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“What did Joey need?” Major asked.
“He’s been experiencing some sort of block and asked me for ideas about the next fashion line.” Jimmy sat down in his chair and grabbed a book off the shelf.
“What did you say?”
“I suggested he theme it after garbage.”
Major snorted. “What?!”
“I’m serious. It’ll promote an eco-friendly face with the public as well as give him something to challenge him to theme.”
“It’s certainly a challenge. Though I’m not sure it’ll help much.” Major sighed, leaning back in his chair. He ran his hands through his cyan hair and looked at Jimmy.
“I read it. Those statistics aren’t looking good, sir.”
“Believe me, I know.” Major’s eyes rolled back and he groaned in anger. “Our marketing campaign for the last product was absolute garbage. Not theme-wise, but I was out of town and they had an interim ‘help’. Turns out it was a rival company’s marketing manager and she absolutely sabotaged the entire line. We’re going to need something big if we’re going to pull back from this. Our CEO put so much on that one season and here we are. Swimming in debt.”
Jimmy nodded.
“I shouldn’t be telling this to such a fresh employee. Sorry.” Major put his head in his hands. “I’m just struggling. You know?”
“You’ve got this, Major. Joey seems like he knows what he’s doing with a needle and thread, and you’ve been at this for years. I don’t know either of you very well but… I think you can do this. You’ve kept this company in the lead for fashion design for nearly a decade.”
“Thanks Solidarity.”
Jimmy smiled. “Sure thing, sir.”
Major laughed at the use of ‘sir’. Jimmy would get him used to the name eventually.
“Okay. If we go with the garbage thing—because honestly, we don’t have much else and knowing Joey, he’ll take it as a challenge—how the heck to we market that as something desirable by the public?”
“You could focus on the recycling aspect of it…?”
“It’s a start. Can I bounce ideas off you?”
Jimmy shrugged. “Why not.”
The next few months, Jimmy fell into a routine. Wake up, feed Norman and Flick, get coffee, and go to work. He’d spent a good amount of time constructing the perfect coffee and now he’s happy to say that he now has one that he orders every morning. He’d shown Major it and the other agreed that it was leagues better than whatever he’d been having before.
“A vanilla macchiato with extra foam and a coconut caramel brown sugar latte with double whipped cream,” he told the barista. It gave him energy to get through the day, while tasting good but not too sweet or too bitter.
When he walked into work today, there was a distinct difference in air. Streamers were hanging over the elevator door and balloons had flown up and gotten stuck on the ceiling of the vaulted reception area. Jimmy counted about seventeen ballons up there as well as three stands of four balloons by doors. Prismarina, the receptionist had on a bright pink dress and held a present in her hands.
“Here Jimmy!” She smiled, handing him the box. “Take it up to floor thirty-three for me?”
“Sure thing.” He picked up the box under his arm and entered the elevator. Chipper music came in from the speaker overhead and he tapped his foot to the beat. The doors opened on floor thirty-three and a chorus of cheers chimed around him. Jimmy jumped a little, coffee sloshing in his hands.
“Hey… guys?” The office was all there. Major, Martyn, Lauren, Ollie, and Impulse as well as the design team working on the new fashion line.
Major stepped forward and grabbed his coffee, handing Jimmy a paper with the sales for the last month. He hadn’t had to copy any papers for the last few weeks, mostly doing maintenance work. “What—”
“Read it.”
He looked down at the statistics, then back up at the rest of the room. “No way.”
The elevator opened behind him and Prismarina barreled in. “Congratulations Jimmy!”
“Congratulations Joey,” he retorted. He turned to the man. He was dressed in a red suit with a yellow button-up and green tie. Somehow, he pulled it off and Jimmy didn’t want to think about color theory right now. “You and your team are amazing! I haven’t even seen it! Wh—”
Joey snapped and two girls ran in with racks of clothes. “Behold, our new line: Hidden Mysteries.”
Jimmy snorted. “Great name.”
“Thank you, it was Mogs’ idea.” Joey pointed at an older man at the back in a purple robe and cap. He looked like a wizard from a child’s picture book. He waved awkwardly. Mogs didn’t respond.
“Alright guys, let’s celebrate!” Lauren cheered. “No alcohol in the workplace, sorry, but I brought orange juice and bread!”
Jimmy took a sip of coffee. “Toast party? Sounds like a good plan to me.”
Major smiled at him and nudged him with his arm. “As much as Joey will toot his own horn, it was your idea. You should feel at least a little proud.”
