A blaring sound woke Elizabeth from her restless sleep. Her eyes were wide as she tried to figure out where it was coming from. Her heart pounded. Finally, her fingers closed around her phone. “Shh!” She hissed at it and turned off the alarm. “Ugh, my head. My back.”
Groaning, she stood up and stretched. A sudden happiness overcame her. Today was her first day! Renewed by the thought of being one step closer to her dream job, she hurried to the bathroom to get ready. The red dress slipped over her arms, and—after a bit of tugging—it hugged her curves. “Hello, beautiful!” She admired herself in the mirror.
Quickly tossing on some makeup, she shimmied into her heels and headed for her car. “Oh, what is this now?” A flyer was tucked under her windshield wiper. Written on thick paper with a fancy letterhead was a letter from the homeowners’ association. Elizabeth mumbled the contents under her breath, “Welcome to the neighborhood! To keep our neighborhood happy, healthy, and beautiful, we would like to remind you that any vehicles over three years old should be kept in a garage or under a previously approved cover when not in use. We would also like to clarify that quiet hours are from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Please refrain from excessive noise during these hours. Welcomingly, your local HOA.” Scowling, she crumpled up the paper. “‘Welcomingly,’ my butt.” When did they even have time to type that up, let alone shove in under her windshield wiper?
Determined not to let the letter ruin her first day of work, she waited for the clock to hit 6:01 before she cranked up her music and rolled her windows down. Take that, HOA. Technically, she wasn’t breaking the rules. From the corner of her eye, she saw the same woman who had watched her out of her window last night peek through the blinds. Elizabeth blew her a kiss and waved as she drove away.
The parking lot outside of Page Industries was surprisingly full for as early as it was. After she found an open spot, she sashayed up the steps and opened the doors of her new work. “Breathe that in. Do you smell that? That is the promise of success.” She muttered to herself as she took it all in.
“I always thought success smelled more like champagne.” A deep voice behind her made her jump.
“Mr. Page!”
“Good morning, Lizzie.” He checked his watch as if he were bored.
“Elizabeth.”
“Don’t you have a staff meeting to go to?”
Her face paled, “I do?” It hadn’t been on her schedule.
Derrick sighed, “Miranda, can you escort Lizzie to Auditorium A, please?” He gestured a woman walking briskly down the hall.
Elizabeth recognized her as the woman who had given him papers yesterday after her interview. Miranda looked at her kindly, “Certainly! Follow me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know there was a meeting. It wasn’t on my schedule. This is my first day, so I don’t even know where anything is yet.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Miranda lowered her voice as if she were about to share a secret, “Adeline can be a bit vindictive at times. She probably left it off on purpose.”
“Why?” Elizabeth was shocked someone would do such a thing here.
Miranda shrugged, “She likes Mr. Page to think she’s the only one around here worth anything. I guarantee you that she put a corrected copy of the schedule she gave you in your file.”
“Seriously?!” She glanced over her shoulder to where Adeline was perched at the front desk.
“Yeah, she’s not one to mess with. Don’t worry, I’ll look out for you. Your name is Lizzie? Is that right?”
“Elizabeth. I don’t know why he keeps insisting on calling me that.”
Miranda laughed, “He likes to tease people. Here we are. Pick a seat.” She held open a door to a large room with a smartboard set up. The seating was in tiers like in a theater. Miranda followed as she chose a seat.
“Oh, are you staying, too?”
“Yes, just about everyone will be here.”
Elizabeth felt a wave of relief wash over her. She was glad Miranda was staying. At least she had found one nice person so far. The auditorium was atwitter with individual conversations. There were about one hundred people seated here and there. A side door opened, and the room fell silent. Derrick Page walked to the center of the floor. He was in a well-tailored suit. Elizabeth couldn’t help but remember the way he looked last night. Each muscle was defined in her memory. The dark ink of his tattoo stood out against his lightly tanned skin. The water weighed down his hair until in hung in front of his steely blue eyes. A dreamy smile crept across her lips.
