Hotline Fling

On the edge

* * *

Lazily lying in her bathtub and blankly staring at her phone, Jasmine had tried to get out of the comforting bubble many times without winning against the heaviness overwhelming her sore body. A migraine started hammering her head as soon as she woke up and she suspected the unending flow of questions shaking her brain to be the reason why.
In the constantly moving metropole,at a time when the neighbor state was still asleep, New York City was absorbed in its continual hubbub. Bothering for some but reinsuring for her: growing up without parental care, Jasmine deeply hated the silence of big familial manors and quiet suburbs. She didn't mind noises in general and that strange ability has been one of her strength working for All Broadcasts Corp.

The past weeks have been tough, but more on a mental spectrum. One day she was promoted, the next one they decided to have her work on a complete different department and then...silence. The troublesome neighbor was nowhere to be seen but it only took one word from him at the meeting for the atmosphere at the office to change completely. Since the day she got in, Jasmine never expected her colleagues to love or even respect her in a particular way; the constant glares and gossips did not bother her the slightest. What could be understandable for a newcomer became her routine and her cold wall-like attitude just worsened the bullying. Since they understood that she genuinely didn't care, the general convention was to openly gossip about every new aspect of her life and she got used to that. What felt unusual was the sudden change of behavior. The workload was nothing heavier and the atmosphere was less dense than usual, but the mood was. One day, a young and frail blond girl that she believed was a new assistant assigned to the project came to her office with the department's sales report in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other and didn't leave her side ever since. A dark Costa Rica decaf brew and the completed and detailed report of activity every morning. Never in her assistant days has Charlotte been this productive.
The curious work ethic epidemic was also affecting the staff. Jasmine wasn't avoided anymore; few of them even dared a 'good morning' on her way to the elevator. Nancy too was absent and her stupid horde looked disoriented without their leader.
-"Is it because of the attention the board gave me? Have I been acknowledged because of a positive review on my work?"
That victory felt bittersweet. She wasn't officially given any title yet, and the gigantic amount of work she had to get done in parallel for the annual convention was giving her serious headaches. Why would they assign her to such a tedious task? That contract with Blair Swanson was an interesting enough project, but she had a whole list of better accomplishments to introduce and didn't want to let numbers influence the board. Turned out they only cared about that one aspect thanks to Nancy.Jasmine couldn't help an exasperated sigh. Thinking about her week made her head ache even more. She gathered her strength and left the bathroom.
Unable to think of any better thing, she decided to leave home earlier that day. The place she once adored felt a lot less safe since her encounter with the tenant next door. Her thin silhouette almost drowning in an oversized Yves saint Laurent tailleur and her pointy red Louboutins nervously clicking on the hallway floor, she walked as quickly as she could and nervously pushed the elevator's buttons, as fearing for an unwanted elevator ride company.