· 4 ·
l exi and Hope had spent the weekend shopping in an effort to beef up Lexi’s less than impressive wardrobe. When she stepped off the elevators onto the twenty-first floor of the Barrington Building in her brand new designer wrap dress, she looked and felt like a million bucks.
“Good morning, Sue.” Lexi gave a small wave to the receptionist as she passed by her desk.
“Good morning, Lexi. My, you look beautiful today.” Sue winked her approval.
“Thanks.” Lexi smiled. “Have a great day!”
Finally starting to feel comfortable at her new place of employment, Lexi made her way through the maze of desks and hallways until she reached her tiny alcove. Papers and files were already scattered haphazardly on the pale Formica surface of her desk. On top of that, she still had half of the workroom to inventory by that afternoon.
“I hate Mondays,” Lexi sighed as she sat down in her chair, the good mood she had been in moments ago faltering.
As she rummaged around her desk in search of a highlighter, Tim’s head popped out of his office. “Lexi, my office, ASAP.” His tone was extremely clipped, which seemed unusual for him “Sure thing, let me just gr—”
“Now, Lexi,” Tim snapped, then he disappeared into his office.
Oh, hell, what did I do now? Oh my God, that presentation from Friday! I messed it up. I’m fired. Well, crap, it was fun while it lasted. I’m so stupid. Lexi continued chastising herself as she sulked into Tim’s office.
“Tim, I’m so sor—”
His hand flew up to stop her from talking. “I hate to say this, but you’ve been promoted.”
Lexi’s mouth fell open in complete and utter shock, then quickly snapped shut as her mind reeled from the news. “Ex-excuse me? I think I must have had a small seizure. What did you say?” She leaned closer to make sure she caught every word that came out of his mouth.
Tim leaned back in his chair and let out a frustrated sigh. “You got a promotion.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you are Lexi White, aren’t you?” Tim said dryly.
Breathe, and just find out how many more lunches you have to get per day.
“Sorry, Tim. This was just unexpected.”
“You can say that again.”
“What I mean is, how many more lunches do I have to get per day?” Lexi blurted out as she clutched her notebook, ready to jot down the names of the people she was now responsible for helping.
“One,” Tim said flatly.
Her head snapped up from her paper. “Only one more?”
Piece of cake. Wow, one extra person. That’s some promotion, Lexi. Way to freak out over nothing.
Amused by the look of total confusion on Lexi’s face, Tim chuckled. “You’ve been promoted to executive assistant, Lexi. You need to report to the twenty-third floor, now.”
The pen slipped out from between her fingers as Lexi stood there in a daze. “Executive assistant? There has to be a mistake.” She shook her head from side to side.
“No mistake, Lexi. I got the call this morning. I’d be lying if I said I was happy about this. We’re really going to miss you down here. And lucky me, i get to start the hiring process all over again and train another person.” Tim came out from behind his desk and placed the fallen pen back into Lexi’s hand. “Good luck up there. That’s the big time.”
“I … wow … thank you, Tim, for everything. I feel like I’m leaving you in a lurch with the workroom,” Lexi sputtered.
“We’ll manage. Now go. Leigh is waiting upstairs to get you settled. She’s the executive secretary for the floor. If you need anything while you’re up there, she’s the person to ask.”
Lexi was still in a daze as she made her way back to her desk and gathered up the few personal belongings she’d managed to bring to work over the last week. Her hand grazed her cell phone, and she immediately snatched it out of her purse and called Hope.
“Hola, Chica!” Hope sang into the phone. “Que pasa?”
“Hope, I – I …”
“What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
“No, yes, I’m fine. I got … a promotion.” Lexi sank into her chair to steady herself as she uttered the still unbelievable words out loud.
“Lexi, that’s amazing! We’re going out and celebrating tonight. Did you get a raise too?” She clapped with excitement on the other end of the phone.
“Not sure about the raise. I don’t even have any idea why I got this promotion. What do I know about being an executive assistant? I think I’m going to throw up.” Lexi clutched her stomach and leaned toward her trashcan.
“Don’t you dare throw up, Alexandra White. Suck it up and get your butt to those executive offices. What better place to see what’s new in advertising than with the movers and shakers in the biz?”
“I know you’re right, but what do I know about dealing with executives? Last week I worked in a record store, and before that, I was a waitress at an all-night diner.” Lexi’s head began to spin.
“You’re not running the company, just getting some lunches, making phone calls, scheduling meetings, and maybe picking up some dry cleaning.
Breathe, Lexi.” As always, Hope had a way of cutting to the chase and putting things back into perspective.
Lexi took a deep breath, and brushed the hair out of her face. “You’re right. I can do this. It’s not rocket science. Thanks for the pep talk, Hope. i have to go upstairs and figure out what I’m supposed to do now, and I’ll ask about that raise.”
“Good girl! Let’s meet after work.”
“Will do.” Lexi snapped her phone shut and headed for the elevators.
“Congratulations, Lexi.” Sue looked up from behind her desk as Lexi nervously paced in front of the elevators.
“Thanks. They weren’t kidding about promoting from within, were they?” Lexi laughed, trying to make light of it, but the look on Sue’s face told a much different story.
“Um, no one has worked down here for a week then gone straight upstairs, dear. This is a first.”
When the elevator arrived, the bell rang, startling Lexi. She stumbled in, glancing back at Sue, who gave her a big smile and a wave. “Good luck, Lexi!” she shouted as the doors closed.
When the elevator opened on the twenty-third floor, Lexi was once again in awe. Tim’s little tour on her first day had included a brief walk-through of the executive suites, but they had come up through one of the stairwells, not the main elevators. Seeing the office from the same perspective as a new client was truly impressive.