City of Sin - Chapter 1
Bee
The subway car screeched as it came to a stop.
I quickly stood up and squeezed my way past the people boarding.
It seemed like common sense to let people off the subway before getting on.
But that philosophy somehow got lost when people were underground.
Maybe it was similar to how I was somehow now immune to the smell of pee in the subway terminal and the loud sounds of the city.
If I left the city now, it would probably be hard to fall asleep to the silence of the suburbs.
Cars honking always put me right to sleep.
I slowly climbed the stairs. Luckily the office was only a block away from the subway station. The cold wind nipped my cheeks as soon as I emerged above ground. I pulled my jacket tighter around myself as I avoided tripping over a pile of trash on the curb.
In the distance, I noticed a homeless person sitting on the sidewalk outside my office building.
Just don't look at him. I grabbed the handle of the door.
Damn it. I didn't know why I couldn't walk past him.
It just wasn't in me. And it was so cold this morning.
I hadn't realized how harsh the winters were going to be in New York.
I backtracked and handed the man a few dollars out of my purse.
If I kept doing this, I'd be the next one on the street.
I was barely scraping by as it was. Giving money to every homeless person I walked by really added up.
"Thank you, miss."
I smiled at him and retreated into the building. I kept my coat on as I walked toward the elevator. My teeth were still chattering.
"Bridget, I'm glad I caught you."
I turned around and looked up at my boss. He was at least ten years older than me, but that didn't seem to stop him from flirting with me constantly. "Oh, hi, Mr. Ellington."
"I told you to call me Joe." He smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder.
Nope. "What can I do for you?"
"Coffee. Please."
"Sure. As soon as I get upstairs, I'll get you a cup."
"No, the good stuff down the street. Thanks, Bridget. See you in a few." He let go of my shoulder and stepped onto the elevator.
I wanted to tell him that it was 15 degrees outside.
And that there was perfectly good coffee in our office.
Instead, I bit my tongue and went back out into the cold.
The place my boss was referring to wasn't exactly nearby either.
It was three blocks away. I folded my arms across my chest and walked as quickly as I could.
When I finally arrived at the coffee shop, I could barely feel my nose. I got into the back of the line and rubbed my hands together. A woman walked up behind me. She was talking really loudly into her phone. I rolled my eyes to myself.
"What can I get for you?" the barista said with a big smile when I reached the front of the line.
"Could I have a 12 ounce cappuccino with soy milk and extra foam to go please?" I hated how pretentious Mr. Ellington's order sounded. I felt my cheeks blush.
"Sure thing. That will be $3.99."
I handed the barista the company card.
"Sorry, our register is being weird this morning. It's not scanning cards. Cash only."
"Oh, okay." I opened up my purse and rifled around.
I had handed the homeless person my last dollar bills.
But there was tons of change at the bottom of my purse.
"I'm so sorry." I started pulling out quarters and placing them on the counter.
I could feel my face turning even more red. This was mortifying.
"God. Don't you see that someone who's actually ready is waiting behind you?"
I turned around and looked at the woman behind me. "I'm really sorry. It'll just be a second." If she thought I was rude, she shouldn't be yelling into her phone in a small coffee shop.
"This is ridiculous," she snapped. "I'll have a latte. Whatever your biggest size is. With coconut milk and no foam."
Of course her order is as pretentious as Mr. Ellington's.
"Umm..." the barista looked at me.
"It's fine. I need another minute anyway."
"Okay," the barista said. "That will be $4.75."
"Here," the woman said and handed him a ten dollar bill. He pulled her change out of the register and handed it to her.
"And if you think you're getting a tip for not making me wait, think again." She grabbed her change and walked toward the other end of the counter where the pickup line was.
"What a bitch," the barista said under his breath.
I laughed. "I'm sorry I took so long." I slid the quarters toward him. I had ended up finding a few extra quarters. "Keep the change."
"Thanks." His big smile returned from earlier as he dumped the extra change into the tip jar. "I hope you have a great day."
"You too."
***
"It's cold." Mr. Ellington looked up at me.
"What?" I had walked back as quickly as I could. There was no way his coffee was cold. I bit my lip. Maybe it's cold. It was freezing outside.
"Well, room temperature."
"I'm so sorry, I..."
He held up his hand. "It's fine, Bridget. Please just warm it up for me." He handed it back to me and looked down at the papers on his desk.
I grabbed the cup out of his hand and went to the break room.
"Hey, Bee. You're running late today," Kendra said. She was pouring herself a cup of coffee out of the communal pot like a normal person. "Please tell me it's because you went out last night and had a good time?"
I laughed. "No, I was just picking up coffee for Mr. Ellington. Cold coffee, apparently." I poured the cappuccino into a normal coffee mug and put it in the microwave.
"He still has you fetching coffee for him? You're not an intern. You need to stand up for yourself."
I sighed and leaned against the counter. "I'm not sure there's any difference between an intern and a secretary in his mind."
"Well, except for how much he hits on his secretaries."
"Uh." I put my face in my hands. "Kendra, what am I doing here?"
"Warming up coffee?"
"You know what I mean." I looked up at her.
This was supposed to be a stepping stone.
I felt stuck. "He's never going to look at me as anything more than someone to fetch coffee.
" And if I had to edit another one of his documents, I felt like I would scream.
I hadn't spent four years busting my ass in school to be a secretary.
This job was supposed to open doors, but I wasn't sure how much more I could take.
And no matter how hard I worked, every door always seemed to be closed.
"Have you pitched him any of your ideas?"
"I've tried. He always interrupts me."
"Maybe do it in the meeting tomorrow? And then everyone will be listening, not just him. It'll almost force him into hearing you out."
"I'm supposed to be taking notes, not participating."
"Right, said no one ever." Kendra took a sip of her coffee. "But back to my other point. What did you do last night?"
"I watched T.V. And went to bed. Like a normal person."
"Normal people don't sit in their apartments alone every night. Come out with me tonight. It will be fun, I promise."
"I don't want to go out."
"Bee."
"Kendra."
She laughed. "There's a new bar opening up around the corner from here. And there are so many eligible bachelors who work around here. I'm sure the bar will be packed."
"If you must know, I already have plans tonight."
"With your T.V.?"
"No. I'm going over to Marie and Carter's for dinner."
"Hanging out with a married couple doesn't exactly count as plans."
"Of course it does. You're being ridiculous."
"Maybe tomorrow night, then? I don't want to go alone."
"Maybe."
"Which means no."
The microwave beeped and I pulled out the coffee mug. "Maybe means maybe."
"Sure. At least think about speaking up during the meeting tomorrow. You can't be afraid to show them what you got. See you at lunch, Bee."
I felt cold despite the fact that I was still wearing my winter coat in the office. Am I afraid?