Retrospect

Chapter 1- character introduction

Retrospect

God, she was nervous. Lydia tried to keep her breakfast down as she walked into 1260 Avenue of the Americas. The otherwise silent lobby reverberated with the sound of her heels clacking on the marble. If she listened closely enough she could also hear the soft squish of her feet against the leather. “The hardest part is the first day” she reminded herself as she approached the elevators. 10, 11, 12 - she rose higher and higher until she was deposited on the twenty-second floor, the offices of Magellan.

She walked toward the door, discreetly wiping her palms on her skirt before grabbing for the handle. “Good morning and welcome to Magellan.” Lydia looked up from the floor to see a friendly receptionist.  “Good Morn- oh!” She was sideswiped by a man rushing past her to catch the now closing elevator. “Oh honey, is it your first day? Don’t let them scare you. All bark and no bite.” The receptionist’s friendly face calmed her down. “What’s your name hun?” “Lydia Barrows.” “Welcome to Magellan Ms. Barrows. Let me call Ray for you - he’s your hiring manager and will show you around. Go ahead and take a seat.” The receptionist gestured towards the space age looking chairs. They were too low to sit in comfortably and too wide for anyone to lean back into. Lydia perched on the edge fully conscious of her sweating body. She tucked one leg behind the other. She could only hope her calves didn’t make a sound when she tried to unstick them.

She caught glimpses of people or she supposed, her coworkers, as they continued to disappear behind the reception desk. She heard the coffee machine, the whirl of the milk frother, the polite Monday morning chatter. What she couldn’t see was Jamie Chancelor openly gaping at the pretty girl in reception from behind the wall.  

“Hey you see that girl?” Jamie’s thoughts were interrupted by Tim the notorious office flirt. “Shh, keep your voice down she can hear you.” Jamie felt the blush creeping up his neck. How embarrassing. “Bro - that girl is hot. I wonder if she’s a new hire or here for an interview.” A group had now formed around them, all curious to see the woman in reception. “Gentleman. Please stop staring at our new employee and get to work.” Ray had come out of nowhere sending the men scattering. As the group dispersed, Jamie couldn’t help but take one last look at the pretty brunette with the radiant smile.

“Lydia! Welcome! So happy to have you here and let me be the first to say congratulations on this job. We’re all very excited and looking forward to adding such a bright young mind to our team.” Ray paused to take a breath giving her a moment to blush slightly. “I’m very happy to be here.” “Well come in let me show you around.” Leading her around the mysterious corner, Ray showed off  the now empty kitchen. “Here’s where most people come for coffee and breakfast.” Walking down the hallway he pointed out the various departments: “Here is media and print. right down there is analytics. We’ve got the account managers over here. And, ah, here we go. Here you are. Right smack in the middle of Sales.” Dropping her stuff at her new desk, she went to take her seat. “Wait don’t sit down yet! You have to meet your aisle mates.” Tapping each as he went, Ray introduced her to the strangers. “So we’ve got Joel your partner in crime.” “Hey what’s up?” Joel nodded a head in her direction. With his unshaven beard and pullover sweater Joel was a rock kid who grew up into an Sales accountant but still had edge. They would get along just fine. Before she could stop to chat, Ray was on the move. “Okay so Dina and Teresa down on the end are admins for two of our top Sales Execs. Cyrus handles rollouts for our big campaigns and Bryan and Tim are just like you- Sales Reps.” Tim tipped a faux hat in her direction. He was thrilled to have the hot girl sitting across from him. “Tim have you seen Jamie?” “Yea a few minutes ago but I think he’s in a meeting.” Ray shook his head, he could never find that kid. “Oh well, that last cubicle on the end is Jamie Chancelor. He’s been here going on maybe two years now. He’s also a Sales Rep. You’re in a great aisle. Have fun!” With that Ray left her standing in the middle of the row with all eyes on her. “It’s nice to meet you all. I, uh, I’m just gonna...” without finishing her sentence she made a beeline for her seat and prayed the day moved quickly.

