16 Sloane
May 2017
The wheels of the train steamrolled under me as I made my way to Midtown for a half day at work. The subway came to a halt, and I quickly got off at my stop, which was conveniently right across the street from The Gist HQ. Just like most in Midtown, the office was in a standard high-rise that lacked any sort of charm. When I entered the building, I pressed the button for floor sixteen and stared down at the Gucci mules my dad had gifted me for graduation. I know he probably spent a significant chunk of his alimony check on them, so I wore them every day this week. When the elevator doors opened into lobby, I was greeted by a bright neon sign and a sleek modern workspace.
“Morning, Kim!” I waved to her as I headed into the bullpen.
Kim was the CEO’s executive assistant but doubled as the front desk secretary because, according to her, she was the most personable employee in the office.
“Week one down! Not so bad, right?” she called after me.
“Right!”
I wasn’t lying. This time last week, I had let my anxiety get the best of me. I was trained to hate change; it had always been forced upon me. I had to remind myself that this change was my choice. I’d give the city a year, and if I hated it, I could move back down south. If I loved it, I could stay forever. I was in control now. That was a change I just needed to get used to.
“You’re here!” Mila spun around in her chair as I stood in the doorway of her cube.
“You’re early.” I laughed.
Mila had started at The Gist the same day as me, except she got the job I originally applied for. She brought the essence of New York in her stride—okay, technically Long Island—and as a writer on the lifestyle beat, she had this vibrant energy that was infectious. And there I was, an assistant, juggling schedules and supplies, with a secret hope of one day seeing my byline on our website. When Annie had the time, she’d give me writing assignments and critique them to help me better my craft. She didn’t have to mentor me, but I was more than grateful for the offer.
“I was up at five a.m., thanks to a cockroach in my sheets. I’ve never gotten out of bed faster. I grabbed breakfast and have just been simmering on some topics before the editorial meeting next week. Will you be sending out the agenda for it soon?”
“Yeah, Annie and I are sitting down later this morning to review it, so it’ll hit your inboxes before the end of the day,” I replied. “Have you been looking for new places to live?”
“My only other option right now is my parents. We’d have to pay a few grand to break our lease, so I can’t afford anything else.”
The apartment she lived in was on top of a convenience store that routinely left mountains of trash in the alley. In the past week, her roommates had killed eight cockroaches and trapped two mice.
“I envy your courage. If a single mouse dares to cross my path, I’m hightailing it back to Wilmington,” I joked, only half kidding.
“It’ll happen to you eventually. It’s a rite of passage in the city.” She laughed while I shuddered at the thought.
“I’m about to make a coffee; do you want one?” I offered.
“Oh my gosh, will you? I need all the caffeine I can get today.”
“Cream and sugar?”
“Perfect.”
As I waited for the coffee to finish brewing, I admired the view from the hall near the break room. I was surrounded by sprawling windows that framed the cityscape, and I remembered why I decided to brave this concrete jungle in the first place.
“So are you coming to happy hour today?” Mila inquired when I returned to our cubicles.
I frowned slightly. “Ah, I’ve got dinner plans with Lauren.”
“It’s early, like two p.m. Think you can do both?”
“That could work. Is there an occasion?” My frown turned into a smile.
Mila laughed lightly, “Nope, just the usual Summer Friday vibes. You know, Sarah from entertainment mentioned it’s a thing here—unofficial happy hours every Friday during summer.”
“Summer Friday?” I furrowed my brows, clearly confused.
“Annie hasn’t told you?!” She lit up. “Basically, every Friday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, we get to leave the office at two. The happy hours aren’t mandatory. I guess it’s just The Gist’s way of giving us a bit of a summer break.”
***
“Cheers to your first week and first Summer Friday, ladies,” Annie said with a warm grin. “Welcome to the team.”
The golden sunshine danced on the sidewalk, and we found ourselves indulging in conversations that reached beyond the walls of HQ. A round of cocktails later, I was starting to feel a warmth—both from the summer sun and the alcohol—course through me. Laughter filled the air as office tales flowed freely, and I was swept up in the camaraderie.
“One more for the road?” Mila suggested, raising her glass.
“Who said we have to stop at one?” I winked. “Especially when they’re on the company’s tab.”
Mila’s question came out of nowhere, casual but loaded: “So your boyfriend, how’d you guys meet?”
I skirted around the technicality that Ethan wasn’t officially my boyfriend, because let’s face it—one, it was mildly humiliating, and two, in my heart, we might as well have been.
“College!” I blurted, a little too excited to talk about him. “We were neighbors.”
“Oh god, that must have been fun. All four years?” she asked.
I shook my head, laughing at the memories. “No, just senior year. My roommate started dating his roommate, and then the rest was history.”
Mila nodded, her smile indicating she was all ears. “I stayed with my parents during my time at NYU. Missed out on the dorm drama. I mean, New York’s one big campus, but it’s not the ‘college experience’ you expect.”
“You’re lucky though,” I countered, my voice a bit too loud as the room began to spin gently. “Growing up here must’ve been amazing! But yeah, our little neighborly saga didn’t start off on the best foot. Right after we all met, they threw a party and didn’t invite us. The music was so loud that it literally vibrated our ceilings and shook our furniture. We debated crashing, but ended up calling the cops instead. Petty? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.”
Mila laughed. “You didn’t! So they just…invited you over after the cops showed up?”
“Yep, right after the party got busted.” I nodded. “They had no idea it was us. His roommate asked mine to be his girlfriend that night, so I took full credit for that. As for Ethan—if he ever found out, he’d probably think I’m insane.”
As the happy hour continued, the stories got louder, the laughter richer, and my sense of discretion looser. Even Annie sprinkled in a few of her very own dating escapades.
It wasn’t until I was nestled in the back seat of an Uber, the city lights blurring past, that the weight of my words hit me. The anxiety bubbling up inside. Did I cross the line between colleague and friend? The last thing I wanted was to be the office oversharer—or worse, the one who spilled enough to jeopardize her career. I could already hear my mom’s “I told you so” in my head. That ride home was longer than any walk of shame I’d ever taken.