New Job, New Opportunties

When I think about how I ended up here, it all traces back to the weeks after graduation. College had been fun, but I wouldn't say that I had the typical college experience. My family was comfortable enough to pay for my education, but not so wealthy that I ever forgot what a sacrifice it was for my parents. I wanted to honor that sacrifice, so while most of my classmates were out drinking or partying, I was usually buried in a textbook preparing for the next exam.

That isn't to say I never had fun. I went to a party or two. I dated a guy for a few months, and I even had a brief fling with my roommate during junior year. However, above all else was my academics. This really paid off as I approached graduation. I wasn't able to secure the top spot in my class, but I was only a few fractions of a point behind, something I was quite proud of. The final weeks of my academic career were spent wondering what I would do after graduation. After four years I was still unsure of what my future looked like. I had considered staying in school and pursuing a graduate program, but being that I wasn't entirely sold on a direction, it felt like a potential waste of resources.

Graduation came faster than I thought it would. Before I knew it, I was walking across that stage and collecting my diploma, with my proud parents roaring in the crowd. I graduated with honors and yet still had no vision for what was next. As generous as they had always been, my parents paid for an apartment in the city so I could keep the independence I'd grown accustomed to during college. They promised it would only be temporary. They were certain I'd figure things out soon. I wasn't nearly as confident. That's when it began. Truthfully, it started back while I was in college. My mother and father would mention the success of their family friend: Daniel.

I had known Daniel since I was a little girl. He and my father served in the military and remained close to this day. In many ways, Daniel was like an uncle to me. He was at almost every family gathering, and hardly missed a holiday feast. Daniel had made an excellent career for himself when he exited the armed forces. He started his own architecture business, and before anyone knew it, became one of the biggest names in structural design. My parents loved to mention his success, seeming to only increase their pride as I got older. While I was in college, they seemed to mention the possibility of me starting a career in Daniel's company once I graduated, an idea I resisted because I didn't want the shadow of nepotism hanging over me. I wanted to make my own name, and they seemed determined that I use Daniel as a means to get in the door.

For the record, I had no problem with Daniel, but I just didn't want to be one of those people that succeeded because they were lucky enough to "know someone." Unfortunately, my stubbornness faded as we moved away from graduation. The longer I went without any direction, the longer Monarch Design felt inevitable. I finally gave in. It was at that point that almost every phone call with my parents ended in them discussing the opportunity, and I felt I had to at least try it. I told myself it was temporary, just something to do while I figured things out. I also made mom and dad promise that Daniel started me at an entry level position and showed me no favoritism.

Only a few days later, my first day arrived. I was nervous walking in, everything felt enormous. The lobby gleamed with polished marble and glass, a spectacle in its own right.The noise of hundreds of busy employees hit me the moment I stepped inside. I was overwhelmed and I had just walked in. Thankfully, I must've stood out enough that the person I needed found me. "Mia? Right?" The young woman grabbed me out of the crowd and helped me find the elevators. We exchanged small talk during the ride up. Before the conversation got too deep, a loud ding interrupted us, my cue to get off. The kind brunette whose name I still can't remember wished me well and sent me off.

I nervously walked towards this big black and gold door at the end of the hall and gave it a light knock once I arrived. A few seconds later a voice nearby spoke up. The woman was sitting behind a desk and frantically typing at a computer. "He's never going to hear you, he's always up to something in there, you're just gonna have to go in sweetie," she explains. I give her a thankful nod and do as instructed, opening the door and walking in.

Daniel sat in his chair, overlooking the beautiful office view he had. He stared out over the city, was in the middle of tearing into someone over the phone. I tried to not eavesdrop, unsure if this was a conversation I should overhear or not, but Daniel's deep, loud voice made it harder to ignore than I would admit. After a few moments Daniel turned and noticed me standing patiently. An immediate smile spread across his face and his aggressive-political demeanor shifts to that of the warm-uncle that I knew him to be. "I'm going to have to call you back, think about what I said, let's make it work" he instructed the person on the other end before hanging up and rising to greet me.

