Insanity, #1

by Andre Gonzalez

  “Welcome to the Hyatt. Checking in today?” a scrawny man behind the counter asked. He gathered the required information from Jeremy. “Enjoy your stay in Chicago,” he said as he handed Jeremy two keycards. “Take advantage of our concierge service. They know the city like the back of their hand.”

  Jeremy thanked him and they turned for the elevator. Outside, he caught a glimpse of the homeless man pacing in circles.

  They rode the elevator to the seventeenth floor, debating if they should have deep-dish pizza or a lighter meal for dinner. The elevator lobby on the seventeenth floor had five different hallways branching out in different directions from its core.

  Their room awaited them at the end of the long hallway. Jamie swiped the key card and Jeremy shoved the heavy door open to reveal sunlight pouring in through the window. A queen bed sat in the middle of the room, with a sofa below the open curtains. A lemony scent filled the air.

  “What a view!” Jamie exclaimed from the sofa. From seventeen floors above, the city of Chicago looked like a small village. Jeremy joined her at the window, pressing his forehead against the glass.

  “Magnificent,” he said, admiring the hundreds of cars that looked like ants on the sidewalk. “I’ll be right back, gotta use the bathroom.” He headed into the bathroom whistling Frank Sinatra’s “My Kind of Town.”

  He stepped out of the bathroom to find Jamie in bed with the sheets pulled up to her chin. Her gentle hazel eyes invited him to join her. Her clothes were in a neat pile at the foot of the bed.

  “I thought we could relax for a bit before exploring the city,” she said, pulling the sheets down to reveal her perky breasts. “Care to join me?”

  Jeremy undressed in milliseconds and joined her under the covers.

  *****

  They woke to fading sunlight three hours later.

  “Shit, we slept all the way to dinnertime,” Jeremy said as he stretched his arms above his head.

  “Mm-hmm,” Jamie mumbled, not bothered one bit.

  They lay in bed for a while, listening to the steady blast of air conditioning pouring out of the vents. Then Jeremy jumped up and threw on his same clothes, while Jamie searched for new dinner attire and powdered on a quick layer of makeup.

  “Let’s go see what this town is all about,” she said happily while fixing the bed sheets.

  “Pizza it is then!” Jeremy cried, whipping out his phone to find the best nearby deep-dish spot.

  They headed back down the long hallway to the elevator, and by the time they stepped outside, darkness filled the city, bringing with it a glow of ambient light from the towering buildings.

  “Chicago at night!” Jeremy shouted. “So damn beautiful.”

  The energy of the city filled them both with a second wind as they walked down the Magnificent Mile toward their restaurant of choice, Giordano’s Pizzeria. The famous pizza joint had red neon lighting and a line of people pouring out front. They pushed their way inside to the hostess stand.

  The waiting area had an open bench, where they waited for their table. Jeremy, a lifelong pizza fiend, took a deep inhale to fill his lungs with the heavenly scent of baked dough and cheese.

  The restaurant’s dozens of tables were covered with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths, and one wall was filled with a line of booths.

  Jeremy caught a glimpse of a pie as a waitress passed by: a two-inch-tall crust forming a circle around a pool of marinara sauce. His mouth watered.

  The hostess called Jamie’s name and directed them to their table. They sat across from each other, leaning in to talk over the constant bustle of the surrounding tables.

  “Wanna get the meat-filled pizza?” Jeremy asked, scanning the menu.

  “Yeah. Wanna get a drink to celebrate?”

  “Sure.” Jeremy had planned to keep drinks to a minimum since he had no income, but it was their first night out in a new city.

  Their waiter took their order and returned minutes later with a rum and Coke for Jeremy and a Long Island Iced Tea for Jamie.

  “To Chicago!” Jamie raised her glass. Jeremy smiled and tapped his glass to hers.

  They downed two rounds before the pizza arrived. Pies of this size took a long time to bake. The waiter brought the deep-dish pan to the table, balancing it on his arm with heat pads, and placed it atop the stand in the center of the table.

