2 - Emma
“How did it go?” My best friend asks me as soon as I’m within earshot of her.
“It was good!” I squeak. My voice sounds forced, fake. Valerie raises an eyebrow. Her long blonde hair is tied up in a sleek ponytail and her eyes are glinting. She knows me too well.
“Em,” she growls.
I laugh. “It was ok. First day jitters. Their filing system is a mess! It’s a wonder they make any money at all in that place. I’m going to try to reorganise that whole thing.”
I’m deflecting. I don’t mention the thing that’s been on my mind all day: Doctor Elliot Davis, and his unbelievable rudeness. And his irresistible sexiness. Val sits down beside me at the bar and waves over to the bartender. She orders two glasses of champagne for us and then turns towards me.
“That’s good! You can make them see how valuable you are. I still can’t believe you haven’t been able to find work as an accountant for all these months!”
“At least I’ve got something now,” I respond. “Dave was a real lifesaver, thank you so much for asking him for me.”
I try to make my voice casual, but in reality I’m incredibly relieved. I haven’t been able to bring myself to tell Valerie how badly I needed this job, how badly I need the money. These debts are trouble, maybe even worse trouble than I’ve admitted to myself. I shake my head to dispel the thoughts.
The bartender places the two flutes of golden liquid in front of us and Valerie grabs them, handing one over to me.
“To your new job!” She says, raising her glass. We clink glasses and I take a sip, enjoying the explosion of bubbles on my tongue.
“How are your coworkers?” Val asks, turning towards me. “You’re dying to tell me something, I can tell. What is it - a hot doctor?!”
Valerie’s laugh rings out in the bar. Her boyfriend - fiancé - is a hot doctor, as she says. We’ve been joking about finding me one of them for months. For some reason I don’t want to tell her about Elliot Davis. What would I say? That I made a fool of myself trying to make coffee? That he just looked at me, probably judging me the whole time, saying nothing? That’s he’s unimaginably rude, but I couldn’t help feeling turned on just standing beside him?
“It’s nothing,” I smile. “Everyone was really friendly! Dave took me around and introduced me to everyone.” She’s watching me and finally I crack a smile. “There was this one moment…” I pause.
Val’s eyes widen and she leans forward. “Yes?? And??”
“Oh, nothing,” I laugh, suddenly embarrassed. Val’s eyebrow shoots up towards her hairline. “I just... Oh my God, Val. Typical me. I made a fool of myself, I didn’t know how to use the coffee machine. I sprayed steam over the whole kitchen. Seriously, Val, everywhere. It was whistling and spraying out over the counter and cupboards and all over me. There was this doctor in the kitchen. He just stared at me, turned it off and then walked away.”
I look over at Val and I can see the smile playing in her eyes. She’s trying not to laugh. The edges of my lips twitch upwards and for the first time today I crack. My laughter bubbles up from the pit of my stomach and erupts together with hers. The two of us lean on each other and I laugh until my sides hurt.
I wipe a tear away from my eye and look over at my best friend. I’ve been feeling so unsure of myself all day and it’s not like me. She’s always able to bring me back to centre. Suddenly things don’t seems so bad. I’ll be able to make some money, get out of this tight spot I’m in. No jerk doctor or embarrassing first day can overshadow that fact.
Plus, isn’t it better to make a splash of a first impression? I’ve never been a wallflower, so I should just own it.
We finish our drinks and head off in different directions. My steps are light, my heart is singing. Things are finally starting to look up. I’ll go in early to work tomorrow and start working on the filing system, see if I can actually make a difference in the office. Now I have a project, a direction, and a plan. Nothing can stop me.