Utopia

Chapter-8

I wore the dress Millie had suggested on my first day at the office. The lobby of the office, where I had waited yesterday looked cheery while it looked cloudy yesterday. Maybe it was just reflecting my mood. There was a spring in my step as I approached the desk. The receptionist who looked intimidating yesterday looked friendly today. She beamed at me.

“Good morning, Ms. Wells. Congrats on your appointment,” She said.

“Thank you and call me Hannah.” I smiled.

“Mr. Scott told me to send you in as soon as you come.” She said and added, “You must be so brave to be his secretary.”

My smile narrowed and the familiar feeling of dread took its place in my stomach.

“Why would you say that?” I asked.

“I’ve seen all those girls crying. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out whatever was happening in there was brutal. And don’t tell him I discussed this with you.” She said, suddenly eyeing me with suspicion.

“No, I won’t,” I assured her and made my way to Adrian’s office past the cabins and desks of the rest of the employees. They were just filing in and were taking their seats. I opened the glass door to Adrian’s office. For a moment, I was back at yesterday- nervous about the interview. I brushed that feeling away and said, “May I come in, Sir?”

Adrian was sitting in his chair, intently reading a file. He didn’t raise his head to my voice. He just raised a finger and beckoned me to come in. I stepped inside. Today, I was more comfortable with the heels. I stood in front of his desk. He neither raised his head nor asked me to sit. He was focused on the file intently while I stood there awkwardly waiting for some kind of acknowledgment. Ten minutes had passed. My patience was wearing thin. Who was this man? He bound and gagged me one day. Bought me clothes against my will the same day and now ignoring me like I was a fly on one of his file cabinets. This position in his office seemed to be dire with every passing second I stood there like a slave.

“Mr. Scott?” I asked. “Is there anything you want to tell me or can I leave?”

I finally raised his head and by the widening of his eyes, I understood he completely forgot about me. Was I that forgettable? It was embarrassing to think that I spent my last evening dreaming about this guy who forgot me even when I stood right in front of him.

“Ah, Ms. Wells. I was so engrossed in this file that I forgot to brief you. Erm...all the best for your first day. We don’t have a lot of time. You see that little room on the side. That is yours. There is a computer for you. On the desktop, there will be a document explaining everything about your duties. I made my old secretary Carla type it after I fired her. I expect you to read everything on there and report back to me in fifteen minutes.”

“Yes, Mr. Scott,” I nodded and trotted to the small cabin beside his office. It had a glass door just like his. Through a glass wall, I could see into his office if he didn’t close the curtains. There was a small desk with a Mac and neatly arranged files. I never thought that the day would come so soon when I had my own cabin but I didn’t have the time to take it in.

I rushed into my seat and booted up my computer. On the desktop, there was a document just as he had said. I clicked on it. The white paper consisted of the list of my duties as Adrian Scott’s secretary. I had to design his schedule based on his meeting and conferences of the day. I had to accompany him to every meeting with everything he needed. Sometimes I had to make trips abroad with him on a day’s notice. There were other duties which I scanned quickly while checking the time on the wall clock. One minute left, I ran out of my cabin and into his.

He was still in the same position, reading the same file. I wondered what was so interesting about it. ‘Utopia’, the title said on the cover. The name sounded interesting but didn’t give me a clue of what was inside it. I lightly knocked on the door, letting Adrian know about my arrival. He gestured to me to come in the same way as earlier.

“Ah, Ms. Wells, I assume you have read everything on the file.” He said, brushing his chin with his thumb.

“Yes, Mr. Scott,” I nodded.

“Good, let’s go. We have a meeting across the city,” He said, getting up from his chair. “There is a laptop on my desk. Take it. It belongs to you now. Your Mac and this laptop are connected through the cloud. Bring it along with you to take notes.”  Taken aback by this sudden announcement, I picked up the new laptop and followed him out of the cabin. Employees working at their desks, raised their heads to see the new girl at the office, who was running to keep with the boss as he was walking as quickly and gracefully as a gazelle. Of all the people in there, one guy caught my attention. He was smiling at me. He had sandy blond hair and a charming smile. He gave me the tiniest of waves as I raced behind Adrian. I smiled at him. Maybe he would be my first real friend in this place. Who knew? 

We passed his desk. I was walking fast. I just hoped I wouldn’t trip on my own feet. Adrian was carrying a briefcase with him. I didn’t see him put the Utopia file in there. Maybe this was a different meeting. I felt like a whirlwind had engulfed me as we took the elevator from the 49th floor.

I had to say it was disconcerting to be alone with Adrian in a cramped space like this. I couldn’t stare at him all the time like a creep nor I could completely ignore him while he was there. He was a mighty presence. He was like a black hole that sucked everyone’s attention towards himself. His cologne wafted to me once more, reminding me of yesterday's bizarre interview. I couldn’t believe it had happened just yesterday. I felt like days had passed since then.

Finally, the elevator doors opened and we stepped into a spacious garage. A middle-aged man dressed in a suit was waiting beside a Mercedes Benz. Adrian stopped at that car and nodded to the man.

“Hannah, this is James, my driver, and James, this is Ms. Wells, my secretary.” He introduced us.

“James,”

“Ms. Wells,”

We acknowledged each other. James opened the backdoor for us. Adrian slid into the car, followed by me. The engine revved and soon we were zooming through the streets of Chicago. Adrian was typing something on his phone. I opened the new laptop and started setting it up. I had to be ready by the time the meeting started. Once I set up the laptop, I noticed the luxurious car I was sitting in, with its seats as white and soft as clouds and the drive as smooth as passing through the air. I remembered my old Ford I drove here, with its bumper ready to fall off.

The familiar streets of Chicago took a colorful and rich twinge as I looked at them through the windows of Benz. For the first time, I felt I did the right thing going through that weirdness yesterday. That enabled me to climb up from the clutches of poverty and smell luxury for the first time.

“How are you finding your first day so far?”, Adrian asked, pulling me away from my thoughts.

“Quick. Great.” I said, dumbly. What did he expect me to say when he was on my heels since I stepped into the office?

“And it’s going to be interesting at the place where we are heading. Just a heads up. It is not the usual meeting place you expect. I want to have a peek at what kind of things you are getting yourself into. So, I thought this meeting would be a great place to start.” He said.

If he was trying to make me curious, he succeeded.

“Where are we going, Mr. Scott?” I asked. Before he could answer, the car stopped.

“We’re here, sir,” James announced. I whipped my head to see what was this extraordinary place Adrian was telling me about. It was definitely what I had expected. Adrian was right about that part. We were in front of an abandoned factory with trash surrounding it. I rather felt than saw the amused smile on Adrian’s face at my stunned expression.

“Open the door, Hannah,” He silkily whispered in my ears.