I spent three days interviewing candidates to take over my position and I finally settled on Avery Hall. He already had experiencing working at a magazine and more importantly, his one "accidental" interaction with Normani sealed the deal. They had complemented each other's taste in shoes and hit it off immediately. It took me six months to get to a stage where I could call Normani by her first name and there he was getting the privilege after a two minute conversation. And worse still, she had no clue that I was holding an interview at that moment, because I had been showing Avery around the office, so she was pleasantly surprised when I finally introduced him as her assistant.
I had to admit though that he was a quick learner, it took two weeks for him to start getting the hang of things. By then, I had signed my contract and I was finishing out my last two weeks as Normani's assistant before I officially began as a writer for La Sienne Daily.
On the morning of my first day, I stood downstairs in the lobby, watching as the few people that arrived early walked into the building, completely oblivious to how momentous the occasion was for me. Finally, I walked up to badge reader and swiped my brand new badge across it, smiling when Paul gestured for me to walk through. This was it, my first official day as a writer.
"Are you going to get into the elevator or not?"
"Oh sorry," I mumbled as I walked into the elevator and stood as far away from the angry green eyed woman. I had seen her sometimes around the office, her name was Lauren. "It's my first day."
"Aren't you Normani's assistant?" Lauren asked without bothering to look up from her phone.
"As a writer, it's my first day as a writer. But yes, I was Normani's assistant until yesterday."
Lauren smiled at me for the first time since I had walked into the elevator. "Well congratulations. I look forward to working with you."
She walked out of the elevator first and I followed, heading to my new desk instead of the desk that Avery now occupied. The office had an open plan with all the editors having their own offices while everyone else had individual desks out in the open. There was a conference room for briefings and pitch meetings and the staff room or area was set up like a bar with stools and a few tables around it. My desk wasn't too far from Normani's office, which I suspected was on purpose so I could still help Avery out if he needed it.
I had barely sat down when Avery sent me an email to let me know that Normani wanted to see me. I suspected it had something to do with my first article since I had missed yesterday's pitch meeting. I took out a notepad and a pen put the rest of my stuff away before heading over to Normani's office. I was so used to not having to wait for her to tell me to come in that I knocked twice and opened the door straight away.
"Wait I'm sorry, I shouldn't be doing that anymore. We can just start―"
"It's okay Dinah. How are you? You're here extremely early."
"Well it's my first day as a writer and I wanted to get here early and get started as soon as possible. I assume you wanted to see me with regards to my first story?"
"Yes I did," she pulled out a notepad and handed it to me. "Pick one from those topics and give me something by Friday latest?"
I looked at the list and the topic that stood out most at me was the one about getting along with family during holidays. I had a complicated relationship with most of my family and maybe it was because the holidays were coming up soon that this title seemed to jump out of the page at me, so I decided to go with that one. I crossed it off the list and handed it back to Normani.
She took a look at it and nodded. "Amazing. Starting next week you can pitch stories to me if there's something you really want to write about, but there will be times when I give people specific stories. If you have any issues or if you're struggling to write, please don't hesitate to come and see me okay?"
"Yes, is that all?"
"How are you feeling? I know my first day as a writer was really weird. And worse, I was working at a different publication and everyone there knew that I was that Hamilton."
"Honestly speaking, I'm nervous. But I'm also very excited."
"Good, just try not to overthink things and you'll be okay."
The door opened slightly and Avery poked his head through it. "I've got Blair on the line for you."
"Alright put him through please," Normani said, shooting me an apologetic smile when her phone started ringing. "Like I said, feel free to come and see me anytime okay?"
I nodded as I stood. "Thank you."
I decided to structure my piece around getting along with family during the holiday. By mid-morning I had written quite a bit and I spent the rest of the day doing research just so I couldn't include a few expert opinions in my article.
I met a few people throughout the day but my favorite by far had to be Beck who was also an assistant before finally being promoted to a fashion designed and Lauren who was much nicer after she'd had her morning coffee. They insisted we go out for drinks after work to celebrate my new promotion so afterwards, we all went home to change into more suitable club attire before meeting up at Beck's place since he lived closest to where we were going."
"Beck where are we going?" Lauren asked as he told the cab driver an address that I had never heard of.
"Oh stop worrying, it's unbecoming," Beck waved her off. The cab driver took us into a sketchy looking neighborhood that seemed to be full of warehouses and I found myself wondering how Beck had even found himself in this neighborhood in the first place. As though he could hear my thoughts, he immediately started giving me an explanation. "I dated a guy who used to DJ at the club, that's how I found out about it. Believe me though, I've never been more scared in my life than when he first brought me here and I'm the kind of guy that most people wouldn't just fuck with."
"This better be good," Lauren muttered once the cab had stopped. Beck paid the driver and we quickly followed him down the street into an alleyway. I felt the music before I heard it as he led us down a dark stairwell. There was a bouncer standing outside and he let us in as soon as he saw Beck.
"We could have gone and waited in line, but I figured you guys were a little chilly. Plus I've known Kyle for a really long time."
