1
Fresh Start
Laina
Ilookintothemirror, glossing my lips before I smile. “Here goes nothing,” I murmur to myself as I look down at my black pencil skirt and new black heels. The pale pink blouse I wore with it looked great as a contrast, and I almost feel ready to start my new dream job in marketing.
I came to Seattle from Boston for this job to start over and further my career and C&K Marketing was known as the best in the US. My interview went well, and I’d been hired two weeks later with a month to get a new place to live and move with help financially from the company.
It can’t get better than that.
I feel as though I was in a rut in Boston and needed a change of scenery. I had lived there my entire life and wanted to find out how much I could grow if I came to a brand new city and had a fresh start. I’ll always miss my family and friends there but this can be a great future for me.
I walk to the kitchen and sip the coffee I made before my shower, swallowing down the now cold liquid. Glancing at the clock, I heat it up and dump it into a travel cup, adding a healthy amount of cream and sugar. If I leave now, that will give me half an hour to get to the office. I knew that would make me early, but that made sense since I might have last-minute things to do before starting for the day.
I walk out to my car in the parking lot of my new apartment complex and look around at the green hills surrounding me with a smile. Seattle is beautiful and I know I’ll be happy here. This job feels so perfect and like a tremendous step up after all my schooling, interning, and previous experience at my old job.
My car is the car I took here from Boston, a ten-year-old Toyota that still ran great for me. Everything else in my life was new, including the apartment and my furniture. I didn’t have much to move, so starting completely over just sounded right to me, and here I am.
On the way to work, I make a quick call to my mom to catch up. She answers with a cheerful voice, and we talk about how nervous I am and how things are so far. I love my mom more than anything in the world, and she’s my rock.
“I miss you. It seems so strange not having you around the corner anymore,” Mom tells me as I stop at a light.
“We’ll see each other in a month when you and Dad visit me. Seattle is so pretty, and you’re going to love it.” I promise her, laughing as I see three Starbucks within a block of each other. “I don’t think there’s any coffee shop but Starbucks here, Mom.”
“You’ll find one. Chains have never been your thing,” she assures me, and I smile. “Make some plans for our visit. We want to see where you are up close.”
“Consider it done,” I promise, and we talk until I’m parked in the lot in front of the massive glass building that holds my new office, the top two floors, in fact. “This building is amazing, Mom. Let me hang up, and I’ll send you a picture.”
“I love you, Laina. Have a good day!” Mom tells me before ending the call. I get out of the car and snap a photo, sending it to her before I make my way into the building. There are several others going into the massive lobby with six elevators, and I glance down at the marble floors with a smile.
This is the real deal and everything I have worked for over the years.
I slip into the third open car and press myself to the side, running a hand through my burgundy waves with hopes they’ll continue to behave today. When the door opens and I see that I’m on the fifteenth floor, I excuse myself through the crowd and look around the lobby with the same flawless floors.
They must mop them every hour.
I walk up to the reception desk and give the woman my name and tell her it’s my first day.
“Welcome to C&K. I think you’ll love it here,” she says as she keys something into her computer. “Kelly in HR needs you for a few minutes and then you’ll see your office. Go down this hall, take the last left, and you’ll find Kelly at the end. Have a great day, Laina.”
“Thank you.” I smile and follow her directions, glancing around as I go. Everything is beautiful here, and it feels so professional to me as I greet people that smile at me.
Just before turning left, I glance to the right and freeze for a moment.
Was that Kyle? I narrow my eyes as if it will allow me to see better and remind myself to get my glasses on before I read any fine print this morning. It is Kyle Owens, and my mouth falls open in shock.
Memories play through my mind as I take him in while he stands in the hallway dressed in a suit, talking to another man. His tousled dark hair falls to nearly his neck, and he exudes confidence as I’d expect him to. I haven’t seen Kyle for twelve years since he moved away from Boston with his family because of a job transfer.
It had been a tough loss since we were best friends back then. We’d gone to the same school and spent hours together despite our families being in different social circles. I never told him then, but I had a secret crush on him, and it made sense why, looking at him now.
Then there had been our silly marriage pact that probably everyone made about marrying each other if we weren’t hitched by thirty. I chuckled, thinking there’s no way that gorgeous man isn’t married.
I come back to reality and stop staring as I remind myself where I’m headed right now. I can deal with Kyle later if I meet him, since I don’t know what he does here.
I continue to Kelly’s office, finding a friendly blonde behind the desk. She smiles and welcomes me, sliding some paperwork across the desk for me to sign.
“This should be it. I know you’ve already done a lot of it.” Kelly smiled, her red lips bright against her pale skin.