Lydia had been at Magellan for three days before she finally saw the mystery that was Jaime Chancelor. It took three days because she was too nervous to lift her head from her computer. She stared at her screen waiting for work to come. But on the third day, she saw him and something clicked. He was cute in a way she hadn’t seen before. The stature of a man but a quiet boyishness that she took to mean he was shy. He didn’t talk to anyone unless they spoke to him first, which usually involved an aggressive tap on the shoulder because he had headphones in.

On Thursday, the company sent an invite for a summer drinks get together on the outdoor balcony. The excitement in the air was palpable as every New Yorker craves fresh air even if it is multi-stories above the ground with no view but the office next door. Waiting the appropriate amount of time so she wouldn’t be the first attendee, she rose from her desk and headed outside. She stopped at the bar. Maybe holding a drink would help ground her and stop the nerves running through her body. What was polite enough to drink in the company of coworkers? Red wine? Ugh, wine teeth. White wine? Her breath would smell. Water seemed lame. Gin and Tonic it was. She sipped and scoped, evaluating the sea of strangers. “So you’re new here right?” All of a sudden Tim was at her side. To Lydia, it seemed like a dumb question. She had already introduced herself on Monday and said hello to him every morning since. “Yes, I’m Lydia,” she said extended her hand. “And you’re Tim?” She asked it as a question when in reality she knew his name. She was trying to cut him some slack. “Yep, I’m Tim.” “Nice to re-meet you.” They sipped their drinks awkwardly. Tim had no game. “So how are you settling in?” “So far so good. Still trying to figure out how to use the printer but I’m getting there.” “Yeah, that thing can be a real pain in the a*s. Don’t let it scare you though. If you break it, just go talk to Shirley in the row next to us. She’s a wizard at fixing things.” Hearing her name as she passed by, Shirley joined their conversation. “A wizard, am I?” she directed at Tim. Turning her gaze to Lydia,  “Whatever he says don’t listen to him. This kid is a pain in my behind. I’m Shirley by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” “Lydia.” The women shook hands. Lydia felt relief at finding someone who seemed relatively normal. Tim was too eager for any and all attention and . “I was just asking Lydia how she was settling in. If she made any friends.” “Oh, is that right?” Shirley loved Tim but could tell when he was up to no good. “Tim, do me a favor and grab me a glass of red if you’re heading to the bar.” Tim dutifully set off in search of a drink. “He’s a sweetheart but can definitely be a bit much..” “Oh.” Lydia didn’t know how to respond. Shirley certainly wasn’t wrong but Lydia couldn’t tell how forward she could be with this stranger. “He was okay. Seems nice.” “He is, but there are certainly nicer men here.” Shirley spotted Jamie out of the corner of her eye. “Like Jamie. Have you met him yet?” “Are you talking about Jamie Chancelor?” A woman around Lydia’s age popped her head into their conversation. Shirey was laughing. “Beth you have no tact. She hasn’t met him or you yet.” “Hi I’m Beth” The woman thrust her hand out. “Sorry to invade your conversation but I heard Jamie’s name.” The group looked over to stare at the back of his head. Surely he could feel their eyes burning into him. “I not so secretly love him,” Beth confided. Lydia tried to hide her surprise. This woman was forward as hell. “Beth, calm yourself.” Shirley laughed and continued. “Jamie is one of the good ones. I’ve known him for years. He’s just got a really good heart and you don’t really get that with the majority of guys at Magellan.” Beth vigorously nodded her agreement. “Hence why I love him. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find Tim. While I love good men, I also love a good flirt.” With that, she flounced away.