"Mia! My gosh you've grown so much." He chuckles to himself, prompting an embarrassed smile on my face.

"Thanks Uncle Dan." I say gently, before accepting his firm hug.

He immediately pauses or embraces and waves me off. "Sorry, none of that here" he laughs. "Listen you can call me Daniel, Dan, or Mr. Monarch if you insist on being formal. But these guys around here think I'm some kind of tough ass and I can't have you ruining that for me," he says prompting a return chuckle and acceptance from myself.

I smile and return his warmth. Despite my lingering reservations, his familiar face in the middle of this palace-like office brought me a surprising sense of comfort. He ushered me to a seat, a surprisingly comfortable one, I feel obligated to mention. The leather looked rugged and firm, exactly how Daniel probably wanted it to appear. Like Daniel himself, though, it was much softer once you settled into it. "I'm so glad you agreed to give this place a shot, I know how everything seems, but I don't have any kids of my own...so I like being able to look out for Brian's if that makes any sense," Daniel attempts to reason with me. Apparently my parents had told him how hesitant I'd been., perhaps all their insistence over the years wasn't only coming from them.

I give a polite nod. "Well, I appreciate it. Really. I just need this to feel earned. So when I say don't take it easy on me, I mean it. Treat me like any other intern," I ask.

Daniel begins to wave me off, initially seeming as though he may dismiss my request. I'm not sure if he decides differently because of the persistent look on my face, but I'd like to believe that's the case. "Fine, but you may come to regret that, I've been known for scaring off interns." Before I can roll my eyes at his tough-guy act and make any more persistence he continues. "Regardless, I'll try my best. You'll have to forgive a slip up or two, it's not every day that someone I care about walks through those doors, let alone someone so pretty," he says with a deep chuckle.

Despite his obvious attempt at a joking remark. There was something different in his words. I had known Daniel my whole life, from the earliest point I could remember. He had called me many things in that time. Smart, ambitious, loud, stubborn, even a menace once when I was ten...but never pretty. It should have been a throwaway comment. Instead, it lodged itself somewhere in the back of my mind. It isn't until I hear the door open behind me that I snap out of the trance it put me in.

When I turn to face the new face, I'm pleasantly greeted to find the interruption proved far more pleasant than I'd expected. A tall, slightly tanned man walks in with short dark hair, looking not much older than me. His near-bright white button up is a stark contrast to Daniel's dull charcoal grey suit. Before I can linger more on the enticing face, Daniel speaks up. "Scott! Great, you're here. Please show our new intern here to filing room B and get her all set up."

Scott takes a second and surveys my appearance, seemingly as I did him. At first I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Whether he had similar thoughts about me that I did to him, but the longer he stares the more confident I feel. "Right away sir," he responds calmly.

I follow Scott into the elevator and eventually to a room marked "filing room B" just as I expected. However, what I found inside was unlike anything I could have expected. Stack after stack of boxes towered to the ceiling. Each overflowing with yellowing folders or blueprints and seeming as though they may collapse at any moment. I nearly gasp as I step inside, feeling as though one wrong step may set off a series of disastrous dominos. Scott watches my anxiety rise, seeming to chuckle to himself as my panicked eyes scour the room. "Mr. Monarch needs this room organized and sorted by the end of the week, make sure to sort out the designs into future plans, current projects, and completed jobs," Scott says as his amused expression disappears.

Almost instinctively I respond "Ok, and how many people will be assisting me?" Much to my dismay, Scott practically laughs in my face. His laugh answered my question before he walked away.

I spend the next few hours working tirelessly away, working tirelessly to make any progress only to feel as though the room had become even more chaotic than when I'd started. Organizing the files was hard enough. Preventing the tower from collapsing was another challenge entirely. Not to mention, attempting to sort the work without going through each individual box meticulously was proving to be impossible. I felt it over my head, so much so that at several points I began to wonder if this was all some joke meant to haze the new person and at any point someone would walk in to claim the victory of their prank

So when I look over and see Scott standing in the doorway, a wave of relief washes over me. Hope wells up inside me. I don't know whether he's about to admit this whole thing is an elaborate prank or finally offer to help, but either option sounds wonderful. I get the feeling Scott can see this on my face and quickly begins to speak "Are you sure you've been working in here? Everything looks exactly the same as when I left," he laughed. I'm partially annoyed with his teasing, ready to spur back some fiery retort. However, I guess the absurdity of it all sets in on me and I give in with a light chuckle and an embarrassed smile.

