Apollo

1

Chapter One

It was my first day on the job. I was as nervous as anyone would be, especially working for a company that sees itself in the headlines regularly. I'd snagged a pretty coveted job as part of my university's program that secures undergrads a job in the workforce right after graduation. It was a personal assistant position for a prominent real estate company, one I'd done plenty of undergrad projects on. I was familiar with the group, but nervous now because the company had recently exchanged hands from father to son, founder to the heir. While I'd never met any of the higher-ups, a change in executives could mean a complete change in the knowledge of the company I was comfortable with. Not to mention, I am personally assisting the CEO.

Rushing down the crowded streets of New York, I was barely missing the gum on the sidewalk every other step. My brand-new polished black high heels were my prized possession; I'd saved up for four weeks to buy them. My basic waitressing job was a bore, but it had helped pay for creature comforts while Daddy and his girlfriend had been whisked away to Bora Bora by his hotshot journalism job. My father had long since lost love for my mother, who died seven years ago when I was fifteen. He now had a young, blonde, tanned minx whom he called his dream woman. I didn't care much for Lauren, she was in it for the money and the lavish, all-expenses-included vacations. I suppose I didn't feel bad for my father though, she was nothing more than an accessory and toy for him. Times like these are when I miss my mom and the calmness her presence brought. It was the little things like not being able to call her, or text her, and tell her the small things I think about during the day. I could call Daddy, but I had around a 20% chance he might pick up the phone. If it wasn't my sister calling, or me calling about my sister, he wasn't interested.

I was deep in my thoughts, but I was brought back when I felt a small strand of curly hair come loose from the bun situated on the top of my head. I immediately felt aggravated because I woke up an hour and a half early to tame my curls and it took as long as the walk to my work for it to begin coming undone. However, this seemed to become the least of my worries as time slowed down. I came face to chest with a man who looked extremely important, and who also was carrying a very large cup of coffee. He appeared out of nowhere! There was not a single second to spare as his coffee flew backward, the lid coming undone from our impact, and soaking his very expensive-looking shirt. His freshly pressed white shirt and royal blue suit jacket were the real victims here, looking like they cost more than I make in an entire year.

It took an entire two seconds for the man to react. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" His handsome face began to morph into one of pure fury. I looked at the ground and realized that papers that were previously crisp and white, were now lying on the ground covered in coffee and displaying several crinkles and rips. The words appeared smeared as well. "I spent three goddamn hours signing all these, just for you to come along and ruin them!" The word 'you' carried such an undertone of venom and disgust that I physically recoiled.