“And this is the main meeting room. Whenever Mr. Burnham calls a meeting, this is normally where we meet,” the girl explained. I had been on a tour of Seventeen’s headquarters for almost a half-hour now. The girl giving the tour was lovely, very warm and kind. However, I couldn’t get the conversation I had with Brian out of my head. “And if you ever need anything, this is my office.”
“Thanks,” I smiled a small grin. I was a little shy and nervous about being here, so my entire heart wasn’t in it just yet.
“Where are you living?” She tried to make small talk.
“Oh, right now I’m just staying at an Embassy Suites not too far away,” I explained. “I kind of wanted to see how all of this worked out before I went out and bought an apartment. I already spoke with Mr. Burnham and he said he was okay with it.”
“Oh yeah, I think everyone does that before they make something permanent. No harm in that,” she smiled a large, warm smile. “Your name is Rachel LaRoe, right?” I nodded. “So you’re all the way from Florida?” I smiled and nodded once more. “Wow, long way from home. I’m just from Pennsylvania. It’s still kind of far, but not as far as Florida.”
“I’m sorry, I forgot your name,” I said. She seemed nice enough. Maybe I had met a new friend.
“Alexia Rhodes,” she smiled. I made a mental note in my head, putting her name with her heart-shaped face, emerald green eyes and millions of freckles. Her red curly hair just barely touched down upon her shoulders. She was a good three inches taller than me, possibly more, putting her somewhere around 5’9” or so.
“I’m really glad I got to meet you, Alexia,” I smiled and put my hand out for her to shake. She shook it and smiled back.
“It was really nice meeting you, Rachel. But please, call me Allie,” she tucked a red curl behind her double-pierced ear. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, Mr. Burnham asked me if I could come in and just sort through some files for him for a few hours,” I explained. “So I’ll be here.”
“Great!” She smiled. She walked me to the main doors and we said goodbye. I took a breath of fresh air as I stepped outside. Everyone seemed really nice – almost too nice, to be honest. I guess I just wasn’t used to the friendliness in the work place. However, I always thought it was the opposite. New Yorkers plus stress from work would equal complete chaos in my mind, but maybe I was wrong.
I passed a quaint coffee shop on one side of the street. A car zoomed by and splashed water up near my feet, causing my attention to change from the side of the street I was on, to the opposite side. And there, as if it were fate, was The Iroquois. I bit my bottom lip gently and contemplated whether or not to cross the street. As if on cue, the light changed on the corner of the street and the walking sign lit up.
Could fate knock on my door any harder? I decided to let fate in as I walked across the street.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I just wanted to mention here that the only people I don't own are the Backstreet Boys, Leighanne and Baylee. I own everything else. Except for The Iroquois hotel. It really exists in New York City. I think that's all for now. I'm actually pretty far ahead in writing -- I have 2 chapters written after this one & I'm still writing. All I need are reviews!
