning point that made him pursue his dream and become the person who everyone was celebrating today.

Nick woke up at 5am to the shrill screech of the alarm clock across the room. He put it there so that he’d have to actually get out of bed to turn it off. He ritualistically went through his morning routine and was out the door and on his way to work in 15 minutes. Little did he know that today was going to be a turning point in his life. (в заднем плане:) Nick had been working at Buddy’s Diner since he graduated from college. He had a degree in finance, but had become complacent and lazy - a fact that had not escaped the notice of his boss, Buddy. Early on, Buddy had seen Nick’s potential and felt a fatherly frustration at seeing him waste his talents as a waiter in a diner. So he decided Nick needed a kick in the butt and HE was the one who was going to give it to him. He called Nick into his office as soon as he arrived at work and promptly fired him.