“Okay?” I snap. My nerves are already sky high, and he’s acting like I’m an inconvenience.
I’m doing this forhim.Yes, I’m also doing it for myself, but at the very least he could not be an asshole and wish me a good day or something.
“Are you serious right now?” I ask.
Robbie looks at me with apathy.
“Oh my God, Oliver, what? Spit it out already.”
I shake my head. If I don’t leave now, I’m going to be late, and I don’t need to be late on my first day, especially if I want to make a good impression.
“Nevermind,” I say, grabbing the doorknob and opening the door. “I’ll call you later,” I call, but once again, he’s lost in his computer.
When I shut the door, I don’t feel good. Not the way I should.
I hate arguing with anyone, but arguing with my boyfriend leaves me feeling extra shitty, which is not what I need today of all days. So, I push aside the nagging little voice in my head that wants to replay all the ways I screwed up today—and every other day in my life—and focus on catching the bus into the city.
Driving into Seattle is a disaster, and I avoid it as much as I can. I’m fairly certain pulling up to Veil Technologies in my clunky little sedan will not help sell myimageone bit.
“It’s ‘yes Sir,’ ‘no Sir’, or ‘Mr. Pierce.’ You don’t look away from him, he looks away from you.”
Yeah, pretty sure my piece of shit car that’s been circling the drain would be a dead giveaway that I don’t belong in a place like Veil. Besides, plenty of businessmen take public transportation. It’s smart. Practical. Inconspicuous.
I stare up at the towering glass skyscraper, the chill morning air making my cheeks burn. Reality hits me in a way I didn’t expect.
I’ve never worked in the corporate sector, not like Robbie. I spent most of my youth and college years working at various bookstores and libraries. I don’t think I’ve even been in a building like this. Robbie and I got together just after he got fired. At the time, I didn’t think anything of it. Even though I knew it pissed him off, I just thought he’d find another job. He’s good-looking, smart, and if he was smart enough to work at Veil, I thought he’d have no problem finding another job elsewhere. But as the months went on, that seemed not to be the case. And then I lost my job at the library and…
I stand on the sidewalk, readying myself for a world I’ve never known. One that I’ll have to work extra hard to fit into as if I belong there. I’m not sure what I expected walking into thebuilding, but when I get inside, I can’t help but gape around the lobby in awe at the floor-to-ceiling black glass windows, at the black marble floor. Typically, one thinks of the color black as a void, or perhaps even suffocating, but as I look around the lobby at all the shimmering glass, I can’t help but think it looks elegant and terrifying all at the same time. I get lost in the sight, glancing all the way up to the ceiling that looks as if it goes on forever. The darkness is infinite and vast, but strangely beautiful.
I head through the metal detectors, holding my breath even though I know there’s nothing on me that will set them off. Still, the security guards take their time patting me down, checking my pockets. I stare at the ceiling, waiting for them to be done, half-convinced they’ll somehowknowwhat is in my brain, what I plan to do…
“Mr. Green?” I realize all at once I must have spaced out, staring at the ceiling like an idiot.
I turn to see a heavyset woman who looks to be in her sixties, dressed in loose grey pants and a flouncy maroon blouse. Her hair is that faded sort of brown, speckled with grey as if she’s forgone coloring her hair in protest. But it’s her face—her warm brown eyes and thick eyebrows, her too-tight lips and the smile lines in the corners, that instantly relax me.
“Um… yes?” I say, looking around at the spacious, almost empty lobby. A woman sits behind a large black glass desk, answering phones while men in suits with briefcases walk by on their phones or checking their watch, completely oblivious to us.
She extends her hand to me. “Chicora Deangelo. We spoke over the phone.”
Right, of course…
I take her hand and shake it politely, giving her a smile.
“Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Deangelo.”
She shakes it firmly and lets go, looking me over from head to toe.
“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Green,” she says. Some kamikaze hair decides to fall in my face, and I absentmindedly push it back, giving her a smile.
“Please, call me Oliver.”
She smirks. “Alright, Oliver. You can call me Chicora. Or Chickadee if you’re feeling fancy,” she says with a wink, and I can’t help but let out a nervous chuckle.
“O-okay, Mrs. De—I mean, Chicora.”
She grins back at me. “I won’t take up too much of your time, since Mr. Pierce has quite a full day ahead of him. Meetings this morning and afternoon, not to mention the preliminary concepts for the first annual Veil Gala.”
I nod as she motions for me to follow her.
