The office meets me, which has become unusual for the last week, silence. Through the panoramic windows, the dawn sun has already managed to let a few rays into the space of the room. Including the piles of documents accumulated during the business trip on my desk. Well, it's time to get to work.
After a couple of hours, the number of papers did not change much, but my irritation, on the contrary, increased. Sometimes it seems to me that if I leave the company, it will end. No, seriously. Peeling off colorful stickers with questions, I just want to stick them back. Only not on the pivot table, but on the forehead of the head of the IT department.
I glance at the table clock and understand that my desires can already be translated into reality. Digging through the documents, I didn’t notice at all that working hours had long come and the company building was already teeming with workers. I also realized that my last meal was lunch at a restaurant in Shanghai. Twenty hours have passed since then.
Rose should be there by now. It's amazing how quiet the reception area is. Usually the arrival of this girl in the office is only slightly inferior except to the festivals in Rio. Moreover, the main noise does not come from her, but from an incredible influx of visitors. Sometimes Sarah from the legal department runs out of paper clips, then Michael from the advertising department runs over to say hello. But, it's worth giving Rose credit - for the year that she works here, the order with the documentation is simply beyond praise. But today's pile on my table shocked me. I have gone on business trips before, but there was no such mess. Yes, and recently she had problems with concentration. Maybe something happened to her? I should send her on vacation.
With these thoughts, I call my secretary to my office, asking me to make coffee. Five minutes later, the door to the office finally opens, letting Rose inside. Carefully peering at the numbers from the next analysis, without raising my head, I nod in greeting. A cup of steaming drink descends to my right hand. In the same silence, Rose heads back out the door as I take a long sip of my coffee.
- What the hell is this?!
I really didn't mean to yell like that. It just popped out. This paper mess already brought me to the boiling point, and then there's this coffee, which looks more like a recently eaten Chinese gourd. They decided to kill me, or what?
I raise a withering glance at this loser killer and fall into an even greater stupor.
- Who else are you?
Ashley.
2 days ago.
The phone has been ringing for several minutes now. Why don't I pick up the phone, you ask? I would take it! I would take it with great pleasure! Only now I can not find this device for communication. When the ringtone starts playing for the fourth time, I still find this device. Behind the sofa. Standing, your mother, against the wall. Oh, Harry, well, you ask me for something else!
Harry is a five-year-old bully and the son of my neighbors across the street. I have not been lucky with work yet, but I need to pay the rent and eat something. Here I work as a nanny. The money is small, but as they say, for lack of a better ...
- Yes! I bark into the phone.
- Good afternoon! Ashley Lewis?
At times like this, I get scared. Here's the truth. The official tone makes me panic. Involuntarily I begin to remember all my jambs and offenses for twenty years of my life.
“Y-yes,” I groan uncertainty. - It's me.
- You are being harassed by Barrett's Metal. My name is Karen Cheng.
The woman's voice on the other side falls silent. Looks like he's waiting for a response from me.
- Very nice, Mrs. Cheng - I still do not quite understand what they want from me.
- A few months ago, you sent us your resume for the position of a commodity logistician. Tell me, is the job offer still relevant to you?
I finally remember that right after college, the first place I sent my resume was to Barrett's Metal. This is the largest and most successful company in our city, and one of the best companies in the country. But the cruel world quickly broke off my wings. In any coolest company, the staff is staffed to the maximum, otherwise it would not be the best of the best. I didn't get a call on the third, tenth, or twentieth day. And with the rest of the companies I was not lucky. There was, however, one construction company. They were in the middle of nowhere, earnings with a stretch could be called quite good, but I would have spent more on one way back and forth than I earned.
And now they call me from BM and offer me a job? Someone pinch me.
You don't even know how important it is.
- Excellent, - Karen, judging by the intonation, is not at all surprised, - then I'll wait for you tomorrow at 9:00.
Short beeps were echoed by my short squeal. Yes! Lady Luck has deigned to turn her front to me, for once.
All goodbye little asshole Harry. Hello Barrett's Metal.
The next day, at 8:40, I was already standing at the hefty building of the company. The façade, covered with large mirrored windows, attracted the eye. I'd love to stand still, but I'm afraid Mrs. Cheng won't understand.
After thoroughly interrogating me at the security post, I was directed to the seventh floor to the personnel department. In general, having reached without incident, I froze at the black door with a sign “Chief of the personnel department. K. Cheng. Get it together! She straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath. Rushed.