  “Bon appetit!” he exclaimed as he lifted a slice from the pan with a spatula. Jeremy’s eyes bulged as cheese dangled from the slice on its journey to his plate. Sauce covered the top of the pizza, something he’d never seen before. Beneath the sauce, gooey cheese filled the space between two inches of pepperoni, sausage, bacon, and ham.

  “Is this for real?” Jamie asked, gawking at her slice.

  The waiter took a step back with a sly grin. He knew a first-timer when he saw one. He bowed out of the way, leaving them to it.

  Jamie took a fork and knife to the pizza and began cutting off a piece.

  “Rookie,” Jeremy smirked. He believed pizza should be eaten by hand no matter what. This slice required two fully spread hands.

  The first bite exploded flavors in his mouth in a magical combination. He closed his eyes while chewing, savoring every second.

  “Fuck me, that’s incredible,” Jeremy said.

  He looked across to Jamie, who was poking her slice with her fork and not appearing impressed.

  “What’s the matter?” Jeremy asked.

  “I wanted mushrooms and bell peppers on it,” she said in a lifeless tone. “But no, we got what you wanted like always.”

  Jesus Christ, he thought. Here we go.

  “Babe, you didn’t say anything when I asked if the meat pizza was alright,” Jeremy defended himself.

  “No, I did. You just weren’t paying attention. I’m so sick of having this conversation all the time!”

  What the fuck?

  “Well, I’m sorry. Do you want me to ask for something on the side?” Jeremy asked. No point in arguing with someone who never admits when they’re wrong.

  “Nope, it’s fine,” she snapped. “I’ll just enjoy your pizza. It’s so delicious.”

  Passive aggressive bitch, he thought. Jeremy was also sick of having these conversations—he was always the bad guy.

  “Whatever,” Jeremy said and returned to his pizza.

  They ate in silence. Jamie managed to keep her lips pursed and her brow drawn even as she ate. Jeremy shook his head, fighting off the knots twisting in his stomach.

  “So what do you think of the town?” Jeremy asked. Maybe small talk could lead them back to a normal vibe.

  “It’s cool,” she said flatly. “I thought the people would be rude, but they’re pretty chill.”

  “Right?”

  Just like that, the two returned to their pleasant dinner. They laughed and swapped stories and made fun of other people in the restaurant. For the remainder of the night, Jeremy forgot about his unemployment situation and enjoyed himself. Dinner led to more drinks, which led them back to their hotel room, where they made love again to cap off the day.

  *****

  “Had no idea this was here,” Jamie said. “Never even heard of it.”

  “Me neither, but she is spectacular,” Jeremy responded, raising his sunglasses to get a better look at the majestic piece of art.

  After a quick continental breakfast at the hotel, they headed for Michigan Avenue, a popular tourist area in downtown Chicago, containing landmarks like the famous Chicago Water Tower, Millennium Park, and the Magnificent Mile.

  They approached Pioneer Court. Towering above them stood a statue of Marilyn Monroe in her iconic “flying skirt” pose.

  Jeremy gawked up at the thirty-foot statue.

  “It says the statue isn’t permanent,” Jamie said, scrolling on her phone to look up facts on the sculpture, named Forever Marilyn. “It travels around the country and has been to California, Jersey, and even Australia.”

  Jeremy focused on getting a clear shot of Mari
lyn through his digital camera. “Well, I’m glad we were able to cross paths with her,” Jeremy said as his camera clicked. “She was one beautiful woman.”

  Jeremy’s pocket vibrated and he reached in to grab his phone, the 720 area code indicating a call from Denver.

  “Hi, Jeremy, this is Melissa from E-Nonymous,” a familiar perky voice said. “Is now a good time for you to talk?”

  Jeremy shuffled away from the statue, where a group of teenage girls were giggling and screaming for no reason. Jamie gave him a curious look and he smiled and held up a finger to tell her to hold on.

  “Yes,” Jeremy replied. “Sorry for the background noise. I’m actually in Chicago right now.”

