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WITH HEAVY STRIDES, ELLIOT barged into Central Perk, freezing and sporting a blouse soaked in a disastrous brown color. The strong scent of coffee bombarded her almost instantly as she stood by the doorway, trying to catch her breath.
Until early morning, Elliot didn't even know La Gondola offered delivery services. If anything, she was almost sure they didn't, and the only reason she was suddenly rushed out with a heavy bag of food was because the guy who demanded his order was some hotshot from a big company.
Despite having just clocked in after waking up late, Elliot somehow found herself sprinting all those blocks from the train station trying to find the building she was supposed to drop the food off.
Nearly an hour later, Elliot finally managed to leave the order at the front desk, gasping for breath and clothed in a thick layer of snow. The next ten minutes were spent with her awkwardly standing in the middle of the ridiculously gigantic lobby as she got reprimanded for her lack of time consciousness, workers in suits side-eyeing her distastefully as they headed for the elevator.
Just when she thought her day couldn't possibly get any worse, Elliot just so happened to have bumped into an amateur rollerskater carrying her morning coffee on the walk back to the station.
Now, stepping into the café with her coat tied around her, Elliot hoped she could use their phone and get her roommate to bring her another blouse on her way to work. Allison should still be in the apartment around this time.
As Elliot hurried over to the counter with a sigh of relief, she couldn't help but overhear the brunette standing a few seats away from her.
The woman was pretty and petite and her hair was falling over her shoulders and a bit of the blue top she was wearing. An apron was wrapped around her waist, implicating that she worked there.
Leaning on the counter, she seemed to have been having a serious conversation with her boss, who stood behind the wooden frame sifting through a few papers.
"Terry, I know I haven't been working here very long, but I was wondering," she started, her fingers clasped around the edges of the counter. Hesitating, she continued slowly, "Do you think it's possible if I got a hundred dollar advance on my salary?"
The old man behind the counter, Terry, merely blinked back at her in response.
"An advance?" he repeated dubiously.
Catching the look in his eye, the brunette hurried to explain herself. "It's so I can spend Christmas with my family. See, every year we go skiing in Vail and normally my father pays for my ticket, but I've sort of started on this whole independent thing." She let out a hefty laugh. "You know, it's actually why I took this job."
Terry reached out for her hand, wrapped it around both of his, and gave it a small pat. He then looked up and offered her a gentle smile.
"Rachel sweetheart," he said. "You're a terrible, terrible waitress." When the woman named Rachel tried to butt in, he emphasized his comment again by adding, "Really really awful."
