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He took in a deep breath before grabbing his briefcase and getting out of his car. Instead of hitting the locking mechanism on the keychain, Lian just pushed the button for it on the inside of the door and then shut the door itself gently but firmly. He hated using the button on the keychain, hated the stupid, obnoxious bleating sound it made, hated the whole attitude of people who just casually locked their cars as they walked away. In a parking garage, that shrill noise echoed like crazy. Lian hated it. He hated showy, attention-grabbing things like that. So your car was fancy? So the hell what?
He started walking towards the far side of the garage and the bank of elevators, looking down at his watch as he did. A quarter past seven and already he was in a foul mood. Great. What a wonderful start to his first day. Way to get off on the right foot.
He reached the elevators and pushed the upper button, straightening his suit jacket as he waited for the car to arrive. Only a few other vehicles were parked down here on this level, and Lian wondered if that were primarily due to the early hour or the new mass transit system that had started running last week. There'd been an article last Tuesday, something of an Op-Ed piece, that had discussed what the new trains meant for the city, but there hadn't really been any statistics or data to speak of. Lian wondered if he dared suggest the idea of printing a more informative article on the subject, something that actually said what was going on instead of just declaring what 'should' be.
Maybe not on the first day, though.
The elevator finally arrived with a ping, and Lian stepped inside. He pushed the button that would take him up and then leaned back against the far wall. Sure enough, the elevator stopped on the ground floor and two more people got on. Both were dressed in the same style as he, and they all politely nodded at each other. Neither person gave Lian a second glance, and he breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn't really thought anyone would cause a scene right away, but one never knew for certain. Too many times, Lian had taken something for granted, only to have it explode in his face when he least expected it. Too many times, he'd underestimated this city's mad hunger for gossip—and scandal.
The elevator rose steadily for ten more floors, before stopping again. More people stepped on, five, six, seven, and everyone shifted to make room. Lian scrunched back into his corner even farther and straightened his suit jacket again. Up, they all went, one woman quietly sniffling a few times, and the guy closest to the doors clearing his throat.
Moments like this were when he really felt out of step with the rest of the world. It was just a normal elevator ride up to work with one's coworkers, the start of another day like most others, something familiar, routine, something these people he was riding with had no doubt done thousands of times. This was work, just another job in a series of jobs, in a long career.
But, it was Lian's first job, his only job, and whereas everyone in the elevator with him right now had had to earn this job, earn the right to work here—he hadn't. He'd been gifted the right. He'd been born with it, just another advantage he'd taken advantage of.
Lian swallowed as the car shot farther upward, and felt kind of sick. Truth be told, he felt stupid and foolish and naïve. Lian hated feeling stupid. He tugged at the bottom of his jacket again just as the elevator slowed down. He felt the shift in the other passengers, felt them stand straighter and taller. The car came to a stop; the doors opened; and everyone walked out in a hurry. It was already purposeful chaos beyond the elevator. The day had already started, and it was, he saw, looking again at his watch, now just 25 after seven.
Lian looked up, tried to take it all in.
Then with another deep breath, he stepped out, and with a firm grip on his briefcase, set about maneuvering his way upstairs to his office.
He was just glad he was relatively early, and that from what he'd heard Lois was apparently often late. This way, he wouldn't run into her before he'd had a chance to acclimate. Of course, if her tendency to sometimes run late turned into a habit or a pattern of some sort, that might wind up causing more problems further down the line.
Nothing worse than having to chew out your brother's fiancée for being tardy. But, then, that was part of the job. Nobody had said this would be easy, even if getting here had been.
Nothing in life was easy and certainly nothing in Lian's life. Why would being the new editor of The Daily Planet prove any different?