My Stolen Identity (Complete)

Chapter 18 - First Day

***** One Month Later - Elodie's Point of View *****

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and straightened the collar on my black tailored business suit that had a tight black high-waisted pencil length skirt, a black suit jacket and a white button up collared shirt underneath. I had splurged on this beautiful suit because it made me feel professional and legitimate. Keisha had given me a white pearl choker and tall red heels to wear with it and it looked perfect. 

Today was the first day at my new job at Avanta, a very prestigious marketing firm in Seattle. Their slogan was 'Avanta gives you the Advantage'. They helped their business clients research their competition, build up their brand image, develop their online presence through a website and social media, and develop marketing strategies.

Out of desperation I had applied on a whim, not expecting in a million years that I would actually get it because Avanta was notorious for being a really hard company to get hired on with. They usually only hired the top people in the marketing field with years of experience, so I was shocked and excited when I got the call saying I was hired since I was fresh out of college with no relevant work experience. The best part was that it paid over a hundred thousand a year, which was phenomenal for entry-level.

Their office was in downtown Seattle in one of the tall, brand-new skyscrapers and when I had gone in for my face-to-face interview I was extremely impressed with how modern and beautiful the office space was. I had felt under-dressed and out of place with all the stuffy, very serious looking people around me, and I was the youngest in the room by at least a decade. That's why I had splurged on the suit for my first day, because I wanted to make sure I looked the part so I wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb again. 

When I got to the office I took the elevator up to the 34th floor and went through some frosted glass doors with Avanta written across them. The lobby was extremely modern and looked very luxurious and rich as soon as you stepped inside, with shiny white marble flooring and modern silver and crystal chandeliers. Avanta catered to the wealthiest companies and businesses so they had to look the part. 

I walked up to the receptionist desk and smiled at the woman behind the counter. She was in her mid-40's and had a short blonde pixie haircut and was wearing a black business suit and black rimmed glasses. She smiled back before saying, "Hi, can I help you?"

"Hi! I'm Elodie Masterson," I told her, putting my hand out to shake. 

The receptionist shook my hand and then stood there looking at me, waiting for me to continue. I had expected her to tell me her name. 

"Ummm. This is my first day on the job so I'm not sure where to go. Could you point me in the right direction?" I asked. 

"You must be the new intern. I'll let them know you're here," she told me as she picked up the desk phone. 

"Oh no. I'm not an intern. I'm actually the new Marketing Analyst. I'll be working directly under Blakely Peterson." 

The receptionist looked shocked and said, "Oh wow. You're so young to be an analyst already."

"Yeah I guess so. I'm really excited to get started. Could you please point me to Blakely Peterson's office?" I asked with a smile. 

"Sure. Yeah. Follow me," she said, turning and walking away and I hurried to keep up as she led the way down a long hallway. At the very end was a humongous office with floor to ceiling glass walls and gold lettering on the all glass door that said 'Blakely Peterson - Marketing Executive Director'.  

The receptionist knocked and Blakely waved for us to come in. 

"Good morning Miss Peterson. Miss Elodie Masterson is here for her first day," she said with a smile, but it faded away when she turned around and she looked me up and down on her way back out the door. It felt like she was silently judging me for some reason.