Light Me Up [HS AU]

1

Mornings were not my favorite time of day, especially not mornings where I snoozed my alarm so many times, I suddenly only had twenty minutes to get ready. The hustle and bustle of New York City in morning traffic was a nightmare. I rode my bike to work every morning, zig-zagging through the obscene amount of cars that were stuck in queues. There was a loud, roaring sound of engines, car horns and people yelling profanities. I popped my earbuds in and listened to music as I carefully slalomed between cars and vans. 

When I reached the office, I parked my bike and locked it carefully, making sure the heavy chain lock was securely fastened. 

"No one is going to steal that old, rusty iron horse of yours," Morgan laughed as she walked past me and handed me a Starbucks cup. 

I rolled my eyes at her with a smile. "Thanks Morgan, but of course someone would steal my bike. It's a classic. I think they might have used it in a Stephen Spielberg movie in the '80s." 

"Perfectly retro," she agreed while nodding exaggeratedly. She held the door open, letting me walk past her. "You look lovely today. Are you ready for the meeting with Ethan Hale?" 

I let out a sharp breath and punched the air a couple of times. "Born ready," I said, giving Morgan an annoyed look when she burst out laughing at me. We walked to the elevator and waited for a moment before the doors slid open. Once inside, I pressed the golden button next to an engraved sign that said 'Stone Publishing'.

***

Stone Publishing was one of many businesses owned by the Stone Cooperation. They branched into several fields. My job was in the book publishing branch. After finishing college, I was hired as an editor, set to work with impressive authors and kept under the wing of a line of extremely successful editors, who taught me the ropes. 

I was a hard worker, so I spent a lot of extra time getting the hang of the job. That left very little time for a social life, but I was content. I promised myself that once I was established in the company, I could start broadening my social horizons. 

I worked an insane amount of hours, but I loved it. I managed to make friends at work too. Morgan was my age. She worked as a project manager in Stone Publishing. The first time she introduced herself she held out her hand and shook mine. "I'm Morgan. Morgan Stone," she said and smiled at me with the most wonderful, contagious smile. She was extremely charming and fun. We always met during lunch, coffee breaks and for a cigarette break every afternoon, even though I didn't usually smoke, unless I was inebriated. But there was something comforting about sitting on the roof with Morgan, smoking a cigarette and laughing.

It turned out that Morgan was the daughter of the CEO, Alastair Stone. It wasn't something she spoke about, but once she opened up about it, I was gobsmacked. I hadn't made the connection somehow, which seemed a little silly, since her last name was Stone.

"I try not to talk too much about it. People treat me differently when they find out whose daughter I am, and I prefer being treated like me," she said in her beautiful British accent. The Stone family were originally from England, and had relocated to America. They were wealthy beyond comparison, had houses all over the world and trust funds that most young people would envy.
Morgan and her twin brother had both attended a prestigious boarding school in the UK, and hadn't moved to America until college. So Morgan was happy I showed her around, and I was thrilled to have a new best friend, who I got to hang out with every day without having to leave work to do so.