Tragic and Wonder: An Un-Fairytale [On Hold]

Chapter 19- Work

My first day of work went without a hitch. Mr. Lewis and his secretary, Anna Smith, were very welcoming. Anna was older than me. She told me that she had been working there since just before Mr. Lewis took over for his dad. She was impressed with how he has grown the company over the last seven years. I had read about Mr. Lewis becoming the new head of HL Pathways at the age of 23. He was young but had finished his schooling early and had been shadowing his father for about three years until the day his father suddenly passed away.

HL Pathways headquarters was in a modern looking building, called the Lewis Building. It was a beautiful, mid-rise building of twenty floors above ground with four levels below ground for parking. It also housed five different companies under one roof. Mr. Lewis told me that he owned the building and that the other companies rented out their floors from him. He said that I would get to know the ins and outs of the company as time went on, but he was hopeful that I would pick it up quickly. As the owner of the building, he chose to have his office on the top floor. He also stated that the main floor was where the cafeteria was located that the other companies used. He provided a private cafeteria for HL employees on the fifteenth floor, though they were more than welcome to get food from the main floor or elsewhere. Floors fifteen through twenty were all HL Pathways floors and the roof top terrace was only used by HL employees who had the access card.

Once he gave me the overall gist of the building layout, he led me around the floor that I would be working on, the top floor. He showed me to my office, which was right beside his. It was a small but comfortable office with a window that looked out across Los Angeles towards the San Gabriel Mountains. The view was breathtaking. Mr. Lewis then showed me where the coffee bar was located and asked if I knew how to run the machines that he had there. I laughed as I answered with a yes. He started to look at me as if something were wrong and then began laughing as he recalled the coffee disaster when he was visiting Adler.

Once I toured the rest of the floor, Mr. Lewis showed me his office. There were two giant leather couches, one along the windows and the other along the wall opposite to his desk. Behind his desk there were two doors on either side with a large painting hanging in between. He explained one was a personal closet and the other was his personal bathroom. Mr. Lewis told me that he used to spend a lot of time at the office, so he had a closet and bathroom built so that he would be able to freshen up as needed. He then smiled sweetly and said that had changed recently with his marriage and finding out they were expecting. I congratulated him and told him that I looked forward to meeting his wife. He told me she frequently visits, so I would be getting the chance soon. I nodded and asked if there was anything else that I needed to know. Mr. Lewis told me to find Ms. Smith and she would get me started.

I found Ms. Smith, Anna, at her desk. It was an open area where her desk was. It was positioned in such as way to make it look like she was the enforcer of who came into the office to see Mr. Lewis. In a way she was. I told her that when I came to ask her what else I needed to know, and she laughed. She said that she never thought of it like that and was glad to see a new perspective on her position. Anna then led me back to my office and showed me the ropes of the phone and computer systems. Anna was so kind, and I was glad to feel comfortable enough to ask her questions without feeling nervous for saying or asking the wrong thing.

I had taken in a lot of information on my first day. As soon as I had some down time, I was quick to make notes of where things were and important tips to remember. I was already enjoying this job and I had only been there for a day. The next day, Mrs. Lewis came by to see Mr. Lewis. He came to my office and introduced us. Her name was Evangeline, or Eva for short. She was a beautiful woman and had kind eyes and a genuine smile. I watched the two of them interact and I could see the love that they had for each other radiating off their bodies. They were so in love, it made anyone in the area smile at their happiness. They had only been married for about six months and were expecting their first child. They were so excited about the new life they were bringing into the world. I asked how she was feeling, and she said that she was doing much better since she was in the second trimester. I told her that my sisters both felt the same way with their pregnancies. She then asked about my family and where I came from. I answered all of her questions and asked some of my own, to which she respectfully responded. Eva was the sweetest person I had met in my short time in LA. I was feeling truly blessed with everything that was happening. Of course, that feeling was cut short when tragedy struck.