Chapter 1
Amelia
My alarm startled me awake. I rolled over trying to find my phone that was buried within my blanket, finally finding its hard case. I pulled it out and pressed the button silencing the deafening tone. My head plopped back into my feathery pillows as I groaned and ran my hands down my face. I had never been a morning person, but today was my first day at my new job.
Before today, I had been working as a bartender at Joe’s, a bar down the street from my tiny apartment, as I worked my way through college. It had taken me several more months after I graduated with my business degree to finally land a job as an administrative assistant at Global Services. I would not be making much more than I had been at Joe’s, but I had hope that I could climb the so called ’ladder’ and finally make a life for myself.
I rolled myself off of my bed, catching myself on my rickety nightstand that was cluttered with all of my knick knacks and cups of water that I never seemed to pick up and headed towards my bathroom to grab a quick shower. I lathered up my long wavy brunette hair, savoring the scolding water on my shoulders. After I dried off, I wrapped my hair up in a towel and went to work on my makeup.
I typically went with a heavy liner and dark shadow but I knew I had to mix it up and go with a professional look. I applied a light pink shadow with brown accent around my eyes, along with a thin line of the liner topped with my mascara and lip gloss. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was pleased with the result, I let my long locks down and grabbed my hair dryer blowing out my hair before fixing it up in a chignon.
Moving into my closet I looked at the few option I had bought last week. I was trading in my tight fitted jeans and tank tops for pencil skirts and blouses. I grabbed a black skirt and paired it with a satin blue floral blouse. Slipping on my black heals, I headed out to the kitchen and grabbed a chipped bowl from my cabinet filling it with cereal. With coffee and breakfast in hand, I ate at my small table and turned on the news.
My attention peaked when the CEO of Global Services came on the screen. I had seen a picture of him a few times before. He was considered one of the cities most eligible bachelors, with his tall muscular form and piercing blue eyes. His finely styled black hair and tightly trimmed beard highlighted the sharp featured of his face. I was so mesmerized watching his plump lips move that I had completely missed what he had been announcing.
I sighed when they moved onto the next report, realizing that I should have paid better attention to the happenings of my new company. I grabbed my phone off of the table and search the company. A headline popped up that the company was taking a step towards lowering the carbon footprint by opening two new environmentally conscious factories to lessen the need for transportation as well shifting to using vehicles that used renewable synthetic fuels.
The companies environmental pledge was one of the key things that drew me to them in the first place. They had been acquired by Wolfe Stalk Enterprises three years ago and had been taking steps to lessen Global Services impact on the environment ever since. Gabriel Wolfe, the mouth watering CEO who had graced my television screen, had been making waves in the business world with his aggressive approach.
Scrolling through my phone, I looked at my clock on the wall.
“Shit,” I called realizing that I had lost track of time.
I tossed my dirty dishes into my sink and grabbed my sweater and car keys, rushing out of the door. My old 99’ Silver Subaru Forester was parked a block away. I cursed when I saw the bright yellow paper sticking out from under my windshield whipper. Normally I could find a spot on my street where I had a permit to park, but with the lack of spots the night before I tried my luck on the next street over. The permit that hung from my rearview mirror looked somewhat similar to the ones used on this street. I could usually get away with parking over here, but today I seemed to have no luck.
I found a parking lot a few blocks away from the towering skyscraper that housed Global Services and nearly ran to get there on time. I pushed through the double glass door and stepped into the extravagant modern lobby. Sleek white walls and floors reflected the sunlight that came through the floor to ceiling windows. A black ceiling with a large modern light fixture stood overhead. There were several seating areas made of black leather sofas and matching chairs separated by tall potted trees.
I walked up to the white security desk that sat at the center. Three imposingly large men sat behind the counter and looked up at me as I approached, their faces flat and emotionless.
“Hi, I’m Amelia Hart. I’m starting as an administrative assistant today.”
Without uttering a word to me, one of the men began typing on the computer in front of him. The other two men never took their eyes off of me, watching me as if I were some kind of criminal trying to break in. I forced a smile at them, but their hard stares never faltered.
“Look at the camera,” the security guard who had been typing said, pulling my attention back to him.
He pointed at a small orb on the top of his monitor. As soon as I looked at it, there was a flash, startling me. A small machine next to him began making noice and I watched as an ID fell from it. He passed it to me.
“You will use this to access the elevators as well as the parking garage. You will report to Ms. Marsh on floor twenty.”
“Ah, thanks,” I said taking the card form him.
I groaned as I looked down at the horrid picture of myself as I walked towards the elevator. I wondered if there was a way to retake your picture. I wasn’t sure it was worth it if I had to go through the ice brigade again. You would think that they would have more welcoming people at the desk.
Two more built security guards stood flanking the elevator lobby. They stood perfectly still holding their hands together in front of them staring straight into the lobby. Where did they even find these types of guards? Usually you found older men or retires police officers working the security desks of the buildings downtown. These guys looked more like mercenaries than security men.
When the elevator door opened, I slipped in with several other people, all dressed in chic business attire. Each person scanned their card on the black panel before pressing their floor. I replicated their actions, pressing the twenty button and took a slow deep breath in, readying myself for what was to come next.