"You're more than welcome to come help," I tease back.

Scott continued to eye me up for a moment "no no, my visit here has far more chivalrous intent. Seeing as you're the new girl around here--and I consider myself something of an office ambassador--I thought I'd invite you to lunch." Scott says with a snicker.

"Yeah? How noble of you?" I sarcastically praise. I considered his offer. I wasn't even sure whether to call it a date. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. Either way, I hadn't been on one in a while, and lunch with Scott sounded harmless enough. I'm about to accept when a voice in the hallway interrupts me.

"Ahem!" Daniel loudly in interjects, almost startling me a bit. Scott treats his head so fast. I'm afraid he might give himself whiplash. We both look to see and angrily fester, Daniel. "How thoughtful of you, Scott. Taking our hardworking intern to lunch while those papers I asked you to review this morning remain untouched."

The confidence drained from Scott's face almost instantly, and I sent a tinge of surprise in his face. He immediately responds " I'm so sorry, sir. I'll get right on it. Consider it finished!" Scott says with almost all the confidence he had before whisk out of his demeanor before nearly running down the hallway.

Once Scott gets out of ear shot, Danielle starts to chuckle to himself. At first lightly and barely audible, and then deeper and louder. " How long before you think he notices there is no stack of papers on his desk," Daniel laughs to himself. Which admittedly, I can't help but laugh at as well.

"Why are you so mean to him?" I say still chuckling.

Daniel pauses a second, staring at me. Finding amusement in my laugh, but perhaps a little something else as well. "Well to tell you the truth, I see a little too much of myself in him and feel I have to give him a bit of a hard time," Daniel says, catching his breath a little. As he did, his eyes latched onto me for a little bit. Lingering for more than I expected. After a long pause he finally speaks up again "Living up to expectations I hope?" Daniel asks, seeming to probe about the first day.

I give him a nervous nod "and then some" I posture, not wanting to fully admit the difficulty of the day, even if the evidence of my defeat had been surrounding me. Perhaps Daniel wasn't convinced, as he looked at me as if he'd apologize.

"Well...since I scared off your lunch appointment, what would you say to letting this old man treat you instead," Daniel says, with less confidence than I'd come to expect.

I don't respond quickly. It takes me a couple moments to process his request. It sounded innocent enough. Daniel had taken me to lunch before--well, with my family. Alone was different. Was it? I couldn't decide whether I was reading far too much into it or finally noticing something that had changed between us. He'd always been Uncle Dan. That wasn't supposed to change. I pushed the thought aside and smiled. "Sounds great."

The restaurant was far more elegant than anywhere I would have chosen for lunch. Crystal glasses caught the afternoon light, white tablecloths stretched across every table without a wrinkle, and waiters in crisp black tuxedos moved through the dining room with practiced precision. The whole place felt as though everyone knew exactly how they were supposed to behave. Everyone except me.

Daniel, on the other hand, looked perfectly at home. A host greeted him by name before leading us to a quiet table tucked beside the windows overlooking the city. "I hope this is all right," he said as he pulled out my chair.

"It's... nice," I answered, glancing around. "Very nice," I said, forcing a smile. If anything it was too nice.

As soon as we sat down, an awkward silence settled between us. It wasn't the comfortable silence I remembered from family dinners or holidays. Those had always been filled with easy smiles, jokes from my father, and Daniel's endless stories from the military. This silence felt heavier, as though both of us were waiting for the other to decide what kind of conversation this was supposed to be. Daniel picked up the menu almost immediately.

"So..." he began. "How's the apartment?"

"It's good."

"Getting settled in?"

"I think so."

"Good. Good."

Another silence. I watched him straighten the silverware in front of him by a fraction of an inch before realizing what he was doing and quietly setting his hands in his lap instead. That wasn't like him.

