Towing her two large suitcases behind her, Aaliyah set herself on the biggest adventure of her life.
***
About thirteen hours later, after a few layover flights, she was in a new country. She was captivated even by the airport. Large glass windows, spacious tiled floors, and trams that stopped at different gates. It was much more beautiful and extravagant than any American airport she had been to. It took her awhile to get to baggage claim, since she got distracted at all the little shops and food places and ended up lost. There were so many people surrounding her, it became a little overwhelming.
She waited for her bags to come around on the baggage claim while trying to think of what she had to do next. There should be a person from the internship to direct her towards where she was staying and even take her there. There should be the other interns there too; she just had to find them or a sign pointing her in the right direction. It took her a minute to get to the entrance of the airport after getting her luggage, but thankfully, she did see somewhere there.
A woman dressed in a tight pencil skirt dress with intimidating heels was standing near the airport’s sliding doors, looking horribly pissed as she stared at her watch. Her only saving grace was the sign she held. Aaliyah got close enough just just to read the name of the company she was interning at.
“Hi, sorry I’m-” Aaliyah was cut off quickly by the woman.
“You’re late. There was a designated time to be here. If you’re ever late for this job you can say sorry to it, I can already tell you that.”
What the hell is her problem? Aaliyah had to stop herself from saying anything else to the bitchy woman. She wouldn’t normally let anyone talk to her like that—her weave would get snatched real quick—but her job was on the line and she wanted to make a good first impression. So she straightened up, put on her best white-girl working voice, and apologized.
“I’m sorry Ma’am. It won’t happen again.”
The woman seemed to hiss at her. “Don’t call me Ma’am. Do I look old to you?”
The look on Aaliyah’s face probably said it all. She woman narrowed her eyes and turned to address who Aaliyah assumed was the rest of the interns. “It is 10 am now. We will drop you off at the lofts you’ll be staying at. You’ll get your keys and settle in. Wear something attractive, you are representing a fashion magazine after all. At 12 pm, we’ll be heading to the lunch where you’ll get to know everyone you need to know at the publication. At 2 pm, we’ll take a tour of the place and assign your work for tomorrow. We expect you all to be in the office at 8 am sharp tomorrow morning, NO excuses. Understood?”
She didn’t give anyone time to respond before turning on her heels and heading towards the limo that was outside. Some men in suits outside began taking the interns' suitcases and piled them into a different vehicle, not far behind from the limo. Aaliyah held onto her purse and stepped into the limo.
It was the first time she had ever been in one, so she was shocked to see how nice it was. She had planned to get one for senior prom, but after her younger sister got pregnant, the family had to start saving up to help her with the baby. Aaliyah was lucky enough that she got a nice dress in time for the dance.
She looked around at the other faces, most of the girls were white and looked like they could be runway models themselves. Blond, straight hair, blue, green, or hazel eyes, tiny little tits and asses. They didn’t look anything at look like Aaliyah. She seemed to stick out like a sore thumb with her curly afro, dark chocolate skin and big brown eyes. But she wasn’t about to let that stop her. She was gonna be better than these stuck-up bitches in every sense of the word.
The other girls would glance in her direction but never gave her the time of day. They talked amongst themselves instead. The only one who did say something to her was a girl so tiny that Aaliyah was sure she hadn’t even seen her before they got into the limo. She was a petite Asian girl with an even smaller voice. “Hello,” she said, smiling at Aaliyah.
Aaliyah looked her over and realized she wanted to give her a makeover right away, but that would have to wait until later. “Hey, I’m Aaliyah. What’s you’re name?”
“Crystal,” she replied. She was surprised to hear that Crystal had a British accent. She had thought that maybe the internship was for foreign students only and wasn’t really expecting a local.
“Do you live around here?”
Crystal shook her head and adjusted her glasses. “No, I live in Leeds. It’s about four hours away, but I have some extended family that live around here, so I’ve visited London before.”
“That’s real cool. It’s my first time ever overseas. I’m kind of nervous about it all.”
“It’ll be alright. The most difficult thing is to learn how the tube and buses work and then you’ll be able to get around the city in no time.”
Aaliyah gave her a look of confusion. “What the hell is a tube?”
“It’s the underground train system.”
“You mean like a subway?”
“No, a subway is what we walk on. Like a walkway system… oh, you mean the American trains like in New York? Then yes, like that.”
“Man, learning ya’lls language is gonna be a pain in the ass. I know ya’ll speak English, but all these new words are crazy,” Aaliyah laughed.
“It’s not that much different than how American’s create new words for things. And I know people like you have their own sort of language, too.” Crystal shrugged.
“What do you mean, 'people like me?'”
“Black people. Like when you said “ya’ll,” that’s your own way of saying something. But just like I’ll get used to how you say things, you’ll get used to how we say things.”
Aaliyah scoffed and looked out the window. She knew Crystal didn’t mean no harm in what she said, but it still threw her off. There were ton of minorities in the UK, but she wondered if she wouldn’t be treated as an equal over here. She could do her job as good as the next person. She let out a deep exhale and watched as the streets rolled on, taking her closer and closer to her new home.
