"𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗' 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝."
~~~
𝐅OUR 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑
𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕
I'd give just about anything for a solid eight hours of sleep right now. And when I say anything, I mean anything.
Urban Scopes only leading office on the East Coast is nearly empty at 7:30am in the morning but like always the women in charge, who I call boss insists I be here at the crack of dawn with her freshly ground coffee and sesame bagel ready for her before she even steps inside the building. The same exact bagel I glare towards on top of her desk at noon without so much as a bite in its entirety.
I remove my blazer from my body, leaving me in just a cream colored blouse that overly accentuates my arms and bust. Hence the reason for the blazer but the thermostat in here has been defective for the past two days, which has caused me to produce an embarrassing amount of sweat.
Closing the door behind me, I finally release the breath I've been holding since engaging with the creepy doorman and snarky front desk lady that has made my life living hell everytime my ID card would malfunction. I still have thirty minutes or so until the building is buzzing with copy machines, ringing phones, endless chatter and the women in charge herself.
My office may be all of 250 square feet and lacking central air but this past year it's slowly become my safe haven. After being promoted to secretary, moving a couple floors higher wasn't the only perk of my new job. Along with a pay raise, I was granted permission to decorate the new space as I see fit. My walls were painted a soft beige color so it only made sense I went for the neutral tone vibe with a touch of greenery to compensate for the lack of nature in the bustling city of Chicago.
Maybe if I just close my eyes for one, two...minutes. Hell, three wouldn't hurt.
"Winters!" The door to my office practically slams open as I blink repeatedly in order to recover my vision from any signs of sleep.
"I'm a-awake! I mean yes, yes Mrs.Sterling." I straighten my back and cover the deep wrinkle lines of sleep attached to my skin with my sleeve.
"Ms.Winters, what papers did I have you deliver on my desk last week Tuesday at noon?" She's wearing a dress, a goddamn navy blue dress with pearls and heels. Her usual slicked back ponytail is replaced with a fro almost similar to mine. This could only mean one thing. Someone important was coming into town and I was just caught drooling on my desk.
I might as well have been out of a job.
"You're divorce settlement." I wince to myself but my face remains neutral on the outside.
"Hmm, interesting that you recall." The pit in my stomach only deepens. "So, you would assume I no longer go by my adulterous husband's last name anymore. Wouldn't you, darling?"
"Yes, o-of course. I apologize, Rosalind."
The door closes and she barely spares me a second glance as she walks out of the secreterorial office adjacent to her grand conference room. Through the glass panes, I watch her take a seat in the executive chair designated for the CEO and pick up the phone exactly at the same time it rings.
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes. Get it together Sage.
Unfortunately the moment to myself doesn't last very long and the handle to my door turns down once again. Preparing for yet another order to fulfill or to fix, I'm met with much better news instead.
"I've got a venti iced coffee with four pumps of white mocha and sweet cream for a very special lady." Elliot strolls into my office carrying a drink holder containing both of our Monday usuals.
"You know I love you right?" I stand, grabbing the venti cup from his grasp and take a long needed drink to replenish my insides. The liquid soothes my grumbling stomach and my frequent nerves all in one go.
Elliot grins widely, shrugging. "Who wouldn't love all this?"
"Don't let it get to your head." I jokingly reply while walking around my massive desk that I still haven't gotten used to. There's a couple of plant succulents around the edges, a stack of files in the corner that needed to be sorted and a picture frame of Dad, Eleanor, Niko and I from last Christmas sitting upfront.
Once my eyes land on the still image of our smiling faces, I immediately feel homesick. I've only been in Chicago for two years after graduating from Syracuse a year early and it was still kind of weird not going back forth between New York and New Jersey. Now whenever I wanted to visit I had to book a flight.
"You okay up there?" Elliot questions leaning against my doorframe wearing his usual button down and patagonia fleece sweater. Today his hair is a mess of floppy blonde curls and it pairs wonderfully with his deep tan skin that he received living in the Dominican Republic for most of his life.
Although El doesn't work in my department we ran into each other in the elevator on my very first day as an intern working at Urban Scope. And I mean literally ran into each other. By the end of the awkward ride up, we were both soaked in Rosalind's coffee order and I was freaking out about embarrassing myself on my first day. Elliot assured me it was no worries and even went as far as taking the blame when I went to explain to Rosalind what had happened. Ever since that day, we've practically been glued to the hip.
"Yeah, fine. Just missing home." I brush off the gloomy thoughts and plaster a smile on my face. "Let's talk about something else."
He nods, understanding before sitting on the lavish swivel chair opposite from me. "Do you know why Sterlings all dressed up and extra hostile today?"
"She's not hostile..." I drawl and Elliot gives me a pointed look, which I ignore. "Cut her some slack she has a lot on her plate." I take a long sip of my drink, relaxing a bit in my chair.
"That still doesn't explain why you're her third secretary this year alone." His eyebrows raise as I roll my eyes.
"Well, that doesn't make me feel any better." I respond, thinking deeply about the reality of his words.
The phone on my desk rings and without a second thought I bring the device to my ear.