And in general, I was carried away not far. This Karen on the phone forgot to mention that I'm not welcome as a merchandise logistician. They need a secretary. Secretary of the General Manager.
Of course, I didn't turn down this opportunity. I’ll work, I’ll bring coffee, I’ll fasten the papers, and then, you see, I’ll make my way to the logistics department.
We finished decorating around noon. Once the paper part was completed, I was taken to the workplace. There are two ways to get to the floor where the head of the company lives. The first, by which we arrived, was a public elevator serving all employees from eight in the morning to seven in the evening, running from the zero to the twentieth floor. And the second is Mr. Barrett's personal elevator. On it, too, you can get to any of the floors, only now, in order for the doors to open on the twentieth, you need a key card. Which exists in a single copy - the CEO. And he works around the clock. The lift, not the director.
The reception area where I have to work for at least a month is pretty nice. Aged in white and gray colors, a white table on thick, curved legs to the right of the door, in the same place against the wall on the shelves: a coffee machine, stationery and a couple of cacti in pots. To the left are two small sofas, a coffee table, a printer and a water cooler by the window. The remaining space is occupied by clogged racks with folders of various colors and shapes.
Actually, the task for today is to get acquainted with the location of the most necessary and frequently used documents and arrange the desktop at your discretion. In fact, it turned out not to be difficult at all. The former secretary laid out everything as conveniently as possible. On each section, each shelf there is a note with a general list of documents and the year they were kept.
With a clear conscience and a good mood at six in the evening, I fluttered out of the building, looking forward to tomorrow. With the same attitude, I was going to work the next morning. Having flung open the doors of the cupboard, rickety from old age and dampness, she critically examined her wardrobe. If yesterday I came rather for reconnaissance, today I already need to correspond to the status of an employee of the company. Having opted for black dress pants and a matching T-shirt, I put on old but comfortable ballet flats. I note that they are also black, but beige will definitely not fit here.
On my way to work (God, that sounds great) I have my head in the clouds, making plans for the next month. How I achieve success, how I am transferred to the desired position, how I become the best employee of the department, and then the company. Unless I'm applying for the position of big boss. Never aspired to power. Too much risk of losing everything. And I stopped taking risks at the age of nine, when my half-sister Giuliana encouraged me to run away with her from home to the forest for company. And do you know what she bribed me with then? Volumetric stickers with witches. When my adoptive parents found us in the woods, dirty and crying, Jule blamed everything on me. Like, I made her run away. She threatened to gut all her toys at night. Of course, a monster like me was quickly transferred back to the care center and I never want to remember the further journey through foster families. Here is the risk. I wanted to get voluminous stickers, but I lost everything.
Before getting acquainted with the files of the computer yesterday, it didn’t come, so the first thing I did was just that. Here, too, cleanliness and order. Any document can be found in a couple of clicks.
When a voice came from somewhere to my right, I nearly fell off my chair.
“Rose, bring some coffee, please,” a slightly hoarse male voice said.
For the first ten seconds, I just looked around in a panic. Then, thank the gods, I came across a white selector on the table. Do I understand correctly that it is for him that the boss gives orders to the secretary? What did he say, coffee?
For some reason yesterday I was not embarrassed by the fact that all day I did not run into Mr. Barrett once. You never know, maybe he locks himself in his office in the morning and does not stick his nose out until the evening. Or even in the office once a month. Who knows. Yes, and not before that I was. I tried to remember everything.
She walked over to the coffee machine and froze. And what kind of coffee does my boss drink? It was noticeable that only two of the buttons responsible for choosing a drink were worn. Latte and double espresso. And the latter was prepared more often. Having decided that the CEO prefers it, and the former secretary loved the latte, I pressed the desired button.
A minute later, I hold a steaming cup in my hands and wonder if I need to knock, or is it clear that I should come in? Exhaling, I push the snow-white door and find myself in Mr. Barrett's office. And here is himself.
Leaning over the sheet, he carefully runs his finger over it. Light brown, slightly curly hair, heart-shaped face. A white shirt and a blue jacket sit on him like a glove, competently fitting his shoulders and arms. A little stubble on the face, as happens after a long journey.
They don’t pay attention to me, they only honor me with a short nod, and I don’t mind. For some reason I nod in response, but it goes unnoticed. Silently I put down the cup and go back to my room. But I don’t have time to take even a couple of steps, as a formidable flies in the back:
- What the hell is this?!
This outburst of aggression makes you stop abruptly. Swallowing, I slowly turned around, hoping in the back of my mind that this wasn't directed at me.
- Who else are you?