“I do, don’t worry. I just like helping other people. I’m glad he was able to get his inspiration back.” Jimmy looked down at the other man.
Major shook his head. “I don’t understand you sometimes Solidarity.”
Jimmy cocked his head. “You know…, we’ve been working together for the last five months almost. You can call me Jimmy.”
“Scott.”
They shook hands and for the first time since starting here, he felt like maybe he and Ma—Scott could be friends.
Joey pulled him by the arm over to the group. They had pulled out a deck of cards and were playing blackjack on an unoccupied desk. “Sooooo, Jimmy!” he started.
Jimmy gave him a nervous look. “Yes?”
“Oh, don’t worry it’s nothing… worrisome.” He pat Jimmy’s arm, as he picked up his hand, Jimmy looked at his cards. A three and a jack. Was that good or bad? “I just wanted to invite you to the Runway. We’ll be unveiling Hidden Mysteries there for the first time. I want you to be there. You’ll get to meet the CEO and everything!”
Jimmy was shocked. “Joey, what in the world?! Why?!”
“Call—you gave me the inspiration. I want you there. If you really don’t want to go, I won’t make you. I’d like it if you did though.” Joey tapped his fingers on his cards absently, face completely calm.
“Fold,” Lauren muttered.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Great! Call.” Joey handed him a card from the folds of his jacket. “Time, date, and address are on there.”
Martyn raised it two blue chips.
Jimmy walked away, confused. He found Ollie by the toaster with two over-burned pieces of bread.
“Hey Tim,” he said. “How can I help you?”
“Eh, I already had a snack for breakfast. How are you?”
“Great! Hopefully after the unveiling of Hidden Mysteries will be good enough that more people will order some. Preorder was great already, but fingers crossed, yeah?”
Jimmy nodded, sipping his coffee. It was nearly gone now. “Joey invited me to the unveiling.”
“Oooo! You should go. It’s boring, but they have great food.” Ollie finished buttering his toast and walked off.
Prismarina came up and put some bread in the toaster while pouring herself some orange juice. “Open your gift, Jimmy.” She pointed at the box he still had under his arm.
“Oh! Yeah. Okay.” He pulled off the lid to see a derpy-looking, knitted cod hat. He smiled at her and gave her a hug. “This is the greatest piece of fashion to come out of this building.” He put the hat on his head and she smiled happily, chugging her juice.
“You’re welcome but we both know that isn’t true.” She laughed and Jimmy walked off. Lauren had left Blackjack and was folding paper airplanes and throwing them at unsuspecting partygoers.
“Hey Lauren,” he smiled at her.
She held up one of her planes. This one was flatter and less shaped like a dart. When she tossed it, it did a loop-ty-loop and landed smoothly on the desk across from her. “Success!”
“Nice one!” he cheered. He put his now empty coffee cup in the bin by the desk and pulled over a chair. “Care to teach me?”
The party ended around lunch time, and everyone went back to work. Majo—Scott was out of his office and running over marketing campaigns with the team. They had to get everything set up for the day of the unveiling so they can launch the ads and things as soon as possible.
Jimmy sat on a stool near the back of the room watching happily as Ma—Scott wrote up the plans on a whiteboard. Lauren had a TV ad made over the last four months for it which would release as soon as the entire line had been shown on live TV. Martyn had designed posters of the outfits modeled by various famous models which would be put up on digital displays and such the day after.
They continued down the line, covering each aspect so everyone knew what they had to do. Jimmy took notes on a small sticky note of what he might need to do to help out here and there. There wasn’t as much as he thought, but enough.
When Scott finished, Jimmy looked at the card Joey had given him. The unveiling was next Thursday at seven. He could make that. He gets off work at five and doesn’t have plans. Jimmy opened his phone and put it on his digital calendar.
“Sol—Jimmy,” Scott was standing next to him.
“Oh! Hey! How can I help?” Jimmy set his phone aside.
“Can you take this up to floor forty-one?” He handed Jimmy a yellow-orange envelope.
“Sure! Be right back.” He put down his notes and grabbed his phone, heading to the elevator. There were only forty-two floors (not counting the basements) with the forty second being the CEO’s penthouse, and the forty first being his office.
The elevator opened on a room made entirely of glass. Metal wires reinforced the bullet-proof glass and Jimmy thought it was a little much for a fashion organization but hey, who’s he to judge. In the center of the room was a dark, ebony desk and a wingback chair. There was nothing on the desk, and no other adornments in the room. Each footstep echoed off the glass walls and reverberated in his ears.
He quickly set the envelope and retreated. This room gave him the creeps….