CHAPTER TEN
CHARLIE
Monday morning comes a little too quickly for me. Lucky for me though there is no line at my new caffeine stop and the bus ride was shorter than I thought it would be. Every building in Chicago makes me feel like an ant as I walk toward the building I’ll be working in. The building is gorgeous with its gothic-style architecture. I am instantly in love with the gargoyles high above the main entrance doors. I swear one of them looks like a frog. When I walk in, I am greeted by a girl named Sasha, who gives me the welcome speech and takes me to see Elmira in HR.
Elmira is a forty-something woman with long blond hair; she is wearing a flowy, flower print blouse and traditional black dress pants. I really like her shoes and am about to compliment her on them, but change my mind when I look back up at her. She seems like one of those women who does her job and doesn’t do the whole small talk at work thing.
“Here is your laptop, phone, and ID,” she pauses, “Don’t lose your ID. It is very important! You will be charged twenty dollars if it needs to be replaced,” She snarks. Okay… definitely not going to try and make small talk with that one.
I make my way to the elevators and use my ID to allow me access. I have always loved pressing elevator buttons. Something about seeing the little circle light up sends a burst of joy through me. I press the number four and listen to the elevator music.
The doors open to a huge lobby with four mahogany desks housing four beautiful receptionists telling people where to go and answering phones. I make my way, following the signs, to the newsroom. Walking through the glass double doors and through a field of cubicles, I finally find my way to Bill, the lead journalist's office which is just a cubicle with higher walls than the rest. I feel like every bossman’s name is Bill in a newsroom.
He ushers me to a chair across his U-shaped desk.
“Did you find your way up here alright?” His monotone voice is not very inviting, and he sounds like talking to me is a giant inconvenience. He is younger than I thought a “Bill” should look, maybe thirty with bright blonde hair and dull, gray eyes showing early signs of dark circles and fine lines. Poor guy.
“I found everything just fine, thanks!” I try not to sound overly enthusiastic because I can tell it will just annoy him; and honestly, I don't really feel like rolling out my customer service voice for a guy who looks like he’d walk past a dog without even having a quick urge to pet it.
“That's good,” He quickly responds. “Your desk is just around the corner, and I placed all the upcoming stories you are responsible for in the folder on your desk. As long as those stories are done by the deadline, you can work on other stories. Of course there is no guarantee that anything additional will be published, but it does give you the opportunity to branch out if you feel like doing so. There’s coffee in the break room to the right of the Lobby. Just follow the signs. Do you have any questions?”
He looks at me waiting for the landslide of questions I am sure every newbie asks on their first day, but I just shake my head no as he continues to walk me to my cubicle.
“This is your work space, decorate however you want as long as it is not distracting,” He says squinting his eyes as if he’s assessing whether I will be a bright neon color girl that goes all out when decorating her desk. I respond with a tight lipped smile and thank him for his time.
I walk behind my desk and take it all in for a few heartbeats. I can’t believe I’m actually here!
I’ve been assigned a few training videos to watch for the day, so I begin to set up my laptop. Once it’s good to go, I open my email, head to the website for the training, and click on the first one.
“Well let's get this party started,” I sigh and get to work.
The first week in Chicago has been the longest week of my life, but I am getting my bearings. Bill assigned me a mentor to help me get the lay of the land. It’s really nice to have someone to turn to when I have questions. Bill is a boar of a boss, but at least he leaves me alone. Sasha from reception is really nice. She always greets me with a smile and asks how I’m doing. I received a few encouraging messages from Dominic about him possibly coming home sooner than expected which has made me look forward to the next few weeks.
I found an amazing Chinese take out place that delivers, which was a massive gold star for the week. Since it’s Friday I’m going to do what all responsible twenty-three year old adults do: get the heck out of my apartment and find somewhere to get a decent drink. With Dominic still being in Europe, that means none of my friends are currently living in the city. In fact, most of them don’t even live in the state.
A handful of people from work said they were going to this restaurant and pub that used to be frequented by Al Capone back in the day. That sounded pretty cool, so I thought why not make some new city friends? As I take out my phone to schedule an Uber, my phone goes off with a message from Dominic.
Dominic : “So, how was the first week of city life?”
Charlotte : “Very uneventful, which I don't hate. Just trying to get acquainted with the city.”
Dominic : “You doing anything tonight or this weekend other than unpacking?”
Charlotte : “A few of people from work are getting together at a pub. I am thinking of going.”
Dominic : “You better not be staying home in your apartment and watching Netflix, alone. I will fly back and drag you out if I have to.”
Charlotte : “Even with the jetlag?”
Dominic : “Especially with the jetlag. You should definitely go, C.C. You might have fun!”
Charlotte : “Fine, DAD! I will go out and make some new friends.”
Dominic : “That's my girl! I’ll check in later? Have fun!”
Charlotte : “Yeah, I will tell you all about the torture tomorrow. Have a good night! Or is it Day?”
Dominic : “Goodnight, C.C.”
While I wait for the Uber driver to arrive, I go through my closet. I swear, since moving to the city I have nothing good to wear. I decided on a pair of black fitted jeans, an emerald green tank top, and some kitten heels. I go to the bathroom to touch up my makeup and put some product in my hair to keep the frizz under control. Good enough. I get the notification that my Uber is almost here, so I head downstairs.