The Brewing Storm

The Chase

It isn't as if the phone is all that important. It is a simple phone with simple features, and the only people I call are my family members (or at least those I can stand) and every so often I'll call Jared for something work related. But theft is theft, and he certainly stole my phone.

Calm down Lily. Maybe he was just too worried to think about it, and he will be back soon! He probably was just way too stressed. I try to console myself, but it is hard. I don't try to seek out the bad in people, but what he did was deliberately steal my phone, and I don't appreciate it.

I pick up the phone he carelessly left behind, and look for any clue to who he might have been. I don't come up with much, but eventually I find his email signature (which was very hard to do without reading his emails, but I'm not that evil) and on it there is the address of his office. I'm rather shocked to see he actually lives and works here, and isn't just another conference junkie I had assumed he was. But it doesn't deter me in my quest one bit.

I don't have to wait too long for my shift to be over, as it was pretty far into it when the stranger had come in. I bid goodbye to Ella, and notify Jared of my departure, and then I head off.

Armed only with a phone that I don't know how to use, I make my way to his office, asking people for directions along the way. When I finally come to the office, I realize I didn't need directions after all. I have never walked past this building, but I see it every day. It just so happens to be the tallest building in the town. Arching up into the sky, it is easily a hundred stories tall.  It can be seen from every part of town, even in the far corner where I live. Most people don't want to build so high since we are so far up in the mountains that the winds are quite ferocious. Plus it isn't as if the ground here is exactly flat. I always thought the person who was in charge of designing this building must be insane. The people who work here certainly are. 

No Lilly. I chastise myself, I am sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for why that man stole your phone. But when I try to come up with one my mind hits a blank, so I just shrug it off and step inside the building.

Immediately I am blown away by the interior of the building. Not because of the intricately decorated marble sculpture, the patterned tile floors, or even the massive golden chandelier hanging in the middle of the high ceilings. No, I am surprised because nothing of the sort lies inside the building. In fact, the entrance is nearly empty, despite the large amount of space it takes up. The only things in the room are an elevator along one wall and a small metal chair facing a small wooden desk with a disgruntled looking man behind it.

I try to make my face as professional as possible, which means no emotions allowed. As an open book, it is harder said than done. I'm sure I look more like a drowning cat than a functioning human when I finally reach the man in the corner of the empty room. 

"Hello. Hi. Hey," I say quickly. Come on Lilly, you can do this. I try to reassure myself. I clear my throat. The man just gives me an incredulous expression. "I'm looking for a man." I double check the name on his blackberry, "A Mr. Ambrose. Can I see him please?" 

"No visitors," is his only reply. I scoff at his lack of helpfulness. 

"Yes, well, who says I'm a visitor? He has something of mine, and I intend to get it back." I place my hands on my hips as I begin to wonder if this man is going to help me at all. He just continues to stare at me so I begin to tap my foot to show my impatience. 

After a few more minutes of complete silence, I finally speak up again. "Well, are you going to get him or what?"

"No visitors," he says again, only this time I detect a bit more annoyance in his tone. 

"And I'm not here to visit him. Wring his neck maybe, inform him of the jail time for stealing someone's property, or even try to get it through his thick head that the reason his phone wasn't working was because it was in airplane mode!" I'm yelling by the end but I don't care. I've had enough of this man not giving me the vengeance I deserve. 

"Listen," the man says as he stands from his chair, "we don't allow visitors, and as there are no woman who work in this building, you are obviously a visitor. We do not allow visitors, solicitors, family members, or the like. So if you wish to meet with Mr. Ambrose, I suggest not." Of course he wouldn't give me real advice. How was I supposed to get my phone back now?

Wait. Just wait one minute. "Did you say no women work here?" he gives me a curt nod and sits back down. "No women!" I screech. Here I had the audacity to think the company was somewhat progressive with a male receptionist, but instead I find out they are only living in the dark ages! 

I'm about ready to start a riot right there but the man picks up the phone at his desk and taps a couple buttons. Before I have a chance to do anything I hear the answer on the other end of the line, "Security, how can I help you?" I growl in frustration and throw my hands up in the air. But the pointed look the man throws my direction as he opens his mouth to speak sends me running out of the building. The last thing I need is some man-handling. 

The glass doors shut behind me, and I feel any hope of getting my phone back slip away with it. It isn't even about the phone anymore. It's about the principle of the thing. For once my inner monologue is completely reasonable. I can get another phone, it was the cheapest model available after all. But I cannot get my pride back without confronting the rude man who stole my phone and gloating about it to the jerk behind the counter. 

I sit down on the steps leading up to the building, wallowing in my angry thoughts. Maybe this Ambrose guy isn't a pirate, but I'll still feed him to the sharks when I'm done with him. 

Among the many, mostly malicious, thoughts running around my head, a plan begins to appear. They may not let women into that infernal building, but with such a large building, there must be too many workers to keep track of them all. So if a certain man were to walk in, he could probably do it completely unnoticed. He could probably wander the hallways to his liking, and find a certain someone who held an item that didn't belong to him. And if that man was wearing a disguise, and was in fact a woman, would anyone notice? The receptionist hadn't even looked up until I reached his desk, so what if I walked right past it?

The idea of an adventure like this is too alluring to pass up. With newfound determination, I march down the steps and follow the street to my home on the other side of town. Tomorrow they will meet a force not to be reckoned with. And whether this Rikkard Ambrose wants to or not, he is going to get a lesson on this not-so-new thing called equality that has changed the world.

My goodness, I am absolutely speechless. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but honestly I just thought no one was reading this. I didn't even bother to check in on it, but from now on I certainly will. I am flabbergasted that so many of you have read this so far and seem to enjoy it. Thank you so much for your support! I will definitely work much harder on this now that I know people are reading it and enjoy it.