The Flames That Heal

Meet the Boss

            Henry walked into his niece’s room at seven thirty to wake her. He knew she wasn’t going to be happy about the wake-up call but he wanted her to be early as well as make a good impression. He gently shook her, only to be punched in the face. Henry stumbled backwards, a little taken aback by her blow. Refusing to give up, he filled a bucket with cold water and poured half of it on her sleeping frame. She jumped up, glaring menacingly at him.

            “What the hell Uncle Henry!”

            “You wouldn’t wake up AND punched me.”

            “So you throw cold ass water on me?”

            “You punched me,” he shrugged.

            “Get out. I’m tired.”

            “You have work today.”

            “I didn’t agree to it. I asked for the address. I did not say I would go.”

            “You’re going Ross. I’ve already called him.”

            “Why would you do that?”

            “So that he’d know you were heading over. Please just do me this favor. He’s a very important associate of mine.”

            “Fine. Please tell me I don’t have to get all dressy.”

            “No. Jeans are fine. I don’t want to see you in a band shirt though.”

            “And why not? I’m already going to this stupid place. I should be able to wear whatever I want.”

            “Please Rosslyen, can’t you at least look a bit professional?”

            “Ugh, fine. Whatever you want. Get out of my room.”

            Henry kissed his niece on the top of her head, content that he had finally won an argument against her, a rare occurrence for anyone. Telling her that she had forty five minutes to get ready, he high tailed it out of her room before the left foot of her green Chuck Taylor’s could hit him.

            Ross mumbled to herself as she walked towards her bathroom. She was fuming more about the fact her shoe hadn’t hit her uncle, rather than the fact he had woken her up with cold water. Looking in the mirror, she decided on a cold shower since she was already drenched in it. After a quickie, Ross began to lotion herself with a blend she had created herself, a Shea butter and  honey mix. When she’d finally finished, she threw on skinny jeans, a plain black tee, a yellow plaid shirt, and her black Vans. She tied her hair up in a messy bun, grabbed her cheetah print messenger bag, and went to meet her uncle in the foyer.

            The drive to her Henry’s associate’s firm was quiet. It was mostly because Ross spent the trip ending every conversation he tried to start with her. She was still mad at him but when he dropped her off in front of the Baxter Building, she kissed him on the cheek. He then knew she had put the morning’s event behind her and had forgiven him. Content, he went to get a large coffee from his favorite spot before heading into work.

            Ross would be lying if she didn’t admit the thirty five floor building before her was intimidating, no matter how nice it looked. It was located on 42nd street and Madison avenue, pretty much the buzz of New York City. Sucking in a breath, she walked through the doors and into the lobby. As Ross waited for the elevator to arrive, she took in her surroundings. The lobby housed Abe Shoenstein’s snack shop, an optometrist’s shop, a visitor’s center, anelevator bank, and a loading dock. She was quite impressed by everything that was going on in the one building. It wasn’t until she heard screams did things start to stand out. Ross noticed that there were a few camera crews around her, as well as women and teenage girls crowding around the doors. Rolling her eyes at the commotion, Ross began to wonder what was taking the elevator so long. As she waited, a figure stood beside her. suddenly feeling a bit claustrophobic, Rosslyen turned to find a mass of people surrounding her and the person next to her. Giving them an icy glare, most of them backed away a few inches, to her content. When the elevator finally came, she raced inside, hoping the person who had brought the crowd would wait for the next lift. He didn’t. instead, he walked in and stood beside her, pressing the button for floor thirty second. She gave a relieved sigh, glad she was going to the thirtieth.