Alessandra looked at her watch, the analog face read 4:48pm. On a perfect sunny New York afternoon, Ali was making her way to Lux. The most exclusive and considerably one of the most expensive shops on Fifth Avenue, the brand new store had hired her. Ali gave up trying to catch a cab from the Waldorf-Astoria hotel and started jogging in her high heels, which proved a hard task. Ali had slowed down when she got on Fifth Avenue, as she took time to admire all the designer stores with price tags higher than her previous annual income. Still, Ali managed to make it on time for her training day Lux.
Lux is the brand new store on Fifth Avenue, something that doesn't happen everyday. It seemed as if the store was opened overnight, when she found out the store was hiring. Ali didn't even bother applying, figuring she had no chance. However, one of her friends handed in her resume as a joke and Ali got called for an interview. Within 3 days Alessandra was called for her training, asking to be dressed "appropriate, conservative and fashionable". Whatever that meant. Alessandra used her uncle's credit card and bought the cheapest things she could find at Saks Fifth Avenue, which still amounted to a four digit figure total.
However, Ali had other plans for the clothes after she was done wearing them.
Regardless, she was glad for this job. It's a good income, way better than her last job, as she had been informed. And it gave her something to do with her spare time, other than going to university. A task Alessandra did not enjoy, she goes to NYU. A mediocre school amongst all Holy Trinities of Ivy League, and some others. Still, Alessandra was glad for the opportunity, for that she had been really fortunate given the accidents and misfortunes she had endured in her life.
Lux definitely lived up to its title, the store had a cream coloured exterior. While the other stores around it all seemed to have a black and brown theme to it, Luxe stood out with its simple header and white walls. The mannequins displayed showed, very simply, a female and a male. The female wore a black ruffle cocktail gown and the male wore a white dress shirt and black trousers, both standing against the backdrop of New York's silhouette. This was a smart concept, Ali thought to herself. These two mannequins displayed very well the personality of New York: party and work.
She took a deep breath, and opened the door. A light, fruity scent hit her, the store was quite full for this time of the day. Some people seemed to resemble tourists and others were looking through just about each and every thing on the hanger. The store had the same cream coloured interior as its exterior, with gold detailing everywhere. There was single seat sofas and what Ali could only imply as a tea table beside the sofas, reminding Ali that when a shopper got tired they could just simply sit on the sofa and drink tea, Ali wouldn't be surprised if the store served tea to its costumers too. Looking around, it was hard to make out who worked here and moreso, who was in charge. She twirled her long black hair, which fell in loose curls and stood around like a lost child.
"Can I help you?" a male voice said behind her, Ali turned around and saw a blonde guy staring at her, his blue eyes piercing hers. He had a blonde stubble on his face and flashed her a perfect smile. Ali suddenly felt very self-conscious, taking a few moments to gather her thoughts.
"Yeah, actually I just got hired here." Ali silently cursed herself for saying that, way to make a first impression. The guy kept smiling, awkward…
"Oh yes, Jose mentioned you." Alessandra did not bother to ask who Jose was, nor did she get the chance to as the guy signalled Ali to follow him.
"I'm Jeff, by the way." The guy turned around and lent out his hand, introducing himself. Ali shook it and felt a little bit better. Jeff led her to the store's cashiers, there stood a guy who was dressed in a white blazer with black trousers and black shiny loafers, writing something and paying no attention to anyone around him.
"Jose." Jeff called out, Jose looked up and immediately saw Ali. She stood uncomfortably as Jeff informed Jose about her. Jose simply nodded and Jeff walked off, but not before turning around and flashing her a thumbs up and mouthed 'good luck'.
He's nice. Alessandra thought to herself happily, seems like she's made a friend.
Jose turned around, finally looking up from the pile of papers he had in his hand. He had these piercing hazel eyes and a rough, scruffy look. Jose also had scruffy brown hair, the kind of hair that look like they just woke up and their hair looks perfect. In short, Jose looked like a male version of supermodel.
This day had just gotten slightly better, Ali thought.
Jose looked at the numbers on the sheet, he swears that they are dancing on the paper, he also swears that he's going crazy. Jose was working all day today, from 7am to 8pm at night. Today was truck day, which means new products, store rearrangement, and submitting the latest sales to head office. Katy was off today, family emergency and Jose couldn't say no. What made it worse was that he was training today, which was also suppose to be Katy's job. Despite being 2nd assistant manager, he had never trained before. All the crews in the store were trained prior to store opening by head office. Jose tried really hard to refuse Katy's offer but he couldn't say no, since she had always covered his ass before. So there he was, a 13 hour shift and everything was due at the end of the day.
