So Two Years Ago
Eleven
Chapter Eleven:
I pulled into my assigned parking space outside of the apartment building and I’d come down only a bit from the high I’d been on. After deciding on the perfect places in the living room for the prints I’d bought in the city, I promptly tacked them to the wall. Walking into my bedroom, I nearly tripped over a half-unpacked cardboard box which I kicked into a corner, deciding that I’d done enough unpacking for the time being. I was tired from such an eventful day, so I readied myself for bed as quickly as I could and was dreaming sweet dreams short seconds after turning out the light.
The night went by without another waking moment, and I was jolted awake by the blaring beep of my alarm. With a groan, I convinced myself to stumble out of bed and into the shower, standing under the warm water with my eyes closed. The steam gently coaxed the sleep out of my bones.
I dressed in the outfit I’d bought especially for my first day of work: a black skirt that hugged my legs just above my knees, a white collared shirt, a pair of black fishnets and my surprisingly comfortable green high-heeled shoes. Professional, but quirky. With my short and choppy, bleached hair blow-dried and my blue eyes lined black, I checked the mirror one last time, and with a deep breath, I made my way to my car and into Chicago.
Arriving in plenty of time, I parked in the parking garage beside the office building, and crossed the street to a conveniently located Starbucks. Once I had my soy latte and cinnamon scone in hand, I was truly ready to start the day.
I’ll admit, I was nervous. Shaking a little as I waited for the elevator to make its stop on the fifth floor, home of Lucky Seven Productions. My breathing quickened as the gleaming elevator doors split to reveal desks and computers on them and faces behind them. I approached the first desk I found, occupied by a young girl, somewhere near my own age, with long nearly black hair, accented with red tips and a barrette adorned with a large silk rose held some of it away from her face. She glanced away from her computer screen and up at my face with a friendly smile.
“Um, hi. I’m Tessa Lane,” I held out my hand to her, and she accepted. “I was just hired by Mr. Williams. Today’s my first day.” The tone of my voice sort of insinuated that I didn’t really know where to go or who to see.
She continued smiling, “Oh, right! I remember hearing that someone new was starting today. I’m Natalie, by the way. Natalie Arthurs. Lemme take you into Jack-- err, Mr. Williams’ office.” I raised an eyebrow to her casual reference to our boss. “He doesn’t really like to be called Mr. Williams. But I guess I’m not really in the place to say that you can call him something else. Better leave that to him, you know?”
I nodded as she led me to a closed door on which was scrawled, Jack Williams, Head of Production. Natalie knocked and was soon answered with a muffled, “Yea, come on in.”
She opened the door and gestured for me to go ahead of her. “Jack, this is the new girl, Tessa.”
“Hi,” I waved timidly at the surprisingly young man who sat before me. He looked like the clichéd indie type: shaggy light brown hair that hung to the rim of his black-framed glasses; jeans, a striped collared shirt and a tan corduroy blazer that hung off the back of his desk chair.
When he stood to greet me, I saw that he was quite tall, nearly towering over my 5’2” stature. He wasn’t intimidating, though. “Hey, nice to finally meet you in person after all those phone calls.” He’d hired me over the phone. “I see you’ve met Natalie, our intern.” Turns out she was almost my age, a senior in college working as an intern at the company for course credits to finalize her film degree.
I was shown to my desk and oriented with the people and things around me. My job wasn’t terribly difficult. General office work: answering phone calls, filing papers, keeping records for clients, and basically dealing with people until Jack has to.
The time passed uneventfully until around 3 o’clock when I could hear my cell phone vibrating from inside my purse. With a cocked eyebrow, I reached into the bag and glanced down at the phone’s display before answering, trying to keep as inconspicuous as possible. “Andy? What are you doing, calling me in the middle of the day?”
“Hey. Sorry, is it a bad time or something?” I was the teensiest bit annoyed that he’d called in the middle of a work day, but was rapidly overcome with girlish giddiness at the sound of his voice buzzing in my ear.
“Well, I’m at work, remember?”
“Oh, shit. That’s right. I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s ok. Just make it quick. Something tells me I shouldn’t be taking cell phone calls in the middle of the office.” I grinned, hoping that he wouldn’t think I was angry, but all the while kept a watchful eye on the other desks. Heaven forbid this is the one thing Jack absolutely can’t stand, right? And that would be my luck, too.
“I was just calling to see if you wanted to hang out after you’re off work…?”
“Uh, yea. Definitely. What time?”
“5:30? We were all gonna go grab something for dinner. No big deal, just thought you’d like to join us.”
“I would, but I don’t get off until 5 o’clock… that might be a bit of a rush.”
“We’ll wait. Just meet us at Pete’s after you get off… if you can find your way, that is,” he chuckled.
“Ha ha,” I retorted with a roll of my eyes. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
We said goodbye and I found myself staring down the clock between phone calls and emails until the hands finally told me what I wanted them to.
