by Bella Baird
They had a lot more ground to cover, but the quality they’d put out so far went above and beyond her expectations. This job was finally meeting Alice’s hopes of what it would be like to design for a successful company. She took pleasure in every minute she spent there because she finally got to put her creativity to some use. The team got along very well with each other and with Alice, principally Melanie and Kevin—two designers that had been with Jitter from its first few months in that building. They both had an energy that really attracted Alice to them. All three had bounced a lot of feedback and jokes off of each other. Alice could see herself being friends with Melanie and Kevin in the future. She contemplated asking them out for drinks with her and Daniel some time down the road.
While she sat at her desk, Alice thought about the sweet and beautiful moment when she told her mother about the new job last Wednesday. Of course, she decorated the truth a bit to make it all sound more spectacular. Karen’s voice held a bit of surprise, alerting Alice to her slight embarrassment for underestimating her daughter’s skill and drive. Alice reveled in her mother’s discomfort as she explained her salary and responsibilities. Beautiful revenge for all the times that Karen questioned her choices. The moment still brought a smile to Alice’s face, and it would probably continue to do so for a few years.
Now, Alice was organizing and preparing all of the current work for Trent’s arrival. He’d surely want to see whatever had been completed in his absence. Alice was almost going to leave for a bathroom break when she heard an intercom beep on her desk phone. She pressed the button to let the call through.
“Alice,” Trent said.
“Hey, Trent. How was your business trip?” she asked him.
“It went really well. I’m so excited about our future,” he said elatedly. “I heard that you have some good work to show me.”
“I do. I think you’ll like the direction we’re heading,” Alice informed Trent.
“Well, come up! I can’t wait to see it!” he almost shouted.
Alice finished getting all the samples together before rushing to the elevator. Her heart was fluttering in a mixture of fear and excitement. Oh, great. Here we go again. She was unsure if her current mood was a result of going to see Trent for the first time since she left work the first day, or if it was due to her nervousness about him seeing the new designs after such a wait. I guess I’ll find out in a couple of minutes.
When Alice rounded the corner to get to Trent’s office, he and Sam were waiting for her in front of the doors. The moment he saw her, a goofy grin appeared on Trent’s face. He had the most beautiful smile, and Alice knew she was in trouble when she felt her heart skipping. Apparently, her release the previous Monday had done nothing to weaken her feelings for him. She’d only satiated her sexual desires temporarily. Alice’s longing was very real and present, despite her denial of the circumstances. Now, she was forced to admit to herself that she still carried a flame for Trent.
It wasn’t just a physical desire attached to his looks, his body, or the memory of their preceding sexual encounters. Alice’s sentiments went much deeper than that. She wanted to hear his voice, his laughter, and his humorous remarks. Her wish was nothing more than to be in his arms again, his fingers running through her hair. What’s more, she felt like an old wound had reopened along with this realization. An ache formed in her chest, and she had to take a deep breath.
But, why? He didn’t want me anymore. He stopped caring, and I had to move on. It’s been five years since we broke up. Why can’t I get over what happened? Trent must have gone forward with his life the way I should have. A small part of her wasn’t convinced that he had gotten over her though. His eyes told a different story the first time she met him in his office. The sadness in them didn’t go unnoticed by her. Alice also caught his expression when she told him about Daniel. He seemed…dispirited. In all of their recent encounters he had not passed up any opportunities to get closer to her or even lightly brush her skin. Why did he give me this position in the first place? He could have just let Veronica hire me and give me a regular design job, but he asked me to work directly with him or not at all. No, there must have been more on his mind than helping out an old friend. Even if that were the case, I’m not in a position to figure that out. I have other priorities now, and I have to put Trent behind me no matter what. This thought hurt her again, bringing another pang in her chest.
“Are you okay?” Trent asked with concern. “You look really stressed out.”
If only you knew.
“No, I’m fine,” she lied while artificially perking up. “I’m just a little nervous about showing you what we have so far.”
A look of surprise came over him. “You shouldn’t be worried at all. It’s just me,” he said defensively.
That’s what makes it harder!
“You’re right,” she replied. “I don’t know why I was feeling so tense.”
They walked into the office with Sam slinking behind them. Alice took a seat at the large table and spread out the designs they’d finished and critiqued so far while Trent stood nearby. She swore she could hear her blood pumping as he walked from left to right, evaluating the work. He remained completely silent, only the sounds of his breath reaching her ears. She was about to pop from the suspense when he gripped the back of her chair. His fingertips were almost touching her shoulder blade. Alice felt the warmth, and it temporarily distracted her from Trent’s unspoken evaluation.
Leaning forward to look over her shoulder at the designs, he finally said, “These are perfect! How did you know just what I wanted?”
With his face not too far from hers, Alice became even more unfocused. Heat from his body drifted toward her. She had a hard time coming up with an answer.
“You had some pretty good notes to work from,” she rejoined.
“No, this is more than that. You took what I said and went even further. You and your team really delivered!” he exclaimed.
“Thank you!” Alice said with gratitude. “The people you gave me for this project are all awesome. It seemed so effortless to work together.”
