The girl was quietly seething in rage. She walked across the floor and grabbed the phone. When I realized what she was about to do, I cried out.
“No!”
The girl glared. She held the phone to her ear. “Hello, nine-one-one? There’s a couple of men physically harassing me at my workplace. Please send a squad car and an ambulance.”
Brett was staring at me in shock. “She can’t do that,” he muttered under his breath. “What is this little bitch’s problem?”
Loud sirens filled the air before I could reply. Closing my eyes, I leaned over and rested my forehead against my arms.
Fuck, I thought. The whine of the sirens was painful. I’m really in for it now.
Hannah
“You’re smart, you’re good, and you?
?ve got this,” I said confidently, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The girl staring back at me didn’t look so sure. Her curly blonde hair had been wrestled into a neat chignon, but tendrils were springing loose at her ears and forehead. Her green eyes flicked around the room nervously, and her curvy figure seemed to shake in the brand new black suit she wore.
I gulped. I hate my reflection, I thought, glaring at myself in the mirror. If only I looked the way I felt!
Glancing down at my phone, I saw that it was almost time for me to leave. I had a job interview at one of the wealthiest consulting firms in New York City – Creovation, Inc. When I’d gotten a call after submitting my resume, I’d hardly been able to believe my luck. It was incredible, especially for a girl who had just graduated from college not two months before.
It had been a crazy two months, to be honest. As soon as I graduated, Mom helped me move from State College, Pennsylvania all the way to a tiny little walk-up apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. I didn’t live in the nicest or trendiest neighborhood, but it was still New York City. And I’d been saving all through college to get me through the first couple months of not having a job.
I’d sent out over fifty applications, but I hadn’t received very many call-backs. It had been discouraging, but Mom had told me it was pretty normal. Still, it made me feel so irritated. I knew it was impossible to get a job without experience, but I also knew I wouldn’t be able to get any experience without getting a job! It was a frustrating catch twenty-two, but I knew that I had to struggle and push my way through to success.
I’ve always been kind of motivated like that. My dad died when I was a little kid, so Mom did her best raising me. We didn’t always have money, and I knew there were times where she’d gone to bed hungry. But she made sure I succeeded, and she made sure that I got into a great school. I’d majored in business and accounting, even though it was boring – I wanted to make sure that I had an absolute perfect chance to get my dream job as soon as possible.
Now, two months later, I was starting to panic. If I didn’t land this job, I’d really be in hot water. So, I was more determined than ever to make this my best interview yet.
I’d timed the commute from my apartment to Creovation’s tower in Manhattan six times, but that didn’t stop my heart from fluttering nervously as I left my apartment and trudged towards the subway. Thankfully, I only had to wait a few minutes for a train. The car was blessedly empty in the middle of the day, and I rested my cheek against the glass, thinking of how it would feel to commute for the first time…provided I was able to land the job.
In person, Creovation’s offices were even more beautiful than they were as displayed on the ritzy website. Everything was modern – chrome and glass and sleek stainless steel. And furthermore, everyone there looked like a model. I’d been expected some chubby girls like myself and a few dowdy men in old suits, but seeing all of these beautiful people swarming around me only added an extra layer of intimidation to my already anxious self.
The receptionist was gorgeous, too. She was a perfectly-coiffed blonde, with pink fingernails, tapping eagerly away at a new computer. She didn’t glance at me even after I’d been standing in front of her desk for almost five minutes.
“Hi,” I said nervously. “Um, I have an interview?”
The blonde smirked. There was an icy look in her blue eyes. “Do you?” Her voice was sweet and sarcastic. “Are you sure about that?”
I bit my lip as I felt my cheeks burn bright red. “Yes,” I said, trying to sound more assertive. “I do. With Marcus.”
The blonde rolled her eyes, then tapped away at her keyboard and flicked her eyes back to the screen. “Name?”
“Hannah Perkins.”
The blonde typed something, then hit the ‘enter’ key with great satisfaction. She printed off a nametag sticker, then handed it to me.
“You have to wear this on your chest, right here,” she said, tapping right above her left breast. “You won’t be allowed inside the offices until you comply.”
I swallowed. I wanted to argue – I knew it would spoil the lines of my suit and leave adhesive all over the new fabric. But I knew the blonde wasn’t kidding around, and finally I peeled the sticker off the wax paper backing and fastened it to my jacket.
“You’ll be going up to floor thirty-five,” the blonde said. “Those elevators, over on the left.” She yawned, sounding bored. “Good luck,” she added, in a perfunctory sort of way.
I flashed her a smile. “Thanks,” I said. With my heart thudding, I walked to the elevator bank and pressed the button.
The ride up to floor thirty-five seemed to take forever. I was relieved when the doors pinged open and I stepped into a plush lobby, with thick grey carpeting. Unlike the downstairs lobby, this lobby was warmly decorated with art, including vases that looked like they were from some sort of long-ago African tribe.
“Hello, Hannah?” Before I could reply, a perky brunette grabbed my elbow and whisked me down a long corridor. “I’m Amy – I work with Marcus and William. You’ll be meeting with just Marcus today, I’m afraid that William isn’t in!”