“Miss Adams,” hearing her name quickly brought her out of her reverie, “I know that it can be hard to stay awake, but please try. I had a challenging time sleeping last night. My neighbor’s alarm system went off in the middle of the night, and this morning she blared her music as she was leaving for work.” He watched as her eyes grew to the size of saucers. A smirk twitched at the edge of his lips.
“That’s horrible.” Miranda whispered under her breath to Elizabeth. “Some people just don’t have any respect for others.”
“Maybe it was a mistake.” She tried to defend herself without giving herself away.
Miranda smiled earnestly and shook her new coworker’s knee, “You’ve got a good heart. I can already tell.” Elizabeth beamed at her, and they both turned their attention back to their boss.
“Hartman and Craft are opening another hotel chain here in our city.” Derrick’s voice boomed across the hall. “That means I need each one of you to be at your best. If you can do something extra to make someone’s day better, do it. If you can smile, grab a bagel, hold a door for someone, do it. This is not the time for us to be slacking. A new hotel means they will have the appeal of novelty. Our job is to remind our guests that we have been there to provide superior service in the past, and after they get back from their tryst with our competition, we will be here to welcome them back to true luxury.” He paused to let his words settle over them. “Ladies and gentlemen, the fate of our company lies in the effort we put forth today and every day after. Thank you for your time, your service, and your commitment to our shared dream. There will be a fully stocked breakfast outside of the atrium when you leave. Eat a good breakfast, and get ready to conquer.” As he left the room, the seats erupted in applause.
“Wow,” Elizabeth stared after him.
“He’s good, right?!” Miranda clapped as hard as she could.
“Is there always a fully stocked breakfast?”
Miranda laughed, “Only when he’s cheerful or trying to motivate us. It’s like lead by example, you know? What boss would he be if he told us to do something extra for people, and then he didn’t do it himself?”
Elizabeth smiled. It was nice of him to go out of his way for his employees. For her, it made him seem more human. So far, he was hard for her to figure out. What man ran a huge company, carried in a stranger’s boxes, knew how to turn off alarm systems, and bought enough breakfast for about a hundred people? There had to be a catch. He seemed too good to be true.
“So, where are you headed to next?”
Pulling out her schedule, Elizabeth ran her finger down the list and times, “Well, going off of this I’m supposed to meet with someone named Joanna, but lovely Adeline seems to have forgotten to tell me where. Awesome.”
“Lizzie,” Derrick motioned for her to approach him.
“Ugh, why can’t he just use my name?!” She hissed at Miranda, but quickly made her way over to her boss. “Yes, sir?”
“My personal assistant called in sick today, so she couldn’t bring my special coffee to me. I thought since you’re the reason I didn’t get much sleep last night, you could go grab it for me.” He lowered his voice so only she could hear him, and it made a tingle race across her skin.
“I’m really sorry about that. Yes, of course. I’ll go get you some coffee.” She turned to grab a coffee cup from the breakfast spread he had provided.
“Lizzie?”
“Elizabeth.” She corrected him, but turned to see why he had stopped her.
He held out a business card for a local coffee shop between his fingers, “I get my coffee from here. Just tell them it’s for me. They know my order.”
She took the card from him being careful not to touch his hand. “Will do! Oh, I’m supposed to meet someone called Joanna to go over some first day training.”
“I’ll let her know that I’ve requisitioned you for now.” He flashed her a smirk and raised an eyebrow before turning and walking away.
“Looks like I’m going on a coffee run.” She glanced down at the card he had given her. The Undergrounds. She had seen it around, but she had never actually gone in. Today was going to be a first.
Traffic on her way to the coffee shop wasn’t too bad. A tiny bell tinkled as she walked in. Mahogany brown columns were wrapped with twinkling golden lights. There were a few tables seated with a range of people from businessmen to barely awake college girls. Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The Undergrounds smelled liked roasted coffee beans and nutmeg. If she hadn’t known any better, she would have thought she had just stepped into heaven.
