Yours, Eternally(2015 Revision)

Chapter Six

I was ready to face the first day of the new work week at five-thirty Monday morning. I was feeling much better after the weekend. I put on the Weather Channel as I rummaged through my closet for something to wear, overhearing that the weather dropped from the fifties during the weekend to a mere twenty-one degrees, and snow was on its way.

I came out of the shower and reached into the closet removing a black pant-suit paired with a turquoise ruffled blouse and black wedge boots. After laying my attire on the bed, I ran a flat iron through my hair, applied some make-up and finally pulled my clothes on. I walked downstairs to the living room and made sure all my work was tucked safely into my brown canvas Louis Vuitton messenger bag and lifted it from the coffee table, dragged it toward the front door, and stopped at the hall closet to get to my white knee-length wool pea coat. Once I slid my arms through the sleeves of the coat, I pulled the collar up and yanked my bag up onto my shoulder. By seven, I stepped out into the cold morning air.

The commute to Philly sometimes took longer with traffic or bad weather conditions, which on this day, there was both. As soon as I merged onto I95, I was at a standstill in the congestion of traffic. I tuned into a radio station that played the traffic report continuously and the commentator reported an overturned tractor-trailer near one of the nearby exits. I turned on the wipers as white cotton-like flakes land on my windshield, turning to drops of water as they hit the glass. I grunted and reached into the driver’s side door for my CD book, flipping through the plastic sleeves searching for my mixed rock CD to get my adrenaline flowing. I loaded the CD into the stereo unit and Linkin Park’s A Place for My Head came on, with Chester Bennington’s raspy voice screaming through the speakers. I strummed my thumbs to the beat on the steering wheel as traffic slowly inched forward enough that I could see the flashing police lights at the scene of the overturned tractor trailer in the far distance.

After about an hour, the rest of the commute was clear, and at five minutes to nine, I was finally pulling into the parking garage of the multistory building. I purchased a bottle of water and a muffin at my office building’s cafeteria and put them in my messenger bag as I made my way onto the elevator up to the 6th floor. 

Emerging from the elevator, I walked down the hall and stopped at the door to Adtastic, my home away from home. I opened the fingerprinted glass doors to the office and the welcome bell chimed. Feeling along the wall, I found the light switch, flipping it up, and a bright white glow flooded into the starch white front room, decorated in colorful modern art and sculptures. Upon walking in the

front lobby, was strategically placed visitors' seating and just beyond that, a semi-circular white reception-style desk with a high counter-top and frosted plexiglass accents. Left of the reception desk was a corridor leading to the Art, Printing and Editing Departments. At the back of the room, was a door to the office for the agency’s President, James. Finally, to the right of the entrance, stood two more glass walls and a door to the office of yours truly.

I straightened the “Executive Assistant” sign hanging on the door before walking in and dropping my belongings onto the black L-shaped desk unit and removed my outerwear, hanging it in my personal coat closet. I sat in the black leather swivel chair at my desk, reaching into my bag and placing my water and muffin on the desktop just as Adtastic employees started to pile into the office. The annoying chime continuously sounded as employees poured in, many waving to me as they passed my office before going to their respective departments.

As soon as I took the savory last bite of my muffin, the agency’s President, and my boss, James Ward walked in, smiling. He was fifty-five years old, three kids, and happily married for twenty-five years. James and his wife, Yvette, started Adtastic out of their home office when they got married, and after a few years of hard work and dedication, the agency grew to what it was today: one of the most prestigious advertising agencies in Philadelphia and the tri-state area.