***
Aaliyah was dead tired by the time 12 pm rolled around. She had been busy all morning trying to get her things situated in her new room. She, by default, roomed with Crystal since the other girls paired up in their shared loft. It wasn’t so bad, at least she would have someone to talk to. But trying to get things unpacked left her little time to get freshened up, and she was almost late for the limo again, which upset Miss Snooty Tits.
She wasn’t making a good impression with her, but she was hoping to make a better impression with other people once she actually got into the office. Snooty Tits looked and acted like she had the world’s biggest stick shoved straight up her ass. Either that, or she was just racist as hell. She seemed to get on alright with the other white girls. Even at the little meet-and-greet, mingling-type thing for the interns, Snooty Tits stayed far away from Aaliyah. But Aaliyah didn’t mind. She was ready to go in on the free food. It was just a bunch of finger food, but she hadn’t eaten since the plane ride over and was starved. Even when the presentations started, she was the last to sit down after getting a few last bites in and the first one to head back up again.
“I’m glad you like our food,” she heard a voice say behind her. Aaliyah quickly looked at the man, her mouth still stuffed with a bunch of finger sandwiches. Her eyes widened as she wiped her mouth, trying to look presentable.
This man was gorgeous and she was already making a fool out of herself. His blonde hair was slicked back making his bright blue eyes the focus of her attention. They seemed to sparkle with varying shades of blue and grey depending on how the sunlight hit them. It was one of the most beautiful things Aaliyah had ever seen. She swallowed hard and straightened out her dress.
“Y-yeah…sorry. I had a long flight and hadn’t had a chance to eat anything. I could eat a whole bucket of chicken wings right now if you had them.” She thought that she sounded stupid and wondered for a momen
t how they even cooked their chicken over here. It wasn’t gonna be as good as the stuff she had in the US, but she thought she’d try it. But her mind was wandering, trying to make a fool of herself on the inside so it wouldn’t happen on the outside.
“That’s alright. I normally think our food tastes too…fancy for me. I prefer pub food over anything. They’ve got much bigger portions.” He extended his big hand for a shake.
Aaliyah took his hand and shook it. His grip was firm and his hand seemed to engulf hers. “I know that’s right. I probably could out-eat all the other interns here.”
His blue eyes seemed to scan her curves in a sign of approval. “I do like a woman that eats well. When you’re surrounded by fashion models that all look the same, it can get very stale. I’m Anthony, by the by. Anthony Taylorton.”
“I’m Aaliyah. I’m going to be working in the editorial and fashion spread areas. It’s nice to meet you.” She could feel her cheeks heating up even as she said those words. Her eyes glanced over his finely tailored suit that hugged every inch of him perfectly.
“Ah, exactly my area of jurisdiction. Welcome aboard, Aaliyah. Glad to have you on the team.” Anthony’s smile made knots emerge in her stomach and her toes curl within her heels.
This man was going to be the death of her. She just hoped that she could keep it professional, even though she wanted him to bend her over his desk and take her hard and fast. She could hope that her fantasies of office sex would come true sometime soon. But a call from Crystal took her out her head.
“I have to go, my friend is calling me,” Aaliyah said. She didn’t want to leave but she didn’t want to seem too thirsty either.
“That’s alright. I’ll see you around the office soon. Have fun.” Anthony winked at her and took off.
Aaliyah watched his cute ass walk away, loving the way those pants hugged his body.
“Girl, quit staring at his ass. I mean if you do, don’t make it that obvious,” a boy said. He was standing beside Crystal with two glasses of champagne in his hands.
“Aaliyah, this is Zach. He was an intern here last year, and then they hired him full-time,” Crystal said, introducing them both.
“Oh wow. That’s amazing. Wait, did you move here from the States, then?” Aaliyah asked, noticing Zach’s lack of a British accent.
“Yep. There wasn’t anything going on for me in my small, boring-ass little town in Minnesota, so I packed my bags and moved here. So far, so good. Where are you from?”
“I go to school in Detroit. So do you know anything about Anthony?”
“Not wasting time are we? I’ll say bring it down a notch. Anthony’s a notorious player and flits around the skirts of a bunch of girls in the office. Well, all except for one.” Zach nodded over towards Snooty Tits and Crystal and Aaliyah both nodded.
“Yep, we figured as much,” Crystal said. “Do you think she’ll ride Aaliyah even more now that she saw them talking together?”
“Oh definitely.”
“What?” Aaliyah almost screamed. She lowered her voice before she brought more attention to herself. “But we were just talking. We haven’t even done nothin’!”
“Yet,” Zach winked. “She’s just a jealous old bitch, don’t pay her no mind. Just focus on doing a damn good job and you’ll be fine. Now drink up honey, you have to start work tomorrow.”
***
Her first few months went by in the blink of an eye. In and out of meetings, getting coffee, following orders, getting mail, anything and everything, you name it she did it. It was overwhelming, and Aaliyah’s corns had corns because of all the walking she had to do. Since this was a fashion magazine, everyone was expected to look their best which meant heels everyday for her. She was getting so good at walking in them that she could even run to catch the train or bus.
