Meet Me at Taylor Park (15 page)

He went into his office and came out shortly with a piece of paper in his hands. He took a look at it, and then waddled right up to her desk again. “Your contract clearly states that you will spend a year as an intern at Prattico’s, doing intern duties.” He slammed the document on her desk. He then scrutinized her as though she were an idiot. “Do you even know what being an intern entails?”

Katie did not know whether it was a rhetorical question, so she simply shook her head.

Mr. Defoe put one finger on the document, traced it along the length of a paragraph.

“Intern duties clearly mean that you schedule your boss’ travel plans, do data entry, get coffee, and file documents.”

At that point, the phone began to ring.

Katie stared vacantly at her boss.

Mr. Defoe looked at her impatiently.

The phone continued to ring.

Mr. Defoe frowned. “Oh, and one more duty.” He pointed to the ringing phone. “You answer the damn phone when it rings!” he shouted, his face glowing a tomato red.

Katie picked up the phone right away. “You’ve reached Prattico’s. How may I direct your call?” Her voice was shaky and unsure.

Mr. Defoe spun around and headed back into his office.

Someone spoke on the other line, but Katie was not listening. She was trying to calm her beating heart and dry her sweaty palms.

When the person hung up, Katie put down the phone. She had no idea what the person wanted.

She looked at the red emergency exit sign beside her. She wanted to hightail it out of there, but she had already invested so much time at the place.

Maybe I should just give it some more time, she thought. I will probably get to work with

Mr. Prattico soon.

She scanned her messy desk and picked up her contract. After skimming through the terms, she realized that her supervisor had been right. Nowhere in the contract did it say that she was going to be helping with the design work. It simply stated that she would be an intern at Prattico’s for a year.

She looked longingly at the phone. She wished she could call Brandon, but something was stopping her. They had not spoken in half a year. She felt it would be very awkward. As a matter of pride, she was also disturbed that he had not bothered to contact her. She wondered what he was doing now.

He’s probably moved on with that girl I saw him with the day after we broke up, she thought. He’s not even thinking about me.

Katie felt tears brimming in her eyes. She wiped them away, and then heard a confident female voice.

“Crying won’t help you get ahead.”

She looked up and saw Cynthia on her other side, the girl who had been the receptionist/intern until Katie was hired.

Katie had forgotten that Cynthia was in her office, just a few steps next to her receptionist desk.

Cynthia came out of her office, smiling. There was something cruel and sneaky about her smile, as if she were a warden about to abuse a prisoner.

Katie studied the lady. Cynthia was in her early 30’s. She had long frizzy orange-red hair that hung down to her waist, and green eyes that did not match her fiery red hair.

As a budding fashion designer with aesthetic instincts, Katie knew which colors looked good together. She knew that red and green did not.

All smiles, Cynthia approached. “Nice samples there.” She pointed to Katie’s design samples that were in the open drawers of her desk. “I love that red dress over there.”

Katie smiled. “Thanks.”

“So listen.” Cynthia leaned over like she was about to reveal confidential information. “I overheard Mr. Defoe yelling at you. I know you’re new here. I’ve been here for 3 years. Let me let you in on a little secret.”

Cynthia looked like she was about to tell Katie how to escape from prison. The woman leaned in closer and cheap but strong perfume flooded the air.

Katie pulled back, but that caused the woman to lean in even farther.

She whispered to Katie, “The trick is to flirt with the boss. Flirt a little, and then maybe he might let you work on some design work.”

Horrified, Katie stared at Cynthia with big eyes.

Noticing Katie’s face, Cynthia frowned. “No, I don’t mean sleep with him. Just flirt a little.”

“How?”

Exasperated, Cynthia sighed. “Here, I’ll show you.”

Cynthia’s eyes got all soft. She twirled a strand of frizzy red hair and whispered, “Oh,

Mr. Defoe. You look so young in your suit and tie.” Her voice was all low and breathy.

She put a finger on Katie’s cheek and stroked it.

Katie pulled away. “Are you kidding me? I can’t do that.”

Cynthia scowled. “Do you want to work the phones for the rest of your life?” She pointed to the phone and as though she had magic, the phone began to ring.

Katie stared at Cynthia, who simply stared back.

“Think about it,” the orange-haired lady said. “I’m just trying to help you get ahead so you could work on your art. Don’t blame me if you end up working the phone for the next five years. God knows I worked the phone for at least two years before I was even considered for a promotion.”

Katie looked at Cynthia, unsure whether to take her advice.

Cynthia pointed to the phone. “You better answer it, or Mr. Defoe will yell at you some more.”

Katie picked up the phone and Cynthia disappeared back into her office.

She took a deep breath. “You’ve reached Prattico’s. How may I direct your call?”

A female voice said something, but Katie was not paying attention. She hung up when the caller hung up.

Katie was staring blankly at her desk when she heard a thunderous voice.

“Did Mrs. Arness call?”

“Who?” Katie looked up.

Mr. Defoe strode out of his office. “I was expecting a call from Mrs. Arness. She’s the head of Trends Magazine.”

Katie stammered, “Oh, uh, she hasn’t called.” She racked her brain to remember if the name of the woman she had just spoken to was Arness. She drew a blank.

“No,” she said. “She hasn’t called.”

The man jabbed a fat finger in the air. “When she does call, transfer her to me immediately.”

Katie nodded.

Her supervisor cleared his throat. “One more thing. Where’s that order document?”

Katie felt like an idiot. “What order document?”