Jose wanted to kill someone.
Luckily the people working today were working long shifts, and they knew what they were doing. So at least he wouldn't be called upon every 5 minutes. He had tried to make sense of the sales numbers, they were sensitive and had to be submitted in a certain time frame in a certain way. Both of which Jose had just found out the hard way today. Katy was MIA and Taylor was on her off day, so he was on his own. Meaning Jose was almost glad for a distraction when Jeff told him the trainee was here.
Jose looked up and was temporarily stunned. –
There stood his trainee, dressed in a silk frilly blouse and high waisted dress pants with platforms. Her black hair fell perfectly in big loose curls, she had a friendly but shy face. Jose could tell that she was nervous, and he was suddenly glad that she was the approachable kind of girl rather than the stuck-up snobby ones like the customers he get everyday.
He walked over to her and hoped he didn't look too tired, or jumpy, or both.
"Hi, I'm Jose." He introduced himself, holding out his hand. The girl shook it carefully, she introduced herself as Alessandra Valente.
What a unique name for a girl like her, he thought. What was she? Italian? Irish? Jose had a hard time telling.
"Alright, let's get down to business!" Jose tried to sound optimistic and friendly, just like a good boss would. Alessandra didn't give much of a reaction, defeated, Jose told her to wait while he organized the sales papers, glad not to be looking at numbers for the next little while. At the same time, he pulled out the training manual, feeling like a trainee himself.
A manager training to become a trainer. Oh the irony.
Jose led her first to the crew room, where he showed her her designated locker.
"That's comforting." Alessandra said as she opened the locker and proceeded to put her bag in before taking out her cellphone and sticking it in her pocket.
"Sorry Alessandra, but no cellphone on the floor." Jose used his strict, I'm-your-boss-tone and then winked at her, as if sharing their own little secret.
"I'll be sure to turn it on silent." Alessandra said, smiling. "You can call me Ali, by the way."
"Ali." Jose played the name around in his head, "Alright then. Well, come with me, Ali, and I'll show you around the store." As Ali and him left the crew room, he noticed Jeff outside paying more attention than necessary to them. Jose knew Jeff wasn't looking at him, he was looking at Ali. Jeff flashed a smile and Ali let out a little laugh.
God, they were like teenagers.
"Ali," Jose turned around, facing her. He was a few inches taller than her, his loafers gave him maybe an inch of lift. But her platforms were almost 6 inches. The only reason Jose could tell was because Lux sells shoes and he had to make himself familiar to the products, platform shoes were one of the products.
Alessandra looked at him, paying full attention. Her medium brown eyes never strayed from him, Jose suddenly felt as if he was a school teacher about to give her a lecture. He coughed before continuing,
"This is the most important rule in Lux, and don't ask me why because I don't make the rules." Ali tilted her head, her hair falling slightly to the side. Jose continued,
"At Lux, we do not allow employee relationships." Ali looked a bit shocked, Jose was used to that reaction.
"Why? I mean, not that I'm saying I'm interested, but it's a strange rule." She said, her brown eyes staring at him.
"I know, and I said don't ask me." Jose shrugged, "It's the rule. If employee relationships were found out then both employees are terminated on the spot. Sorry Ali."
"Oh don't worry," She said nonchalantly. "I didn't come here for a boyfriend."
Jose's never received that reaction before, actually, he's never met anyone like her before in this side of town. Here, on Upper East Side, everyone acted if they were entitled to anything and everything around them. Alessandra seemed the exact opposite, which made training her a lot less nerve wracking.
"Alright then, shall we go?" Jose bowed and stretched out his arm, Ali laughed and walked in the direction he was pointing. Jose followed behind as he started to explain the structure of the store.
Their training went on till 7pm, by which time the store was closing. Ali had no idea how much work went into closing a store, nevermind the clothes, it was the structure and visual aspect of the store. By the end of the night there was only one cashier and one manager, Jeff was the cashier closing, which made Alessandra feel a bit better that at least there was someone friendly. Jose had left her instructions and went to figure out the sales records, at least that's what he told her.
"No he's not." Jose said to Alessandra while counting the bills. He seemed so interested in it Ali was surprised he was even paying attention to her.
"Oh yeah? Why do you say that?" Ali took a shirt and put it on one of the wooden hangers, it was a violet camisole with some rhinestones on the straps. Ali caught a glance of the price tag: $230.
Get out. . . it's a piece of fabric with dollarstore glitter on it. Ali thought, before putting it on the rack and moving on to the next piece.
