The morning always came too soon, and the alarm on Jada’s phone seemed like it was shouting at her rather than playing a tinny version of “Walking on Sunshine.” As she sat up in bed, her memories of the night faded. She stretched tall and her back cracked loudly.

I’m getting old, and at 25 that’s saying something, she thought. She rolled out of bed and put her bare feet on the soft rug on the floor. It was tattered and worn, but she loved it. The floor was freezing as she walked over to her closet to grab some clothes, and she hesitated for a moment before taking her pajamas off.

She went into her bathroom, examining her reflection in the mirror and groaning as she saw that her hair was the size of a small bush. She turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. As soon as it was warm, she stripped as fast as she could and hopped into the spray. The hot water felt fabulous, and Jada scrubbed up with her favorite shower gel, the gentle smell of berries and vanilla making her senses happy.

Once dry, she put on a red silk blouse and black pencil skirt. She dug in her closet, finding her favorite red heels and slipping them on. She ate breakfast in the car on the way to the office; a bagel with cream cheese that thankfully wasn’t too messy.

Jada tuned the radio to her favorite station, and it chimed in with a lovely combination of rock, college alternative, and regular alternative. It would have been a great morning, were it not for the giant meeting she had scheduled. She’d heard the client could be a bit tight-assed, and she dreaded the moment when she’d have to dazzle him with her proposal.

The JPH Tech building was enormous, taking up two city blocks on each of the two streets that it touched. Located on the corner of Madison and First, it was a traditional office of white and gray, filled with the paper, forms, hours of waiting, and caches of servers.

On the fifth floor, Jada followed along the rows of cubicles set up for her teammates and the associates of the office. They were each named for actual streets within the city, and Jada fought back a gag every time she passed them. The idea that each of the little padded cells was actually a home away from home made her want to cry, but that was how it went in the corporate world. No wonder she hated it.

She walked down to her glass-walled office, sank into her rolling chair, and turned on her computer. As she waited for the thing to start, one of her team members, Chelsea, came out from her cubicle and poked her head into the office.

“Hey, chica! How are you?”

Chelsea was always so ridiculously perky in the morning. Jada had to take a gulp of her coffee before she answered.

“Fine.”

“You do anything fun this weekend?” Chelsea asked.

“Not really; just chilled.” As Jada swallowed the crappy office coffee, she resolved to invest in her own new coffee pot. The office swill was just not good.

“Jada! You sat alone again, didn’t you? How many times is that?”

“I’ve lost track. I really don’t want to think about it right now. How’s Randall been this morning?”

“Randall. You know how he is.” Their teammate could be quite creative when it came to matching a visual concept with words, but a social butterfly he was not. “Anyway, forget him; there’s a new guy.” Chelsea’s eyes sparkled as she mentioned the new coworker.

“Oh no. No more intra-office blind dates. You have terrible taste, honey.” Jada remembered the last time Chelsea had tried to introduce her to the new guy. He had turned out to be a bodybuilder, and gay to boot. “Don’t you remember your last attempt?”

Chelsea put her hands up in defense. “Jada, that was an accident. He looked totally straight.”

“Well, you know what they say about appearances. Hell, you thought I was Mexican,” Jada said, making a face at her.

“Well, you know I’m not good at that kind of stuff. And besides, how was I supposed to know he was gay? After all, it’s not like they wear a sign.” Chelsea’s voice had turned to total sales pitch with that last statement, and Jada had to laugh.

“Well, thank you, but no thank you. I’m taking a permanent hiatus from men. I am so done with dating and working and all the juggling those things entail. I like my relaxing life at home. I can read and enjoy a bubble bath whenever I want.”

“Fine, but you’ll regret it. He’s super cute. So, your loss.” Chelsea changed the subject, then, and Jada was grateful. “You ready for your big meeting today with Mr. Ka?”

“Yeah. I’m all set. Got my briefs ready, and Matheson is, of course, going to be there.”

They both made a face when Jada mentioned her pseudo-boss.

“Ugh, I hate that guy. Did I tell you he hit on me the other day? Like right at work, in front of people.” Chelsea looked genuinely queasy.

“Why don’t you say something to HR?”

“I have. So have some others. They’re not doing anything.”

“That sucks. I’m sorry. Let me see if I can do something. It might be a little while, and it might be nothing, but I’ll try.” Jada forced a smile.

“Thanks, Jada. That means a lot.”

Chelsea scampered off, and Jada concentrated on memorizing the briefs for the big Ka meeting. Sure, they were ready, but Jada was still nervous about presenting to the infamously hard to please client. She didn’t like her job all that much, but she was determined to hold onto it. She had no choice.