She spread her arms out, showing off all her ink. “One day, I’ll have you in my chair.”
“No. Way. I am not getting a tattoo. Me and pain? We don’t mix well.” Carefully, I grabbed my single pearl earrings from my jewelry box, the one that I didn’t throw at Brian; I ended up buying a new one.
She took a step into my room and sat on my bed, crossing her legs in a more feminine gesture than I thought she’d ever do and tossed her hair back. “You know, they make numbing spray and gel now. You’d hardly feel a thing.”
That peaked my interest. “Really?”
Her left foot started to bounce. “Just think about it.”
I stood in front of my closest and tried to decide which purse I wanted to take. There weren’t many things I had an addiction too, but vintage perfume bottles and purses? They were the way to my heart.
“Use the black lace one with that cool clasp. It’s cute.”
I took her word for it and unwrapped it from the hook, changed all my cards and driver’s license from one of my other purses, and then hitched it on my shoulder. “Good?”
“Who are you trying to impress, red?”
“What? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I searched for my car keys, flipping over pillows and blankets. That was one of my worse qualities. I always lost my keys. Every single day. It was an annoying habit that I tried to change. I had Logan install hooks on the wall and even got the little beeper thing to attach to them. But then I lost the remote for that, and I never remembered to place them on the hook.
She tossed a pillow at me and gasped. “You liar. You looked up Mr. Stoneridge, didn’t you? You are looking all hot for him. All tall, dark, and handsome.”
“No.” Yes.
“You’re going to be late,” Maria said and stood. “Your keys are in the popcorn bowl by the sink.”
I jerked my head to her, removing my eyes from the inside of one of my boots. “Why would it be there?”
“I don’t know. I saw them when I raided your kitchen for some snacks. I’ll be here when you come back.”
“You aren’t going back to your apartment?” I made my way through the apartment until I got to the kitchen. “Bingo,” I snatched the keys from the bowl and wiped off the butter on them.
“Uh, no. I’m going to wait here for your really hot brother.”
I
rolled my eyes. I did every time she mentioned my brother. “Alright. I’ll see you later. Wish me luck.”
“Believe me, wearing that? You won’t need luck.” Maria winked and fell onto the sofa, turning on the tv to some useless reality show.
I hoped she was right. I not only wanted and needed this job, but I wanted Mr. Stoneridge to notice me. I gave Maria a final wave goodbye and closed the door behind me, making sure to lock it. One press of the button to the elevator and seven floors later, I was in the lobby and out the door. It was a beautiful day, blue skies, no clouds, and the sun was high, but it wasn’t too hot. The cool breeze grazed over my skin and fluttered my skirt.
The faint smell of hot dogs lingered in the air, which was a daily thing, and it always made me hungry, but I didn’t want to go into a job interview with food in my teeth, so I decided to bypass every hot dog cart. The one thing I hated more than anything though, was the subway.
I pranced down the steps that were stained with gum and spit and whatever else that I didn’t want to think about and waited for the next train. So many different people were here, so many cultures and ethnicities. I loved that. I saw a new face every day. People swiped their cards to get let into the gate to get to the platform.
The concrete was filthy, reminding me of a basement, and the yellow accents were chipped and old. When the train squealed to a stop, and the doors opened, a sea of people came out while people trying to get in the train crashed through them. It was like a wave hitting a wave.
“Sorry,” I said when I slammed against someone’s shoulder, but they didn’t even blink at me. They were so used to being pushed and shoved that when someone apologized, they didn’t care. I sat in one of the grey seats, placed my purse on my lap, and continued to wait. I sat back and watched people to ease my nerves for my job interview. One lady breastfed her baby, no cover, not caring, and no one blinked.
I liked that.
Another man read the book The Art of War.
A toddler cried a few seats down, tugging on his mother’s shirt, but all she did was shake her head and ignore him while she flirted with the man in front of her. Poor kid. He just wanted his mother’s attention. I tore my eyes away, feeling like I was witnessing some sort of mental or emotional neglect.
When the train came to a stop, I hurried off, and music bounced off the acoustic walls. That was when I noticed two men playing the guitar, and it was beautiful. Another reason why I loved the city. I wanted to watch them play all day, but I only had thirty minutes to get to the Stoneridge Corporation building.
I ran up the steps, and when I emerged from the hole of the subway, the buildings surrounding me glittered from the sun reflecting off of them. These are the buildings my brother built now? Wow. They are so tall?