At No Time || Bruno Mars

15

Trystan percolated into the Vivacity building with an inspired bound to her step. It was her first day as an official member of the lucrative production business and her fingers itched to begin writing. She'd already been introduced to some of the other faculty, but Mr. Benson himself wanted to show her around the entity.

She showed her I.D. card to the blonde security guard, Gwen, in the front before she progressed further into the edifice. The interior always took her breath away with its marble floors and intricately designed ceilings. The golden elevators reminded her of the exorbitant hotels in New York, and the plants dotted around the room bestowed an almost islandic feel. Not only was Mr. Benson a mogul in the production business, but also had a keen eye for detail.

Trystan made her way to the receptionist desk where Lavina, a young woman with tan skin and dark hair who worked harder than Trystan had when she'd been her age, was answering a phone call and scanning her computer.

When she noticed Trystan biding, her eyes widened and she exclaimed into the phone, "Oh! Mr. Benson, she actually just arrived. I'll send her to your office."

"Has he been waiting for me long?" Trystan wondered, hoping desperately he hadn't. She wasn't an assistant who had to wait on officials hand and foot, but she still wanted to prove she was reliable.

"Oh, not at all, Ms. Wildes! He's just been really excited to show you around. He's needed a new writer for nearly a year now and you were his saving grace," Lavina explained in a low voice and extracted Trystan's surprise. She hadn't known she had meant this much to Mr. Benson already. With a business as well-off as his, she assumed it would have been facile to find a songwriter. Trystan wished to prove herself even more with that information.

"Which room is he in?" she queried and Lavina, forgetting that had been her task, jolted, "Oh, yes! He's in room one-sixty-four on the twelfth floor. Elevators are right over there." She pointed to the extravagant conveyors with a smile.

Trystan thanked her and made her way to one. The ride up certainly wasn't as nerve-racking as her first; when she, Peter, Neal, Roger had to present Elle Marie's song, but butterflies still swarmed in her stomach. Her need to make a good impression was firm.

It wasn't normal for songwriters to have their own offices; commonly they would write in a studio or in their home, but Vivacity made it very clear with their ebony doors and gilded doorknobs that they treated their workers like royalty. The room Lavina indicated was at the very end of the lengthy hallway, and two doors appeared at its entrance. They were made of glass with thickened designs that made it difficult to see through, but the fancy arrangement was too distracting for enterers to care. Trystan saws a button to her left and realized it was a doorbell. She pressed it, and a melodic tune rang from inside.

Moments later, Mr. Benson, just as overwhelming dazzling as he'd been on the first day they met, appeared at the door, a broad smile plastered on his face.

"Trystan! Come in, come in, I've been expecting you." He gestured her inside first before following. "This company has been waiting for a talent like you."

"Seriously?" She took the seat in front of his desk, the incalculable amount of times she'd been told her presence in the business was well sought after still evoked her disbelief.

"Of course," Mr. Benson answered as if her incredulity were doltish. He sat behind his lecturn. "Coming across great songwriters are difficult--it's almost as if you fell right into our lap. We were all surprised at your sudden appearance but couldn't be happier you were joining us."

Mr. Benson explained to her some of the history and logistics of the company before leading her out of the room and down the hallway.

"Your room is on the opposite end. We know you won't be on site usually, but we still want you to feel comfortable while you are," he informed as he grasped the doorknob—this one a plain gold—and twisted it. "We hope it'll be to your liking."