I hadn’t been as fortunate in my youth, but I’d been told that I’d more than made up for it by growing into my looks in my early twenties. My eyes were the same distinct pale green they’d always been (exactly like my mother’s), but learning how to do my makeup and getting my eyebrows professionally done had been a game changer in making them stand out against my olive skin. And the baby fat I’d shed off my face, thanks to my obsession with spin classes, had proven that I had, in fact, also inherited my mother’s coveted cheekbones.
But the thing that had changed the most were my full oval lips. They had been my least favorite feature when I was younger, oversized and awkward. But man had that changed when I grew into them.
Also, credit where it’s due, Dr. Mwangi had been a miracle worker with the braces. My smile was near perfect.
But none of it mattered because, for whatever reason, today I felt like I was seventeen years old again. It was the same feeling of nervousness, insecurity, and nausea I’d felt last week as I waited outside of Zac’s office. I hated it and felt a desperate need to get it under control. I wasn’t the same person I’d been back then, so I shouldn’t feel like her either.
“You’re right, I look fine.” I finally caved and went to sit back down at the counter, taking a sip of my coffee. The caffeine probably wasn’t helping.
“You’re going to kill it, Milly. They won’t know what hit ’em.”
He was right. I had spent the last seven years making sure of it.
As instructed in the introductory email I’d actually read this time around, I met Margaret in the guest reception area at 9:00 a.m. where she handed me my building access card. We then made our way to the elevators to go up to my new office.
“So, you excited? Nervous? First days are always a little nerve-racking I find. You just don’t really know what to expect,” she said as she tapped her pen on the binder she was holding.
I estimated my new boss, one of the marketing directors at Bloom & Co., to be in her midfifties. She was quite tall in her heels, wore a black fitted pantsuit, and her bright red hair was pulled back into a tight bun.
Her outfit was tastefully accessorized with a dainty watch and small hooped earrings.
When I’d first met her during my interview, I’d thought she looked a little like Julianne Moore and dressed like Miranda Priestly.
“Mostly excited.” I smiled as we got in. We continued to make conversation, and I didn’t notice which button she’d selected until our arrival prompted the auto-announcement of the floor we’d landed on.
You have got to be kidding me.
The doors opened up, and Margaret walked out. I hesitated for half a second before following her.
“We share the floor with the other marketing director and his team. We have a bit of a friendly rivalry going on between the two groups, so prepare yourself for that.” She looked back at me and smiled. “He’s in a meeting at the moment, but I’ll introduce you to the rest of the floor for now.”
I waved at Andrew, who looked just as perplexed as I felt, while Margaret and I began the introductory rounds.
“And this,” she said as she finally walked me over to a small room once she was satisfied that I’d met almost everyone, “is your new office.”
At first, I thought it might be a prank. It had to be a prank. But she seemed quite serious about the fact that the door to my new office was three feet away from the door to Zac’s. The two rooms were actually attached. A quick glance to my right showed Andrew, who was still seated at his desk, doing his best to suppress a laugh behind his hand.
Attempting to keep my composure intact, I walked in slowly after Margaret. The room was small but bright. It had the same white marble tiles as the rest of the floor that looked freshly polished. To my left was an elegant glass desk featuring a matte brushed-gold frame, with a computer as its only current occupant. Behind it sat a white leather swivel chair.
Two of the four walls, the one across from where I was standing and the one directly behind my desk, were a soft grey. The other two were made entirely of glass.
I had begun noting some decorating options in my head when I looked over to my right and stopped in my tracks to process what I was seeing. One of the two glass walls gave a clear view into the large office next to mine, at the end of which stood Zac with his back turned to us. He was on the phone and looking out onto his view of the city skyline.
“Um, Margaret…” I started as I pointed at the glass, my heart rate beginning to pick up. There was no way in hell any of this was just a coincidence.
“Oh, all of the glass windows have an opaque feature most people utilize if they need to have a private conversation or whatever. It completely frosts the glass over so you can’t see into the other room. The instructions are in your binder on the same page as your log-in info, but we generally like to keep an open office space feel while still providing our talent with quiet working areas. Hence the rooms with glass walls.” She smiled at me as if that was a sufficient enough explanation.
“You’ll probably spend the majority of today going through your compliance training, but if you have any questions or concerns, my office is the one just across the hall.” She walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Panicking, I sat at my desk and took out my phone. My father’s face appeared on the screen quickly enough to be suspicious, as if he’d been waiting for the call.
“Sweetheart! How is your first day going so far?” His mischievous smirk gave him away immediately.
“Dad. Did you have anything to do with picking out my office?” I asked.
“Whatever do you mean?” His voice was teasing and playful as he grinned from ear to ear.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Did you know that the hiring manager I had my interview with shared the eighteenth floor with you know who, and did you or did you not have anything to do with the fact that our offices are quite literally attached and separated with nothing but glass? Dad, I can see everything in his office from my desk and vice versa!” I was seething.
“Honestly, Milly, do you know how time-consuming it is to successfully run a company this big? I don’t have time to meddle in things as trivial as the office spaces of my employees. Ciao, darling.” He laughed as he hung up on me.
Liar.
I put my phone down just in time to catch Zac turn around and take a seat at his desk. My heart jumped into my throat when he looked up and saw me, his mouth going still midsentence. Flustered, I immediately looked away and opened the red folder Margaret had left on my desk, actively aware of the gaze that remained fixed on me.
Refusing to look back up at him, I logged on to my new computer and started on my compliance training, my eyes stubbornly glued to the material.
That is until thirty minutes later when I heard footsteps, followed by Margaret’s excited and rushed voice outside of my office. “… MBA from Columbia, and she actually worked at Yuval before coming here, so that’ll be good for the Emerson account if we win. You’ll have to introduce yourself though. I have to be on a conference call in two.”
I watched through the glass as she walked back toward her office. Two seconds later there was a light knock on my door and Zac walked in, closing it behind him.