In Another Life

184

The rooms walls were painted white with black trim. It was actually very homey. A flat screen TV was on the front wall, waiting to be used, and a circle glass coffee table sat in front of the couch. I was amazed that the company had made such an incredible break room just for us to have friends and family come by. After Desiree was finished showing me the bottom floors, she took me to the roof. "This is where I like to come during breaks sometimes. It's technically supposed to be off-limits but I come up here at least once a day, twice if I'm having a bad day. You're welcome to up here sometimes too, if you like. I don't show everyone this part but there's something about you. I feel like you can appreciate it," she said as she smiled at me. "Thank you," I replied, stepping out and looking over the ledge a little. It actually was amazing, seeing the city from this high up. LA was beautiful. "Sure. Now let's go back down to the fourth floor and I'll show you around  your main area." I nodded and followed her  back to the elevator.  Once we reached it, she showed me around the entire floor, pointing out certain rooms that I would need to know about, and introducing me to people that I would be interacting with. It was a whirlwind of names and doors. "So, you got all of that?" she asked, as we made it back to my office. I just looked at her with a slightly confused expression. "Um...maybe?" I replied. She started to laugh, a light tinkling sound that made me smile. "It's okay. You'll get the hang of it. Let Tasha know if you need anything, or if you just need help. I'll let her know to call me if she doesn't know, okay?" I nodded, still a little overwhelmed. "It's okay. You'll get the hang of it soon, I promise." "Okay," I replied. "Thank you Desiree...um, that what I call you? Or is it Ms. Dalton? I'm sorry, I don't know how you want your employees to address you." She smiled again. "You can call me whatever you like, just not a bitch. At least not to my face," she answered. I started laughing nervously. "Seriously, whatever you're comfortable with. Most people call me DD, but some of them aren't comfortable with that and they call me Ms. Dalton. Whichever you prefer is fine." I nodded again. "Okay, well, if that's all you need from me right now, you can go get your assignments from Tasha. Your lunch hour begins at 1 pm and I expect you back at 2 pm, on the dot. See you later." Desiree, DD, twinkled her fingers at me as she walked out my office door and closed it behind her. I sighed heavily and fell down into my chair. Everything she had shown me was just jumbled together into my mind. I wasn't sure that I had retained any of it. That's okay, I would get the hang of it, and I could always just ask if I had a problem. No reason to stress. Then why was a I stressing? Because that's what I do in new situations where I didn't feel like I was in control. Christ, I could really use a cigarette or something right now. I shook that thought from my head and checked the time. Already 11 am. I had two hours before my lunch break. I texted the address to Tara and Kat, then went to Tasha and got my assignments for the day. Apparently, I wouldn't be taking pictures today. I would just be going through some old shots and approving which ones I thought looked best with whatever theme they were supposed to be. Boring. I really hoped that I got to enjoy taking photographs soon. That's why I was here. The pictures weren't bad though, and eventually I got sucked into them, judging them based on the poses, the backgrounds, the way it would've been even better if the model had tilted their head just a little to the left, or if the sun was hitting at a slightly different angle. "Ms. Brooks," Tasha's voice blared through the intercom on my phone, making me jump and knock some of the photos off of my desk. "Yes?" I sighed, pressing the little button. "Just reminding you that your lunch break is at 1 pm. You also have visitors in the downstairs lobby." I glanced at my phone. 1:06 pm. Shit. "Okay, thank you Tasha," I replied, hurriedly, jumping up to clean my mess and grab my things. I was nervous going to the elevator and riding it down to meet the girls. I hadn't seen or heard from Kat or Tara in three years. Were they different? Had they changed at all? Would they still like me? My stomach did jumping jacks as I watched the numbers change above the elevator doors. When they finally opened, I spotted blue hair, and dark hair at a lower level. Their heads turned as the elevator dinged. I walked slowly out into the lobby, and just stared at them, unsure of how to react. They did the reacting for me. Suddenly, they both squealed "Terra!" and came running at me. Tara reached me seconds before Kat, and they both threw their arms around me, Tara around my waist, and Kat around my neck. Honestly, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of my body from the force, but I didn't care. I squeezed them both back, and closed my eyes against the emotions that threatened to surface. I would NOT go back into work with a racoon, tear streaked face. When they finally let me go, I opened my eyes to their beautiful smiling faces. "You guys are just as beautiful as before. You haven't changed a bit," I replied. "Oh whatever," Kat replied, smiling. "Look at you! You're stunning! I love the haircut. It makes you seen more sophisticated." Tara nodded in agreement.