She was proud of her work, even though Snooty Tits would ride her ass any chance she got, just like Zach said. But it was still Zach and Crystal who kept her sane. They would take her out for drinks after work, even when she just felt like soaking in a bath and falling asleep. They would go with her to get manicures and pedicures and even helped her find a decent hairstylist. They were truly becoming the only people she felt connected to. They even backed her up that fateful day.
It was during a meeting, when all the board members and workers were stuck on what to do for their next issue. Aaliyah had been busy pouring and handing out coffee when the idea came into her head. She was scared of being ignored, scared of being laughed at or blown off, but Anthony was the one to stand up for her. He accepted her idea and ran with it. And soon enough, her first issue with the company was done. She was a big hit in the office, and everything seemed to be working out in her favor. She even got compliments on all her clothes. A few nights after the wrap up, Anthony, the interns, and a few other coworkers were headed out to celebrate.
Aaliyah had to admit that even sitting in a limo full of her coworkers, she still felt left out. It felt weird and not at all comfortable. She had Zach and Crystal by her side, but they seemed to be more comfortable around the other workers. Not to mention, Anthony was just sitting across the way, looking as sexy as ever in a dark grey suit. His shoes were shining, his cuff links gleaming and just a little bit of stubble was starting to appear on his soft skin. Occasionally his eyes would lock with hers, and she wondered if he knew that she had been staring at him for most of the ride.
She hoped not, downing more champagne as a way to get her mind off of things. Zach, who was sitting by her side, sipping a glass of champagne, became the life of the party, making everyone laugh at his antics and hilarious work stories. They had been stories Aaliyah had heard before, but hearing Zach’s voice comforted her. He would turn to her and whisper something about how Anthony was staring at her smooth legs, or the way her dress hugged her body, but Aaliyah denied it. She was never this shy around men. If anything, she usually intimidated them, but Anthony was different. He seemed to ignite something in her that resembled a docile side.
“You know he likes you!” Zach said, a little bit too loud.
Aaliyah hit his shoulder and commanded him to shut his little ass up. “You are gonna get me in so much trouble, I swear! Shut yo’ damn mouth before someone hears. I don’t need any rumors flying around the office.”
“Oh that’s already happening, hunny. Snooty Tits is all up in arms around you being around her man.”
“Her man? You mean they’re together?” she whispered, making sure that Snooty Tits, who was sitting close by, couldn’t hear.
“Hah! She wishes! I’ve been working here for years and I’ve never seen someone so desperate before. She wants to get in his tight suit pants, but it ain’t happening. Hell even I wish I could get into his pants, but he’s as straight as an arrow!”
“What are you two going on about over there?” Anthony asked over the commotion of other conversations.
Aaliyah sat straight up, feeling like a deer caught in headlights. “Nothing!”
Zach smirked and seemed to save the day by segueing into another one of his crazy stories. Anthony chuckled and tipped his glass towards Aaliyah in an effort to cheer. She returned the salute and tried to calm herself down. She adjusted her mini dress, pulling it down slightly to cover more of her full thighs.
It wasn’t long until the limo pulled up at a local nightclub. Aaliyah couldn’t wait to get out and get down to some music. It was the interns' first celebration for helping to complete their first issue. Everyone was excited and more than a little ready to kick it with their bosses. If the bosses were going to have fun, then the interns were going to as well.
“Do you guys play good music over here?” Aaliyah asked Crystal as everyone piled out of the car.
Crystal giggled and then hiccuped, clearly already feeling a little tipsy from the champagne on the ride over. “Silly, we have the same music you guys do in America! My parents never let me go to clubs before! I can’t wait!” She ran all the way to the entrance and showed her ID a
nd office badge. The bouncer let her in, and the rest of them followed suit.
Aaliyah heard Anthony’s familiar voice in her ear and felt his hand on her lower back. “I can’t wait to see you dance. I always see you groovin’ a bit in the office with your headphones on.”
“Oh! You see that?” Aaliyah was a little embarrassed, but Anthony’s smile put her at ease. She had to admit that she wanted to see what kind of moves he had too. Not to mention, with Zach’s newly revealed information, she was alllll about making Snooty Tits jealous. "Well then, let's get this party started."
The music blared, making her insides vibrate. She couldn't hear anyone talking. Bodies were packed tightly together, wall to wall. It was a busy night, and she couldn't wait to get into the thick of it. Anthony grabbed her hand and lead her upstairs to the VIP area. He didn’t waste any time waiting for the others to arrive and began ordering drinks.
“What’s your favorite kind of drink, huh?” He relaxed back into the plush leather couch and kept his gaze on Aaliyah. She had to learn in closer to hear him.
“I like the regular fruity drinks and taking shots of hard liquor, but I try not to mix them or else I’ll get plastered!” she yelled over the music. She did find it a little strange how comfortable Anthony seemed in mixing business with pleasure. “Shouldn’t, like, we be careful? People at the office will start to spread rumors.”
Anthony laughed. “They already call me a playboy. It’s in my nature. Besides I own half the company. I can pretty much do whatever I want.”
URBAN: What A Thug Wants Page 33