  “Oh, how fun!” she cried loudly. “I love Chicago, but we can talk about that later. I was calling to offer you the position at E-Nonymous. Your interviews were stellar and we would love for you to join the team!”

  Jeremy felt relief flood his soul. “I would love to work at E-Nonymous,” Jeremy said, trying to sound composed.

  “That’s outstanding!” Melissa chirped. “Our next training class will begin on May 7. Does that work with your current schedule?”

  “Absolutely!”

  Jeremy continued to listen as Melissa covered additional details. Once his offer letter was signed, his health benefits would kick in right away. With 100 percent coverage and no out-of-pocket expense, this was officially the “grown-up” job he’d been wanting. After four years of making a measly nine dollars an hour, he was being offered twelve dollars to start, which would increase to fourteen after thirty days.

  The health plan was just the tip of the iceberg. Benefits also included catered lunches, a fully stocked kitchen, monthly happy hours within the office, and generous paid time off. He could feel his future becoming better with each word Melissa spoke.

  “We have a passion for keeping our employees happy and proud to work with us,” Melissa said. “I hope you feel that vibe right out the gate.”

  “I could tell from my interview that it’s a special place to work.”

  “Perfect. If you have questions before the seventh, please let me know. Otherwise, have a great time in Chicago!”

  Jeremy wished her well and hung up the phone in his trembling hand. Destiny, he thought. His heart felt ready to burst out of his chest.

  Jamie walked over, and Jeremy looked at her with a big grin.

  “I got the job,” he said. “I start on the seventh!”

  Jamie matched his grin. “I’m so glad, babe!” she cried. “Now we can really celebrate!”

  “I know! I’m so relieved. And you won’t believe the benefits they offer. I have health insurance now!”

  “That’s great! What do you want to do now?”

  “Let’s grab a small lunch so we can go out for a fancy dinner tonight. We can dress up.” He knew how much Jamie loved getting dolled up for a night out on the town.

  “Oh? Fancy, you say?” Jamie couldn’t hide her excitement and smiled.

  They enjoyed the rest of the day exploring the city. Jeremy’s good news created a rejuvenation for their relationship, and their day felt like a first date.

  Jeremy stuck to his word and took Jamie for an elegant dinner on the 84th floor of the Hancock Tower, overlooking the city. The view was something out of a postcard. They ate and drank the night away, feeling on top of the world. Jeremy had a new job, Jamie had her boyfriend back, and they had so much to look forward to.

  14

  Chapter 14

  May 2012

  It was the first day of training and Jeremy had never been so eager for a day of work. He dressed and was out the door in a blur, arriving at 7:30 for an eight o’clock start time. The parking lot was deserted outside of the office building as the morning sun splayed its rays across the facade.

  He waited for others to arrive and enter the building, then followed them in. M.K. greeted him, showing him to the training room along with a quick tour of the kitchen: an open space with two large refrigerators and a ping pong table.

  M.K. left him in the kitchen to rummage through the cupboards in search of a quick breakfast. He made a mental note of the snacks he came across and settled on a cereal bar and a bottle of orange juice, before returning to the training room.

  The front of the room had a pull-down projector screen displaying E-Nonymous’ logo. Below the screen was a table with an open laptop and stacks of papers. Two long rows of desks faced the front, with five desktop computers in each row. Name tags were clipped to the tops of each monitor; he saw the one with his name, and took his seat.

  A couple others were already seated in the row behind him. Jeremy nodded and smiled to them as he sat down.

  A short Asian man walked in with a pep in his step. “Good morning, everybody,” he said energetically. “My name is Jason Tong, and I’ll be training you for the next two weeks!”

  By Jeremy’s judgment, Jason was roughly his age, if not younger. His black hair spiked up like a sea urchin and his eyes scanned the room as he took a sip of coffee from an E-Nonymous thermos.

  “I look forward to getting to know all of you!” Jason put his thermos down and circled the room to shake the three newbie’s hands.

  Jeremy stood to greet him and found that Jason was as short as he was, which was unusual. “Nice to meet you, Jason,” he said. “Happy to be here.”

