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1203 Words
~*JUNE*~
You know that song ‘I’m Good’ by Bebe Rexha?
Yeah… that’s exactly how my life’s been feeling lately.
The past week had been good—better than I expected.
I got my first paycheck yesterday.
Seeing that amount in my account still feels unreal.
When the direct deposit notification came in, I stared at the number for a solid ten minutes, refreshing the page over and over to make sure it was real.
It was more money than I had ever seen in my account at once and far more than I ever expected to be paid.
Getting paid $3,000 in my first month on the job isn’t something a lot of people get or have the luxury of.
Best of all, I still have my job.
Every day I show up and leave without getting fired feels like a small victory.
I haven’t been to the CEO’s office since that day.
I stayed true to the plan I made for myself—to avoid him and never cross his path again.
And somehow… it worked.
Since then, he has never called for me.
No one has shown up at my desk with a termination letter, and no security has escorted me out.
As the days went by, I made sure to work even harder.
The only problem was that I had to either stare at my screen or crouch in a corner whenever I heard footsteps in the hallway, just in case they belonged to the CEO.
I hated living like that, but I had no choice—I had to ride that wave.
Lately, I’ve been looking for a new apartment.
For the record, I love staying with Tyler.
I really do.
He’s been my best friend since we were kids, and staying with him has been easy.
A month ago, when I showed up on his doorstep at midnight, he didn’t ask a single question.
He just opened the door wider, and let me sleep on his bed for as long as I needed.
Right now, I want my own space and I want to give him his, too.
He has been seeing someone new, a guy named Marcus who owns a coffee shop around the corner, and I know having me camped out on the bed every night is not exactly ideal for his love life.
Even if he doesn’t complain, I can’t stay in his apartment forever.
So I started looking.
And looking.
And looking.
But every apartment I’ve seen so far is ridiculously expensive.
I knew apartments in Vegas would not be cheap. I did my research before I moved here.
Still, this is f*****g outrageous.
I can’t believe people are actually paying this much just to have four walls and a roof over their heads.
The prices are so high that my salary can barely cover the rent.
At this rate, I doubt I will find anywhere I can actually afford.
I guess I will be staying with Tyler for a while.
With a deep sigh, I sink into my chair, the familiar creak grounding me in the rhythm of the morning.
I open my email, skim through the messages, and start easing into my work.
"Hey, Miss Fontaine."
I look up at the sound of Mr. Harrison’s voice.
He’s standing beside my desk, a stack of folders tucked under one arm.
"Good morning," I say, swiveling in my chair to face him.
"Good morning. I need you to help me with some paperwork. A few client files need reorganizing before the quarterly review."
"Okay." I push back from my desk and move to stand beside him. "What do you want me to do?"
He sets the folders on my desk and spreads them out, pointing to each one as he speaks. "These all need to be sorted by client name. Alphabetical order. Nothing complicated, just tedious. I trust you to get it right."
I nod and reach for the first folder. "I can do that."
"I know you can." He gives me a smile, and it makes my chest feel a little lighter.
Lately, Mr. Harrison has been unusually supportive, always checking in to make sure I don’t fall behind.
When I first started, I was terrified I’d be treated like the new employee, the junior assistant, the one stuck fetching coffee and making photocopies.
But I wasn’t.
Everyone here has been super kind to me.
They don’t treat me as a newbie.
They treat me like I belong.
And that is one thing I genuinely love about this job.
"Alright, let me leave you to get on with it," Mr. Harrison says.
I nod. "Okay."
He turns around, pauses, then looks back, a flicker in his expression making my stomach flip. "June...”
"Yes."
"Get ready. You’ll be going with me to the next marketing event at the City Opera."
Happiness crashes into me so intensely that I forget to breathe for a second.
I have never been to any of the company’s marketing events.
When everybody goes, I usually just stay back, since there isn’t much for me to do as a junior marketing assistant.
"Thank you, Mr. Harrison," I say, my voice coming out higher than usual. "Thank you so much."
He waves it off like it’s nothing, but I catch the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Just do your best and work hard. That’s all I ask. You’ve earned this one, kiddo."
He pats my shoulder and walks away, and I have to steady myself to keep from screaming or jumping for joy right there in the middle of the office.
I need to tell Tyler. He’ll be so thrilled for me.
As I reach for my phone, I see the folders still spread out in front of me.
Right. I need to get this sorted first.
Pulling the folders toward me one by one, I arrange them in neat alphabetical rows just like Mr. Harrison instructed.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Two hours have passed since I started sorting these papers.
It’s f*****g harder than I thought.
Some of the files are so old the names are faded, and I’ve had to cross-reference three different systems to make sure everything is in the right order.
Standing, I stretch, feeling my muscles stiffen from sitting too long.
My back cracks, my neck pops, and I let out a small groan of relief as I roll my shoulders.
"Who is Miss June Fontaine?" a deep voice says from behind me.
I turn to see a man in a black suit standing at the entrance of the office.
He looks familiar, though it takes me a moment, just a beat too long, to place him.
Then it clicks.
I’ve seen him with the CEO, walking behind him through the lobby.
Someone once mentioned he’s the CEO’s personal assistant.
But why is he looking for me?
"Who is June Fontaine?" he asks again, his patience clearly wearing thin.
His eyes sweep the room as if he’s already decided this is a waste of his time.
"I am," I say, raising my hand.
He studies me for a long moment, his gaze stern. Then finally says, "The CEO wants to see you. Follow me."
- Writer
