Race to the Top

Chapter 1

I lean back in my chair, toss my glasses on the glass desk, and pinch my eyebrow. It's almost 8PM and I'm still sitting in front of my office computer, researching a potential new client for the marketing firm I work for.

I let out a sigh and run my hands through my red, wavy hair. Yes, I'm a ginger named Ginger, something everyone seems to find very fucking amusing. I do take it upon myself to exceed their fiery expectations by being competitive, self-assured, and cocky which serves me well in the marketing field. I make sure to back it up by putting in long hours of research and continued education so I can walk the walk. As a young female in an aggressive, corporate industry, I consistently feel the need to work twice as hard (or long) to be seen as a worthy colleague to my male counterparts. Of course, I rarely saw them staying late or working weekends as often as I do. They tended to crowd the elevator at 5:01PM with their sports jackets slung over their shoulders so they could file into bars in time for kickoff.

I knew I was meant for great things, that it was a matter of time before I was moving up, so long as I stayed focused and hungry. So long as I worked my ass off.

I move my head side to side to loosen some of my stiff neck muscles. Suddenly my phone vibrates on the desk. I pick it up and see a text from my best friend Nadia.

Let's grab a drink, you know you aren't going to get anything done after 8 on a Friday.

I smile to myself, Nadia was only one of two people who knew me so well. I go to tap out an excuse about how I really need to get a few more things done before I delete it and type in a new message.

Fine, I'll see you at The Tavern in 20.

Ten minutes later, I'm stepping off the elevator of the large building I work in just as Lenny the doorman is putting on his jacket.

"Night Miss Ginger," he says as he nods at me with a big smile on his face from behind the security desk in the large, empty lobby.

"Night Lenny, have fun at your niece's birthday party," I say returning his smile without slowing down, my heels clicking on the white marble.

"I surely will, try not to work too hard this weekend."

I give him a little shrug without dropping my smile. Lenny was the main doorman of the building, hundreds of people worked here but since I was one of the people who tended to come in early and leave late, we had more face time than other employees.

I pull the collar up on my gray wool coat as I step into the chilly night air. Despite the cold, New York City's lights are shining bright and people are buzzing around under "open" signs on crowded sidewalks. God I love this city. I look up at the buildings and breathe in the night air. Compared to the tiny town I originally grew up in, NYC was vibrant and alive regardless of the time of day. In fact, Friday nights didn't really seem to start until 10PM or so.

I start down the sidewalk dodging the crowds of couples, businessmen, and college students before ducking into Finn's Tavern just a few blocks from my work.

I spot Nadia at our usual stools at the bar. She's flipping her hair around and fake-laughing/talking to a tall, dark-haired man in a suit. I toss my coat on the back of the barstool next to her and sit down.

"Ey Gigi, whiskey?" Simon, a tall hulk of an Irish man and the owner of the tavern, looks at me from behind the bar where he's drying pint glasses.

"Yes please, and a beer back, thanks Simon," I sigh.

"You got it," as Simon pours my drink I glance sideways at Nadia and the suit she's chatting up.

"So you have a cabin upstate huh?" Nadia says in her best coy, sexy voice as she flutters her eyelashes at tall, dark, and dull.