We walked through a dimly lit corridor before finally coming out onto a balcony; the club was lit with neon lights and the music, though quieter where we were was deafening. There were two bars on either end of the room and a dance floor with a staircase off to one side that led to another floor where the part was in full swing.
It was perfect.
We followed Beck to the bar where he ordered us two shots each that he made us take immediately as well as a very purple drink that I had to admit that it was the right blend of sweetness and alcohol. As we moved over to the dance floor, I noticed that there were a few celebrities in the crowd and I realized that we must have been in the VIP section. Before I could ask, Beck pulled Lauren and I onto the dance floor just as Naughty Girl came on and we yell sang the songs as we channeled the queen.
All night, Beck kept the drinks coming and I was glad that I had finished my article earlier because I would be in no state to work when I rolled into work in the morning. The plus side though was that I could say I was networking because I met two socialites and one celebrity (D list but a celebrity is a celebrity).
I shouldn't have been surprised to see Normani at the club, but I still jumped when I saw her by the on the balcony with her friends. She looked different out of office. For starters, judging by the way she was laughing singing with her friends, she was definitely drunk. I had to admit that drunk Normani looked fun.
"I'm going to get another drink!" I shouted over the loud music. I could tell that neither Beck nor Lauren had heard so I pointed to my drink and then to the bar before going to get a refill. When I got there though, I had to push through people just to get up to the bar, and no matter how much I signaled the bar tender, he was too busy serving more scantily clad girls. "Asshole."
When he finally came over to where I was, it was to talk to Normani, who I hadn't noticed come up behind me. "Can I have a refill and whatever the lady's having?"
"Sure, what will it be beautiful?" He said as he turned to me.
"Three slippery nipples," I said, my eyes firmly trained on Normani.
"Good choice," he answered as he went to make our drinks.
Normani looked different out of the office. In the office she was always dressed semi casually but professionally as well. For starters, her hair was down instead of the pony tail that she seemed to like or the sleek bob that often worse. She was wearing light make up and a little black dress that was getting her attention from a lot of people around her. I couldn't stop my eyes from drifting down to look at the rest of her body. I knew she was gorgeous, it was obvious, but this was just different.
"My eyes are up here Hansen." I felt my cheeks grow hotter when I looked up to see her smirking. There is nothing more dangerous than a sexy person who knows they're sexy. "I hope you don't mind me saying, but you look amazing."
"Right back at you," I stammered. "Thank you... for the drinks. He was doing his best to ignore me."
"Yeah... that's the only downside to clubs. I assume the slippery nipples are for you and your friends?"
"Yeah. I figured I'd try something different."
"Hey Pete, can I also get three fingers of your best whiskey on top of that and," she turned to look at me, "how many will it be for you Miss Hansen?"
"Three," I answered, I had no clue where the sudden courage to flirt with my obviously tipsy boss came from.
While Pete handed us our drinks, Normani leaned in as though the music was so loud that I wouldn't hear her speak, "two's safer for your first time, but I admire the courage."
"Who said it's my first time?" I retorted, letting the innuendo hang in the suddenly charged air around us. She handed me the whiskey and gestured to me to make a toast. "To new beginnings."
"To new beginnings," she echoed before downing her whiskey in one go. She handed me my drink and took hers. "See you around Hansen."
I went back to where my friends and we downed our shots, before getting back to the dance floor. Lauren left first, then Beck, but I had made new friends and I decided staying and getting to know them better was worth the mammoth hangover that I would have in the morning. It wasn't until I felt a hand on the small of my back and her scent suddenly fill the air that I was breathing that I remembered that I still had work in the morning.
I turned around and almost walked right into her. She was standing a lot closer than she had been and I heard her laugh when my eyes drifted down to look at her legs again. "Come on, you still have work tomorrow Hansen."
-
A piercing sound jolted me out of my sleep. I searched blindly for my phone, desperately trying to ignore my pounding head and my mouth, which was somehow dry but also sticky with thick saliva. I finally found it after knocking over a bottle of water and turned off the alarm that I had forgotten to switch off when I went to bed. I squinted as I looked around the dark room. It definitely wasn't mine, for starters, the bed was bigger and instead of blinds, the windows were covered by drapes. I got out of bed and realized that I was dressed in only a t-shirt and my underwear.
Once I had located the light switch, I flicked it on and covered my eyes, the suddenly light causing my head to pound even more. I picked up the bottle that I had dropped and drank the Advil on the bedside table as I looked around the plush room. There were two doors, one set led to what I was sure was a walk in closet, and the other led to an ensuite. My clothes were nowhere in sight.
Of course I slept with a creep who stole my clothes.
I opened the door and shut it almost immediately as I was blinded by the brightness coming from the rest of the apartment. From where I stood upstairs, I could see the living room area. I shut the bedroom door and went downstairs. Despite the chilliness outside, the apartment was warm. The living room, "dining room" and kitchen area were all one big room. Though I could see other doors.
