Empire /h.s/

two

Katherine

Nerves are shaking all through me. No matter how calm I look on the outside, my bones are straight up rattling. The same kind of rattle when I got my first tattoo on my ribs. The words "calm" in cursive writing is the complete opposite of how I'm feeling.

I woke up this morning to my alarm at four am, got dressed for the gym, stretched my mussels, ran on the treadmill, did a short arm and leg workout, came back to my apartment, showered, ate, and got ready for work to leave by seven to make it to work a little before eight. Before I left, I had to stop in my tracks to go back in and feed Moxie. And, as expected, she was sitting by her food bowl, looking up at me with a "really bitch?" look on her little face.

Walking into the RAV Enterprise office building is nerve racking. I'd been here twice before, once for my interview and once to fill out paperwork with HR, followed by a tour of the building. But walking in for this third of many more times, is terrifying.

The actual office part of the build is on the fifth floor. The first floor being a welcome desk, and a few security guards. Second floor housing a cafe, and dining area. The third floor is dedicated to HR. I'm not sure what's on the fourth floor, but I'm assuming it's accounting, and other financial related jobs; a floor that I wasn't shown on my tour. The fifth being the main office, equipt with multiple meeting rooms, and a small kitchenette. I'm truly grateful for the tour or else I would be wandering around like a chicken with my head cut off right now.

I'm thankful that the elevator is empty when I step into it, because I'm truly in no shape to keep a conversation and meet new people. The short ride helps me clear my mind as I lean my head up against the wall taking deep breaths. I have a death grip on my small box of things that I brought from home to keep at the office. Things including; office supplies, a small aloe vera plant, a coffee mug, a picture of me and Josh from my college graduation, and a picture of me and Sarah from the same day at the diner where we ate after the ceremony. It's not a lot, but it's enough to get me started till I feel more comfortable in a new environment.

The elevator dings signaling that I am on my floor. I run a hand through my hair, then bring it back to the box. I take another deep breath, and step out and turn to the right to walk through a glass door with "RAV ENTERPRISE" painted in big white letters.

Upon my arrival, I noticed that the lights were automatic and turned on when I opened the door, meaning that no one had walked through here for a good couple of minutes. I checked my watch to see that it was only seven forty, meaning I was twenty minutes early. Being early was something I prided myself for and have for a long time. Sarah would always scold me for being quote 'too early' to work, when in reality we both knew that I only showed up early to get away from my parents. And by the looks of it, being early is something that has been nailed into my brain because of it ever since.

As I placed the box down on my new white desk that had the same "RAV ENTERPRISE" painted on the front, this time in black, I admired the plated name title sitting on my desk. 'Katherine Holt' with 'Receptionist' underneath it. I picked up it smiling to myself but dropped it when I heard yelling coming from down the hall.

I looked to my left to see light coming through the bottom of one of the doors at the end of the hall. It definitely gave me a fright because I genuinely thought I was the only early bird here.

I picked the name title off the floor, being careful with how I bend in case someone came into the office. It definitely would not have been a good first impression for anyone to come in to see my ass up in the air, seeing that I was wearing a dark blue suede skirt that hit just above my knees.

I placed the name title back on my desk, then slowly made my way down to the end of the hall. Luckily my heels were muted due to the stained carpet flooring. The closer I got the louder the yelling was. I couldn't make out what was being said from my desk, and my noisy nature got the best of me. I stood about two feet away from the door to listen in on the conversation.