“You’ll have to keep this up. The bad thing about doing so well right away is that I’m going to expect a lot more from you all now,” Trent said while looking down at her.
Oh, good. I needed even more pressure from this job.
Trent straightened up and took his hand away from the chair, brushing her shoulder gently as he walked away. She immediately felt a quick jolt, missing the heat that had been emanating from him. God, how am I going to keep releasing this kind of work if I can’t even hold myself together whenever we meet to discuss it?
“Okay, the next thing I want you to work on is the development of the banners. You can do whatever you want after that’s finished, but I really want to see those banners at the end of next week,” Trent sounded like he was all business. “But you’re finished for the day, if you don’t have any questions for me.”
Well, I’ve got some questions, but I don’t know if you’ll want to answer them.
“If I think of anything, I’ll come see you again.” Alice picked up the designs and put them back into the folder.
“I’d like that. It gets lonely up here most of the time. I’d have conversations with Sam, but he’s a better listener than conversationalist,” Trent joked.
Alice looked over at him with a smile, and she saw that look in his eyes again. They were crinkled in a half-hearted grin, but she knew there was more below the surface. She could tell that he’d been serious when he mentioned his loneliness. Or am I only imagining things? Am I just projecting my own feelings onto him? I have to ignore myself from now on. She walked toward the doors, petting the dog on the way out.
“Alice,” Trent said with slight urgency.
She pivoted around and said, “Yeah?”
“You know…uh…it’s nothing. I’ll see you next week,” He smiled unconvincingly.
Her stomach wrenched. Maybe there was something
he needed to tell her. It doesn’t matter now. Everything we had is in the past. She said goodbye before taking the elevator down to the parking garage.
Chapter 3
The design was almost right, but there was something missing. Alice couldn’t put her finger on the element that would make the potential module look better. Maybe… She had a thought that might be what she was looking for. Alice turned down the opacity on the module and darkened the bordering shadow for a better contrast. That’s it! It might not be finished, but it’s a good start.
The clock on her shelf read 4:56. Wow, I lost track of time. She was more focused than usual that morning. Time seemed to slip by because she got so wrapped up in improving existing designs. That was one perk of this job; she hardly noticed time passing. It was as if she weren’t working at all. Alice gathered her belongings and made her way to the door. Fortunately, she didn’t have a meeting with Trent. They would talk about the new concepts and revisions next Tuesday. Until then, she could put her nose to the grindstone and leave when she was finished.
Melanie, Kevin, and Veronica stood near a group of cubicles on Alice’s left. They seemed to be sharing a good laugh before they saw Alice walking by. All three looked over as Alice waved goodbye. Veronica’s face lit up as she walked over to flag her down. Kevin and Melanie followed close behind.
“Alice!” said Veronica with her usual exuberance. “Are you coming tomorrow?”
“Uh, what’s happening tomorrow?” Alice asked.
“You didn’t get the email? There’s an office party. Everyone in the building is invited, and you can bring someone,” said Kevin.
“Oh… No, I had no idea. I was so focused that I never checked my email all day. Should I go?” Alice asked.
“Hell, yeah you should!” Melanie chimed in. “It’s gonna be awesome. It’ll strictly be the people in this building. No outside business executives like the last ‘party.’ Everyone was so nervous about being professional that hardly anyone drank or had fun. This time will be way different. We’re getting as drunk as we want, and then we’ll play strip poker.”
Kevin gave Melanie a hard sideways glance.
“Okay, maybe not that last part,” Melanie added.
“Mr. Beringer is even hosting the party on the 13th and 14th floors. His office will be open for everyone. We’ll have an unlimited supply of free drinks, free food, and some games. A lot of winners end up getting bonuses.” Veronica raised her eyebrows a few times. “I plan on letting loose for this one. Gettin’ my drink on.”
“When are you not letting loose?” Kevin asked.
Veronica let out an exaggerated high-pitched laugh and smacked Kevin lightly on the back of the head. He styled his hair back into place while grinning impishly.
“Well, he does have a point,” Veronica remarked.
“This is all I needed to know that I’m going,” Alice said while shaking her head. “I can sit back and watch you embarrass yourselves!”
“Trust me, if we get crazy, we are dragging you down with us,” said Kevin.
“That’s cool, too,” Alice replied quickly. “What time is this thing?”
“Starts at 8,” said Melanie.
“What’s the attire?” asked Alice.
“It’s business casual, so you can’t wear all those dresses you just bought from Frederick’s,” Veronica cracked.
All three laughed while Alice gasped and hung her mouth open.
“That’s not true! I only get some lingerie there!” Alice sputtered out. “Oh, that’s it. I’m gonna get your ass when you least expect it coming. Watch!”
She laughed and turned around to continue her exit, waving when she got to the door. It never occurred to Alice that she would find work friends at a future job. In all of her life, she only worked with people who were uninterested in talking unless the topic was gossip. Conversely, the last job she had really didn’t offer her much more than bare minimum interaction with coworkers who were just trying to mind their business and get things done.
