Against the Odds

Chapter 4

I bite my lip as I peruse the contents of my briefcase. Résumé? Check. References? Check. Pen and paper? Check. Breath mints? Check.

Do I have everything? Oh. My degree. I run to the dining room table, grab the black and gold leather folder and carefully slide it into the briefcase, wiping off the thin layer of dust it accumulated while in my closet.

This briefcase has been with me since my high school days. At one time or another, it has held all my accolades. From Model UN certificates, to my Valedictorian speech. Today, maybe it'll hold my employee contract for Global Elite Solutions!

Standing in front of my floor length mirror, I can't help but laugh. With the combination of the navy pencil skirt, striped white blouse, black ascot, and this ridiculous hairstyle I tried to copy from YouTube, I look exactly like Evelyn from The Mummy, in that scene where all the bookshelves come crashing down. Great, I look like a librarian from the late 1920's! Taking out the gold clip holding my bun up, I shake out my hair. This will have to do!

My Uber app pings just as I'm locking up my front door. Ajay is waiting downstairs in a white Toyota Corolla. Hustling down the carpeted stairs, I try to avoid slipping. The pumps I'm wearing are old and all the grip has worn off the soles.

"Good morning Miss," Ajay says as I climb into the car. "Are you Lilah?"

"Hi, yes, good morning, I'm Lilah." I lock the door. Habit I guess. Ajay starts driving downtown.

"It is a beautiful day, no?" I catch his eyes in the rear-view mirror and smile at him.

"Yeah, I'm just glad it's not raining!" We drive in silence the rest of the way to GE Solutions.

The Uber trip costs me around $30 after tip. Usually I wouldn't waste money on Ubers or cabs, but walking would have taken me way too long, and Kimmy had a nail appointment so she couldn't drive me. I used to take the subway until one day I sat in bird shit. The realization that pigeons have now learned how to navigate the New York underground transit system, has deterred me from ever using public transportation again.

Bentrell Tower hovers above me, the top fifteen floors housing every Division of GE Solutions. This is it. This is what I have spent the last four years working towards. I hesitate at the front doors, my feet don't seem to want to move forward. I roll my eyes at myself. You've got this, Lilah! A beautiful woman dressed in a powdered-blue suit and a slicked back ponytail walks past me into the building. I straighten up my posture to match the woman's confidence and march inside. You belong here!

The automatic sliding doors open up into a stark corridor, with six elevators surrounding a security desk that's positioned directly in the center of the room. Holding my head up high, I walk over to the two men intently watching the monitors on their desk.

"Greetings, I have an interview at Global Elite Solutions... Marketing Division. Which floor may I find that on?" Greetings? Oh, my God. I sound like an alien.

"17. Elevator C," the smaller of the two men answers me without looking up. At least the security here is vigilant.

The elevator is almost the size of my bedroom. How many people work in this building if they need six of them? Just as the elevator doors are closing, a man rushes towards me.

"Hold it!" he yells. I press the 'door open' button repeatedly but it's too late. "Fuc-". The doors close. I really hope he doesn't work in Marketing. I stare at the ascending numbers on the lit up display. 14..15..16..17.

The entrance to the Marketing Division reminds me of a day spa I used to visit with my mom. The pristine white walls melt flawlessly into the porous speckled granite floors, little flecks of silver reflect the sun rays that beam in from the large windows. Charcoal leather couches line the waiting area with fiddle leaf trees acting as bookends. It's just how I pictured it.