Chapter One: The Wicked Witch of the Office
The alarm clock beeped relentlessly next to Jim's bed. Five a.m., the sun was just beginning to rise, shafts of orange and pink seeping in through the blinds of the bedroom windows. New day, same old crap… He slammed his hand down on the i-Home, silencing the nagging reminder of the day-long headache to come. Sitting up and stretching with a loud yawn, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up dragging himself to the bathroom of his one-bedroom apartment to shower. He turned the water on as hot as possible, the room filling with steam and the mirror being cloaked in a sheet of condensation. Slowly he stepped in and winced as the scorching water hit his lightly tanned skin. For a moment he just stood there, his head tilted back welcoming the relaxing stream that pounded against his chest and ran down his toned body. Then he grabbed the bar of soap off of the soap-tray on the wall and rubbed himself down, working a moderate lather as if trying to wash away the grogginess he still felt. Standing under the water again he rinsed the suds away and then gave the same attention to his hair. He tilted his head down, allowing the water to soak his long chestnut bangs and his braided rattail. Once he washed his hair, he turned the water off and grabbed his towel hanging up just outside the shower door and quickly dried himself off..
Feeling successfully refreshed and more awake, he wrapped the towel around his well formed waist and headed over to the sink to brush his teeth. With his left hand, he wiped away some of the steam from the mirror while he picked up his toothbrush with his right. After brushing his teeth and gargling some mouthwash, he applied some deodorant and headed back to his room to get dressed.
He let the towel fall from his waist as he went to grab a pair of boxers from his dresser. Then he walked over to his closet and pulled out his dark grey suit, a black dress shirt and red tie. He put on his boxers and a pair of white socks and stepped into the pants of his suit. Once his pants were on he put on a white under-shirt then his black dress shirt. He buttoned it up and tucked it into his pants, zipping them up and fastening his belt. Walking back into the bathroom, he begrudgingly stood in front of the now defogged mirror to put on his tie. He hated ties, but he had no choice in the matter and she would have a conniption if he showed up without one on. Just the thought made him roll his eyes in annoyance. Taking one last look at his reflection, he sighed and went to grab his suit jacket off of his bed.
Making sure he had everything; i-phone, wallet, briefcase, tablet, Bluetooth and paperwork, he headed out the door locking it behind him. He headed down the stairs and out into the lobby of his apartment building. The manager's daughter was at the front desk, filing paperwork. She gave him a kind smile and nodded at him as he walked by.
"Morning, Jim."
"Morning, Tiana," He replied with a smirk and a half-wave. "Where's your mom?"
"Her arthritis is really bad this morning, so I'm covering for her till she feels better. I keep telling her she won't be able to keep this up much longer but the woman won't listen to me."
Jim chuckled. "Well, hope she feels better, tell her I said 'hi'." He continued towards the front doors, waving over his shoulder.
"Will do, good luck with work!" She waved back and returned to her filing. Even she knew what that 'terrorist of a boss' was like. Only because he ranted about the issue to her and confided in her when she was around.
Once outside, Jim was greeted by the sounds of an already busy city. Car horns, people walking by and talking on cell phones, car stereos and sirens from emergency vehicles. This was his natural 'habitat', New York City. Although it took some getting used to at first, he quickly adjusted to the busy lifestyle this city accommodated. He raised his hand in the air, trying in vain to flag down a taxi. It took a few tries but eventually one stopped for him and he hopped in, slamming the door shut. The cabbie, a rather stout-looking toad, glanced into his rear-view mirror at the young man in his backseat.
"Where to, my good fellow?" He asked, a little too peppy for this hour, Jim thought.
"First stop, the Starbucks on Fifth Street," Jim replied, leaning back and setting his briefcase in his lap. He noticed the cabbie's name plate on the dashboard: James T. Toad.
