Alone in New York City

I was walking to work like I did every day. Every day for two years I walked to the skyscraper towering above the city. Every day for two years I took the same route to work. Every day I passed the same buildings and the same people. But I knew none of them. Not really. I kept my head down, not talking to anyone. No one ever spoke to me. I never spoke to anyone else. That’s the way it was. 

“Jemma,” my boss barked as soon as I stepped into the office. I had long given up on correcting him. Julia, I used to say, but I was never called by my real name. No one looked up as I made my way to the boss’ office. I wasn’t sure if they cared or not. I honestly wasn’t sure if they even knew my name. Not that I knew their names. 

“Yes, sir,” I said when I was standing before Mr. Kent’s desk. He looked up as if trying to remember why he called me. He shook his head as shaking his thoughts, and his brown hair waved. 

“Oh, right, Jenny. I need you to accompany George to board meeting.” I nodded. George was his son, set to inherit this company, but Mr. Kent always wanted someone with George during the meetings to take notes. I didn’t want to argue with him, but I had to know. 

“Why me, sir?” 

“Hmm? Oh, you were just the first one I saw when you walked in,” he answered. “The 6^th floor.” I tried to smile and nod as hope fizzled out in my chest. A part of me had hoped that the assignment was the result of my work or my dedication. No such luck. I slipped out of the office without another word and took the elevator up to the 6^th floor. There were a few other people in that contraption with me. When I slipped in, I half expected someone to ask me what floor I was going to, but no one did. I was around the front of the group anyway, so it didn’t matter. I silently pressed the button and waited. 

Finally, the bell dinged. I made my way to the end of the hall. Being quiet and invisible had its benefits. I knew exactly where the meeting room was. I had heard Mr. Kent and a few others talking about it in the break room. The meeting hadn’t started yet, so there weren’t many people inside. I walked to the head of the table to sit beside George Kent. He had dark brown hair like his dad and just as tall. Since the meeting hadn’t started, he was playing on his phone. On closer inspection, I realized it was one of the match 3 games. 

There were already a few pieces of paper in front of me, so I pulled a fountain pen out of my purse. It wasn’t until I snapped it open that George looked up. 

“Oh, you must be the unlucky employee that my dad sent,” he mused and went back to playing on his phone. I sighed and started doodling mindlessly on the copy paper in front of me. Goodness, they even gave me a fancy fountain pen to write with. These people really spared no expense. ‘

By the time all the seats were filled, the copy paper had a nice bunch of flowers in the corner. Satisfied, I turned my attention to the meeting. I took the notes as instructed, making sure to note the important phrases and arguments. George Kent never looked at me. Actually, none of the businessmen seemed to notice me. That was fine, though. I was used to it. I grew up with four older siblings who were all better and smarter than I was, though I was my mother’s favorite. I was probably the favorite of my oldest brother too. Brent always looked out for me when my sisters didn’t. Too bad he was the most successful of my siblings, and he lived in Europe. 

“Paper, please,” George Kent said once everything had wrapped up. I silently handed him the paper, hoping he didn’t mind the flowers on the side. He shooed me away. I obliged. He hadn’t even asked for my name. Not that I expected him to. Even if he asked, he’d get it wrong. Just like his father. 

I stood outside the elevator for a moment before deciding to go down the stairs. No one at the office would notice, and I was sure Mr. Kent wouldn’t mind.

As I walked down the steps, my phone rang. I grinned when I saw it was Brent. 

“Heya, long time,” he greeted, and my grin grew wider. 

“Hi. What’s up,” I replied. 

“I just thought you needed to talk. Brother intuition?” I laughed. 

“Yeah, probably,” I scoffed. “It’s just that no one seems to notice me here.”

“Oh, Julia, really? How could they not notice you?” I just smiled hearing him say my name. My true name. Oh, the simple things in life. 

“I mean, I’m pretty quiet, and I don’t really make a scene,” I started. 

“Shoot, Julia. I got another call, but I’ll text you later,” he said hurriedly and hung up. I sighed, continuing down the stairs with my footfalls echoing. Of course, he had another call. He was a big shot businessman. He wouldn’t have time for his kid sister. Why on earth would he? 

I made my way into the office and did as I was supposed to. My earbuds and music slowly drowned out the world until my time was over. I stayed a few minutes past just to put the finishing touches on a few things before grabbing my stuff and heading home. It wasn’t until I was walking, however, that I realized I had completely forgotten to eat. Really, Julia, I scolded myself as I stepped into the local deli. There were a few other customers there, so it took a minute for the workers to actually ask me what I wanted. I ordered something simple to eat for the rest of the walk home. 

“Will that be all,” the woman asked without looking up. 

“Yes, please,” I responded. They made my food without even looking at me. They’re busy, I reasoned. No use fussing about it. Inside, however, I didn’t fuss a bit about it. There were supposed to be serving me, after all. Shouldn’t they at least look me in the eye? Shouldn’t they at least look at me straight? Shouldn’t they? That’s when I felt something rub against my leg. I looked down to find a little black cat rubbing against my leg. It purred. 

“Hey, little guy,” I cooed and rubbed my palm against its fur. It purred and tried to bite my sandwich. “You hungry?” I tore off a small bit of the crust before remembering cats shouldn’t eat bread.  I took some of the meat out and gave it to the little kitty. It gobbled it right up, meowing for more. I did the logical thing. I gave all the meat in the sandwich and continued on my way. Soon, I felt something rub against my leg. The cat was back. 

“I don’t have any more food, little one,” I muttered, but the cat continued to meow and purr. I tried to walk away. It wouldn’t listen. Warmth bloomed in my chest as I resolved to pick up the cat. I was going to take it home. It seemed that I wouldn’t be so alone after all.