“Hold the elevator
please
!” shouted Corinne as she sprinted into
the luxurious office building. She was too late as
the doors closed and signaled the readiness of
the elevator to climb up 12 stories.
As she reached for the button to recall the
mechanical ladder, she caught a glimpse of a pair of
red suede shoes just as the doors came
together. “Damn,
I’m going to be late for this big meeting!
”
she whispered to herself.
“Hey, let’s take the stairs
”
said Toney. “I don’t want to be late
either and the big news is going to be revealed
today.” Run the stairs? No way Toney
. I would
be a sweaty mess if I did and that would be way too
uncomfortable for me. “OK! See you
upstairs
”.
Corrine leans her bags against the wall as she
pushed the elevator button again and again as if it
would respond quicker. Her anxiety begins to increase
with every passing minute.
Corrine works for Sam Daley’s Software. She was the
secretary when Sam first began the company 10 years
ago with a total of 5 employees. She has grown with
the company and her current position is Senior
Manager of Operations and Client Relations. She has
worked hard and diligently for everything she has
attained despite the lack of a college degree. She
does have a high school diploma but some of her
colleagues think she is unworthy and incapable–
especially Ann Torrez
.
Ann is an Ivory League graduate. She studied at
Cornell University and received her degree in
Computer Science. She is extremely professional and
opinionated with the credentials to back it up. She
has been in sales management for the past 8 years and
has been the company’s top producer for the last 5.
She is engaged to Sam’s son Rich and the two are set
to be married in the fall.
Rich, unlike his parents, is a lover of the outdoors.
He hates sitting behind a desk and maneuvering
through what he calls “computer crap”. He wants no
part of the company and has stated his position
repeatedly.
Another three minutes has gone by and the elevator
seems to be hitting every floor on its way back down
to the lobby. Corrine is practically gasping as she
can only imagine the meeting starting without her.
She gives a second thought about following Toney up
the stairs but its 12 stories up and at 49 years of
age she doesn’t think it would be a smart idea so she
continues to wait.
And wait…
And wait…
She begins to recall what she saw as she ran into
the building. The elevator was just opening and the
people were entering. She believes that there was
enough room on the elevator for her to fit but they
must not have heard her cry to wait. The red suede
shoes were positioned on the left side of the
elevator. If that person would have hit the release
button I would have been able to get on the
elevator and make it to the meeting on time. But hey,
it’s not the first time I have missed the ride up and
I’m sure it won’t be the last as the people in this
office building are coming and going at a frenetic
pace.
Sam and the other members of the management team
are gathering at the large conference room. Ann and
Toney have papers in hand and look excited about the
up and coming meeting. All they knew was that Sam
called for a mandatory meeting with all management
staff to make an important announcement.
All week the rumors have taken flight. font;_italic>Who is being fired? Who is being
reprimanded? Is the company in jeopardy? Are we all
getting raises?
Suddenly the doors open and a teenage kid stroll
off. She passes Corrine and gives her a sly smirk
then heads towards the vending machine. Corrine
dashes into the elevator only to find that every
floor has been lit by pushing the corresponding
button.
“Ah… C’mon
!” She sighs.
I’m surely going to be late for this meeting and
walking in late while Sam is conducting a meeting is
not a comfortable feeling. That little kid was in
this elevator playing around and pressed all of these
buttons. Who is she and why is she in this building
and not in school she thought. She signaled the doors
to close and begin her ascent towards the 12th floor.
On the second floor the doors open and shut. The
third floor the doors do the same. As she came to the
fourth floor some people ask if they are headed up or
down. Going up she replied and the doors shut yet
again. Fifth floor,sixth floor, seventh floor passes.
Eight floor, ninth floor then a chalkboard screech
brings the elevator to a halt.
“What Now
!” says Corrine.
The doors open on the tenth floor and the emergency
light flashes. Now she has no other choice but trek
up two flights of stairs to make it to her
destination.
Slowly Corrine makes her way up the square box
staircase one step at a time. She remembers how she
used to be able to run these steps years ago two,
sometimes three, times per day. Now with all the
excess weight gain, the tragic losses in her life and
the increasing demands of her job she has no time for
extra activities.
Now finally reaching the twelfth floor she flings
open the door and maneuvers through to her office to
drop her bags then head straight to the meeting. She
opens the door and everyone freezes, turns and looks
at her and she feels mortified.
“Surprise
!” Corrine is
standing in pure shock.
“Congratulations on the
promotion to making partner
” says Sam.
“Partner
?!” said Corrine.
"Yes didn’t you get the memo? I
know how much you love the Girl Scouts so we had them
deliver the memo to your office this morning
."
Still stunned, Corrine remembers the young girl from
the elevator. She smiled.
“Thank you so much Samantha! I
am grateful for this honor
.”
Corrine is now being smothered by her co workers
and the office celebration is underway. From the
corner of her eye Corrine notices an uneasy
conversation fermenting between Ann and Samantha. Ann
seems furious about something and Sam is trying to
diffuse the energy. Suddenly Sam makes a motion of
dismissal towards Ann and her daily ride partner
Susan Simpkins.
Sue was Ann’s assistant and errand girl. Everyone
knows that Sue would do anything Ann asks. She picks
Ann up and drops her off every day to and from the
office as well as brings her coffee and lunch. As the
two women exited the party, Corrine notices Sue’s
left foot just before she cleared the door and on it
was a red suede shoe.
Impressum
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 21.08.2011
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