"Well, it's already past 6." Jeff put the set of bills into the register, before taking out the next set and started his routine all over again. "The sales list is time sensitive, has to be submitted between the hours of 3 and 6. Jose missed the time frame."
Ali smiled, figuring that Jeff and Jose were probably old friends, if Jeff can talk about Jose this way. She took out a short sleeve shirt with what seems like a Picasso inspired face on it. The ultra-thin fabric felt like butter in her hands, it felt light as air. Ali looked at the price tag: $180.
"Holy geez." She said under her breath as she hung it on the rack.
"Why do you keep looking at the price tag?" Jeff said, never taking his eyes off of the calculator.
"Because everything is ridiculously overpriced." Alessandra replied matter-of-fact. This time, Jeff looked up.
"Well my oh my, if my ears aren't deceiving me. . ." Jeff looked at Alessandra as if she said she has the cure to cancer. Alessandra looked confused, "Did I just hear a girl say the word 'overpriced'? Alessandra, you are a rare breed, I thought your kind was near extinction." Alessandra smiled at Jeff, who smiled back.
Damn he's cute. Alessandra noted silently. They continued to talk until all the clothes has been hung on the rack. Jeff gave her instructions on where the rack goes, when Jose came back. He looked worse for the change.
"I hate sales list, hate it so much!" Jose slammed his fist on the counter, Ali flinched back a little. Jeff just smiled and went back to his counting. "You know, if Katy wasn't always covering my ass. . ." Jose's voice trailed off, and he left it at that, Jeff and him seemed to know what Jose was talking about. Alessandra stood there, awkwardly as she wondered if she should talk or let Jose rant.
"Oh I'm sorry." Jose noticed Alessandra standing there, she smiled shyly. "The store actually looks really nice, good job Ali." Jose looked around, the store looked really good, he would've never known she was new from the way she closed the store.
"Your training's now complete. There isn't a lot to learn, I think we're just missing the stockroom, wait do we still have time?" Jose looked at his Rolex, it was almost quarter to 8. Jose figured he'll just get to the main points, everything else she can learn later on. "Alright, come with me Ali. Jeff, you behave." He warned as Jeff muttered something about him worrying too much, Jose led Ali through a corridor to a rusty old elevator. The kind that looks like it could be out of a horror movie.
"There isn't a lot to learn about the stockroom, you just have to know which collection is where and how the stock works. It's pretty simple." Jose said, he noticed that she looked a little tired as well, Ali kept shifting her weight from one feet to the next. "I never could understand why women wear those shoes." He said as he eyed her shoes, they weren't as tall as he first thought, and despite its apparent discomfort, it did give her a boost of height. The black platforms complemented her outfit perfectly.
"It's pretty, even if it hurts like hell." Alessandra said, Jose looked at her closely, she was just staring at the wall, into something distant. Jose noticed that she didn't wear too much makeup, maybe just mascara and lipgloss, that's it. Alessandra certainly wasn't like anyone else he knows around here.
The elevator was taking an unusual long time, Jose struggled for something to talk about.
"So where are you from?" Jose tried to make conversation, Ali complied politely; telling him that she grew up in New York, and lives in the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, Jose also found out that Alessandra graduated from NYU. She was certainly a strange one; Alessandra. She did not graduated from Ivy League but dresses like she's from a top family, plus she lives in a hotel penthouse. Yet she looked at prices of clothes and acted…normal, for a better lack of words.
Finally the elevator came, before Alessandra had a chance to ask Jose. She went in and Jose followed, he pressed the button to the basement. He noticed that Alessandra looked a bit nervous, and asked her if she was ok.
"Yeah, just don't like these elevators. Don't you feel like something bad is going to happen in it?" She asked him, leaning against the wall almost too closely.
"Sometimes." He said. "Well, for safety reasons, see this red button here?" Jose indicated at the giant shiny red and round red button on the elevator, it looked scratched and looked like it was coming loose from the wall, which it probably was. "If anything happens, just press this button, and you can talk to mall security, who'll in turn call the fire department. They'll stay with you on the line till the authority gets here."
"Comforting." Was all Alessandra said.
"Do be careful though, the button looks dislocated from the wall." Jose joked, which eased some of the tension in the elevator.
As Jose showed Alessandra around the much-less-glamorous stock room, he couldn't help but steal glances at her occasionally. Alessandra seemed tired, but she tried hard to pay attention. The stock room was much cooler than the store, Alessandra wrapped her arms around himself. Jose wished he hadn't taken off his blazer. He was tired too, from sunrise to sunset he was at this store, at least he was closing tomorrow so he could get some decent sleep.
