5 November 2014: Hey guys, I'm so sorry for the big pause in updates. I got so busy. It's my senior year of highschool, so I'm kinda juggling multiple things at once. But, I edited all the chapters and wrote a new one for you(: I hope you enjoy
"Mr. Crowne would like to see you in his office," an assistant said, poking her head through the door. Elizabeth nodded and put down her pen. Smoothing her skirt, she walked into her boss's office. He sat behind a large desk, typing on his new PC. He looked up at her and motioned for her to sit down.
The shiny nameplate on his desk read 'Larry Crowne, CEO'. Dressed in an expensive suit, he turned to Elizabeth and gave her a warm smile.
"I have some good news for you, Elizabeth." He pulled a letter addressed to her from one of the drawers in his desk and handed it to her. She read through it quickly and a smile crept onto her face.
"Wayne Enterprises has hired you as their new administrative assistant in Gotham. There is a flight to Gotham at 1:45 pm tomorrow; I have your itinerary here. At 9 a.m. Monday, you are to report to Mr. Lucius Fox and get the rest of your instructions from him. Wayne Enterprises has kindly bought you an apartment and a car for you to use," Larry finished, smiling at Elizabeth. She smiled back excitedly.
"Wow, I never thought they would hire me," she said, dazed.
"You have been a wonderful assistant to me and I'll be sad to see you leave, but I think you need more of a challenge," Larry said, standing up. He held out his hand for Elizabeth to shake, which she returned quickly.
"I wish you the best of luck in Gotham, Elizabeth." Larry waved her off and she thanked him, leaving his office to pack up her things.
Less than an hour later, Elizabeth wiped the small bead of sweat off her brow. Her office was stripped of all of her personal belongings, which were in a large cardboard box. After logging out of her computer for the final time, she spun in her chair to face the large, floor-to-ceiling window in her office. The sun was setting in Metropolis, creating a fiery orange glow in the sky.
Smiling sadly, she stood up and grabbed the box, closing her office door. On her way out of the office complex, several employees wished her luck on her new job. She reached the bottom floor and resigned her security pass to Linda at the front desk, who smiled at Elizabeth as she left the building. Elizabeth hailed a taxi and hopped in.
"Corner of 5th and Brass, please," she said to the driver. He nodded and sped off into the busy streets.
On her way back home, Elizabeth drank in every detail of Metropolis, taking in its beauty.
The ride seemed faster than usual to Elizabeth, who paid the taxi driver when he stopped at her apartment complex.
Her apartment was small, but it served its purposes. Going to her bedroom, Elizabeth quickly changed into some sweats and a tank top then got straight to work.
Starting in the living room and making her way through the apartment, Elizabeth sorted her things into two piles: take to Gotham or send to Goodwill. With most of her belongings in the 'Goodwill' pile, she boxed the remainder of her things and set them down by her front door. The things she wanted to give away were kept in the living room.
Finally noticing that it was quite late, Elizabeth crawled into bed and instantly fell asleep.
Her alarm buzzed at 5:45 the next morning. Elizabeth hit 'snooze' and dragged herself to the shower.
The warm water worked miracles for her, working better than any coffee. Sighing, she switched off the water and grabbed a towel from the rack. Wrapping the towel around her, Elizabeth stepped out of the shower and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Long, curly brown hair and deep blue eyes greeted her. Elizabeth's features were plain, but they flowed together, giving her a seemingly average face. Aside from a slight dusting of freckles across her nose, nothing marked her smooth face.
Shaking her head to get rid of her daze, Elizabeth began getting ready. She ended up choosing some comfortable, yet still business appropriate, slacks and a blouse. After dabbing on some perfume and slipping on her black pumps, Elizabeth opened the door for the movers to come in.
"All of the boxes in the living room are to be donated and everything else needs to be shipped to this address," she instructed, giving a slip of paper to the head mover. He nodded and got him and his men to work. Elizabeth made sure she left enough cash for a tip as she grabbed her coat, purse, and luggage.
She made her way through the halls, down the elevator, and into the nicely furnished lobby. After handing Bennet, her landlord, the keys to her apartment, Elizabeth hailed a cab to the airport. Anxiety began building in her as they neared closer to the airport.
Again, the cab ride was short and Elizabeth wheeled her luggage inside to check in her bags. She grudgingly paid for her two additional suitcases and went to stand in the security line. She slipped off her heels and placed all of her belongings in the plastic bins.
The alarm went off as soon as Elizabeth stepped through the metal detectors and had a TSA agent wave a wand over her. The detector picked up a strong metal signal in the middle of her stomach. Irritated, Elizabeth unbuttoned a few buttons in the middle of her shirt to show the agent her harmless navel piercing. The agent nodded and waved her away as she buttoned the shirt back up.
Later, Elizabeth was leisurely strolling through the airport with a fresh latte in her hand. She found the correct terminal for her flight and sat down, patiently waiting for her flight to board. Digging through her purse, she found her anti-anxiety medication and took two of the pills. Elizabeth checked her watch countless times, counting down the seconds until she could board the plane.
"Flight three-twenty to Gotham may begin boarding," a cool female voice announced over the intercom. Elizabeth trashed her empty coffee cup and gave her boarding pass to a male flight attendant. He nodded, allowing her to go through the hallway. Elizabeth found her first class seat, provided by Wayne Enterprises, and stowed her belongings beneath her chair as she sat down.
As the last passenger boarded the plane, a flight attendant began going over the rules and safety procedures. A few minutes after she had finished, the pilot announced their departure and ETA to Gotham.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and tried to even out her breathing as they took off. Clutching the armrests on either side of her, she tensed as she felt the plane lift off the runway. She felt her whole body relax when the plane stopped jolting and continued on a smooth course. The medication Elizabeth took earlier began to kick in and she closed her eyes again, falling into a drug-induced slumber.