“She’s a lot but she means well.” Shirley said as she reached out, grabbing Jamie by the  elbow as he passed by. “Jamie, have you met our newest hire Lydia?” Jamie turned from Shirley and hesitantly made eye contact with Lydia. “I don’t think so. I’m Jamie.” His handshake was firm but soft and she couldn’t help but notice his eyes crinkle when he smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.” Lydia’s heart was already pounding. She was done for. Shirley could feel the static energy between them. “I’ll leave you guys too it, have to go make sure Beth doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Jaime shifted from foot to foot, unsure of what to say. Lydia sipped her drink, willing the gin to calm her nerves. “So how are you? How is your first week going?” He coughed out. “It’s good. At least I think it is. I don’t really know where anything is but I’m learning. Plus everyone is really nice.” She needed to shut up, she was rambling. “You’ll figure it out. I remember my first week here. It was brutal but it gets better. Where’d you go to undergrad?” “Boston College.” “Ah, great school, I’ve heard good things.” “Yea, it was fun. I loved it.” “Does it feel weird not going back in the fall?” “Sometimes. Honestly it feels weirder to get up everyday and put on heels.” They looked down at her feet. One of her heels had gotten stuck in between the paving stones. She tried in vain to pull it out. “Do you need some help?” Jamie envisioned running a hand down her leg as he bent to pull her shoe out of the crevice. He shook his head to get the highly unprofessional image out of his mind. “Oh, no it’s okay I think I got it.” She wiggled her foot, wedging her shoe more deeply into the crack. “Are you sure?” Jamie watched with concern and amusement as Lydia pretended to remain calm. “Oh f**k it. Can you hold this?” Handing her now empty glass into his hands she plucked her foot from her shoe and bent down to yank her heel out of the ground. She wanted to hold onto him for support as she put her shoe back on but instead chose to balance on one foot, trying to remain sexy and confident while also praying she didn’t fall over. She brushed her hair back in place and fixed her dress. “All better.” Jamie was impressed. He’d never seen putting a shoe on seem so sexy in his life. What was wrong with him? He had to get it together. “I think you need a drink.” She looked down at her now empty glass. ‘I think I do too.” She followed him towards the bar, taking in his tall stature and broad shoulders. She was completely distracted when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Lydia! I didn’t know you worked here.” Lydia turned around to find her old next door neighbor staring at her with bewilderment. “Holy s**t, Rory! I completely forgot you worked at Magellan!” Lydia could see Jamie picking up their drinks out of the corner of her eye as she and Rory hugged hello.  Jamie turned around. He felt awkward. He was holding their drinks waiting for the introduction that almost never came. “Um Lydia?” Jamie cringed at how insecure he sounded. “Oh my God I’m sorry!” Lydia was flustered. “Rory this is Jamie, Jamie- Rory. We grew up together.” She gestured towards Rory. Jamie felt at ease understanding the connection. “Nice to meet you man.” They shook hands but Jamie was desperate to get out of this conversation. They clearly were excited to see one another, they didn’t need him hanging around. “I’m going to let you two catch up.” Lydia tried to hide the disappointment on her face. “Oh, okay. Thank you for the drink.”

The next day she could feel him approaching before he appeared. “Hi Lydia” She could tell he was nervous. “Oh hey …” she pretended to forget his name. He filled in the blank. “Jamie.” “Sorry! Sorry yes, Jamie. What’s up?” Jamie tried to hide his surprise. Was he really that forgettable? “I just wanted to let you know if you need anything I can help. I’m not that great with pitches but I’m pretty decent with photoshop. Just give me a wave if you need anything.” She flashed her brightest smile at him and saw his eyes soften. “Thank you, I’ll definitely take you up on that.” “Hey Lyd!” Tim came out of thin air. “You know- Jamie might be offering you help but I’m your guy. I know everyone at this company. Don’t you worry sweetie, I’ve got you covered.” Jamie discreetly rolled his eyes. Tim was a terrible person in his opinion and after working with him for two years, he had never found something to like about the guy. He leaned past Tim to get her attention back: “Like I said, I’m not great at a lot but if you need anything just ask.”