Suddenly, Jim felt himself being jerked backward into the backseat as the cab sped forward at almost breakneck speed, its tires squealing in protest against the pavement. The toad laughed maniacally as he swerved in and out of traffic, barely missing cars and frighteningly enough, pedestrians. Jim could hear other cabs honking furiously at the psychotic amphibian, a couple even went as far as flipping him the bird. But the toad didn't seem to be hindered in the least. In fact, it seemed to only fuel his mania even more. Jim felt his heart racing as he dug his nails into the cushion of the seat. Every time the cab made a sharp turn or swerved too fast, it sent Jim sliding from one end of the seat to the other.
"Holy shit! You think you can take it easy up there, buddy?" his voice cracked on the last word.
"Fear not, my dear fellow," the toad replied, not even looking back at his passenger. "We're just merrily on our way to a new destination! It's a new day!"
"Which I may not live to see the end of.." Jim mumbled to himself.
Soon they reached Fifth Street and Starbucks. Jim, still pale and gripping the back of the front passenger seat, sat there for a moment with a look of panic still plastered onto his face. Once he realized the car was no longer moving, he opened the door and stepped out.
"I'll be right back," he said in a shaky voice, though he tried to hide it. The toad only winked in response and sat back waiting patiently.
As he walked towards the coffee shop, his phone started to vibrate. At this hour it could only be one person… He reached into his pocket and glanced down at the screen with a look of disgust and rolled his eyes. Yep, it was her alright, the bane of his existence.. He clicked on the Bluetooth in his ear.
"Hello?" He did his best to cover up the irritation in his voice.
"Jim, where are you? You get my latté?" Came the voice from the other line. "It's almost six-thirty, you better not be late I have a meeting at six-fifty!"
"No, Ariel, I'm not going to be late.." He reassured her. "I'm at Starbucks right now." There was a brief pause. He knew she was rolling her eyes at him.
"Okay, hurry up, I'm almost there."
"Don't worry. As for your latte, the usual?" He groaned inwardly.
"Of course, a venti white chocolate low-fat latté with caramel and sea salt," she snapped back.
"I'm on it, see you soon." He hung up without even waiting for her to reply. God, why did he have to be stuck being her assistant? Why?
He strode into the shop and approached the counter where two freshly made lattés were already waiting for him. Grabbing them off of the counter, he nodded to the barista with a small smile.
"Thanks, Charlotte."
The blonde barista smiled back at him with a blush. "Anytime, honey." Jim had to admit, her southern accent was kind of cute, but she was just more of a good friend than anything. In fact she was Tiana's best friend. She'd sometimes hang out with Tiana in the lobby at the apartment building when she was helping her mom.
Jim headed back out the 'death cab' and slid back into the seat closing the door behind him. He looked forward at the cabbie apprehensively.
"Okay, now I need to get to Fifteenth Avenue and fast," he glanced down at his watch which read 6:40. As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately regretted it.
"Right away, good sir!" The toad shouted excitedly and slammed his webbed foot back down on the gas.
Luckily, neither of the hot drinks spilled as they violently moved forward. Jim did his best to keep his hands as steady as possible. Should've asked for a drink carrier, he thought to himself regrettably. Within a matter of minutes, they arrived at Fifteenth Avenue. Jim looked out the window and up at the grand building, its many windows reflecting the morning sun with splashes of gold and pink. Jim reached into his pocket and produced the fare for the cabbie. He made sure to not give him any extra as a tip. That guy needed to have his license revoked for life!
Jim stepped out of the cab and straightened out his suit jacket. He had his back turned to the building as he sighed, already hearing the bitching that was soon to follow his arrival through the front doors. He turned to head inside and was mistakenly bumped into by a passerby, causing Ariel's latté to spill all over the front of his suit jacket. Jim froze, suddenly taken aback by what just happened. Are you serious?
"Oh sorry, man," said a young man with blonde hair. He continued on, not even looking back.
