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I turned around to see a beautiful, olive-skinned woman with thick, dark hair standing behind me, having just walked out of the building. She smiled. “I’m Rosa,” she said. “I’m the aforementioned building manager.”
“Oh good,” I said. “I was going to come knock on your door after I got settled and introduce myself, but here you are.”
“Here I am.” She pointed to my overly-stuffed car. “You need help?”
I winced. “I hate to ask, but there are a few boxes that are pretty heavy…”
“It’s not a problem,” she said. “Let me just get something to prop open the door.” Rosa disappeared for a few seconds and returned with a massive dictionary which she placed on the cement in front of the door. “That’s the most use I’ve gotten out of that thing since college.” She came up to the car and we got busy unpacking.
Half an hour later, all my stuff was upstairs in the apartment, and both Rosa and I were sweaty and panting.
“Whew,” she said. “You weren’t kidding. That last box was a real bitch.”
I laughed. “It’s all my old law books and my notes from law school. I know I should just toss that stuff, but for some reason, I keep hanging on.”
She nodded. “I get that. I have all my essays from undergrad still saved on my computer as if I’m ever going to go back and read them again. They are just taking up storage space, but I still can’t bring myself to delete them. Those essays were assignments that I agonized over, they are representations of all the work and thought I put into my schooling, and it’s hard to accept just how… worthless they are to me now.”
“If you think your essays are worthless.” I bent down and opened the last box we brought in, and took the first notebook off the top. “This whole notebook is filled with notes from my Civil Procedures class, which by the way, I could barely keep my eyes open for. It’s all introductory stuff that I am never going to need to go back and refresh myself on, and even ifI did, it’s a lot faster to just Google whatever I’m confused about than to sift through this boring nonsense.” I let the notebook drop heavily back on the top of the pile. “Soworthless.”
After that, we talked a little while longer, and I promised to buy Rosa a drink sometime soon to thank her for all her help, and she went on her way. I did a little unpacking that night, just to get to some necessities before blowing up my inflatable mattress and dressing it in the sheets I took off my bed back home. I was glad I hadn’t purchased any furniture before actually arriving in San Francisco because standing in my studio apartment, I knew right away that I would’ve overestimated how much space I was calling my own. The apartment truly was just three rooms—a bedroom, that was half the size of the one I shared with Bret in San Diego, a tiny kitchenette off to one side, and a bathroom that didn’t even have a tub, just a shower.
Still, I was so happy with it. I didn’t care if it was small because it was all mine, and I was excited to be living on my own again, to be blazing a new, solo trail. Bret and I had been attached at the hip ever since the day he asked me to be his girlfriend during our first year of law school, but before he and I started dating, I had been a fairly independent person. I was ready to find that version of myself again, and since I wasn’t planning on bringing any guys home to my place anytime soon, I figured it didn’t matter if it was on the smaller side.
I went to bed that night dreaming of all the cute ways I could decorate the new space, as well as going over the things I needed to get done that weekend before work started on Monday. I needed to buy groceries, get the gas turned on for my apartment unit, and find some reasonably sized furniture that came with an included delivery and installment service.
Because after that day, I wasdonemoving heavy stuff up and down those stairs. I could be an independent woman who paid people to do things for her, right?
I smiled to myself, curled up under the blanket on my blow-up mattress.
Right.
Because I can be whatever kind of woman I want.
* * *
Monday morning rolled around, and I woke up before my alarm.
I was filled with a nervous energy that I channeled into getting ready, but of course, that only took me about thirty minutes, shower included. I had planned out my outfit in my head the night before, and it consisted of plain black slacks, a white button-down tucked in, and a black blazer. I didn’t like to make bold style choices at work because I enjoyed being taken seriously, and there was no outfit more serious than a black-on-black pants suit. The clothes fit me to a T, because I always had everything tailored, and I felt attractive but not overtly sexy in them, which is exactly the look I was going for.
I also braided my hair back and put on just some mascara and lip balm. I was happy with the final, albeit underwhelming result. I liked to feel confident, but like many women in my field, I didn’t want my body or my looks to in any way distract from my good work.
With an hour to spare before I had to leave for the office, I drank a second cup of coffee and made myself breakfast. Then, I decided that sitting around was just going to drive me nuts, so I left my apartment and walked in the direction of the building but taking my sweet time. I noticed a cute cafe on the corner and made a mental note to check it out one morning. There was also a darling little park a few blocks down, where there seemed to be an outdoor yoga class taking place. I thought that could be a good way to meet people, so I reminded myself to look into that when I had some free time.
I didn’t want to walk too far from my eventual destination, so eventually, I ended up in front of the Becker Technologies building, and thankfully, the lobby was open even though office hours didn’t technically start until 9.
Inside, the man sitting behind the large, hardwood front desk, smiled at me. “How can I help you?”
“Uh, today is my first day. I’m the new addition to the Becker Tech legal team. I know I’m supposed to report to my higher-ups on level five, but I might be too early.”
He nodded. “Probably. The only person who gets here before 8:30 typically is David Becker himself.”
“Junior or Senior?”
After sending my application to the company, I had done a little research into their business dealings and found an article written five years or so ago, which stated that David Becker Senior was officially stepping down as CEO and handing the company over to his son, David Becker Junior. But the article also called into question whether or not the notoriously domineering tech mogul would be able to give up all his power, and I knew from other things I’d read and heard, that the older David Becker tended to ‘drop by’ the offices on a pretty regular basis.
The secretary smiled. “Both,” he said. “But I was talking about our CEO, David Becker Jr. But a little word of advice, don’t go around using the word ‘Junior’ when you’re referring to him. He doesn’t exactly like being reminded of the fact that he’s the second of his name.”
I nodded. “Got it. Good note, thanks. So… do you think I should just wait down here in the lobby until 9? Or is that a bad look? Should I go back outside and wait on the curb?” I made a face. “Sorry, again, this is my first day and I’m a little nervous. I just want to make a good impression.”