"Excuse me, miss," a pretty flight attendant said, softly shaking Elizabeth awake. "We've landed in Gotham."
Elizabeth nodded and looked out the window, getting a first glimpse at her new home. The flight attendants allowed the first class passengers to leave first, allowing Elizabeth to quickly escape.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she began heading to the baggage claim to collect her luggage. Twenty minutes and three suitcases later, Elizabeth went to the lobby where a chauffer with a sign that read 'Martin' was waiting for her.
"Miss Martin?" he asked. Elizabeth nodded. "I am David and I will be driving you to your apartment. Let me take a few suitcases, please," he said. Elizabeth handed him two suitcases and followed him out to the black town car waiting at the curb. David helped her put the luggage in the trunk and helped her inside the luxurious car. Sitting quietly, Elizabeth checked her Blackberry for any new e-mails. When she had received none, she leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes.
"Long flight, miss?" David asked from the front seat.
"No. I only flew in from Metropolis. I just hate flying. It makes me nervous," she explained.
"I understand," he said sympathetically. "I don't particularly enjoy flying myself. It's too small of a space for me."
"Exactly," Elizabeth said, nodding in agreement, even though the source of her extreme anxiety was the fact that her father died in a plane crash, but she tended to leave that part out of casual conversation, using claustrophobia as her excuse. David drove in silence, twisting and turning through the streets of Gotham until he stopped in front of a tall apartment building. There was a covered awning draped in red fabric that had the name of the building in gold lettering. There were expensive potted plants near the entrance and a doorman dressed in a black suit heading to the car.
David opened the door for Elizabeth and helped her out of the car. The doorman approached Elizabeth and tipped his hat.
"Good afternoon, miss," he said politely. "My name is Theodore. Allow me to help," he said, grabbing a suitcase and Elizabeth's carry-on bag. David took the remaining bags and headed inside.
The lobby was decorated finely with sculptures, paintings, and expensive furniture. Approaching the front desk, Elizabeth received the keys to her new apartment.
Accompanied by Theodore and David, Elizabeth rode up to the twentieth floor and found 207. She unlocked the door with her shiny key and stepped inside. Theodore and David followed suit and left her bags by the door.
"Thank you so much," she said gratefully, tipping them. David and Theodore left after wishing her well on her first night in her new apartment.
Elizabeth locked the door and dropped her keys into a small bowl on a table. She took off her coat and hung it in the closet. Looking at her new apartment, Elizabeth's lips quirked up into a smile.
The apartment was far nicer than anything she had ever seen. The marble counter tops of the kitchen gleamed in the dim lighting. The stainless steel appliances were brand new and top of the line. Moving into the fully furnished living room, Elizabeth saw a large, leather couch facing a beautiful fireplace. The dark brown stones used to build the mantle tied the room together. A towering bookcase stood next to the fireplace, waiting for her to fill it we her expansive collection. The windows overlooked Grant Park, which was currently filled with people.
Elizabeth stepped into her bedroom and sighed happily. The walls were a pale blue with white trim, which matched the white furniture. A floor-to-ceiling window was placed at the eastern side of the room so she would get the full effects of the sun rising in the morning.
The joined bathroom was simple, with white surfaces and nice counter tops. A tiled shower stood in the left corner and a sparkling white tub just before it to her left. Elizabeth went back into the main room and grabbed her things, taking them to her bedroom to unpack.
She started with her clothes, as those would take the longest. Elizabeth placed the clothes in the walk in closet or the dresser on the opposite side of her bed. When she finished, she placed the suitcases on the top shelf of her closet and changed into some sweats.
Emptying her carry-on bag, Elizabeth plugged in her laptop and placed it on the desk in the living room. She sat down and checked her e-mails. There was one from her sister and a whole lot of junk mail. Elizabeth quickly responded to her sister then looked at the time. It was a quarter to six; time for dinner.
Elizabeth got up to look in the fridge and found it empty. She made a mental note to go grocery shopping tomorrow, as it would be Sunday. She started work at Wayne Enterprises on Monday. Grabbing her red Blackberry, she called a local Chinese place and had it delivered to her apartment.
Her food was delivered in no time and Elizabeth gave the delivery boy a nice tip as she closed her door. She sat down at the bar and ate her food quickly then threw away the trash. Deciding to take a shower, Elizabeth hopped inside the stall and stood underneath the hot water.
Closing her eyes, Elizabeth leaned against the wall and sighed. The hot water was amazing after her long day of traveling and unpacking. Tomorrow would be worse though, as the rest of her belongings from her old apartment would be arriving and she had to go grocery shopping.
Elizabeth quickly washed and got out, wrapping a fluffy towel around her body. After brushing her teeth, she changed into a tank top and shorts and crawled into her new bed. She turned off the light and fell asleep instantly.
The next day was long and tiring, but Elizabeth managed to get all of the groceries she needed and put them away before the rest of her belongings arrived. She put them where they belonged and made some dinner before going to bed early. Elizabeth needed to be up early so she could be sure to get to Wayne Tower on time. It was exciting, starting a new job.
She had heard many things about Wayne Enterprises, not all of them positive, but many things regardless. Her old boss, Larry Crowne, was nice, but the job she occupied was too easy. Elizabeth needed a challenge. And that challenge happened to be working at Wayne Enterprises.
Smiling, Elizabeth pulled the comforter over shoulders and closed her eyes, falling asleep.