I bring a finger to my lips as an indication to stay quiet. "Sage Winters speaking. How may I help you?" I clear my throat in order to get my voice to a higher friendlier pitch. Something tells me it works when Elliot begins muffling his chuckle behind his hand. I reach for a nearby pen and fling it at his chest, but he catches it instead and begins weezing with laughter. He sounds like a literal dying pig but I can't help but pull my lips into a smile of my own.
After a moment of silence, the voice on the other end speaks. "Sage, I'd like to think I pay you a decent salary to go over schedules and important files. Not to flirt with the IT guy."
"R-Rosalind?" I stand, clearing my throat of any hoarseness. "I can assure you no one was flirting..." I peer up at Elliot who clearly has heard the whole conversation from beginning to end. I wanted to crawl in a never ending hole and die.
"Really?" She trails and I can detect the sarcasm from miles away. "So that isn't the same guy who lied to me about why you were late on your first day interning. Don't get me wrong you guys would make beautiful babies but todays not the day. So get in here, we have a lot to cover before noon."
My mouth gapes open but I manage to close it before any flies could go in. "Y-Yes, of course. I'll be right there." I drop the phone back into its case and sigh deeply while closing my eyes. The warmness to my cheeks doesn't subside as I slip my hands into the arms of my blazer and clasp the buttons together.
"Not that bad, huh?" Elliot crosses his arms, looking up from the floor. I had completely forgotten he was in the room. Shit did he hear all that. Play it cool Sage.
"For some reason she thinks we're dating or something. Isn't that weird." I laugh, as I gather the materials I needed to meet her in the next room. I had two minutes tops to be standing in front of her or I'm afraid I'd be here until dark.
Heat creeps up Elliots neck as he averts his gaze from me altogether. "Yeah, um very weird. W-Why would she think that?"
"I do not want to know." I respond, shrugging with an awkward laugh. "Anyway I gotta run. Meet you and Stace for lunch?" The question derives from our frequent routine. Stacey and I met through Elliot but she primarily worked in Media and Advertisement on for the Urban Scopes Newspaper, which was on the tenth floor.
When I don't get an immediate response, my head lifts from my desk. "El?"
He snaps out of his daydream at the sound of my voice. I hate that I notice the disappointment glazing behind his eyes. It does little to ease my growing suspicions.
"See you in the cafe at noon, Sage." His gaze lingered on mine for one long moment before he disappeared behind the door.
I waited till his footsteps were out of earshot before letting my forced smile to drop, while sighing.
Shit
"You're a minute late." Rosalind's monotonous voice announced from behind her desk without looking up from the stack of papers lying in front of her. I slowly release the handle, letting the glass door click close behind me. Walking up to the middle of the room I get a clearer view of the content she's currently reviewing.
Is that a ballroom venue?
Deciding to stay quiet, I let my feet take me around the coffee stand and I plop into one of the matching pair of chairs that were in front of her enormous desk. The silence is more than I can handle and I catch myself gazing out of the ceiling to floor windows that replaced any type of walls in this room. I could never get tired of the view from this office.
Endless cars, trucks and bikes filling the busy streets of downtown Chicago created the background noise for buildings in this very perimeter. I watch a teenage boy assist an elderly couple across the street. A group of dogs being held together by one leash as their human walks them down the sidewalk. I even spot a lady with a bluetooth headset dancing by herself without a single care in the world. It was one of those sceneries that made you sit back and appreciate the little things in life.
When I notice Rosalind is taking a little longer than usual to get herself situated, I get a tad bit nervous.
She finally glances up, while sighing. "Get that look of your face, you're not fired."
I have no idea what look she's talking about but I get rid of it anyway.
"Normally, I wouldn't do this but you've proven yourself to be more competent than my last two secretaries and assistants combined so I can only hope you don't prove me wrong."
I straighten my back in my seat and nod. Clicking my pen, I pry open my notepad getting ready to write everything she was going to say for the next thirty minutes.
"Every other year Urban Scope partners with a major network company in the Journalism field in order to raise money for our Annual Ballroom Gala. This year The Scopes Foundation will be partnering with E-Sports and all of their representatives. This ranges from their NBA, MBA, NHL and NFL ambassadors. The fundraiser will primarily be helping college students interested in sports journalism pay off their loans, gain internship experience, shadow fellow journalists and talk to some of their favorite athletes. With all that being said since we've only confirmed our sponsor a couple days ago, we only have a week to make sure this event is a complete success."
"Wow, that sounds—amazing." I gush at this wonderful opportunity to raise funds for college students who are often forgotten. "Where ever you need me, I'll be there. I can see if any news outlets would like to cover the fundraiser, talk to a few colleges about having some students attend or even better, I can discuss your vision of the entire Gala with the event planner."
Rosalind silence does little to ease my certain doubts about this entire thing. And when she stands and walks around her desk until she's leaning on the edge right in front of me, I know I'm in for more than I anticipated.
"Ms.Winters, you are the event planner."
End of Chapter
So who was expecting that big time jump. I've had this part planned since the start of this book. Can't wait for this Ballroom Gala👀
New character alert!! Thoughts on Elliot??
Who's excited to see where the other characters have ended up after four years?!