Chapter 7
Lydia
I practically collapsed on my sofa, staring at the ceiling for at least twenty minutes before forcing myself to get up and take a shower. The week was finally over.
Another week at the front desk would be too overwhelming without enough time to wind down. Maybe I should take a couple of days off before going back to the HR department?
That day had been so busy, I only ate half my sandwich. There wasn’t one second without someone dropping something off at the desk, needing a visitor’s badge, leaving messages for someone at the company… not to mention the phone ringing non-stop.
After showering, I crashed on my bed. On Saturday, I felt more like myself, and started the morning with a run around the block and a workout in my apartment.
The rest of the weekend was spent preparing for the week, which meant getting groceries and making a few easy-to-freeze dishes that would last until Friday.
Taking it a step further, I even planned out all of the outfits I’d wear, though that part was easy, since every day was the same—black slacks, black loafers, black blazer.
I had three blazers that looked almost identical, and five pairs of slacks, which I rotated throughout the week.
The blouses I wore were just simple button-down shirts.
I was a bit more flexible with the colors and wore black, gray, white, light pink, and light blue.
It was simple and perfect for work-me, who didn’t want to spend time thinking about what to wear.
Non-work me also didn’t really think about it, to be honest. My weekend outfits were straight or skinny jeans—never torn, but a bit washed—and vintage, worn, graphic t-shirts or basic colored tees.
Shoes were either sneakers or boots, depending on the season.
I usually had my hair down when I wasn’t at work, so I guess if a colleague saw me on a random Sunday, I would look like a completely different person.
I still always wore my ring, and the stick was usually either in my back pocket or in my hair when I tied the front back in a half-bun.
After working out, shopping, cooking, and doing laundry, I decided to leave the cleaning to Sunday and relax with a Star Wars marathon and a few beers.
After cleaning the entire apartment on Sunday, I had a few hours left to relax with a book.
I had considered working out again or dancing to loud music to calm my nerves, but I was too tired.
When I get back to HR, I’ll go back to working out on weekdays, I thought.
On Monday, I was kind of worried about running into Mr. Mason again at the café.
It was right in front of the building, so it wasn’t the first time I saw people who worked at Mason Corp, but it was rarely anyone I needed to acknowledge.
Luckily, no one interfered with my coffee time.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough coffee in the world to prepare me for what waited for me at the front desk.
I saw it before I opened the doors—a small cluster of floating balloons tied to the side of the desk, and Madelyn standing beside them with a wide smile as soon as I walked in.
“Happy birthday, Lydia!”
“Good morning, Madelyne.”
I looked up at the balloons and couldn’t stop the small grunt that came out of me when Madelyne hugged me.
She gave me a small pink box, which I knew had a cupcake in it.
All employees got a frosted cupcake and balloons at their desk on their birthday—it was something the HR department did for everyone.
I just didn’t remember that it was the fourteenth of April, or that that was even my birthday, since I had no emotional attachment to the date.
It was just something a judge put on my birth certificate, considering no one actually knew when I was born, and doctors estimated my age.
As much as I wanted to take down the balloons, I didn’t want to appear ungrateful, and employees usually left them up the whole day. The entire day, anyone who stopped by the front desk wished me a happy birthday.
I was just finishing my lunch break when my phone buzzed.
?? Have Rick cover for you at the front desk and come to my office.
The number still wasn’t saved on my phone, but I recognized it from the previous messages I got from Mr. Mason.
When I walked into his office, Madelyn was there with a grin on her face that made me nervous.
I sat down on the chair beside her, in front of Mr. Mason, who was sitting at his desk.
He nodded to Madelyne. “Go ahead.”
“Annie’s feeling much better and is coming back tomorrow!”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread on my face. My entire body relaxed a little. “That’s great! So, back to normal tomorrow?”
“I talked to Mr. Mason about promoting you to the front-desk permanently and having Annie move up to her next role, but he had a better idea.”
Would they just spit it out?
“I’d like you to join my team,” he said. “Office assistant, like you were for HR, just for my office.”
Madelyne chimed in. “The title is the same and the pay is better because you’ll be Office Assistant to the CEO instead of HR.”
Mr. Mason stood up and leaned back on the wall. “It might be a bit more boring than the sixth floor since there are only three people working here and not fourteen.”
He looked very proud of himself.
My mind was racing. My first instinct was to refuse and hope it didn’t get me fired, except what he said was actually appealing.
The work in HR was simple and quiet because the tasks were quiet, but the floor was always noisy and busy, with people coming and going from all other departments, and a large HR team.
The thirtieth floor—his floor—was huge, with only a receptionist, Mr. Mason, and his PA.
It was a much bigger space with fewer people, and his PA followed him everywhere, so when Mr. Mason was gone, it would just be the receptionist and me all day.
That sounded like heaven, and I could tell he knew that from the way he smiled when he said how ‘boring’ it would be.
Smug jackass.
I went with what I had hoped was the safe response and asked if I could think about it.
Madelyne nodded. “I’ll send you all of details. Try to give me an answer today though, since Annie’s coming back tomorrow and we’ve been trying to fill this role for a while.”
No pressure.