A Duet

July 16th, 2021

   As she put her empty glass down, Alina looked up at her friend quizzically. “Go on Mils, hit me with the question I know you’re dying to ask,” she said finally. As if waiting all night for her approval, Mils jumped at the opportunity. “How is your new job?” she almost yelled, and then to let Alina know she was still on her side, followed it up with, “I know it’s not exactly your dream job, but hey you’ve got time!”

   “I don’t know what to make of it. It’s decent enough, I suppose? The old receptionist showed me around and passed on everything she thought I ought to know. I spent the rest of my time learning the important names and how to handle their calls. There isn’t much else to do. Just show up.” she responded with no hint of excitement, and signaled to the bartender for a refill. Mils prodded on, “Important names huh? What about Lana Mirez?”

   “What about her?” Alina said simply, as if it were just another woman and not the dazzling young heir to Noleta, touted to be the next big thing in the real estate industry. Constantly swarmed by the media and admired by young girls and boys alike, she was no short of a Hollywood celebrity. “Tell me everything you know about her!” exclaimed Mils, her face resting on her raised palms, in rapt attention. Alina considered dismissing her for a moment but felt obliged to at least say something.

   “Well, I wish she were as explosive as the world claims her to be. She does look breathtaking, I’ll give her that–but I imagine that’s not too hard to do with the personal designers and stylists. The employees eagerly wait for her staff meetings–where she is nice enough, talks about their success, and thanks everybody for their work–pretty standard boss stuff. The other day though, we had pets at work and everyone was eager to get her to interact with the pups. But she was out the door barely into the day. Come on, who doesn’t like pups?” she paused to sip her drink. Then, “Her assistant and I take breaks together sometimes, and I hear she doesn’t take most calls from her father. Even when he constantly sends over her favorite flowers and gets the chef to make her favorite meals in-house. I try not to judge too soon but, could she be any less grateful to the man who is about to hand off his company, not to mention all the luxuries that come with growing up as Mr. Mirez’s daughter? In any case, I never understood the mass obsession with her, and will likely never do.”

   “Wow, I was just trying to get the insider scoop on The Lana Mirez–could you make it any less exciting? Anyway, let’s move on.” Mils said, getting a refill of her own. She then pointed to the ongoing karaoke and nudged Alina to get on stage. Now, this was something she could get on board with. She went up soon enough and performed a song by her favorite artist, Liberta. The performance was so glorious that she was urged on, and she performed a half-hour of Liberta songs. When she stepped off the stage, she was met with applause and waved shyly, clinging to Mils as they made their way out of the bar.

October 8th, 2021

   “Meet at the bar after work. Need to talk.” Alina texted Mils as she gathered her things. She had barely gotten by after the incident. She just had to get out soon, so she did and waited for Mils to show up at the bar.
   “Hey, you okay?” Mils rushed to the table Alina sat at, and was concerned by the empty look on her face. “No,” said Alina and offered nothing more. Mils gave her a hug, got their usual drinks, and waited for her to be ready. They sat in silence for a long time, then Alina said, “I was harassed at work.” First, her eyes widened, then Mils stood up straight and said, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry Al. Give me a name and I’m going to march up to that office and make sure the asshole doesn’t live to see another day.”

   “I was just taking the elevator up. I held the door for this man who works in H.R.–imagine that. H.R. The next thing I know, the doors close and he is trying to ask me out. I politely decline and he completely loses it. Says I should be begging him to go out with me instead, and tells me to go on my knees.. and beg.  I said he’s out of his mind, he starts t-t-trying to get me on my knees and begins.. begins forcing himself on me. The doors op-opened then and I pushed him off me and ran out.” Alina was sobbing now. “Lana was right outside the elevator when I got out. She just stood there!” Before Mils could respond, she wiped off her tears and continued with a murderous rage, “She knew what had just happened and did nothing. I’m sure she had bigger things to deal with today like losing her goddamn Prada bag!”

December 10th, 2021

   The rumors had been making rounds for a few days now. Lana Mirez not to replace Mr. Mirez as CEO anymore? The staff was blindsided and wondered what had caused this sudden turn of events. Without her, would Noleta continue to perform as well as they did? As Alina walked in that morning, all anyone could talk about was if the buzz was in fact the truth, and if it was, would it be because of Mr. Mirez or Lana? When she got to her desk, there was a card waiting for Alina. “You can do better than karaoke nights. Join me.” the ground beneath her seemed to disintegrate as she read the signature, “Liberta,” it said.

