- Angie -
My heart started drumming as I began to approach the big grey doors. "Come on you can do this!" I whispered to myself. It had been so many years of hard work and dedication, but I had finally managed to do it. I had been hired at Psywell Phycology, a phycology building in California. It didn't appear to be much from the outside but every person with a desire to go into psychology wanted to be here. "Make your dreams come true!" I had always thought their slogan was a little off considering most people never had the opportunity to join Psywell. It was really fortunate that they had decided to call me back, I had been thinking about changing my practice if I hadn't been accepted. It was interesting that they had even offered me the job. I had never worked with normal people before. Aside from the free therapy I give my mother every few weeks, I had only worked with people in the Prison just East of here. Some people were more interesting than others. At times, you could get to the bottom of why they had committed a crime in the first place. Robbery and Theft usually displays signs of lacking something they can't get in everyday life. Breaking and Entering typically displays signs of being trapped in life and needing to explore. Then you have the people who drive drunk or become a danger to the public. That one's pretty self explanatory. Murder is the interesting one. There are so many motives and reasons for killing someone. Some people show remorse for doing it and some bask in the glory of their kill.
"These people are sick!" I was startled. Somehow I had gotten inside of the building and was standing in line next to this girl to get the keys to my new office. The girl was short, with brown hair and cream colored skin. It didn't look like she went outside much, but she was still extremely beautiful. "Excuse me?" I stammered. She looked up at me studying my features. She pauses and chuckles. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had said that out loud. I was talking about my work schedule this week." She points to the piece of paper in her hands. I glance down at it but quickly look away not wanting to invade her privacy. "Oh." I say a little dull. "They have me scheduled for a double shift every day this week. I'm just a little overwhelmed as it'll be my first day." I look at he confused. "It's your first day as well?" We shuffle forward as line line moves. "Oh yeah." She says. "They'd asked me to come in a week earlier. I had told them that I was still on paternity leave but they insisted-" "A week earlier?" I was confused. It had taken me two weeks longer than I had anticipated for them to call me in for my first day. I was door dashing everyday to try and cover my bills. By the time I looked at her she was giving me a confused expression. "I'm sorry, I just meant you must be very lucky. Congratulations." She remain silent until it is her turn at the help desk. The man working the front desk had a cold expression on his face. He handed the woman a pair of keys and she turned to walk away. She stopped suddenly. "My name is Tessa by the way, it was nice to meet you." Before I could respond of even process that she was talking to me, she continued walking like we were two complete strangers.
"Hi, my name is Angie Rhodes in here to check in." His gaze shifted upward. "Uh huh.." He started typing on his computer then reached in a drawer open to his left that held a bunch of keys. "Your office number is 308, don't lose these keys because you will not be issued a new pair. Head to your office and then you'll have a meeting in the next 30 minutes with the head of the department." I blink twice just trying to process everything I just heard. "What?" "Next" I step out of the way and a man takes my place trying to recieve his key. "Okay.. 308 meeting in 30.." I take a deep breath and start towards the elevated. I took a minute to take a look around at my surroundings and notice how beautiful the lobby is. I had walked right by an indoor fountain. It was surprisingly quiet but also incredibly beautiful. The lobby was pained a white and dark gray which contrasted nicely together. I arrived at the elevator and pushed the call button. When the elevator arrived the doors opened with a woosh of air. The air was cold but fresh, like being outside in the fall. I pressed the button for the third floor and started ascending.
The third floor looked nothing like the lobby did. It looked like it was still under construction. The grey from the concrete walls and floors looked aweful. The air up here smelt stale and hard on my lungs. "Home sweet home, I guess." I moved through the corridor trying to find the hallway to my office. After a bit of walking I finally found it. Office 308. I took a deep breath and opened the door. To my surprise the office didn't look as bad as the rest of this floor. It was quite a large room with a two window view, an office desk with a wheeled chair, and a couch with a matching sofa next to it. A few decorative tables and some flowers would help brighten the place up. All of these ideas flowing through my head gave me something to smile about. We did it. We really did it! After all this time and hard work. 6 years of college, 4 internships, and 5 months of job searching, I had finally done it. I walked over to the sofa and sank down on it with a sigh. Now I could do what I was born to do. Help people. Maybe I could help someone turn their life around or make their life make since.
A knock on my office door made me shoot right up from my slumped position. A man was standing in the door. A dark skinned man in a suit with a bright white smile and a jawbone that could cut glass. I recognized this man anywhere, he was Fallon Wenter, the founder and owner of Psywell. "Angie right? I wanted to come and introduce myself." I stood up fixing my skirt and taking a few steps toward him not knowing what to do next. My mind was racing. The founder right here in front of me! "Please come in. You need no introduction sir, it is an honor for you to be here!" He let out a small chuckle but entered the room. He looked around at the office areas and smiled. "Joana, the head of design created all of this. She did an excellent job." I looked around at the dullness of the room and smiled. "It's certainly something.. is there anything I can get you?" I bit my tongue realizing I didn't have anything to offer him. Id left everything at home, determining I wouldn't be moving in today. "No, thank you. I wanted to talk with you about your schedule." I sucked in a breath of air. "I actually wanted to ask about that. I'm not scheduled for any appointments yet. Is that normal or shouldn't I already be swarmed with clients?" I let out a little laugh then studied his now serious expression. "We removed all new clients from your list as you won't be needing them." I gave him a confused look. "Sir, uh not to point out the obvious but I don't have any existing clients.. I'm new." He squints his eyes at me. That was a dumb thing to say, of course he knows that. "Angie, that's why I wanted to talk to you. We have a special assignment for you. You'll be taking on one client." I let out an abrupt laugh. " You're serious? I can't support myself on one client." He took a deep breath. "You're needs will be covered by the family, they are willing to pay high end prices for your services every week." " I'm sorry, I don't understand." He gave an annoyed sigh. "Listen Angie, you have experience with criminals and you have a good work ethic, this is why we hired you on. Please don't make me regret this decision. You start in a week, if you don't want to take on the job you are more than welcome to leave the company." My heart sank like a rock being thrown into a lake. He turned to spin around. "I'll email you the details." With a few steps he had turned the corner and left. That did not go as planned...
