Isabella: Our Adopted Baby

Chapter 3

I stared at the building in front of me. It was a large skyscraper in the heart of the city, not far from where my old office had been. It was intimidating. I tried not to let my nerves get the better of me but I didn't like changes. I had a hard time adapting to something new.

I exhaled and wiggled my arms. I put my phone in my purse and walked into the building.

The area inside the door was large. To the left was a fountain with seating around it. The floor was wooden and the walls were painted an off-white color. It was a nice, relaxing environment that helped to calm me down some.

I walked up to a reception desk and stood on my tiptoes to see over the counter. Two women sat behind the counters. They were both in business wear and had headsets on.

The woman directly in front of me with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail gave me a polite smile. "How can I help you?"

"I have an interview at Adult Surrogacy. I'm supposed to meet with Jennifer Gloss."

The woman pressed a button in front of her. "Jennifer, there is someone here to see you."

I bit my lip as I waited. So far, so good.

The woman covered the mouthpiece of her headset with her hand. "Name?"

"Uh, Isabella Lawson."

"Isabella Lawson." She spoke into the mouthpiece. She waited just a second before she nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'll send her up." The woman stood and pointed in the direction of a hallway just to the left of the desk. "Go to the elevator and take it to floor seven. Jennifer will be waiting for you outside the elevators on that floor."

I nodded and gave her a smile. "Thank you."

I found myself wringing my hands in front of me as I walked to the elevator. I pressed the up button and waited for an elevator to become available. There were two there plus one behind me that I assumed was for maintenance to use. There was a bench to my right with fake plants beside it. The hallway didn't lead anywhere else so I assumed there was another hallway that led to offices on the first floor.

The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside. I pressed the button for the seventh floor and waited for the doors to close.

I was thankful that the doors shut and I was alone in the elevator. I needed to prepare myself for my interview and how it would go. I knew they would ask me questions about why I left my previous job. I was worried they wouldn't appreciate me being fired and would have some hesitations about hiring me. But I hoped it wasn't enough to move on and find someone else. I really needed the job.

The elevator dinged and the number seven lit up in red just above the number pad. There were twelve floors in total.

The doors opened and I was surprised to see a typical office space. There were various cubicles spaced throughout the floor. People were too busy working to even pay me any mind and I was glad for that. I didn't want to feel like a target.

A woman in a tight-fitting red dress stood beside the elevator. She must have been the woman I was there to meet.

She smiled at me and held out her hand. "Hello, Ms. Lawson. I'm Jennifer Gloss. It's nice to meet you."

I shook her hand. "Yes. It's nice to meet you, too."

She gestured toward a door at the end of the short hallway to my right. The glass door led into an office with cushioned chairs facing a desk. "My office is right this way."

I nodded and started walking with her. There were various pictures on the walls. They could have belonged in any office space. Maybe that was what they were going for: anonymity.