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“Oh, yeah. That’s fine. I should probably get to bed, too. I have that big meeting in a day.”
“I hope that goes well. Let me know, alright? Thanks for letting me check in with you, by the way,” he said as she heard the oven 'ding!'.
“Of course. I’m glad you were willing to check in.” She was telling the truth. She didn’t have a lot of people that would check in with her besides her family.
She laid back on the bed after they said their goodbyes. She started to doze off on the bed but was startled awake by a knocking sound. She resisted the urge to jump out of bed and instead slid the knife she kept under the pillow out. She was almost positive that the sound came from the area near the window. Her room was facing the back of the building, and window did lead to the fire escape.
She slowly moved to the window, knife in hand. She heard the sound again, which only reaffirmed that the noise was coming from the window. Within moments, she pulled up the blinds and revealed…
Nothing.
No one was there, and nothing was against the window that could have been tapping on or near the window. She opened the window and stuck her head out tentatively. From where she could see, no one had even tried to run up or down the fire escape away from her window.
As she closed the window and the curtains, she brushed off the feeling that someone was watching her. She slept with her hand clutching the knife, anyway.
Disastrous Meetings
Staring up at the building in front of her, she had a funny feeling that whatever luck she had lately was quickly going to run out.
She shivered as the cold, winter air hit her face. She usually loved the whistling winds blowing through the streets and rattling windows when she sat inside, but not when she had to go outside. The stupid forecast predicted snow and coldness, and that’s exactly what she got. She wasn’t expecting it to be so brutal, but she was glad she dug her thicker jacket out of the storage bin at the end of her bed. Currently, she was snuggling into the warmth of the fur lining, but without warning, she sneezed. The overwhelming bitterness immediately filled her mouth and she groaned. She crinkled her nose, disgusted when the dusty scent from her jacket mingled with the grossness in her mouth and the overall car exhaust aroma that was common in New York winter.
She shook her head. No, she’d have to put up with her legs burning until she reached the enclosed dome of warmth she spotted from her driver’s seat. She wanted to look professional for her meeting, but she already regretted putting on heels. After the pain she had been in the last week, she thought about tossing all of them right then and there when she got home. Heels looked the most professional, though.
With a deep breath, she set off across the icy slope that was secretly plotting her demise and hoped her day was better than it began. She couldn’t help but appreciate the architecture of the office building as she got out of her car. When Chance gave her the address, she was expecting a tall building in the middle of the ritzy part of town. However, the building was maybe three floors the most and felt more like a small business instead of a million-dollar one.
Mykie smoothed her shirt down before clicking the button on her key ring to lock her car. With a deep breath, she walked across the parking lot and up onto the sidewalk, allowing the sound of her heels on concrete give her the confidence she needed, if not blisters as well.
She yanked opened the glass door and held it as someone was walking out just as she was entering. Once the walkway was clear, she stepped inside the warm building. She shrugged off her winter coat and folded it over her left arm before she subconsciously fixed her blazer. With one last deep breath, she walked up to the receptionist.
It was one of those desks with the counter practically up to the clients head. Mykie luckily was tall enough to peer over it. She had to wait a moment until the man behind the desk acknowledged her, but once he did, she could see the obvious contempt on his face. She was almost sure that if the desk wasn't in his way, he'd look her up and down to assess whether she was worth his time.
"What can I do for you?" he asked in a nasally voice.
"I have a meeting with the Harpers today at two," Mykie said, her voice stern but slightly uninterested.
The man looked away from her, clicking around his computer until he seemed to find what he was looking for a few minutes later. Mykie checked her watch in the meantime. She arrived on time, so what was this guy's deal?
"Your name?" The man asked without looking away from his screen.
"The meeting is under Chance Lauder's name," Mykie explained, leaning forward as best as she could on the desk.
He picked up the phone on his desk and typed in a number. She saw that he was watching her out of the corner of his eye before the person must have picked up the phone on the other side.
"Sir, your two o'clock is here," he stated. He was quiet for a moment before he nodded his head once. "I'll send them up."
He put the phone down again and swiveled his chair until he was facing Mykie. "Head up to the second floor and to the second meeting room on your left."
She nodded affirmatively and walked towards the stairs.
“M'am!" The man said, standing up out of his chair and stopped Mykie in her tracks. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't think about causing trouble. There are security cameras everywhere."
She clenched her fists. How dare he give her one look and assume that she wasn't a professional. Worse, that she was just some miscreant.
"I assure you that I wouldn't insult a possible business partner of your boss'. It won't be me he's firing if this deal doesn't go through," she said, her voice as tight as her hands were fisted.
She didn't give him any time to respond, trying to write him off as someone below her just as he had done to her as soon as she walked through the door. It was hard not to think about his tone, though. Did she really look like a troublemaker? She picked out her best outfit for this meeting!
She walked up the stairs quickly, convincing herself that it wouldn't be good if she turned around and continued to give the receptionist a piece of her mind. It was only two flights of stairs before she reached the second floor. The hallway was well organized and practically screamed Its professional atmosphere.
