Morning one and all. I hope you had a fantastic weekend. I am personally ready to face a new week. My sleep was good and I woke up refreshed. I also forgot to set my alarm. Oddly I got up only a little late. It was strange. But here we are. So let’s jump into the morning writing prompt. Ready? Good, let’s go.
Interesting. This is one of those things I want to tease apart and fill in. Oddly I think that I could possibly make this a short story held solely in the elevator. I might actually try that. I may have to have the elevator break down to do it though. still it could make an interesting short story I think.
Monday, December 12th: Her perfume filled the elevator.
Her perfume filled the elevator. It invaded his space and then dove deep into his lungs. It was floral with a heavy spice element he couldn’t name. The spices made it sit heavy on the air, as though attempting to press down on his lungs. He tried to take shallow breaths so as not to draw too much of it into himself. He knew better than to complain.
He knew who she was.
Evelyn Price was the corporate fixer. When he heard that the company called her in, he looked up everything about her. She had a reputation for savagery and no mercy when it came to trimming the corporate fat. As an accountant, albeit a junior one, he saw all of the numbers. He knew the company was losing money. He even knew where the company was losing money and could have saved them a fortune on hiring Ms. Price if they just asked him.
Hiring three of the owners sons and giving them high priced salaries and large expense accounts while not asking them to do anything productive was the biggest drain on corporate profits that he could see. But like the attack of Ms. Price’s perfume, he wasn’t going to say that.
‘Although if she is the ruthless fixer everyone believes her to be then she might,’ he thought. ‘Then again it is the company owner who is paying her so she might not say anything about his children.’
It was a thought that turned in his head since he heard of the move. The elevator rose slowly as he once again pondered the idea. Would the corporate fixer actually fix one of the main problems? He didn’t know. He did know that he had an open offer of a jb waiting elsewhere. He double checked when he heard the fixer was coming. It wasn’t as prestigious a company,. But when he spoke others listened, which was more than he could say here.
As he pondered such weighty concerns, Evelyn Price turned to him. “Does my perfume bother you?” she asked.
“A little,” he replied before he could stop himself. The question was unexpected and he reacted without a thought. A smile flickered on her lips. “Sorry, Ms. Price,” he added. An eyebrow lifted.
“You know who I am?”
He nodded.
“And you are wondering if you’ll still have a job in the morning?” She guessed.
“Actually I was wondering if you would actually fix the problem by firing the boss’ three sons or just try to trim the company to make up for their excesses,” he said. The security of knowing there was another job for him made the words slip out, but he quaked inside as he heard them leave his lips. He felt as though someone had taken him over and was speaking for him.
“Interesting thought,” she said. The ghost of a smile was back, flittering around her lips.
“Although I am concerned about my job as well,” he added.
“Of course.”
The elevator dinged and she turned away as the doors opened. They both left the elevator. She didn’t glance in his direction as she strode to the door of the head office.
Ten til Midnight 