A part of me felt a little self-conscious until I realized that the apartment was so high that no one could see me walking around scantily clad.
The place was exactly the sort of thing I had envisioned living in when I first moved to New York; although with time, I had come to appreciate the place that Kamila and I shared, I would do anything to have a view like this.
The front door opened and I almost passed out when Normani walked in. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit...I slept with my boss...
Normani looked up at me and smiled, genuinely. "Hey, you're up. I went out to get a cure for your hangover and I figured I might as well get us breakfast. I didn't know what your favorite thing is so I got a few different things. And coffee. You like Mochas right? At least I think that's what you always drink. Anyway, I can always just make you some if you don't like Mochas."
"Hi," I mumbled, giving her an awkward wave as she walked past me and started unloading stuff onto the island in her kitchen.
"Okay so this is absolutely disgusting, but I promise you'll feel a lot better after you drink it," she said as she handed me a bottle of brown looking liquid. "Are you okay?"
I put the bottle down on the counter and started pacing around. "Am I okay? How are you okay? This is not okay! For starters you're the most infuriating person I've ever met, and you're a bitch most of the time. Also I'm pretty sure other than respecting me as a writer, you don't actually like me. Fuck, how are you so calm?"
"Hansen are you talking about?" Normani asked, I could tell she was confused. I knew I wasn't making much sense but I continued pacing.
"I'm a cliché now. People are going to find out and then they'll look at me different and you. And they'll think something's been going on this whole time and that's why you promoted me. Am I even the first? Have you done this before? Who am I kidding, you're hot, I bet everyone wants to get into your pants."
Realization finally dawned on the older woman and she started laughing. "You think we had sex?"
"Okay don't say it like that. I'm a catch and you'd be lucky to be able to sleep with me okay?"
"So first you're angry that we had sex and now you're angry that we didn't?"
"You're so irritating!" I yelled despite the pounding in my head. I picked up the little bottle and downed the entire thing in one go. "Fuck that's disgusting."
One of Normani's perfectly arched brows was raised as she watched me continue to have my meltdown. "Are you done?"
"No, how do you even look this good in the morning. You were drinking last night too."
"Well for starters, I've showered and that New York Air early in the morning will sober you up pretty quickly."
"Normani what the fuck was in that thing?" I asked as I suddenly tasted ginger in my mouth.
She laughed, "it's better you don't know. Now, why don't you go and take a shower. I'll find something for you to wear, then we can have breakfast and have a conversation in which you don't talk about three different things at the same time?"
I wanted to argue, but a shower sounded really good. And it was good. To her credit, Normani's hangover cure actually worked and by the time I was out of the shower and wearing a pair of leggings and one of her college hoodies. She had even left out a pair of brand new slippers that were my size.
"Sorry about my earlier outburst," I said as I sat on one of the stools."
"No worries, I might have panicked too were I in your shoes. But for the record Hansen, if we had sex you'd remember it."
I rolled my eyes, "I'm going to ignore that statement. I'm pretty sure flirting with you last night is how I ended up here."
"No, I just noticed that your friends were gone and I would have been up half the night worrying if I had left you there. Before you say anything, I worry about all my employees. I also don't sleep with them. It's not something that the company likes to encourage."
"I'm sorry about the stuff I said."
"It's all good Hansen, we don't need to keep reminding ourselves of it, or last night for that matter. I brought you back here and you started undressing, I just gave you a t-shirt and you were out as soon as you got into bed. You called your sister and sent what I'm sure was an incoherent text to Beck just before though."
"Alcohol does that to me. At least they know I'm alive."
We ate our food in silence. She had bought pancakes, waffles, croissants, grilled cheese sandwiches and burritos because she didn't know what to get. I liked all of them, but I wasn't about to stuff my face in front of her after embarrassing myself.
"I should get going, I'm really late for work."
"Oh I already called in sick for you. It may have been self-induced, but you are sick."
"True," I said as I stood and walked over to one of the windows, coffee in hand. "You have a beautiful apartment, and a gorgeous view."
"Thank you, I think this is the thing I'll probably miss most when I eventually leave this place."
"Why would you ever leave?"
Normani shrugged, "it's great but it won't be great when I have kids or if I get a puppy. But for now it's a good place to call home."
"Yeah," I glanced at her sideways as I took another sip of my coffee. "I really should get going, but thank you for everything. And again, I'm sorry for my outburst and yelling at you."
"Believe me Hansen, I've been called worse than a bitch. But for the record, I don't dislike you, I just like to be professional when I'm at work."
"Yeah well maybe you're not exactly a bitch, especially given the fact that you let me stay her and you got me food and lent me your clothes, but you're still infuriating."
Normani shrugged as she smiled. "This doesn't make us friends by the way. And I still expect your article to be submitted by Friday."
"I expect nothing less from you."
"Come on, let me take you downstairs. Jackson will take you home. I sent your dress to the dry cleaners, I'll have it and your shoes delivered to you."
"Thank you Normani."
"No thank you for an intriguing morning Dinah Jane."