Jim growled to himself, irritated that after all that, he ended up being screwed anyway. So much for that… He glanced down at the light brown coffee stain that ran from his collar down to the left pocket. Wonderful…
With no time to clean himself up, he headed inside discarding the now empty cup in the trash, a scowl fixed on his face. No sooner had he entered the building did he come face to face with a very pissed off boss…
A young woman, roughly the same age as him, stood there in a black dress suit and black stilettos. Her fiery-red hair was pulled into a high ponytail and trailed down her back stopping just above her rear. She wore a gold necklace with a pendant shaped like a starfish. Her eyes, as blue as the sea, were fixed on him with irritation though her face remained solemn. One hand on her hip and the other holding her crimson handbag, she waited for him to approach her before she started.
"Jim, what time is it?" Her voice remained somewhat calm, though the question was meant to express how pissed she was.
He glanced down at his watch, then back up at her. "Six-forty-nine," he replied, trying not to use a smart-ass tone.
"And what time did I say that the meeting is?" She continued, not even blinking.
"Six-fifty," he answered. "Look, we can still make it. It's just upstairs in your office, right?"
Ariel rolled her eyes, but said nothing else as she shook her head. She was about to head over to the elevators and motioned for him to follow, when he handed her the latté.
"Here."
"Thanks," she took it from him as they walked.
Inside the elevator, Jim pressed the button to take them to the tenth floor. He glanced over at Ariel, who seemed to be extremely anxious. Her eyes never left the lights above the elevator doors, watching each one light up with every passing floor as they ascended. Once the elevator dinged ten, the doors opened to a large room full of cubicles. The employees were mostly goofing off, girls giggling with each other and the guys talking about last night's ball game. All froze and returned promptly to their cubicles when they saw the doors open. Ariel flew out with surprisingly graceful prowess, being that she was wearing two-inch heels and all. He quickly caught up to her.
"Go get the paperwork off of my desk and run it over to Aladdin, he needs to complete it and send it in by the time the meeting's over," she looked over at him, then took a sip of the latté. "Ugh, what is this?" She crinkled her nose and stopped in her tracks, looking at her cup inquisitively.
"That would be my latte," He said, trying not to roll his eyes. "Yours unfortunately didn't survive the trip here."
"Hm, kinda good actually," she shrugged and took another sip. "What is that, pumpkin spice?"
"Yeah, and white chocolate."
She nodded. "I'll be there in a minute, I'm gonna run to the ladies' room then I'll be right there."
Jim nodded and watched as she walked off. He glanced around the room at his co-workers who were also watching her. Once she was out of sight everyone went back to goofing off. Jim just smiled and shook his head with a chuckle. He headed to Ariel's office and found the small packet of papers on her desk. Gathering them up, he walked out and over to Aladdin's cubicle. Of course, he wasn't surprised when he found him there flirting with Jasmine, the girl who worked only two cubicles away. His friends Flynn and Peter were there as well, laughing and joking around.
"Hey Al," Jim smirked as he approached the group.
"Morning, Jim," Aladdin smiled back.
"Sorry bud, but you've got some grunt work to do. Gotta be done before the meeting's over." Jim set the small stack of papers down on Aladdin's desk. Aladdin looked at them then back up at Jim. He crossed his arms and laughed.
"Sure thing," he sighed and stood up from his chair.
"So Jim, you looking forward to your vacation next week?" Flynn leaned against the side of the cubicle with his arms crossed.
"Definitely," Jim replied with a sigh of relief. "Gonna go back to the homeland, visit my folks and catch up with everyone."
"Sounds great," Peter interjected, "and lucky for you, you'll be on the other side of the continent - far from this hell-hole and away from that b-"
Jim looked over his shoulder and saw Ariel returning from the restroom. She scanned the room until her eyes fell on Jim.
"Come on, let's get this over with," she motioned for him to follow her. "These bastards are gonna waste my time so at this point I don't care if they had to wait an extra five minutes." She mumbled as they approached her office where three suited men were standing around, impatiently waiting.
Jim rolled his eyes as they entered the room and mumbled to himself closing the double doors, "And so it begins…"