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I ignored the look of pity on his face. “Thanks, Jim.” I waved animatedly and followed the other suits across the lobby.
A very pregnant woman in a power suit stretched to the max across her bulging bump waddled through the lobby. A jerk, who was texting while walking, bumping into people, and not once looking up, was barreling right toward her. I scooted between them in time to block him, bracing myself as he knocked into me instead of her. The impact was so hard that pain shot through my arm, and I stumbled sideways, almost bumping into preggers. My new employee pass shot out of my hand and slammed to the floor with a clap.
“Watch it!” The jerk had the nerve to say as he stomped away without so much as a glance to see if I was ok.
As for Mrs. My-blazer-button-is-about-to-pop-along-with-my-water, well, if she did notice I saved her from a collision, she didn’t seem to care because she waddled away toward the Starbucks at the far end of the lobby. It didn’t matter as long as she wasn’t hurt. I thanked myself for potentially saving her from a fall since no one else had bothered.
I hadn’t expected to find the friendliest co-workers in the financial district, and after five minutes, my predictions were confirmed. But I didn’t mind. Making friends wasn’t high on my priorities list.
I picked up my pass, running my thumb over the smooth plastic, a smile on my face. My name was printed in big, bold letters next to the exquisite, foiled lettering of the company logo.
Clutching it to my chest, I looked skyward and whispered, “I made it, Mom.” She would have been so proud.
At the access gate, I scanned my pass, and the clear sliding doors slid open with a welcoming whoosh. Following the other suits, I squeezed my big butt into the crowded elevator. “Top floor, please.”
A gorgeous blonde with long Amazonian legs standing by the panel rolled her eyes and pushed the button while muttering something under her breath ending withshow off!
What was her problem? Only one way to deal with a hater.
“What was that?” I asked, raising my voice like a kid who didn’t know the meaning of inside voice. “Clothes off? You want someone to take your clothes off?”
Her head whirled around, her horror-stricken face turning the exact color of her rouge lipstick. I heard snickers from the people behind me.
“What? No! That’s not what I said.” Her desperate eyes darted to each person, begging them not to believe my words. “That’s not what I said,” she pleaded to the crowded elevator as she pressed her blazer to her chest.
The elevator dinged as the doors opened, and she scurried off.
The snickers erupted into roaring laughter. “Good one. Sheila totally deserved that,” said one guy.
“Yeah, I think you might actually stand a chance in this place,” said the woman next to me.
“Errr…thanks?”
The elevator stopped nine more times, and employees shuffled off at their respective floors. Left alone to continue to the top floor, I burst into a happy dance. I couldn’t believe my luck in landing this prestigious internship.
No. Not luck.
Blood, sweat, tears, permanent dark circles under my eyes, and drool stains on my shirts from falling asleep between classes and work shifts. It had taken me more than double the years normally required to finish my university degree because of all the part-time jobs I’d had to take on to support myself and pay off Mom’s medical bills. I finally graduated with a Finance degree and applied for the internship days before my twenty-eighth birthday. The hard work had paid off.
Finally.
I felt like all the pain of the last few years was behind me. I could start afresh. A new beginning.
I sashayed my hips, snapped my head from side to side, and whipped my hair back and forth. I even tried to twerk.
Total fail.
I probably looked like Elaine from Seinfeld, but I didn’t care. I was grooving to my own beat of “I Love My New Life.”
Sheer elation spread through my body and erupted in one loud “Ha!” I arched my back, threw my head up, and froze on the spot in a contortionist’s pose.
Oh shit!
I was staring straight into the surveillance camera. Way to make a fool of yourself on your first day, Laura. I quickly straightened into a stance befitting a serious businesswoman while my brain scrambled to figure out who could have been watching me.
I convinced myself that if anyone saw my groove-a-thon, it would have been one lone guard in the control room. But they must have dozens of cameras to watch, so there was no guarantee that they’d even seen me.
Pleased with my line of reasoning, my confidence returned along with my first-day-on-the-job buzz.
