Not What I Need (A Workplace Romance)

Chapter 2: I'm movin' out, er-in.

The car ride to my new apartment was filled with uncomfortable silence, giving me flashbacks to my strict, and close to emotionless, childhood. It took us about forty-minutes to get to the complex, but when we finally arrived, I was in awe of the structure laid before me.

The tall, seemingly twenty floor building was mostly windows and concrete. The surrounding area was accompanied by more apartment buildings and was just as bustling as the rest of the city. When we pulled into the six-level parking garage, I was informed by my parents that they had paid for the parking spot for this month, and that I would be incharge of paying it for the next few if I wanted to get a car. Fine by me; this place is great and I haven't even stepped foot in the building yet!

After each of us had grabbed a few boxes, we headed for the doors taking us to the front lobby. And holy shit. This place is fancier than I could've ever imagined. After we stepped through the guarded, glass front doors, we were greeted with soft jazz music and the prettiest chandelier I've ever seen; it was large and constructed into the shape of a spiral. The walls were made up of a dark-grey stone and the floor was white and silver marble. Laid atop the marble was a long, light -grey concrete desk near the back wall, several employees were occupied doing miscellaneous tasks. There were two large, concrete poles on either side of the lobby and beside the one to the left was a sitting area made up of two black couches facing each other, and two light-grey armchairs with a metal coffee table in the center. Beyond the other pole were four, mirrored elevators that took the building's occupants to their designated spaces.

After having taken a few minutes to gawk at my surroundings, Anna bumped me on the shoulder with her own, "Earth to Belle, are you still with us?"

"Do you see this place?" I turn to her with wide eyes,"I don't think I'm fancy enough to live here. What if they kick me out because I'm too homely?"

Chuckling, Anna says, "I know you're joking, but I wouldn't put it past them. I just made eye contact with some suited-up guy drinking what I can only assume is black coffee, and I don't think he had a soul." She says feigning a frightened face," What if this is Hotel California? What if you can check-in but you can never leave because they suck out your soul, and you have to live out eternity as a mindless minion made to serve upper-class society? What if a suit and tie is the new norm and they will put up with nothing less?"

For a few seconds, I can do nothing but stare at Anna with raised eyebrows, silently.

"What?" She says in a defensive tone, "I watch a lot of conspiracies, and to be honest, I don't think I'm that far off." Squinting her eyes like a petulant child, she swishes her hair in my face as she turns towards the elevators, nearly knocking down the stacked boxes in my hands. I let out a slight laugh, reminded of the fun we had messing with each other growing up, and then looked towards where Anna is headed, only to realize my parents are waiting by the elevators already, identical looks of impatience painted upon their faces. At this, my face morphs into one of guilt as I walk towards the elevators with urgency. Only it seems more like a shuffle because of the added weight of the boxes.

Arriving just as I do, one of the reflective elevators opens and we all step inside. On the lit-up keypad there are numbered buttons that go up to twenty-two.

Damnit, I was close.

My father presses the button belonging to the number nineteen, and I try to hide my smile formed by the anticipation of my new apartment's inevitably good view. We arrive on the floor, and as the doors open, I'm met with as much class provided by the lobby. The floor is, again, marble and the walls a beautiful grey stone. Each of the doors are made of thick wood consisting of a light grey color.

Wow, someone has a hard-on for the color grey.

We all walk, following my Dad to the door at the end of the hallway with the numbers '1905' scrawled on a panel next to it, my father puts down his boxes and pulls out the apartment key. After a total of one try, the door unlocks and my Dad pushes it open.