Unlike my friends, I’m much more low-key. Haunting the most happening spots in Manhattan isn’t my norm, but sometimes a girl just needs a night out with the ladies—especially when my stomach is practically in my throat with nerves over the prospects of my new job.
Tomorrow is the day. I finally get to start working for Dunn Advertising. I’ve only wished to be a member of their staff for, oh I don’t know—ever!
I still can’t believe I managed to swing the job offer. I’ve been walking on cloud nine since I got the call from the company’s HR department. Sure, I’m only a temp and it may only be as a secretary, but sometimes you have to take what you can get! A foot in the door is a foot in the door all the same.
“Two minutes here and you’re already getting hit on,” Stacy says, rolling her eyes so her mascara painted lashes lift toward the ceiling.
“Oh please! Like you two haven’t had guys all over you since you got here?”
I can feel the eyes of men all around the club sizing us up, trying to figure out which of us they can cajole into taking them home for the night. I hate the whole bar-hookup scene.
Can’t a girl just get some romance once in a while instead of a tacky pickup line about ‘Netflix and Chill’? What happened to going out to nice restaurants or afternoon picnics or even to a real cinema for a movie?
Is that really too much to ask for these days?
Then again, I’ve never really been too interested in the dating scene to begin with. I have better things to spend my time on, including getting a permanent position at Dunn Advertising.
Morgan pouts. “I guess we’ve had a few guys come by the table, but it’s been like a whole ten minutes since anyone offered to buy me a drink.”
“Oh heavens no, you’ve had to actually purchase something yourself?” I tease back, making the gorgeous girls roll their eyes and giggle.
I love both my roommates, but they are definitely two sides of the same boy-obsessed coin.
“That dude at the bar would’ve definitely bought your margarita if you let him. I don’t know why you’re so obtuse about it,” Morgan continues. “What’s the harm in letting someone buy you a drink or two?”
I raise my eyebrows. “Obtuse?”
Morgan grins. “What? I know big words.”
Stacy laughs. “That word-of-the-day toilet paper is the best thing you ever bought, Chloe.”
This makes us all laugh. After we settle down, I pinch the thin straw of my margarita between my lips and take a slow drink. It’s the perfect blend of tangy lime and bitter tequila. Say what you will about how elite Club Thorn is, but they had some banging drinks. I take another sip before answering.
“The harm in being obtuse, Morgan, is that men expect something from you when they buy you things, and I don’t want to owe anyone anything.”
“That’s our Miss Independent,” Stacy says with a sigh.
“You’re damn right I’m independent,” I answer firmly, smirking despite the fact that I don’t believe either of my friends were trying to compliment me.
Independence is something I value more than anything. I’ve never had anyone else to rely on, even while I was growing up. My parents were in and out of my life, only offering me the bare minimum they had to until I turned eighteen.
I was practically living on my own by the time I started high school. I couch hopped a lot, staying over at friends’ houses as long as I could before wearing out their fridges and my welcome. I was lying about my age on job applications by the time I turned fifteen, claiming to be a few years older just so I wasn’t automatically turned away. I’ve always been mature for my age so I was never questioned too much.
I worked anywhere I could—grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants. Even despite all that, I never let my grades slip. I always wanted to be the best, both at school and at my various jobs. It’s an aspiration I cling to today.
If there was anything that I needed, I learned to work for it.
It was that gritty determination that got me through college. There was only one goal that kept me going during that time of endless odd jobs and piles of college homework—Dunn Advertising.
It’s the holy grail of advertising jobs in New York City, and I knew that I wanted to be there.
And now I finally am!
I may only be a secretary for now, but I know somehow, I’ll find a way to show my skills and make my own mark on the company. They’ll offer me a permanent job once they see how talented I am in the advertising and marketing industry.
It’s not wishful thinking; I won’t let it be.
Stacy reaches over and squeezes my hand with a gentle smile. “I’m glad you came out tonight. I thought for sure you’d cancel so you could stay home and neurotically organize your shoes.”
“I don’t organize my shoes.”
Morgan laughs and arches an eyebrow. “You’re a stress cleaner, Chloe. If we’d let you skip out tonight you would’ve reorganized our entire apartment. We probably wouldn’t even recognize it when we got home.”
I playfully roll my eyes though they speak the truth. I’d already begun making a list of things around our place I needed to clean when Stacy and Morgan called begging me to come out.
“To tell the truth, I definitely considered it,” I answer honestly, though neither of my friends look shocked by the declaration.
As much as I hadn't wanted to come to Club Thorn tonight, I’m glad I did. If I stayed home, once I was done cleaning, I would’ve just sat staring into my closet trying to figure out which outfit to wear for my first day at work. I didn't exactly have enough cash to go on a wild shopping spree, but Stacy and Morgan offered up some of their own clothes for me to borrow and I’d hit up some of the thrift shops around the city in search of some decent to professional wear.
If there’s anything that New York City has in abundance, it’s fashion.
I rarely have time to get away like this, usually stuck at one of my multiple jobs. Fortunately, now that I’ve landed this secretary gig, I can finally focus all my time and energy on one job instead of a dozen. It’s about time I celebrate that.
When I’d gotten word that I’d been the one selected for the temp position at Dunn, I’d danced around my living room, arms waving over my head. Morgan, who was getting ready for a shower, had peeked out of the bathroom and stared at me, probably thinking I was losing my mind. But I wasn’t. I was rejoicing.
This was it. I could finally afford to eat more than ramen noodles for dinner every night. And it was such a relief to know I’d have enough to cover rent, even if one of my roommates had a bad month. All I could think about in that moment was how even a temporary job at Dunn Advertising could change my life. Not to mention it’s something impressive to put on my resumé.
With that first paycheck, I planned to get an extra large pizza and wine delivered to my apartment—and I’d even tip the delivery guy, too.
Stacy and Morgan giggle again and exchange knowing looks, sipping from their drinks. Stacy is drinking some hot pink hangover in a glass that’ll give her a headache before midnight, while Morgan is drinking straight up vodka on the rocks. It’s better for her figure, apparently, but just looking at her glass of pure alcohol makes my nose wrinkle.