Free Spirit

one

I adjusted my black pencil skirt one last time as I examined my reflection in the mirror by the door of my apartment. Taking a deep breath, I turned away from the mirror and grabbed my purse. It was the first day at my new job, and I had never been more nervous in my entire life. I couldn't screw this up. This was my chance to start over, and I was not going to let it blow past me.

With one last inhale and exhale, I left my little apartment and locked the door behind me before making my way down to the lobby and out into the streets of New York City. The new office building I would be working at, Alexander Enterprises, was conveniently only four blocks south of my apartment, which meant I wouldn't have to spend any money on transportation.

As I made my way down 54th street, my nerves started to dissipate. The slight breeze and the crisp September air calmed me, and I started to feel more excited than anxious about my new job. I would be working as the personal assistant to Mr. James Alexander, the CEO of the company. Apparently his father had started the Alexander Enterprises, a top accounting company, but had recently retired and moved to Bora Bora, leaving the top job to his son.

My dream was to become a CPA, but the woman who interviewed me, the former personal assistant to Mr. Alexander, said that this job would be a great opportunity to get my foot in the door at an excellent company. Plus, being personally acquainted with Mr. Alexander himself would definitely help with making connections in the field. The woman's name was Pamela, and she was a very sweet lady, looking to be about fifty years old. She assured me that Mr. Alexander was one of the nicest men in the business, and she was only leaving because her husband had found a job across the country.

I hoped that Pamela was right. I don't know if I could handle another complete jackass of a boss, and I most definitely didn't want to have to give up the opportunity to gain connections by quitting.

About ten minutes after I had left my apartment, I arrived in front of Alexander Enterprises. To say it took my breath away would be an understatement. The building was one of the tallest in this sector of the city, and it stood out beautifully from those around it. The outer walls seemed to be made completely out of glass, and they reflected the glow of the September sun and the orange leaves of the trees in the park across the street magnificently. All I could imagine was being able to gaze out of the office windows to a view of people wandering around the park aimlessly all day long.

After walking in, I approached the front desk. The lobby was just as impressive as the outside. Everything appeared to be shiny and clean, from the black tile floors to the chandelier on the ceiling above me. I coughed a little to gain the attention of the man sitting behind the desk. He glanced up at me and his lips broke out into a small but genuine smile.

"Excuse me, sir. What floor is Alexander Enterprises? It's my first day on the job, and I'm not quite sure where I'm supposed to be going," I explained politely.

"Top five floors, ma'am. The first level of offices for Alexander Enterprises are on floor twenty-six, and the CEO himself works on floor thirty."

"Thank you so much!" I responded happily.

"No problem, ma'am. Good luck with the new job!" he replied with a nod of his head.

I responded with a smile and made my way to the elevators situated along the left wall of the lobby. I entered the elevator on the far right and hit the button for the thirtieth floor with shaky hands. I was going to meet my boss today and I had to make a good impression. I had the future of my career to think about, and I wanted to be the best employee I can be to show everyone that I was a hard worker.

The elevator moved faster than most other elevators I had been in, but it still took ages to climb to the thirtieth floor. Soft music played from a circular speaker above my head as I tried to calm my nerves, but they rose along with the elevator. Luckily, the elevator didn't make any stops on the way up, so I didn't have too much time to be stuck in my own head before I heard a dinging noise and the doors slid apart.

I glanced around upon exiting the elevator, happy that this floor exceeded my expectations along with the rest of the building. The walls were covered with floor to ceiling windows, giving me an impressive view of the city around me. Signs pointed to the CEO's office at the end of a long hallway, but there were countless other offices as well as meeting rooms and lounges surrounding the floor. People fully decked out in office attire bustled around me. Everyone appeared to be busy with something extremely important to do, only stopping for a quick nod or hello to fellow coworkers. I felt a rush of excitement from deep inside my body. This is always where I dreamed to be, and I was more than ecstatic to make those dreams a reality. Glancing at the name plates on several of the offices, I noticed that most everyone on this floor was a CPA. I would be working surrounded by loads of people who had the same dreams and career paths as myself.

I smiled one last time before clearing my head and glancing at my watch. I didn't want to be late for my first day, so I quickly moved toward the door of the CEO's office. The door was shut like most of the other ones on this floor, however the lack of windows set it apart from the rest. I couldn't see what was going on in the room, which made me even more nervous.

Suddenly, I forgot everything I had read in the email Pamela had sent briefing me for the first day. Was I supposed to go straight to his office? Was there someone who I was supposed to meet with before I met the CEO? Pamela was the only name I knew at this office, and from what I could remember about the few conversations I had with her, her last day was yesterday, which meant that I would not be able to find her for help.

I looked around, trying to determine if anyone was watching me stand in front of the boss's office in confusion. However, no one was paying attention to what I was doing. I fumbled around in my purse for my phone, hoping I could quickly pull up Pamela's last email to me to refresh my memory.

However, just as I was pulling it out, the door to Mr. Alexander's office flung open. A woman in a black blazer and matching skirt had her head over her shoulder, spitting out a quick "thank you, sir" on her way out of the office and not paying attention at all to what was going on in front of her.

Before I had the chance to move out of the way, she walked right into me with a strong force, causing me to stumble backwards before completely falling on my ass. My purse crashed to the floor next to me, and I slowly lifted my eyes to the woman, who was still standing. I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

The woman let out a quick chuckle as she reached out her hand to help me up. "Sorry about that," she said cheerfully. "Didn't see you there."

I excepted her hand and allowed her to pull me off the ground. "Thank you. Sorry for not getting out of the way."

"It's not a problem," she responded lightly, before giving me a quick nod. "I'll leave you to it, then."

With that, she made her way down the hall towards the other offices and the herds of people towards the other end of the hall. It was now just me, standing in the doorway to Mr. Alexander's office.

I took a deep breath, smiled, and entered the room, looking directly at the man sitting behind the massive desk. He was staring straight at me, though no smile graced his lips.

"Ms. Russo, I presume?" he asked in a harsh tone.

I nodded and cleared my throat but before I could respond, he spoke again. "Please sit down."

*****