The attitudes of everyone at Jitter were refreshing. Motivated people like herself surrounded Alice, but no one took themselves or their positions too seriously. Veronica, Melanie, and Kevin were her absolute favorites. Together, they had a dynamic that made Alice feel so comfortable and giddy at the same time. She couldn’t wait to see what a Saturday night with them would be like. After the drudgery and stress of college and post-college life, a party might be just the thing to celebrate her newfound financial success and artistic freedom. She’d done precious little partying in her high school and college careers.
I wonder if Daniel would come with me.
Alice dialed his number as she made her way downstairs. He picked up on the last ring, sounding like he was out of breath.
“Hey, cutie!” he wheezed. “Sorry, I was just moving this heavy bitch of a pedestal.”
Alice chuckled, “So there’s this impromptu office party tomorrow. I wanted to know if you’d come with me. There’ll be lots of drunk people to make fun of, and I want you to meet some of my goofy coworkers.”
“Aww, I’m sorry, sweetie. We’re having sort of a last-minute showing here at the gallery, too. I’m actually showing more of my stuff this weekend, so I have to be here,” Daniel told her.
“Noooo!” Alice whined loudly.
“I know. I really wish I could come with you,” he said unhappily. “Why don’t you come visit me at the gallery on Sunday? It probably won’t be as extravagant or packed as your event, but there’ll be some free wraps and veggie trays. I know how much you love those. Oh, and wine!”
“That sounds great to me,” she said.
“Good. Well, I have to finish setting up these displays. I’ll see you Sunday. Love you!” Daniel stated.
“I love you too!” Alice responded.
Crap. I guess I’ll have to go solo on this one. The upside is that I don’t have to worry about the awkwardness of a meeting between Daniel and Trent. It’d be uncomfortable for all of us. I’m positive.
Nonetheless, she remained excited for her weekend out. Most of her friends from high school and college had either moved away from the city or were busy with their own lives. Sometimes, Alice felt a little isolated. Hopefully, this weekend would be a chance to cement some relationships she could transfer to life outside of work. Alice thought about what she was going to wear on the drive home.
The dress was black and somewhat tight in the right areas without revealing much cleavage. Alice liked to leave that to the imagination on most occasions. On her shoulders was a blue blouse that matched her earrings. Her feet slid into two plain black pumps, not tall or skinny enough for her to fall on her face—as she tended to do in high heels. The outfit was classy enough for a business setting, yet cute enough to say that she wanted to have some fun. She’d parted her hair deeply on the side and let it fall down in luxurious waves. The hair almost swooping down over her left eye made her look vaguely mysterious. Alice turned around in front of the floor-length mirror to make sure she looked okay.
Not bad. I won’t win any style awards, but I think I look nice enough.
It had just turned 7:45. She grabbed her purse and keys to make her way to the office. Traffic wasn’t unbearable, but it did take her longer than expected. She pulled into the garage around 8:24, thinking that most people would probably show up around 9. Alice surveyed the parking garage around her. There seemed to be a lot of cars parked already, with more following behind her. She had to search for a spot close to the elevator. The 13th floor would be her first stop. Alice didn’t care to bring her purse around all night, so she’d lock it in her desk before meeting her friends.
When she walked onto the 14th floor, she saw tons of people already standing around with wine glasses or beers. Techno music came from one of the bigger offices to the right. Many of the younger-looking employees were walking into it, presumably to dance. The people walking out were sweating profusely, seeming like they’d been in the ro
om for hours by now. Then came a collective “Ohhhhh!” from somewhere down the hallway. Alice rounded the corner and slipped her way through the throngs of people mingling and eating the food. She finally made her way to Trent’s office and peered inside. Where the table once was, several couches lined up in front of the humongous TV instead. Four guys Alice didn’t know were sitting on the front couch, playing some sort of racing game. Each person attempted to knock the other players off the track. With every car that sped to first place or got totaled, the whole room made a great deal of noise.
Alice browsed the room looking for anyone she knew. She saw Veronica standing off to the side by Trent’s desk, so she made her way over to talk. Veronica seemed to be wrapped up in watching the game. Her hair was in a messy updo, some strands falling out of place. She worked on a drink she had by her side.
“What’s goin’ on here?” Alice asked, nodding her head toward the TV.
“The first person to get in first place three times wins a thousand dollar bonus. Each round has four new players. There are five more rounds remaining, and I’m signed up for the next one,” Veronica said.
“Really? I didn’t peg you as a gamer.” Alice was thoroughly surprised.
“Oh, yeah. I could blow these little dorks out of the water, even in my almost drunken state!” Veronica informed her.
The current round ended a few minutes later, and Veronica promptly plopped herself down on the couch. She pointed her finger at the other three players and then dragged her finger across her neck.
Damn, she’s really serious about this.
Alice watched the game begin, with Veronica immediately causing two players to wipe out. She brought her car into first place and maintained that position to the finish line. Her maneuvering skills were impeccable. Alice wondered how she’d ever gotten that much practice. Both subsequent races occurred in almost the same fashion. Veronica was a speed demon, zipping past the other three cars right away and using brutal tactics to stay ahead. She managed to total a few cars in the process, and she won three games in a row. After the last one ended, she stood up from her seat, held up the controller, and then she dropped it onto the couch.