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“¿Pero que coño?”
A man leaned out of the driver's side window, screaming more profanities in Spanish as Kate crossed the street. She had been too absorbed juggling everything in her arms to notice the crosswalk signal was still red, and it wasn't until a silver sedan came to a halt a few feet back that she was jolted out of her thoughts. Dazed, she stared for a few moments until he blared his horn, slamming one hand on the wheel and waving the other to shoo her forward. Her gait broke into an awkward run as she gave him a sheepish grimace, clutching her bags to her side as she shuffled past. She was barely across when the driver stepped on the gas and sent his tires squealing forward.
It made her almost miss New York. Almost.
There was a certain charm to the busy streets and gruff nature of the people that endeared itself to her, a homecoming in some way. Kate wasn’t local at all, rather, she’d gone to school upstate at Cornell for architecture, but that also meant she’d spent too many weekends in the city. It all seemed a lifetime away now; she’d left after graduation, flew home to Houston, and had buried herself in her career. She supposed life was one giant cycle, though, as that career had led her straight back here. Of course, here wasn’t entirely the same either.
Kate crossed one more block, the busy streets giving way to the heart of the Upper East Side, finally arriving at Atelier Blanc. She strode through the doors, her nude heels clicking softly against the marble flooring. Ambient lighting around the reception desk bathed everything in a warm glow, complimented by the vertical wall garden and natural wood tones in the seating area at the opposite end of the room. She knew the saying, about not judging a book by its cover, but in this case judging was all she could do. And she was duly impressed.
“… Of course, we can schedule Mr. Atwood for a consultation for next Wednesday. Perfect, we’ll see you then,” Kate heard the receptionist on the phone, the young woman’s voice bright and peppy even for the early morning. 8:42am. She was early, which meant she was right on time.
“Welcome, how can I help you?” The receptionist—a name tag pinned to her blouse reading ‘Gabriella’—turned her attention to Kate once she was finished, the phone clicking back into place.
“I’m a new hire. I was told to look for Heidi Evans.”
“Oh!” Gabriella’s eyes lit up in recognition before scanning a notepad on her desk. “You’re… Katherine Deering?”
“Please, call me Kate, but yes.”
“If you have a seat, I’ll let Heidi know you’ve arrived.”
Atelier Blanc was a small architecture and interior design firm, one that had made a name for itself in recent years, and Kate could certainly see why. They specialized in luxury projects around the East coast, blending the expertise of large firms with the care and devotion that only a smaller studio could offer. It was just the kind of place that was valuable to have on her resume, even if it was for the executive assistant position. Experience wasn’t something Kate needed necessarily, but the design firm would be able to get her foot in the door to its luxury clientele, and that alone was worth more to her career trajectory than anything else.
It wasn’t long before she heard the ding of an elevator and saw Heidi—the head of HR—exit onto the main floor. She was tall, all long legs and raven hair that swished gently against her back as she walked. Kate uncrossed her legs and stood, smoothing out the creases in her dress and straightening the bag hanging off her shoulder.
“Welcome, Kate” Heidi flashed her an easy smile, gesturing with her hand as if to usher her forward. “Glad you made it here ok. New York can be hard to navigate for the uninitiated, but thankfully you’re not quite a stranger to that.”
They made small talk as she led them through an open area behind the lobby, clear glass walls separating and showcasing various conference rooms. The natural tones and earthy motif extended here as well, warm browns accented with black and soft greens. “All of our client conference rooms are on the ground floor, just for ease of access, as is some other company amenities,” Heidi explained as they entered the elevator. She pressed the button to the third floor. “The second floor houses most of our design studio and employee lounge areas, and the third floor is where the chief architect’s office is, as well as HR.”
The elevator doors opened, and both women stepped through. “I assume Mr. Patel’s office is where I’ll be?” Kate asked, pausing in the hallway. She tucked some of her blonde hair behind her ear, her eyes flicking to the left where she could see an empty desk and another set of doors in the distance.
“Mr. Patel…?” Heidi gave her a confused look before realization hit her. “No, no, Arun is only one of our senior architects, a talented one, but we had him conduct your second interview because Mr. Connors was on a business trip at the time.” They walked down the hall, Heidi gesturing to the set of doors just beyond the desk. “I’ll give you the formal tour after, but I figured you’d want to meet our chief architect and settle in. Get acquainted.”
She knocked softly on the door and then pushed it open, popping her head through. “Mr. Connors, I have your new assistant here,” she said, swinging the door open for Kate to step through.
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