It was a fire trap, for sure.
Of course, Ana didn't reallyhave the option of being picky. A job was a job, and the small, cramped, paper-filled office with the mysterious stain on the hall carpet was the least of her oppositions to taking this one. If she had a choice, she would have opted out.
She didn't have a choice.
"So," said the tall, thin woman with the too-tight skirt and too-low neckline, "you know the Senator?"
"Yes. We met when I was a newspaper reporter."
"Well good for you," the woman replied, barely making any attempt to hide the irony dripping from her lips.
Ana continued to follow the woman down the hall towards the closed door at the end. The door was old and cracked and dirty, but the window had been cleaned so that the words: "Senator Ruth McMann, New Jersey 41st Legislative District" could be applied in gold leaf lettering.
The thin woman knocked and then opened the door without waiting for a reply.
The Senator was a petite woman, with short dyed-red hair and pointy features. She wore a bright green skirt suit with a purple silk top underneath. The combination of colors made Ana feel slightly queasy when she saw them under the mildly flickering florecent lights of the office.
"Ana Rogers!" the Senator exclaimed as she stood up, grinning and tilting her head to one side. The movement seemed an obvious practiced sincerity, but Ana had known Ruth for years and always felt that what was false and insincere for anyone else was as close as the Senator could get to actual emotional exposition.
Of course, Ana didn't reallyhave the option of being picky. A job was a job, and the small, cramped, paper-filled office with the mysterious stain on the hall carpet was the least of her oppositions to taking this one. If she had a choice, she would have opted out.
She didn't have a choice.
"So," said the tall, thin woman with the too-tight skirt and too-low neckline, "you know the Senator?"
"Yes. We met when I was a newspaper reporter."
"Well good for you," the woman replied, barely making any attempt to hide the irony dripping from her lips.
Ana continued to follow the woman down the hall towards the closed door at the end. The door was old and cracked and dirty, but the window had been cleaned so that the words: "Senator Ruth McMann, New Jersey 41st Legislative District" could be applied in gold leaf lettering.
The thin woman knocked and then opened the door without waiting for a reply.
The Senator was a petite woman, with short dyed-red hair and pointy features. She wore a bright green skirt suit with a purple silk top underneath. The combination of colors made Ana feel slightly queasy when she saw them under the mildly flickering florecent lights of the office.
"Ana Rogers!" the Senator exclaimed as she stood up, grinning and tilting her head to one side. The movement seemed an obvious practiced sincerity, but Ana had known Ruth for years and always felt that what was false and insincere for anyone else was as close as the Senator could get to actual emotional exposition.