The stock room was overfilled with boxes and hangers and racks and clothes, literally everywhere. The space between one rack and the next wasn't even enough for two people to walk side by side, Jose showed Ali the ladders as he filled her in on the safety routine. In truth, Jose knew he didn't really have to, Ali seemed diligent enough to learn this on her own soon as the opportunity was presented, but he liked being around her. Ali was a breath of fresh air, it was nice to be with someone who wasn't so rich and snobby all the time. But Jose wasn't one to talk, he grew up on the Upper East Side, his mom, Sophie Parker, is a well known fashion designer and his father, Nathaniel Marchena, was a primary shareholder in some major companies. Jose went to Harvard for Bio-Chemistry, he had originally wanted to do something in the science field as opposed to follow in his father's footsteps. But even after Jose graduated, he wasn't sure what to do with his life, and unlike some other people, Jose has the option to think about it for a few years. He didn't have to work at Lux, actually he didn't have to work at all. But Jose found that it gave him a sense of enjoyment to work, he didn't need the money at all, really.
"That pretty much sums up everything." Jose said, extremely relieved. He didn't like being in the overfilled stock room, it was too cold and made him claustrophobic at times. Alessandra seems equally relieved, she put her hands in her pants pocket and walked to the door that led down the hallway to the elevator.
"Alright, once we get upstairs, you're free to go." Jose and Alessandra waited as the elevator slowly made its way down. Their shoulders were just brushing, making Jose feel suddenly uncomfortable for some reason. "Good job, Alessandra."
"Thanks." She looked over to him and gave a small smile, how old was she? 23 maybe? Couldn't be older than himself. "So how did you become a manager?" Ali asked him,
"I applied." Jose said, that was it. He just wanted a job but the store was desperate for managers, they were understaffed as it is. "It's a brand new store, they weren't picky I guess. I'm just as new as you are, with more training but that's it."
"Can I ask you a question?" Alessandra asked as the elevator made a ding sound. They both stepped in, Jose pressed the first floor button as he replied sure.
"Why do you work?" Jose was a bit taken back by that question, it sounded almost like an insult but he knew it wasn't. He knew exactly what she meant.
"Because I want to, I don't want to just sit around all day or go to charity parties." He said, looking up at the dim lighting. Alessandra was quiet.
"What about you?"
"Me?" Alessandra said, curling her lips and thought about it for a second, "Same reason as you, except I don't go to parties. I just graduated and I have no idea what I want to do, I guess maybe I just need some time to think."
Jose was even more taken back by her answer, a Upper East Side girl who doesn't party?
They rode the rest of the way in silence, as they got to the first floor, Jeff was there. He already finished closing his till and was getting ready to leave. Alessandra smiled when she saw Jeff, who smiled back. There was definitely flirting going on between Alessandra and Jeff, but long as they keep it innocent, Jose couldn't say much, even though he wanted to.
As Alessandra and Jeff left the store, Jose followed not soon after. Glad this long day was over, he wondered randomly why at all Lux hired Alessandra in the first place, and if he'd see her tomorrow.
Alessandra threw off her shoes the moment she stepped into the penthouse, and let out a huge sigh. Work had gone better than she had expected, and she's already made a friend. . .or two. Depending on where Jose stands with her. It was now 9 o'clock, Alessandra held the brown paper bag containing her dinner: grilled Panini and vegetable soup, as she walked up the stairs to her room. This penthouse wasn't really hers, and she often lived out of a suitcase here. Although the penthouse has everything a person would need anyways, including a closet full of gorgeous, designer, way-beyond-her-budget evening gowns that the owner never wears. The owner was one of Alessandra's uncle, Daniel's clients, who was a single, middle aged woman who just happens to have a penthouse that she doesn't need. Nicole Walker, that's her name. Nicole has been Daniel's client for over 10 years, they were practically like old friends. When Nicole heard that Ali had gotten into NYU she offered her penthouse, to which Ali and Daniel kindly declined.
"Nonsense!' Nicole would say, "I never use the rusty old thing anyway. Better that it's put into use than rusts and gathers dust!"
Since then, Ali has been living in Waldorf-Astoria whenever Nicole wasn't around, which was 11 months of the year. Things had been working out pretty well, and no one seemed to even suspect Alessandra's secret at Lux, and Alessandra planned to keep it that way.
Tired and beat, Alessandra slips into her shirt and pyjama pants, turned on the television and ate her dinner. Enjoying a night to herself, Daniel was away on a business trip, he'll be back day after tomorrow. Then Ali would go back to Brooklyn and things would feel a bit normal again.