The Daniel I knew leaned back in his chair, laughed too loudly, and told stories that wandered so far off topic my father usually had to drag him back. This version seemed determined to choose every word carefully.

"Mia?"

I blinked.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I drifted off. What were you saying?"

"The cod," he repeated with a patient smile. "It's excellent here."

"Oh." He waited. "I was actually thinking about the Caesar salad."

For the briefest moment, something flickered across his face. Not disappointment exactly--more like he'd expected a different answer.

"Of course," he said. "You always did prefer simpler meals."

That caught me off guard. He remembered that? The waiter arrived before I could ask. Once our orders were in, Daniel folded his hands together on the table. "So..." he tried again. "How are you finding Monarch?"

"It's... overwhelming."

His shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

"I was afraid of that."

"I didn't want to admit it."

"You don't have to impress me."

"I know." Another pause.

"No," he corrected gently. "I don't think you do." The words weren't harsh, but they landed harder than I'd expected.

He looked toward the windows for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh.

"I've spent twenty years learning how to talk to investors, city officials, and clients worth millions of dollars." His smile turned self-conscious. "I seem to have forgotten how to talk to someone I've known almost my whole life." That explained it. Or at least, it explained part of it.

The lunch wasn't uncomfortable because either of us wanted it to be. We were both trying too hard. Trying to find the version of ourselves that fit this new situation. Neither of us seemed particularly successful. By the end of the meal Daniel is apologizing. "I'm sorry, this old man just doesn't know how to hang around young pretty women anymore I guess."

There it is again. That word. Why did it stick with me so much? Was that why this was so different? Ever since he said that word it felt like everything I knew had been rearranged. I force myself to avoid thinking about it too long. I offer a faux smile and playfully tease Daniel about these comments, but I can tell he sees through this. When the car comes to pick us up, Daniel doesn't get in with me. "You go ahead, I need to fly to London for a meeting, I'll be back to check on you in a couple days," he says politely. I thanked him for the meal and gave him a hug before getting in the luxury vehicle and riding off.

I returned to the filing room and immediately threw myself back into the endless stacks. Every box I finished seemed to reveal two more waiting beneath it. Yet, I must admit to being a bit difficult to focus. I was back in the office, but my mind didn't leave lunch. It was bothering me. I couldn't decide whether I was embarrassed by the lunch or bothered by how much I'd been thinking about it ever since. By the time the end of the day finally arrived, I felt dejected. I had high hopes for my first day, and in many ways I felt like a failure.

Some may have let this permanently deter them. For a while, sitting at home with my cat I thought it might do the same for me. But, I became determined. I got a good night's rest and went in the next day ready to work. For some reason, knowing Daniel wasn't in, gave me a sense of confidence. When he got back I wanted to show him what I had accomplished. I worked tirelessly, skipping lunch to stay on-task. Box after endless box, and yet I stayed focused.

Tuesday blurred into Wednesday. Before I knew it, Thursday had arrived. Two whole straight days of being crammed into a thick office, landlocked by a sea of boxes. I knew I still had a whole other day to complete my task, but this wasn't about that anymore. I worked and worked, disregarding time. Finally, some progress. I was close. The continuous mountains that were before me Monday morning had been reduced to anthills, only a few remained. Proud didn't describe the feeling correctly. I had to take a moment to examine my hard work, it wasn't finished but damn was it a success. That's when I'm brought back to reality by a knock at the door.

I turn, looking behind me to see a familiar face. "Hey Uncle Dan," I say proudly. He simply stares at me, a tired look on his smiling face.

"What are you doing here so late?" He asks, mesmerized by the amount of floor he can see.

"It is?" I question. Checking my phone to realize that it is half past midnight. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry. I just...really wanted to get done. I must've gotten carried away" I say, for reasons I'm unsure about apologizing to my boss.

"Mia." He says, reassuring me. "You have nothing to be sorry about. If anything I should apologize to you. This is incredible!" Daniel says, gawking around the room. "I just got back and had to pick up some things, and imagine my surprise to see you still here when no one else is. My intern of all people."