“You do that.” Bette chuckled, loving the cheeky banter.

“Babe?”

“Hm?”

“About what I said earlier.. if it makes you feel any better, you’re endearingly annoying, arrogant and anal.”

“I am?”

“You’ve got all that charm working for you.”

“And if I wasn’t irresistibly charming?”

“Then you’re lucky you’re rich and good looking.”

Bette laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I should probably let you go now. I bet you still have tons of work to do.” Tina tried to be considerate. “Call me when you get home?”

“I will.” Bette promised. “Can’t wait till Friday rolls around. I need to get out of this place and see you.”

“Me too.” Tina sighed, mirroring the longing in the brunette’s voice. “I’ll pick you up at the airport?”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Bye babe, I love you.”

“I love you too.” Bette murmured back.

And with that, and just like always, the call ended. They disconnected the connection at the same time, neither girl too eager or happy to hear the sound of an empty dial tone ringing in their ears. 

Much to Bette’s relief, the moment she put away her phone, she realized that she had finally reached her intended floor. The unexpected phone call proved to be a worthy and worthwhile distraction. And best of all, no unfortunate accidents took place. Crisis averted. She didn’t fall, her body was in one piece and she could still live to see another day.

20^th floor balcony.

The sign on the steel door read. Allowing her heartbeat to normalize after the brief exertion, the girl steadied herself and expelled a breath through her lips. She felt like a pilgrim who had just arrived at her sacred destination after a long and perilous journey down a concrete mountain. She flattened her palms on the iron bar that ran horizontally along the middle part of the door and pushed. With the hatch released, the door swung open and exposed her to the chilly winds that plagued this part of NYC. The overcast skies of Manhattan didn’t help matters much, with the clouds blocking much needed warmth from the rays of the morning sun. Regardless of this, she stepped out into the open and inhaled the air from this high up. It wasn’t as fresh as the air from her home at the suburbs, but compared to the pollution down at the streets below, it would certainly do. This spacious balcony served as one of the company’s many smoking areas and informal gathering places. It was mostly reserved for employees working on the nearby floors. It would reach maximum capacity during lunch break, and generally, whenever a large and stressful deadline loomed near. With a quick sweep through the open space, Bette’s brown eyes scanned the balcony for company. Apart from a few junior executives and publicists that she vaguely recognized from the PR department, there weren’t much people smoking at this hour. The gossiping and laughing employees had all turned their heads in her direction when she stepped outside the door, and as soon as her face registered in their minds and they recognized their boss, the employees quickly extinguished their cigarettes and made a hasty retreat – feeling a little uneasy to be smoking with their future chief. Normally, Bette would’ve been considerate enough to ask them to stay put and enjoy their ciggy break. Today was different though. She made no move to stop them. And with all the people gone, the heiress felt somewhat relieved. What she was about to do out here, she didn’t want prying eyes to see. It was personal, sacred even. So with her hands inside the pockets of her suit’s coat, she slowly made her way to the glass barrier with the iron railings at the far end. Despite feeling uncomfortable with heights, she leaned forward and watched the pandemonium down below. She was far detached from the craziness of the streets from her high vantage point, but still not quite. NYC’s boundless and oftentimes chaotic energy had a way of seeping inside ones pores – and Bette was no exception. She closed her eyes and tried her best to block off the sounds of the bustling city below; for the next few minutes or so, she needed silence to reflect and the peace and quiet to offer a short prayer. This balcony had seen a hundred thousand smokers, tons of outdoor parties, fights among co-workers, stolen kisses from secret colleague lovers, and exactly six years on this very day, the unfortunate sight of a desperate man jumping to his death.