She stepped up to the counter, and a barista greeted her with a smile, “Good morning! What can I get for you?”
“Actually, I’m here to get Derrick Page’s usual.”
“No problem. Can I get a large caramel macchiato, extra expresso, extra caramel, topped with whip?” She gestured for Elizabeth to step to the side. “I’ll get it out to you as soon as it’s ready.”
“Thanks.”
“So, we are opening next week. I want lavish ceremonies, open bar, the works. I need you to make Page look like the joke he is.” A dirty blonde man in a suit crossed one of his ankles over his knee. Elizabeth tried not to listen, but the name Page caught her attention.
“Are you sure you want to do that? People will abuse the system. You’ll get many degenerates if you offer an open bar.” The man across from him had worry lines across his forehead.
“Ok, then make it an open bar for anyone who holds a platinum card with Page Industries and Hotels. He’s a washed-out playboy. The people want something new and exciting, and we will give it to them.”
“Excuse me,” Elizabeth walked up to their table. She was fueled by anger and loyalty. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. I think what the people want is someone who cares about them and their business. They want someone who makes their own company better by providing better service, not by tearing down their competition. People should want to come to your business because they believe in your company, not because you bribe them with free booze.”
The blonde man scoffed at her, “Look, honey, I don’t know who you are, but you have no—”
His partner cut him off, “No, wait. Maybe she’s right. Picture this, ‘We put the heart in Hartman and Craft.’ Miss, how would you like to be the new face for our company? We could use someone with your passion on our PR team.”
“Order up for Derrick Page,” the barista held up a cup.
“Actually, I already have a job.” She turned and took the coffee. Elizabeth left the coffee shop without looking back. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She couldn’t believe she had just done that. That was incredible! Her hands hadn’t stopped shaking by the time she got back to work.
When she walked in the building, everyone was staring at her. She could hear them whispering as she walked past. Did she have something on her face? What was going on? She knocked on Mr. Page’s door. “Sir? I have your coffee.”
“Come in. Shut the door behind you.” He gazed out at her. His eyes seemed to be on fire.
“Okay? Here’s your coffee.”
Derrick pulled out a stack of papers and placed them on his desk. “Miss Adams, do you know what this is?”
Her heart hammered in her chest. He hadn’t called her Lizzie this time. “No, sir.”
He slid the papers across the desk, “This is the non-disclosure agreement you signed when you applied. This says that you will not discuss company business with other businesses or associates of other businesses.”
“Okay?” She didn’t see what he was so upset about.
“So, why am I seeing this all over social media?” He turned his laptop so that she could see a video. He pressed play.
The video was done on a shaky camera phone. She could make out the side of her face and the two men that she had seen at the coffee shop. “I think what the people want is someone who actually cares about them and their business. They want someone who makes their own company better by providing better service, not by tearing down their competition.”
Derrick paused the video, “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Sir, I wasn’t talking about business though.”
“Were you not? Because it sounded like you were.”
“You didn’t hear what they were saying! I was defending you. They were saying such horrible things, and I couldn’t just stand there and not say anything!”
“Our legal team has advised me to dismiss you before anymore outbreaks occur since you seem unable to keep your thoughts to yourself.”
“Sir, please. I—”
“However, my director of public relations has stated the opposite. He believes that if we fire you after your…sensational…performance, then we will look bad to the public. He thinks that we should use your new-found fame to advertise our company better, and I agree with him.”
“Wait…what?” She stared at him, unsure if she had just heard him correctly or not.
“Congratulations. You are our new mascot.”
“Your mascot?” That did not sound glamourous at all. The only thing that kept popping into her head were those big-headed costumes that ran across football fields at half-time.
“You become the mascot, or you lose your job. Your choice.”