I pulled into my assigned parking space outside of the apartment building and I’d come down only a bit from the high I’d been on. After deciding on the perfect places in the living room for the prints I’d bought in the city, I promptly tacked them to the wall. Walking into my bedroom, I nearly tripped over a half-unpacked cardboard box which I kicked into a corner, deciding that I’d done enough unpacking for the time being. I was tired from such an eventful day, so I readied myself for bed as quickly as I could and was dreaming sweet dreams short seconds after turning out the light.
The night went by without another waking moment, and I was jolted awake by the blaring beep of my alarm. With a groan, I convinced myself to stumble out of bed and into the shower, standing under the warm water with my eyes closed. The steam gently coaxed the sleep out of my bones.
I dressed in the outfit I’d bought especially for my first day of work: a black skirt that hugged my legs just above my knees, a white collared shirt, a pair of black fishnets and my surprisingly comfortable green high-heeled shoes. Professional, but quirky. With my short and choppy, bleached hair blow-dried and my blue eyes lined black, I checked the mirror one last time, and with a deep breath, I made my way to my car and into Chicago.
Arriving in plenty of time, I parked in the parking garage beside the office building, and crossed the street to a conveniently located Starbucks. Once I had my soy latte and cinnamon scone in hand, I was truly ready to start the day.
I’ll admit, I was nervous. Shaking a little as I waited for the elevator to make its stop on the fifth floor, home of Lucky Seven Productions. My breathing quickened as the gleaming elevator doors split to reveal desks and computers on them and faces behind them. I approached the first desk I found, occupied by a young girl, somewhere near my own age, with long nearly black hair, accented with red tips and a barrette adorned with a large silk rose held some of it away from her face. She glanced away from her computer screen and up at my face with a friendly smile.
“Um, hi. I’m Tessa Lane,” I held out my hand to her, and she accepted. “I was just hired by Mr. Williams. Today’s my first day.” The tone of my voice sort of insinuated that I didn’t really know where to go or who to see.
She continued smiling, “Oh, right! I remember hearing that someone new was starting today. I’m Natalie, by the way. Natalie Arthurs. Lemme take you into Jack-- err, Mr. Williams’ office.” I raised an eyebrow to her casual reference to our boss. “He doesn’t really like to be called Mr. Williams. But I guess I’m not really in the place to say that you can call him something else. Better leave that to him, you know?”
I nodded as she led me to a closed door on which was scrawled, Jack Williams, Head of Production. Natalie knocked and was soon answered with a muffled, “Yea, come on in.”
She opened the door and gestured for me to go ahead of her. “Jack, this is the new girl, Tessa.”
“Hi,” I waved timidly at the surprisingly young man who sat before me. He looked like the clichéd indie type: shaggy light brown hair that hung to the rim of his black-framed glasses; jeans, a striped collared shirt and a tan corduroy blazer that hung off the back of his desk chair.
When he stood to greet me, I saw that he was quite tall, nearly towering over my 5’2” stature. He wasn’t intimidating, though. “Hey, nice to finally meet you in person after all those phone calls.” He’d hired me over the phone. “I see you’ve met Natalie, our intern.” Turns out she was almost my age, a senior in college working as an intern at the company for course credits to finalize her film degree.
I was shown to my desk and oriented with the people and things around me. My job wasn’t terribly difficult. General office work: answering phone calls, filing papers, keeping records for clients, and basically dealing with people until Jack has to.
The time passed uneventfully until around 3 o’clock when I could hear my cell phone vibrating from inside my purse. With a cocked eyebrow, I reached into the bag and glanced down at the phone’s display before answering, trying to keep as inconspicuous as possible. “Andy? What are you doing, calling me in the middle of the day?”
“Hey. Sorry, is it a bad time or something?” I was the teensiest bit annoyed that he’d called in the middle of a work day, but was rapidly overcome with girlish giddiness at the sound of his voice buzzing in my ear.
“Well, I’m at work, remember?”
“Oh, shit. That’s right. I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s ok. Just make it quick. Something tells me I shouldn’t be taking cell phone calls in the middle of the office.” I grinned, hoping that he wouldn’t think I was angry, but all the while kept a watchful eye on the other desks. Heaven forbid this is the one thing Jack absolutely can’t stand, right? And that would be my luck, too.
“I was just calling to see if you wanted to hang out after you’re off work…?”
“Uh, yea. Definitely. What time?”
“5:30? We were all gonna go grab something for dinner. No big deal, just thought you’d like to join us.”
“I would, but I don’t get off until 5 o’clock… that might be a bit of a rush.”
“We’ll wait. Just meet us at Pete’s after you get off… if you can find your way, that is,” he chuckled.
“Ha ha,” I retorted with a roll of my eyes. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
We said goodbye and I found myself staring down the clock between phone calls and emails until the hands finally told me what I wanted them to.