I focus as Anya leads me down another hallway and then stops to poke her head into an office. “Mya, do you have a second?”
A gorgeous woman with glowing bronze skin and a long black braid looks up from her computer screen.
“This is Casey. Casey, this is Mya, one of the team leads. She handles quite a few of our luxury brands.”
Mya lets out a little squeal. “Please save my life right now and tell me James finally hired someone?”
Anya looks over at me. “See? I told you. Everyone is really happy you’re here. The last temp we had got everyone’s messages wrong and used to eat tuna fish sandwiches every day.”
“Well, I’m glad to be here. Nothing else has gone right since I moved so it’s nice to finally feel welcome somewhere.”
Mya closes her laptop and stands. “Oh are you new to the city?”
“Brand new. I got here three days ago and quickly learned that the pictures online can be very deceiving. My hotel looks more like a hostel from one of those horror movies. And I’m pretty sure some guy got murdered in the parking lot last night.”
Anya winces. “Oh yikes. I can ask my landlord if there are any openings in my building.”
Mya peers at me. “Do you smoke?”
I shake my head. “No. My mom’s a nurse. She would kill me if she ever caught even a whiff of cigarette smoke on me.”
“Your mom is a nurse? This must be fate. My old roommate just posted an ad looking for someone to take my room. She’s a nurse, too. Let me see if she found someone yet.” She’s already pulled her phone out of her pocket.
A few seconds later the phone rings, blaring out a rap song. Mya curses softly before answering, silencing the raunchy lyrics. “Damn it, Ariana. You can’t keep changing my ring tone. I am at work!”
“Put me on speaker.” The voice on the other end is so loud that we can hear her anyway. Mya pulls the phone away from her ear slightly. “Fine, hold on.” She glances over at me. “Sorry about this. She’s a little pushy.”
“I can hear you!” The voice shouts.
Mya pushes another button and then angles the phone toward me. “Ok, Ari. You’re on speaker now. This is Casey. Be nice to her. She’s the first normal receptionist we’ve had in ages.”
The voice chuckles. “Normal is boring. Hey chick, do you have a lot of bill collectors after you? Car that got repossessed? Credit card bills?”
I look over at Mya uncertainly who just shrugs.
“No. I don’t own a car and I’m pretty frugal. I don’t actually own much. Just a suitcase filled with old books and some clothes that don’t fit that well anymore.”
She harrumphs at that. “Weird habits? Pick your teeth? Clip your toenails at the table? Sleep walking?”
“No, no, and I’m not sure. I mean, if I’m asleep, would I really know?”
The line is quiet.
“Ok, one final question. This is really important.” She pauses. “Who would you bang, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt or Chris Pine?”
“Um, all of the above?”
A cackle of laughter comes over the line. “Hot damn. You’re the first person to pass the Chris test. Everyone always picks one as if they’d really turn down any of the others. Would you trust a chick who wouldn’t bang one of those guys?”
“Oh good grief,” Mya interrupts. “I’ll call you later, Ari.” She hangs up and puts her phone back in her pocket. “I am so sorry about that. I thought she was going to ask you real questions about paying the rent and stuff.”
I wave away her concerns. “No problem, I’m grateful to have a chance to escape the Homicide Hotel.”
She rolls her eyes. “You might not be so grateful after living with Ariana for awhile. The chick is insane. Come on. I’ll take you to meet the rest of the marketing team.”
I follow behind her, trying not to show just how nervous and excited I am right now.
Finally, something is going right.