“I left it on your desk morning and you were supposed to give it to me by 4.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s 3:50.” He then looked at Katie expectedly. “I need it by 4 or my job’s on the line.” He looked at Katie with a serious face. “And so is yours. Find it!”

He whirled around and headed back into his office.

Katie felt her mouth go dry and her stomach turn over. What document was he talking about? She wondered. I don’t remember receiving any document.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katie could see Cynthia hovering at the door of her office.

Katie turned to her. “Cynthia? Have you seen an order document anywhere?”

The red-haired lady shook her head so hard that it looked like it was going to fall right off.

Katie continued to search her desk. Her lips were so dry that she kept licking them.

Scanning her desk, she saw a stapler, some business cards, a calendar, tons of pencils and one memo pad.

But no order document.

She could hear the clock ticking from the wall behind her. She continued her search.

Just then, someone walked into the office. Katie looked up and saw a man with short black bangs and glasses walk in.

The man stood awkwardly in the doorway and put his hands in his pockets. “Hi, I’m

Steven Solomon. I’m here to see Mr. Defoe. I’m his accountant.”

Katie gestured to the seats in the waiting area. “Take a seat. He’ll be right with you.”

She knew that she was supposed to greet all guests with a big smile and call them by name, but she had bigger things on her mind.

Katie ransacked the drawers, but she could not find the document.

The clock struck 4:00.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

She stopped searching and looked straight ahead at Mr. Defoe’s office. Her face was starting to be drenched with sweat.

Right on time, her boss strolled out of his office. “Have you found it yet? I’m on the phone with Mrs. Arness. I need it now.” His voice was tense and urgent.

Katie shook her head. Her heart was beating so loudly that she could barely hear her boss.

She knew she was in for it now.

Mr. Defoe scowled and lumbered toward her. “I told you this morning that I needed the order form when I have the teleconference with Mrs. Arness. Why can’t you follow simple orders?”

Katie gulped and looked at Cynthia in her office. The lady was twirling a strand of hair and licking her lips.

Katie realized that she was telling her to flirt.

Should I try it? She thought.

Katie began twirling a strand of hair and pouting her lips.

Mr. Defoe looked at her curiously. “What are you doing?”

Katie stopped. She knew she could not do that to get ahead. It just was not her.

Her supervisor nodded, and then beckoned to her. “Oh I see. I want to see you in my office right now.”

Katie tried to swallow but could not. She felt light as her feet took her across the room and into Mr. Defoe’s office.

Her boss closed the door and indicated that she should sit in a chair opposite his desk.

Katie did.

He closed the blinds. Katie was surprised by that. She thought that she must have done something very serious to warrant a discussion in complete privacy.

Maybe I’m being fired, she thought.

Mr. Defoe turned to her. He straightened his tie and rubbed his hands together. “Do you know why I called you in here?”

Katie looked at the corpuscular man. The light hit the man’s head in an angle that emphasized his baldness. He looked like King Pin from the Marvel comic series.

Katie was afraid to ask, but she did anyway. “Why?”

He looked at her in a way that made her uncomfortable, as though he were about to yell at her some more.

Then, he moved in and grabbed her by the hands.

Katie knew she should do something, but she was paralyzed in her state of shock. Mr. Defoe smiled, revealing stained yellow teeth. “Do you want to finally do some design work around here?”

Katie nodded. She felt the sweat of the man’s hands leak onto her own.

Mr. Defoe grinned. “Good. In that case, you have to pay your dues.”

Katie had no idea what he was talking about.

The fat man pointed to his lips and made kissy sounds, puckering up.

Katie now understood. She pried her hands from his grip.

He moved in closer. She could smell his putrid sweaty stench.

Katie got up. “Stay away from me.”

Mr. Defoe scratched his bald head. “What the hell are you talking about? It was you that flirted with me out there.” He pointed toward the reception area. “You pouted your lips and made eyes at me.”

Katie scurried to the closed door. “That was a mistake,” she said, her legs nearly collapsing from under her.

Mr. Defoe clasped his hands. “Listen, Kaylie. You’re new here. Three months really isn’t that long to learn how things work at a large firm like ours. Let me teach you and initiate you into it.”

He approached her with a lusty expression.

Katie held up one hand, like a crossing guard. “No!”

Mr. Defoe frowned like he was looking at a dead spider on his desk. He pointed a finger at her. His voice grew nasty. “Listen here, you little skank. No one moves up in this company without doing favors for the boss.” He pointed at himself. “I’m the boss and I control access to Mr. Prattico. You don’t get to work with him unless I get a little something.”

Katie waved one hand. “Screw this. I quit.”

Mr. Defoe started chuckling. Then, his laughter grew into an irritating guffaw. He was now laughing so hard that there were tears in his eyes.

Katie just gawked at the man. She was feeling faint, but she was glad she had stood up for herself.

She was about to spin around and open the door, but Mr. Defoe voice turned nastier still, and grounded her in place.

“Where do you think you’re going to find an entry-level job in New York City in this market? You don’t have a college degree. No one else will hire you. And especially not after I blacklist you from every designer in this city. You will never work in this industry again.”

Katie felt herself getting hot. Something was boiling inside her.

“You know what? I can get by on my own. I don’t need any favors from you or anyone else.”

Mr. Defoe batted one hand. “Go ahead. Leave. It’s what you’re good at, anyway.”

For a minute, she was reminded of her fight with Brandon. She was struck by an ache in heart, but she ignored it. There were more important things on her mind. Like making rent, now that she had quit.