"That's a good sign," I said with a sigh.
5
Josie
Iwoke up to my phone blaring.
"Marnie?" I answered, yawning.
"Where are you?" my friend yelled into the phone. "It's almost ten a.m.!"
"Oh crap!"
I raced around the tiny house, grabbing my things. As I shuttered the windows, I felt my shirt pull, and I heard a rip as my blouse caught on a nail someone thought would hold a cute knickknack.
"Why is this happening to me?" I shouted. I was late to my new job. Not just a little late—I was a lot late. And now I had to change; I couldn't show up in a ripped shirt. I pulled it off and then saw my bra had a huge hole in it too.
"Screw you, tiny house!" I yelled as I dumped my entire suitcase out on the floor. Pawing through it, I grabbed the lacy bra I never wore, which usually sat at the bottom of my pile of clothes. Then I hurriedly buttoned up a new blouse.
I ran outside just as the first few drops of rain hit me in my face.
"You were supposed to get it together!" I said, cursing my terrible life skills. It started pouring rain, and I pulled and twisted at the trailer hitch. I couldn't decouple the tiny house from the truck.
"Fine! You're coming to work with me," I told the tiny house and jumped into the truck cab.
I prayed as the engine turned over and over then cheered when it started. I could barely see through the rain as I trundled out of the parking lot and onto the main road that led up to the Svensson PharmaTech factory. My heart was pounding. I couldn't get fired on my first day. Surely they would give a girl some leniency.
"What the—" I muttered as a car came down the street directly at me. "Why are you in my lane?" I yelled at the headlights. As I approached them, a train horn blared, and the huge diesel train engine loomed in front of me.
"Crap! Crap!" I swerved, and in the rearview mirror, the tiny house fishtailed behind me, barely clipping the train that was barreling down the middle of the street.
The logo on the train cars said Svensson PharmaTech.
"What kind of company lets their train run down the middle of the street?" I shrieked, my breath fogging up the window. I rubbed at it with my sleeve, but it didn't help.
"Can't stop! Just keep moving!" I sang to myself off-key.
Today was supposed to be the first day of the rest of my life, and here I was late, dripping wet, and almost killed by a train. At least the adrenaline surge seemed to have chased off any lingering hangover.
I was shaking when I finally made it to the PharmaTech offices. They were a series of beautiful glass buildings set up on a hill overlooking Harrogate. I didn't have time to admire the picturesque scene; I was late. I parked the tiny house way in the back of the parking lot—the only place I could get enough space—grabbed my bag, and sprinted through the freezing rain to the front doors.
Wrenching the glass door open, I ran in and promptly tripped over the floor mat and landed on the floor.
"Oof!" Thankfully, my bag took the brunt of the fall. I jumped up, hoping no one saw me face-plant. Two tall blond guys in suits looked at me in shock as I dusted myself off and looked around, pretending like I didn't just face-plant in front of them. The lobby was gorgeous. There were actual live trees among the white terrazzo floor and warm wood accents highlighting the glass elevators and open stairs that crisscrossed the large atrium.
The men approached me. They looked almost identical.
"Hey," I said, trying to ignore the throbbing in my knee. "I know you! I poured chocolate sauce on you in the vegan restaurant, remember? I guess you're just so hot women just drop to their knees in front of you."
The Chad Michael Murray look-alike seemed horrified.
"Can't stop and flirt!" I said, trying not to shake from the adrenaline. "I'm very late for my first day on the job. You know how that is." I hobbled over to the reception desk.
"I'm here to meet Mace Svensson," I told the woman in a rush. I could feel the water from my hair dripping down my face into my already-soaked shirt. "Just, can you not call him yet? I need to go to the restroom and get myself together. You wouldn't believe the day I had!" I laughed loudly. The receptionist looked at me wide-eyed.
Maybe this place wasn't all that friendly.
The receptionist slowly pointed to the men behind me. "That's Mr. Svensson there." I turned around. The hot guy from the vegan café was still in the same spot, along with his doppelgänger, watching me.
