KARMA & HER RED SUEDE SHOES, Ilee Coleman [best short novels of all time .txt] 📗

“Hold the elevator

please

!” shouted Corinne as she sprinted into

the luxurious office building. She was too late as

the doors closed and signaled the readiness of

the elevator to climb up 12 stories.

As she reached for the button to recall the

mechanical ladder, she caught a glimpse of a pair of

red suede shoes just as the doors came

together. “Damn,

I’m going to be late for this big meeting!

”

she whispered to herself.

“Hey, let’s take the stairs

”

said Toney. “I don’t want to be late

either and the big news is going to be revealed

today.” Run the stairs? No way Toney

. I would

be a sweaty mess if I did and that would be way too

uncomfortable for me. “OK! See you

upstairs

”.

Corrine leans her bags against the wall as she

pushed the elevator button again and again as if it

would respond quicker. Her anxiety begins to increase

with every passing minute.

Corrine works for Sam Daley’s Software. She was the

secretary when Sam first began the company 10 years

ago with a total of 5 employees. She has grown with

the company and her current position is Senior

Manager of Operations and Client Relations. She has

worked hard and diligently for everything she has

attained despite the lack of a college degree. She

does have a high school diploma but some of her

colleagues think she is unworthy and incapable–

especially Ann Torrez

.

Ann is an Ivory League graduate. She studied at

Cornell University and received her degree in

Computer Science. She is extremely professional and

opinionated with the credentials to back it up. She

has been in sales management for the past 8 years and

has been the company’s top producer for the last 5.

She is engaged to Sam’s son Rich and the two are set

to be married in the fall.

Rich, unlike his parents, is a lover of the outdoors.

He hates sitting behind a desk and maneuvering

through what he calls “computer crap”. He wants no

part of the company and has stated his position

repeatedly.

Another three minutes has gone by and the elevator

seems to be hitting every floor on its way back down

to the lobby. Corrine is practically gasping as she

can only imagine the meeting starting without her.

She gives a second thought about following Toney up

the stairs but its 12 stories up and at 49 years of

age she doesn’t think it would be a smart idea so she

continues to wait.

And wait…

And wait…

She begins to recall what she saw as she ran into

the building. The elevator was just opening and the

people were entering. She believes that there was

enough room on the elevator for her to fit but they

must not have heard her cry to wait. The red suede

shoes were positioned on the left side of the

elevator. If that person would have hit the release

button I would have been able to get on the

elevator and make it to the meeting on time. But hey,

it’s not the first time I have missed the ride up and

I’m sure it won’t be the last as the people in this

office building are coming and going at a frenetic

pace.

Sam and the other members of the management team

are gathering at the large conference room. Ann and

Toney have papers in hand and look excited about the

up and coming meeting. All they knew was that Sam

called for a mandatory meeting with all management

staff to make an important announcement.

All week the rumors have taken flight. font;_italic>Who is being fired? Who is being

reprimanded? Is the company in jeopardy? Are we all

getting raises?

Suddenly the doors open and a teenage kid stroll

off. She passes Corrine and gives her a sly smirk

then heads towards the vending machine. Corrine

dashes into the elevator only to find that every

floor has been lit by pushing the corresponding

button.

“Ah… C’mon

!” She sighs.

I’m surely going to be late for this meeting and

walking in late while Sam is conducting a meeting is

not a comfortable feeling. That little kid was in

this elevator playing around and pressed all of these

buttons. Who is she and why is she in this building

and not in school she thought. She signaled the doors

to close and begin her ascent towards the 12th floor.

On the second floor the doors open and shut. The

third floor the doors do the same. As she came to the

fourth floor some people ask if they are headed up or

down. Going up she replied and the doors shut yet

again. Fifth floor,sixth floor, seventh floor passes.

Eight floor, ninth floor then a chalkboard screech

brings the elevator to a halt.

“What Now

!” says Corrine.

The doors open on the tenth floor and the emergency

light flashes. Now she has no other choice but trek

up two flights of stairs to make it to her

destination.

Slowly Corrine makes her way up the square box

staircase one step at a time. She remembers how she

used to be able to run these steps years ago two,

sometimes three, times per day. Now with all the

excess weight gain, the tragic losses in her life and

the increasing demands of her job she has no time for

extra activities.

Now finally reaching the twelfth floor she flings

open the door and maneuvers through to her office to

drop her bags then head straight to the meeting. She

opens the door and everyone freezes, turns and looks

at her and she feels mortified.

“Surprise

!” Corrine is

standing in pure shock.

“Congratulations on the

promotion to making partner

” says Sam.

“Partner

?!” said Corrine.

"Yes didn’t you get the memo? I

know how much you love the Girl Scouts so we had them

deliver the memo to your office this morning

."

Still stunned, Corrine remembers the young girl from

the elevator. She smiled.

“Thank you so much Samantha! I

am grateful for this honor

.”

Corrine is now being smothered by her co workers

and the office celebration is underway. From the

corner of her eye Corrine notices an uneasy

conversation fermenting between Ann and Samantha. Ann

seems furious about something and Sam is trying to

diffuse the energy. Suddenly Sam makes a motion of

dismissal towards Ann and her daily ride partner

Susan Simpkins.

Sue was Ann’s assistant and errand girl. Everyone

knows that Sue would do anything Ann asks. She picks

Ann up and drops her off every day to and from the

office as well as brings her coffee and lunch. As the

two women exited the party, Corrine notices Sue’s

left foot just before she cleared the door and on it

was a red suede shoe.

Publication Date: 08-20-2011

All Rights Reserved