From Chapter One

Once upon a time, not too long ago, I was sitting in the most claustrophobic office with the strangest personalities surrounding me. Now I'm sitting in a cubical, with no work, freezing my ass off and eating a piece of chocolate. I went from working for two out-of-control alcoholics to working for yuppies. I don't know which is worse; I just don't fit into either category. I need to get my sweater. It's fifty degrees out and they have the air conditioner on in here.

I went to the closet to pick up my sweater and on the way back remembered that I needed a few things from the supply room, so I stopped in before heading back to my desk. I opened the door to find two nice-looking women nervously freeing themselves from an embrace. "Oh, I am so sorry!" I said, as I went to close the door.

 One of the women turned her back to me. "No, no, come in. We were just on our way out." She turned back around and we all looked at each other. "Are our faces as red as yours?"

"They seem to be." I hesitated, but then continued. "And, just so you know, you have some lipstick over there." I pointed to her mouth area. "You have some, uh, on your neck."

 "Thanks. Would it be OK if we didn't mention this to anyone? This office has a lot of gossip," she said, nervously.

"I didn't see anything but these pencils here. By the way, I'm Shea."

"Hi Shea, I'm Heather and this is Susan," Heather replied, while sticking out her hand. I shook both their hands and smiled when they left the supply room. I think I just found some people in my "category" if you will.

Later that week I ran into Heather in the elevator. "Hey, Shea, right?"

 "Yes, it is. You are… wait, don't tell me – Heather?"

She nodded as she pressed the button for the 27th floor. "Yep. Are you new here? I haven't seen you around."

"I've been working in accounting for the past two months. I'm a CPA."

"How do you like it?"

"There's not much for me to do, which I'm a little surprised about. To tell you the truth, I'm bored. I thought this position would be a lot busier. But, it's a job. How are you doing?"

She rolled her eyes for a second. "I have a ton of work on my desk. I don't know which end is up. I'm just a bit stressed out, if you know what I mean. My assistant is out constantly which is not helping, and I have so many deadlines."

The elevator stopped to let someone on. "If you need some help, I'd be glad to give you a hand. Both of my bosses are out this week. I'm on the 26th floor so I could just run up."

 "Ah, the famous supply-room floor." We smiled, and she continued. "Ya know, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, maybe you could help me with a project that needs to be done by Friday."

I nodded before she finished the question. "It would be my pleasure."

 I finished my work and began helping Heather. Heather is the Director of Recording for MSK. She works with the elite clientele who record their music here. She schedules the recording sessions and the interviews with potential clients. She oversees the whole process from start to finish. It is so much more interesting than the accounting department.

I came to enjoy doing work for Heather and started to help her out whenever I had free time, which was a lot. It helped my days go faster, and no one seemed to mind.

The first day I helped out, I noticed some people going into Heather's office. A woman with long, brown hair walked by and even though her head was tilted downward, she looked very familiar. I continued working and about fifteen minutes later, was interrupted by that same woman. "Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the ladies' room?"

I got the feeling that I looked like a deer in headlights. It was Jesse Rhodes, sister of pop icon Tyler Rhodes. "Oh, sure. Well, actually it's easier to show you. There are so many twists and turns – it's really no bother."

"Great, I appreciate it."

We walked down the hallway in silence. I don't know if my nervousness showed, but I actually had trouble finding the bathroom myself. I stopped a few times to decide whether to make a left or right, but I finally got her there. "Here it is. Do you know your way back, or should I wait and show you?"

"That would be great."

"Take your time." I was dying! I tried to tell myself to keep it together and to get this silly grin off my face. When I get nervous my face gets so red. I can't control it. I could feel my cheeks getting redder. I heard the inside door of the bathroom open. I prepared myself. The outer door opened and there I was, red as a beet.

"Thanks for waiting."

"Oh, no problem." I had no idea what to say. We walked and thankfully made it back without any problems. I showed her back to Heather's office where there were a number of people inside, and then went back to work. Time flew and before I knew it, it was lunchtime.

Heather appeared in front of my desk. "Hey Shea, a bunch of us are going to lunch. Wanna join us?"

"That sounds great. I'm starved."

"You're not a vegetarian, are you?" I shook my head. "OK, we're gonna leave in about ten minutes. Meet us by the elevators."

"OK." I hit the ladies' room to wash up, and headed for lunch.

Heather was standing there with Jesse Rhodes and the rest of the people who were in her office. She went through each person, introducing them to me. "Shea, this is Jesse Rhodes."

"Yes, we met before," Jesse said in a quiet but confident voice, as she reached out her hand. I shook it and smiled, naturally.

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