The Little Black Book

At 7:00 o clock sharp, Irene rushed up the stairs, sat down at her desk, took a deep breath as she opened her little black book. She looked for the date and read from top to bottom:

“8:00 am -Meeting with the technology department. 

10:00 am- Visit of the VP.

12:00pm- Meeting with the accounting department.”

-“Oh crap!” she thought. -“No time for lunch again!”

Suddenly, Dominique slammed the door open and scared her to death.-“At last, you’re here! What have we got for today?”

-“We have a meeting in an hour with IT. Also, Mr. Baglione is coming to see the new renovations at 10:00 and he said he wants to meet with you afterward.”

-“What? Why is he coming here again? Oh! I can’t catch a break with that man! He drives me crazy! Did you arrange my trip for next week?”

-“I still haven’t booked the hotel yet, but I got the tickets.”

-“Sorry. What? Irene! I am leaving in two days! This is urgent.”

-“Yes, I understand. But I haven’t had the time! I left at 10:00 pm last night finishing my tasks!”

-“It doesn’t matter! You need to be more efficient with your time!”

Dominique stormed out of Irene’s office leaving a very heavy air behind her. 

Irene closed her tired eyes and then, it hit her. -“Oh crap! Alisa’s rehearsal is tomorrow!”

She grabbed her black book and read: 03:00 pm- Alisa’s rehearsal.

She felt sick to her stomach. Just the idea of walking to her boss’s office right now would be madness. But she just had no choice. She made a promise and it would break her daughter’s heart if she missed it again.  

Irene took the courage and knocked on her door, gently opened it, and took two shy steps into her office.

-“Excuse me!”

-What? said Dominique as she was sitting on her enormous Agarwood desk, typing on her laptop.

-“I just need a little favor.” cried Irene. 

-“Do you need a day off?”

-“Well, technically…”

-“No! You know we are busy.”

-“But…”

-“I said no! You are far behind in the schedule.”

-“But, it’s my daughter…”

-“Look, Irene. I also have daughters, and a husband, and a dog. And does that affect my job? No! You need to be professional. Working hours are for working! We don’t pay you to solve family situations. I said no!”

Irene couldn’t hold it back and as a tear rolled down her cheek, she replied with a broken voice: 

-“Yes Ma'am. I will be here tomorrow.”

Irene went back to her office and sat down on her chair.  Her hands were closed tight, her back was arched and her shoulders were raised. The frown on her face was accentuating the wrinkles around her eyes.  She held the little black book with rage and threw it violently against the wall. Then, she saw the clock. 7:55 am. 

-“Oh crap! the meeting!” 

She wiped her face. Stood up straight and pulled her vest down as if she was trying to get rid of all the creases in it. 

She grabbed a couple of folders, a pen, a few blank sheets and rushed to the boardroom. The meeting had already started so she just sat down quietly.  She had prepared a list of questions but she just couldn’t focus. All she was thinking about was her little girl. The hours passed and Irene couldn’t say a word. All she could hear in her head was the background noise of Dominique’s yells at the poor IT guy.  Suddenly, a knock on the door. 

-“Excuse me Mrs. Martin; Mr. Baglione is here.”

Dominique suddenly stopped talking. Her face changed completely. She combed her few gray hairs with her fingers and left the room. 

Irene went back to her office and sat down on her desk. She closed her tired eyes, took a deep breath, and looked for her little black book. She looked on her desk, under her laptop, in the drawers, under her chair, around the floor… and then she remembered! 

She quickly stood up and walked across her office and got down on her knees. She looked under the armchair, around the cabinets, she looked everywhere and it was nowhere to be found. 

A horrible feeling invaded her body. She went back to her desk and tried to start over: looked under her desk, under her chair, inside the trashcan… 

-“Trashcan! The trashcan is empty! Kiki must have cleaned up. She must know where it is!”

Irene rushed to the front desk and asked the receptionist:

 -“Have you seen Kiki?”

-“Yes, she was here about an hour ago. She must be in the cafeteria.”

Her heart was raising, her palms were sweating and her face couldn’t look any redder. She walked past Mr. Baglione and didn't even notice. 

-“Everything ok, Irene?” -“Oh! Yes! I am sorry! Yes, yes, Everything’s ok. I am just ahh... I, I need some coffee.”

She continued her race to the cafeteria. 

Kiki was there, cleaning the tabletops.

-“Kiki!” She yelled- “I need your help!” 

-“Tell me Ma’am.”

-“Did you clean my office?” 

-“Yes ma’am.”

-“Did you see a little black book on the floor by any chance?” 

-“A little black book?

-“Yes, it's small, looks a little old and it has a silver engraving on the cover that says: Moleskine."

-“Oh! Yes! I remember.  Why?”

-“Where is it, Kiki?”

-“In the trash Ms. Irene. I thought it was trash. Is everything ok?”

-“Oh, no!” she claimed, as she put one of her hands on her face, and pulled a chair with the other to sit down, she started breathing heavily. Almost hyperventilating. She closed her eyes and a whisper came out of her mouth: -“the trash?” she cleared her voice and tried again: “the trash?” 

-“Yes Ma’am. I thought it was trash. Was it important?”

Irene just had the energy to ask: -“where Kiki?. Where is the trash?”

-“Outside, by the laundry room. I put all the trash in the black bin.”

Irene’s legs were shaking. Her mind was asking her to run but all she could do was walk. She was so dizzy that her body hit the walls a couple of times on her way out. She opened the back door and there it was, a gigantic black container that looked like a monster, ready to devour her. She tried to reach inside and grab one bag but she didn't succeed. She walked around the bin, trying to figure out a way to get the bags out. She found a ladder and climbed a couple of steps, stretched her arms, and leaned forward.

-“leftover food, coffee cups.. no. Toilet paper. eww! no!”

She leaned forward a little bit more, falling headfirst into the trashcan. 

At first, fear invaded her, she began to yell for help but there was no-one around. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, she sat down on the pile of trash and started to cry uncontrollably. Irene was defeated. But then, a thought rushed into her head. 

“Alisa! My baby! I am doing this for you! I need to find that book!”

She composed herself, stood up straight, pulled her vest down, and continued to look for the bag: 

And then, all of a sudden, she saw it. She didn’t believe her eyes. She looked up and down and kept on staring at it. Then, she started counting: 

-“One hundred, two hundred, a thousand, twenty thousand… twenty thousand? no. It can’t be!  She started counting again… 

-“One hundred, two hundred, a thousand, twenty thousand… yes! twenty thousand dollars!”

Her chest exploded at that moment. A mix of cry and laughter came out of her mouth at the same time. So many thoughts on her head that she didn’t really know how she was feeling. She looked around and realized she was still in the bin. Irene put all the money back in the bag and got out as she could. 

As she got out, Irene started looking around in disbelief as if she was looking for the owner of that bag. But then, her mind changed. She held tight that black garbage bag in her hand and walked through the back door, the look in her eyes was different this time. 

She started to walk at a steady pace with one destination in mind.

She grabbed the doorknob, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then, on the spur of the moment, slammed it open. 

Mr. Baglione and Dominique almost fell off their chairs. They were so shocked that all they did was look at her in complete astonishment. 

And there she was… all covered in dirt, tangles in her hair, reeking with trash… Clothes out of place, a stench to spare. 

A murky half-smile glowed through, with a hint of a scary grin on her face. She stood there quietly, holding the bag, and a fiercely scream invaded their office:

-“I quit!”.