With Grace

Chapter 4 - Grace

I can't say I wasn't a little disappointed when I entered my New York apartment for the first time, lugged down by my two suitcases and a huge backpack.

Living in off-campus accommodation with Lian had been great, with a big spacious apartment, two separate bedrooms in the attic of an old house.

I had picked my new apartment with my dad's help and we were proud to find something within my price range and walking distance to the office. I knew it was a studio and it may be a bit dingy to start with but I could spruce it up on the weekends.

I hadn't expected the mold in the corners of the ceilings or the fridge to make such a loud humming noise but I took a deep breath, before thinking better of it, and dropped my suitcases, shutting the door behind me. No matter what I was going to make this home. I surveyed the room and made a list of things I or my landlord could do to make it better. Most of it seemed superficial and nothing a trip to pottery barn couldn't fix so I was excited to make the most of my own space.

I jumped on the bed, expecting it to be hard and uncomfortable but I now understood that the only good thing about this place was how comfy this bed was. Traveling for hours left my body tired and I knew I could use a nap before starting to unpack and get on with my life.

I couldn't sleep. I'm not sure why but laying in my bed gave me a chance to think about everything. Lian made me promise to call her as soon as I settled and I wanted to do that before I started work on Monday.

I was excited to finally have a job that wasn't in a coffee shop or the Gap. I couldn't cope with anymore pretentious twenty-somethings that were actually closer to thirty than they liked to admit. I knew Montgomery corps tried their staff from the bottom so everyone's climbed the ranks and earned their position. After that, they decide whether you are worthy of a full-position anywhere. It helped me as I wouldn't know which job to apply for when entering the business sector and the professionals could judge where the best place for me was. I only wanted to help their business improve and I'd do that until they fired me.

I ordered a takeaway, taking advantage of the advance, I'd received after I explained the need to travel and settle to the HR department in my interview. I opened the window onto the fire escape and sat with my fried rice and satay chicken looking onto the busy street below and smiled to myself. I loved the white noise that surrounded me. It told me that I was never alone and there was always someone nearby; someone going about their day to day life no matter what I was doing. Living in the countryside, you could feel so alone and I used to beg for my dad to drive me into Louisville so I could just walk around. New York was a completely different story and I loved it.

The next day I ventured outside after I'd placed all my belongings in appropriate places and looked for different cleaning products and household items in stores around my place which happened to be a lot harder than the average target or Walmart but I made it work.

By the evening, my cupboards were stocked and I could call up Lian in confidence that I would sound excited and confident rather than terrified and nervous.

She picked up immediately that I was panicking about the morning but she helped me find an outfit that was professional and showed I was ready for business. No skirt so I was seen as 'more than a piece of meat'. Her words, not mine. I went for a navy pantsuit and a white blouse. If that was wrong, I could always try something different another time. It wasn't my particular style but it was an office job, not my living room so for my first day it would do fine.

I struggled to sleep after a quick pasta dinner but eventually, I was dozing while watching a recording of Friends that I kept stored on a memory card so I could plug it into my laptop at any time.

I woke up too early the next day but I was so nervous that I couldn't just sit around for another hour so I decided to leave early and grab a tea from a café near the office before I went in. I hoped it would calm me down enough for the day.

I glanced at my watch as I sipped my tea slowly. It was approaching the time for my meeting with the boss and the butterflies kept getting more violent within my intestines and I wanted to shout at them to keep their wings to themselves but I couldn't do that without getting an odd look.

I decided being early was better than on time so I gathered my few things, throwing the cardboard cup in the bin before briskly walking to the office in my line of sight.

I'd thought it all through beforehand so I tried to look confident as I walked over to the reception desk, telling my name and the meeting I had with Gabriel Montgomery. With a smile and a welcome, she sent me up to the top floor, pointing out the elevator.

As the doors opened on each of the floors, I got an insight into the inner workings of the departments. A lot of them were noisy and had people talking on the phone or holding meetings open to the rest of the floor. No one had closed offices away from every. Most desks were connected in some way with papers passing across easily for signatures and the like. I wondered to myself whether it would be like that all day or just on a Monday morning when everyone was catching up from the weekend.

Even the floor that all the chiefs of the company's offices were on wasn't silent. It was quieter but laughter could still be heard.

I asked someone where Mr. Montgomery's office was and they pointed towards his secretary sat outside his office to the side of the room.

"Hi, I'm Grace Dempsey. I have a meeting with Mr. Montgomery at nine-thirty. I'm a little early." I smiled, laughing half-heartedly.

"Yes, you are but he'll only like that." She said, mirroring my smile. "He's in there with the COO, Mr. Williams, but you can go right through."

"Should I wait?" I asked, frowning.

"No, he's expecting you. Go ahead." She reassured, pointing towards the door.

I was uneasy but I walked around her desk and to the door anyway and knocking lightly.

"That should be her now. Come in." I heard. I opened the door and closed it behind me, walking past the man who stood from a chair in front of the desk and put my hand out for Mr. Montgomery to shake.

"Grace Dempsey. It's a pleasure to meet you in person." I smiled, trying to ignore the sensation of being watched and focus on my future boss in front of me.