VESTED INTERESTE: FOUND

Chapter 1

The mirrors in the lobby of the Grand Marguerite were Honey’s silent judges. Every time she pushed her cleaning cart pass the gold trimmed mirrors, she caught a glimpse of herself. The charcoal uniform straining against her hips, the stray curls escaping her clips, the flush on her checks from a double shift. Honey spent her life trying to take up less space, to be the background noise of the world made for the thin, elegant people. ‘Honey! Floor four, room 402. The guests checked out early’, her manager barked from the front desk. ‘On its Mr. Henderson’ she replied her voice soft and melodic, a stark contrast to the heavy plastic cart she maneuvered toward the elevators. She loved the quiet of the upper floors, up there, she wasn’t just the plus size made; she was a shadow. She could dream about the marketing degree gathering dust on her nightstand and the hundred of ‘thank you for your interest but …’emails siting in her inbox. Her phone buzzed in the pocket a text from her twin brother Harris ‘’don’t work too late Bee I’m making that cheesy pasta you love. Also check your email you have been staring at your screen so long I think the pixels are haunting you’’. Honey smiled a genuine warmth lighting up her face. Harris was her anchor. He saw the beauty she refused to acknowledged in the mirror. She stepped in to the service elevator, and just as the doors were closing, she felt it. A prickle at the back of her neck. A heavy, predatory sensation, as if someone’s eyes were physically pressing against her skin. She glances toward the lobby doors, but all she saw was the blur of a dark suit disappearing into a black town car. Probably just a guest, she told herself, though her heart was drumming a frantic rhythm against her ribs. Two hours later tucked into the small mismatched sofa in the apartment she shares with Harris, Honey opened her laptop. She expected another rejection. Instead, her breath hitched. Subject: Formal Offer of Employment Vance Global Media. Ms. Honey Smith, Following a review of your credentials, we are please to offer you the position of Senior Marketing Associate at our headquarters…. The salary was triple what she made at the hotel. The benefits were world class. It was her dream company- the one that she’d applied to five times and never even received an automated response from. ‘Harris!’ she gasped, her hands trembling. ‘I got it. I actually got it’. Harris jumped from the stove, wooden spoon in hand. ‘I new it! See? Someone finally looked at your talent and realize what they were missing.’ Honey looked down at her laps her old insecurities whispering in her ear. ‘’it’s in the city, Harris. Five hours away. And… why now? Why me? I’m just a housekeeper with a degree I haven’t used in three years’’. ‘‘Because you are brilliant’’, Harris insisted, pulling her in to a hug. ‘’pack your bags Bee this is the start of everything’’. Honey stared at the screen, a strange mix of hope and unexplainabledread pooling in her stomach. She felt like she was standing in front of a cliff, and someone or something was about to push her over. Honey have always been the type of person to avoid the big cities, because people like her do not belong there. Honey stared at the laptop screen until the white background burned in to her retinas. The cursor blinked, a rhythmic, mocking pulse. Why me? That was the thought that kept drowning out the excitement. She had spent three years sending out resumes that vanished in to the void. She had a marketing degree, yes, but no experience unless you counted the ‘’marketing’’ of daily specials to hotel guests or organizing the staff holiday party on a budget of fifty dollars. “Bee you are overthinking again. I can hear your gears grinding from here”. Harris leans against the door frame of their small kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “It is Vance Global Media Harris,” she whispered, turning the laptop so he could see the logo a sleek, minimalist ‘V’ that looked more like a blade than a letter. “They do not hire housekeepers from three cities away. They hire ivy league graduates who look like they have never eaten a carb in their lives.” She stood up, her hands instinctively smoothing the fabric of her leggings, a nervous habit that always drew her attention to the curves she tries so hard to hide. “Look at me I don’t fit in that world. I’ll walk into that lobby and they will realize that they sent the email to the wrong Honey”. “Then let then realize it after you have taken the first paycheck”. Harris said, his voice dropping its playful edge. He walked over and gripped her shoulder, his eyes fierce. “You are more than the space you occupy, Honey. You are the smartest person I know. You stayed here, working a deed end job to help me with the rent after my surgery. It is your turn now”. A cold shiver one she could not explain, chased itself down her spine. It felt like a trap, but the bait was everything she have dreamed of. She thought about her bank account the double digit that could barely cover their groceries. She thought about Henderson at the hotel, who called her “sweetheart” and “kid but never by her actual name. Then she thought about everything her and her brother had gone through, how hard she had prayed, begged and waited for an opportunity like this to change their life. “They want a response before midnight,” she murmured “Then give it to them,” Harris urged. Honey took a deep breath, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her fingers hovered over the ‘Accept’ button. She told herself she was just being paranoid. She told herself that luck was finally, finally on her side. She clicked. The screen refreshed instantly: Thank you, Ms. Smith. We look forward to your arrival. A car will be sent for you on Monday at 6:00 AM”. “Monday?” Honey gasped. “That is two days away!” “Then we better start packing,” Harris grinned, but Honey just stayed at the screen. A car will be sent. They did not just want her they were coming to get her. Honey went to bed that night after her celebratory dinner with her twin brother that night feeling a bit restless but excited about this new chapter of her life. At least with this job, she will be able to pay their debt faster and even be able to open up a restaurant for her brother earlier than expected. Honey got up the next morning with a heavy headache from over thinking last night. Honey climbs down from the bed, checked the time on her phone which was 7:20 AM and went to open her curtains. She then headed to the bath room which is the next door after her room. She brushed her teeth and took a hot shower to prepare for the day. She came back to her room and got dress for the day. After putting on her cloths, Honey sat in front of her little vanity and applied her lip-gloss, the only form of make up she tries to do every day. As Honey stepped out of her room in to the living room, the aroma of eggs and bacon filled her nostrils. Her brother was making breakfast. “Hey Bee, good morning” Harris greeted looking at her as took a sit on the table. “Good morning, Harris. How was your night” Honey said massaging her forehead? “It was ok. And yours?” Harris said going back to the stove. “It was meh” Honey replied shacking her shoulders. Harris opened the cupboard over his head, removed a of medicines and passed it to Honey to take for her headache. Honey took the medicines and they had breakfast together. “Thanks for the breakfast, Harris. I will be heading out now” Honey said getting up from the table “You are welcome but where are heading to?” Harris asked with a puzzled faced “Work. What do you mean?” Honey said walking out of the kitchen where she went to drop her plate in the sink. “I mean you got a new job and you should be packing” Harris walking towards his sister. “I know but have to go and summit my resignation letter to my manager first ok. Good bey” Honey said, walked over to her brother gave he a kiss on his cheek and left. “Ok bye. Come back early and start packing.” He said as she disappeared in the hallway.