It wasn't very uncommon that people pronounced her name wrong. And have everybody staring at her? Well, that was normal as well. The receptionist today wasn't very different. A young guy with big round specks and a checked shirt sat smartly behind the desk.
Steen sat uneasily, waiting for the receptionist to call out her name.
*Ding*
The lift behind the reception desk opened, two men holding briefcases walked out smartly. Steen knew it was her turn, the receptionist had a look at his diary, paused, stared. Then very confidently, "Miss Monkey", he called out.
Immediately everybody else seemed interested in Miss Monkey. Steen bit her tongue.
"Miss Monkey?", The man called out again.
As soon as she stood up, all the eyes in the room trained at her.
"Monkey", A few people whispered pointing at her.
Steen walked to the receptionist with her hand covering her face.
"Mankie", she spoke softly biting her tongue.
"Oh?", The receptionist stared at her. "My name", she hinted, "Steen Mankie". "Mankie?", "Yes Mankie". "I'm sorry", he spoke in an undertone.
"That's fine", Steen spoke waving her hand.
He checked his diary once again, "So, you're here to meet?"
"The Wizard Of Oz", Steen had rehearsed this conversation multiple times, she wasn't going to make a mistake. The receptionist's eyes widened, he opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a notepad. He scrolled through the pages for a bit.
"Ah- Yes, What is my name?", he questioned looking up from his notepad.
"Rumpelstiltskin"
The man looked into his notepad to confirm the answer.
"Please place your finger on the scanner"
Steen did as she was told, the scanner blinked green, "Thank you".
"'Agent K-11 she', is here", he spoke into a microphone attached to the topmost button.
He then handed Steen a card and whispered, "use this for entry and exit".
Steen followed him into the elevator.
"Press on floors 4, 18, 21 and 0", he instructed, pressing the buttons himself.
To her surprise Steen realized instead of going upwards, the lift had begun a descend. The lift thudded to a stop the doors opened, showcasing a massive round stainless steel door ahead.
"Welcome to Heinous", the man grinned.
Steen had always imagined a moment like this and now that it was finally here. She was struggling to believe it. Her fingers were numb as she reached for the card in her pocket and swiped it across the scanner.
The hinges of the well-oiled entrance whirred and Steen- she still couldn't believe it.