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My job.
Chapter Ten
Monday morning.
Arrival day.
Eighty-two days left.
My side table lights gradually came on. My phone buzzed, and my alarm beeped. It was the expected sound and feel of a Monday morning.
The excitement and anxiety of the day had me checking my phone every twenty seconds while I got ready to ensure nothing had gone wrong. In my head, my brain generated an ever-growing list of things that could go wrong.
The Truly You team backs out at the last minute.
The California team missed their flights yesterday.
The office catches on fire and burns everything down.
Usually, I wore comfortable pants, a blouse, and a pair of flats with the occasional dress or blazer. But today, I felt the pressure to look perfect. My image had to reflect what I wanted Amelia to think of me. I tried to channel confidence and competence. I needed to show that I was perfectly capable of handling the task in front of me.
I slipped into a black pencil dress paired with a white blazer. I curled my hair and did my makeup, something I rarely did for work. The mirror looked back at me, unsure of what it was looking at.
Today felt paramount. The pressure of making a good impression weighed heavily on my shoulders. I had something to prove.
The living room lights were on when I grabbed my lunch bag from the fridge. Gabby’s empty coffee mug was sitting in the sink, meaning she was already gone. I had forgotten to ask her for the muffins and coffee I wanted to bring in today, so I stopped by the café on my way to work.
She had opened about thirty minutes before I walked in, but people had not started flowing yet. It was still too early. A sharply dressed woman waited for Gabby to finish ringing her up. Jeremy, one of her employees, served coffee to a pair of businessmen who already seemed to be working. He smiled at me as I walked in.
“Hey, Gabs! Hey, Jer!” I called in.
“Hey, Blake,” Jeremy went behind the bar to return the coffee pot. “Early morning, huh? It’s barely six-thirty.”
“Big day today.”
“Gotcha. Good luck!” he disappeared into the kitchen.
Gabby’s face lit up when she saw me once she was done handing the woman her change. Her hair was in a bun, and her checkered apron was covered in flour.
“You look incredible!”
“Thanks, Gabs,” I twirled to show her my outfit. I was starting to feel confident about it.
“Trying to show Erik what he let walk away?”
“Amongst other things,” I laughed. “I mainly want to make a good impression on Amelia and her team. I know it’s a little late notice, but could you drop off enough coffee and muffins for the team around eight-forty-five?”
“Sure, I’ll even bring them in myself.”
“You just want to see Nathaniel all dressed up,” I teased.
“The very thing I live for.”
I hugged her across the counter.
The rest of my walk to work let me relax, and empowerment flowed through me as I walked into the lobby. My heels clicked on the tile floor. The security guard conversed with someone on the phone. My heart started pounding. My future depended on proving to Connor that I could be the manager he needed.
The elevator door squeaked open to reveal the desolate floor. Almost no one would be here for another hour. The only faint indication of life came from Nathaniel’s office down the hall, on the other side of the conference room from mine. His door was wide open, and the lights were on.
