The Ring of Fire & Serpents

Chapter Two - Oozing Charisma

I stroll into the front entrance of the local coffee shop and stand in line while scanning the menu on the wall before me. Once it’s my turn to order, I approach the worker behind the register, “Hello, I’ll take a french vanilla cappuccino and a….” I pause for a moment as I notice the fresh baked goods in the glass case. I’m suddenly startled as a male voice behind me chimes in, “Excuse me miss… have you tried their lemon poppyseed muffin?” He asks.

I spin around quickly to find a very tall, slightly overweight, balding man in a nice suit standing behind me. He gazes down at me and smiles warmly, “I umm… no… I have never been here before.” I respond.

He chuckles, “Well, we can’t have you missing out… Rachel, please add a lemon poppyseed muffin to this lady’s order and I will take care of the bill.”

I turn back around to face the woman at the counter, “You got it Frank.” She calls out as she walks over to pull the muffin from the glass case.

I clear my throat, “Excuse me, that is not necessary. I can pay.”

The lady behind the counter nods her head and continues to box up the muffin while the barista places my cappuccino on the counter. I can’t deal with a man hitting on me right now and I’m getting that vibe from him. I look down to avoid making eye contact with him. The lady at the counter rings up my order, “That will be $4.70.” she says.

I reach down and fish through my purse to find that my wallet is missing. I cover my face to hide my embarrassment as I realized that I had left my wallet on the kitchen counter at home. I’m such a mess right now. What is my deal? The gentleman behind me snickers and slips his credit card to her to cover my bill. I grab my bag and my beverage and turn towards him, “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for you to do that.”

He smiles and shrugs his shoulders, “Oh, I offered to pay. It’s fine, really.”

I nod and walk past him to grab some napkins from the utensil stand across the shop. After the gentleman orders, he approaches me, “Are you new in town?” he asks.

I nod my head, “Is it that obvious?” I reply with a snarky undertone.

He chuckles, “Well, I’ve never seen your face around here.”

I take a sip of my piping hot beverage, “Yeah, my daughters and I just moved here from Hattiesburg.”

He nods, “What made you decide to move to Ellisville?” he asks curiously.

Feeling a bit of annoyance with the direction of his conversation, I reach up to scratch my neck, but I remain polite as always, “Well I recently got divorced. My daughters and I just needed a change. My older brother, Allen, owns a rental house in town and the girls and I moved in so I could have a chance to get on my feet. I’ve been looking for work for several weeks and I am having a hard time.”

His eyes grow wide, “Oh, you are looking for work? I’m looking for an office manager for my office in Laurel.”

A burst of nervous laughter escapes my mouth, “Office manager? Really? That sounds wonderful, but I don’t have any work experience. I have been a stay-at-home mom since 1996. I think I’m a bit under qualified to be an office manager.”

He shrugs his shoulders, “Nonsense! A stay-at-home mom is great work experience. You ran the household, I presume?”

He had a point, I ran a tight ship at home, “Yes, that is true.”

“Well, I see no reason why you can’t run an office. You can work from home once you learn the job. I don’t have an appointment until 10:00 am. Why don’t we sit down and hash out the details? Is that okay with you?” he asks.

I eye him suspiciously. I’ve never met someone that is so polite. His smile is so warm and he’s oozing charisma, I can’t help but entertain the thought of working for him. It doesn’t hurt to sit down and talk even if he might be trying to hit on me just a little, I need a job desperately, so I think I’m going to go for it, “That would be wonderful, thank you!” I respond.

His eyes light up as he leads me over to a quiet table in the corner of the coffee shop. I anxiously sit before him and pull out my muffin; he does the same, “So, the office is called Schumacher Insurance Group in Laurel, of course. I’m the only one in the office right now, so I’m sales and the office manager currently, but it’s becoming too hard to manage alone. I’m busier than I’ve ever been before, and I desperately need someone to start Monday. The hours are 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. I will provide a work phone and laptop for you to work from home if you choose to down the road. I can have calls forwarded to that phone anytime. I offer four weeks paid vacation with a great benefits package and the pay is $52,000 a year.” He states.

Shocked, I immediately place my hand over my mouth, “What? You are kidding!”

He shakes his head, “No ma’am. That is what I offer. Are you interested?” he asks.

I sit back in the seat and cross my arms over my chest, eyeing him suspiciously, “Is this a joke? Am I being pranked by my daughters or my brother?” I ask as I turn to scan my environment, looking for a familiar face.

He begins howling with laughter, “Oh no. No joke, no pranks, I’m being serious.”

I begin to fidget in my seat, “Okay, let me get this straight. You offer this amazing employment package, and you want to hire me? I would think you would have people lined up to work for you. Why me?”

He takes a sip of his coffee before speaking, “Well, I was given a chance to work at a successful insurance company when I was eighteen years old with no work experience. I would never be where I am today if I were not given that chance to prove myself. In my opinion, everyone deserves a chance. I have a feeling that I would not be sorry if I took that chance on you. I hate to brag, but I’m a rather good judge of character,” he replies.

Wow! This man is amazing! How can I say no to that? “Thank you. I’d love that. What do you need me to do?”

He eyes me intently, “Why don’t you stop by tomorrow at 4:00 pm to fill out some employment paperwork and I’ll show you around. That way, you can officially start Monday. The dress is business casual, will that be an issue for you?” he asks as he eyes me up and down, checking out my clothes.

I shake my head as I glance down at my oversized khaki pants and canary yellow polo shirt. I’ve lost about twenty pounds since the divorce so I’m sure it’s not the most flattering outfit, “Oh no, it’s fine. I have plenty of clothes I can wear.” I respond, knowing that I’m lying, but I can always go shopping tomorrow morning for appropriate attire.

As he takes a bite of his muffin, he closes his eyes and throws his head back, savoring the taste, “Wow, this is just delicious, as always.”

I pull a piece of the muffin off and take a small bite. To my surprise, my tastebuds are tantalized. It’s delicious. I nod my head in agreement, “Oh yeah, this is fantastic! You are right! Thank you for this, Mr. Schumacher. I’m sorry that I was rude and refused your kind gesture earlier.”

He takes a sip of his coffee before responding, “I took no offense, please, call me Frank. I understand in today’s world, a woman needs to be cautious.”

The two of us finish our muffin and beverage before he leads me outside to my car. I hop inside and drive off, waving goodbye to him as I pull out of the parking lot of the coffee shop.

I was very excited about this amazing opportunity, and I was grateful to have ran into this wonderful man. It looks like things are looking up for us now. I couldn’t wait until the girls came home to tell them the good news.