---

February 9th, 2018

   A year since her mom had passed, and Lana still hunkered in the balcony, willing her mom to sit with her. She yearned to spend the better part of the night talking like they used to. She looked up when the door opened, half-expecting to see her mom. Her dad stepped out instead, set some papers on the table, and said, “I trust you will be at the office starting next week as we discussed?” Lana sighed, “Dad, I understand this has been hard on you. I’m going to come in and help you with everything you need for a bit. I need you to let me pursue my passion once we settle this.” Mr. Mirez kept a straight face–as he so often did–and said, “For a bit. Yes, of course. You will have all the time and help you need pursuing this career of yours.” then he turned and walked away, leaving her to study the papers.

July 9th, 2021

   Lana stood to the side as her father addressed the Noleta family, as he called it. He was beaming with pride as he spoke of their second-quarter earnings. More than once, he gestured towards Lana with a huge grin and applauded her work. “We have now achieved our target for 2025.” he was declaring, “In her three years with us, Lana Mirez has put us almost five years ahead! I’m sure it’s only uphill from here.” All she could do was smile and nod, as she watched any hope of switching careers disappear into the weighted words of Mr. Mirez.

   She headed to her office after the address, thanking people for their gracious words as she walked by. Once in the office, she shut the door and stood facing the cards she had received for Dex. He had left them a month ago, a furiously loyal and wonderful 13-year old husky. She had held him for the last time and had thanked him for everything, especially for getting her through the loss of her mother.
   Nash knocked just then, and Lana opened the door for him as she wiped off a tear. “Lana, the employees are looking forward to getting you to meet their pets. Why don’t you drop by, and maybe you’ll feel better?” he offered. “I’m terribly sorry Nash, but I just can’t do it.” she said as she picked up her bag, “Please apologize to them for me.”

October 8th, 2021

   Lana was all set to meet the last person she had hunted down for a meeting in Tokyo. It was supremely important, but then she had found that her bag was missing. The bag held Dex’s collar, the one that her mother had picked out. It was the only one they could get Dex to wear, and the last thing she had left of him. She asked Nash to help her locate the bag before she had to take off. There had then been an announcement all around the office offering a reward for the bag.

   A few hours later, she was set to leave for the meeting and headed towards the lobby. What she had witnessed when the elevators opened had left her dumbfounded. When she finally willed herself to react, she said to the man guilelessly, “Follow me to my office.” She turned and walked towards her office, and as she entered, instructed Nash to cancel her meeting.

   Alina received an unexpected phone call that evening. “Alina, it’s Nash. I have been trying to get a hold of you. Lana wanted me to let you know that this bloke from H.R. was fired. I’m not sure what this is about and she wouldn’t tell me, but she said to let her know if you need anything at all. I’ve been given to understand that he will be unable to find employment henceforth and will have charges pressed if you so wish. Please take your time and let me know when you have made a decision.”

December 9th, 2021

   It had been a long evening. Lana signed the last of the papers and sat back in her chair. The last few meetings with her father had been tough, and she had just sent over the list of people she had met with and thought would be ideal to step into the shoes of Mr. Mirez. Looking at the picture on her desk, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Lana was smiling wide next to her mother as Dex ran to them, a memory frozen in the frame. She prayed for a sign. Not too long after, a faint guitar strumming came in through her open door, then she heard a voice singing ever-so-softly. Calling for Nash, she asked him where the song was coming from. “Oh, that?” Nash grinned with embarrassment, “Sorry, it was just something on my phone.”

   “Well, was it Liberta?” Lana asked curiously. “No. Well yes, but um, Alina–she sang at a karaoke bar recently and sent me the video.” Nash admitted. Lana asked to see it and was amazed at how good she was. “Thank you, Nash!” she beamed and told him he could get back home. He nodded and left the room, confused. Lana looked like she was considering something for a while. Having made up her mind, she pulled out a card, signed it, and left it by the reception as she left the building.

   She still remembered the day when it all began–vividly. About a year after she undertook her stint with her father at Noleta, Lana had decided she wouldn’t ask him for help anymore. He consistently dismissed her interest in music as temporary and insisted she was meant to grow his empire to heights he could never touch by himself. She took all her songs, including the one she had recorded over the weekend, and resolved to put them up on YouTube to see how they did. She couldn’t be Lana Mirez of course, the songs were likely to blow up for the wrong reasons. If she was going to make it in the music industry, it had to be because she deserved it. What would the artist be called then? She thought long and hard as she hummed a tune her mother had played, “I call it Libertà–it means freedom” she had said as she finished playing the piece.