  “The pleasure is all mine,” Jason replied. “Welcome to the team.”

  As Jason made his rounds, two more people entered the room. “Ah, Peter and Patrick!” Jason hurried over to them. “Great seeing you guys, please take a seat.” He gestured to their empty desks.

  “Pleasure to be back in training, bud,” the one named Patrick said. He plopped down in the chair next to Jeremy. “Hey, bud,” he said. “Name’s Patrick. You can call me Pat, or whatever you want really.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Jeremy shook his hand. “Do you know Jason already?”

  Patrick looked down, scratched his sandy hair, and cracked a smile. He looked up with droopy blue eyes. “Yeah, I know him. I think I’m the only person to get fired then rehired a month later. Gotta love start-ups!”

  Patrick noticed the confusion on Jeremy’s face. “I started in sales. I sucked. They fired me. Then they call me two weeks ago and offered me this customer service position.”

  “I see,” Jeremy said. He’d never understood how some people could spill their life story to a stranger.

  The tall, scrawny man in glasses named Peter shuffled behind Jeremy to take a seat on the other side of Patrick. He sat back and propped his foot across his knee, showing off his hairy legs, his toenails hanging out of his sandals.

  Pretty laid-back for the first day, Jeremy thought, hoping he wouldn’t have to see too many more pairs of feet up close. He glanced around and noticed that both Patrick and Jason wore sandals. Jason sat on the front desk, legs dangling.

  A very tall woman entered the room. She looked like a college basketball player with her slender build and athletic attire. A guy was with her, smiling awkwardly as he passed, keeping his head down as his pale face flushed. He had graying hair, and was definitely the oldest person in the class.

  “Alright, everyone. Time for us to get started!” Jason announced. He scanned the room. “I’m Jason, and we’re going to become the best of friends over the next two weeks. We’ll be meeting in here every morning to go through training on the E-Nonymous products and procedures, legal matters, and of course, how it all ties in to your job. Later this week we’ll hit the floor so you can do some call listening with the more experienced reps.”

  They all nodded.

  “Let’s get started,” Jason continued. “This morning will be all about the company. How we got where we are today and what the future looks like.”

  Jason held a remote and clicked it to change the slide. The company logo gave way to a big, bold lettered statement: WE DON’T HIRE ASSHOLES!

  “First thing to know about E-Nonymous is that we don’t h
ire assholes,” Jason said as they all chuckled. “We’re more than a company—we’re a family. If you put yourself above the good of the team, you likely won’t last too long. We can only move our company forward by working together as a finely tuned machine. Besides, our mission is to help people dealing with serious issues, so why would we employ an asshole?”

  The morning carried on while they learned of the young company’s history and founder, Sami Eger. Sami had come from Norway to study psychology at Stanford. With a master’s degree in hand, and a hunger for helping people dealing with suicidal thoughts, addiction, and mental illness, Sami decided to start his own network of fellow psychology students for people to call.

  It started as an experiment, to see how many people would utilize such a program. There were already suicide hotlines, quit-smoking lines, and a number for gambling addicts to call. They could all be found running commercials on TV in the middle of the night.

  Sami wanted to differentiate his service, to be more appealing. Attending school in the heart of the technology world, Silicon Valley, Sami realized the importance of making it more accessible than the typical hotline. He connected with software engineers on campus, told them his idea, and within two weeks he had a fully functioning mobile phone application called E-Nonymous.

  The app incorporated Sami’s vision: people across the spectrum could be in touch with an expert with a tap of the finger. The app allowed direct phone calls, emails, and Sami’s priority, a live chat option. He knew most people found comfort in hiding behind their screens, to keep their identity confidential. The live chat option addressed that head-on, which meant Sami could save many more lives, by giving those too shy to pick up the phone a means of communication.

  It took only four months for word to spread about the new, free app and its unique features. After reaching 100,000 downloads, Sami decided to implement a small fee for users to connect with the team of psychologists. His hope was that the fee would help curb the incoming traffic for his small team, which had grown to twenty psychologists around the country.