Wish We Never Started

27

On the sixth ring, Uncle Louis picks up.

"Hey, how's it going so far?" His voice is so optimistic and cheerful, quite a contrast to what I'm feeling.

"It's great so far," I say sarcastically, the words fumbling out of my mouth. I'm hoping my uncle doesn't pick up on the tone.

"Great. I am getting some assignments ready for you. I'll have my assistant send them down to Katarina and she'll deliver them to you by noon. In the meantime, feel free to get acquainted with everyone or hang out in your office."

My uncle's words take me by surprise. Hang out? Is that really what I'm supposed to be doing?

"Are you sure?" I ask to make sure I heard him correctly.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. No pressure here. You have a pretty good position," he says from the other end of the line. "Plus, you're family. It's going to take a lot for me to fire you." He chuckles and I listen to it taper off.

"By the way, come up to the tenth floor and you can always take advantage of the amenities up here."

My eyes go wide just thinking about what kind of amenities are available. Is it going to be something like in the movies, where there's pool tables and foosball and mini fridges and people on massage chairs?

"Thanks, Uncle Louis," I say into the phone, the whole thing feeling a bit unnatural.

"Anytime. Talk soon," he says, a quick switch to his business voice before the line goes silent.

I hang up the phone, reviewing the long list of names and extensions taped down onto my desk. Maybe, at some point, I'll have them all memorized.

I spin my chair backwards to look out the window. The city is busy this morning, tons of taxis and cars zipping through the streets below. It feels surreal that I'm even here right now, looking down on the sidewalks I used to take to the diner.

My hand reaches into my front pocket to grab my phone. The first thing I see is a message from Sadie, and my heart picks up. It's been a few days since we spoke and I wasn't sure where we stood after she slept over at my apartment.

How is the new job? It won't be the same without you at the diner.

I sigh, thinking of how often I saw her when we worked together. There's no doubt it's going to be harder now that we're in two separate places. We'll actually have to plan things and coordinate times and compare schedules. Just like people usually have to do when they want to make plans with their friends.

It's incredible so far. Big office, big windows. I don't even know what I'm doing

I laugh at myself when I hit send, realizing that my uncle is letting me off easy. Do I really want to be in a job where that's the case? Sure, the salary is good, but deep inside I want to earn and work for my title.

There is a harsh knock on the door which startles my thoughts, causing me to whip back around.

"Hey there, my name is Leonard. Call me Lenny, or Leo," the man says cheerfully – almost fake – as he pushes through into the office without any indication from me. He's tall and lanky, wearing a gray suit and tie. He has orange curls that look a bit frizzy and unruly, perhaps matching his personality.

"Oh, hi, I'm Gabriel," I say politely as I rise to my feet to greet him.

Once he shuts the door behind us, his demeanor shifts drastically. "You took my job," he says lowly.

"What? I tilt my head to the side while I sit back down because clearly this isn't a pleasant introduction like I thought it would be.

"This was my office. This was my job. You took it from me. They demoted me for no good reason, and now I have to support my wife and baby on a lower salary."

Wife? Baby? This man looks no more than a year or two older than me. I shake my head, thinking that doesn't matter. I could have been in his shoes at this point, too.

The air is tense and thick with each word he speaks. I feel bad, even though I've done nothing wrong. This is on the people who are above us, including my uncle. This job was promised to me when I moved here.

"I'm sorry. This wasn't anything I could control. I really am sorry," I plead, trying to save whatever I can from this interaction. But clearly, that's not happening. Lenny's demeanor goes unchanged, even after I try to explain this to him.

"You asked for the job and Louis gave it to you. Just like that. Click your heels and here you are," he adds on, the anger in his face more apparent than before in the form of veins and red splotches. "Some of us could never be so lucky."

My head drops for a moment as I think of what to say. Is this some sort of test? It's barely ten thirty and one person already hates my guts, but something tells me he's not the only one.

"I said I'm sorry. Just for the record, I didn't ask for this," I gesture to the room. "He gave it to me."

Lenny's face is so red it looks like blood is about to boil from his eyeballs. I watch his hands curl into loose fists. "That's not any better. He also said you were more qualified than me. Do you have a Master's degree in business?"

His adam's apple bobs as he waits for my response, his stance indicating he's ready to take me down at a momen't notice. And perhaps he could, despite being so thin his height makes up for it.

"No," I say quietly, just loud enough for him to hear me. I wish I didn't have to say it at all.

In one fleeting movement, he storms out of my office door and throws it shut behind him, rattling the walls.

"Holy shit," I mutter when he's finally gone, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. I take in what just happened, letting it sink into my brain.

I sit motionless for a few more minutes before logging into my computer, the credentials hanging from a post-it note along the monitor's rim. Even after this small lapse of time, I still feel like a skeleton typing.

The screen flashes "welcome, Gabriel!" as it boots up, about a dozen different icons loading. I only recognize Photoshop and Word, the rest foreign to me. Maybe this is why you need a Master's degree.

While I wait for Katarina to deliver my assignments, I manage to find Solitaire and I begin playing.