Book 2 - Chapter 4
2650 Words
Valerie
"Where are my keys?!" I yelled at my calico cat, Copper. He stared at me with his head c****d, judging me. Something he always did quite well.
I ran around the house trying to find my missing keys, only to find them in my hand. In my defense, I was also holding my phone, my jacket, and a bottle of water in that same hand. I flew out to my car, fumbling with my keys, anxiously trying to get to where I needed to go. I turned on my GPS for good measure and began my drive over to Anderson Trading Co. where I had an interview scheduled for this morning. Of course, I was so anxious about the interview I hardly slept last night and completely forgot to set my alarm. I would just barely make it there on time at this point. For me, it felt like I was late already. I typically like to arrive at least twenty minutes early for things like this. Even if it means just sitting in my car and waiting.
For me, this wasn't just a regular interview. This was everything. I wanted this job more than anything at the moment. It worked with my school hours, it paid well, and it was in a company that I did believe I could grow up in. I was going to school to become a data analyst and saw this as a perfect opportunity to get my foot in the door. I was in my final year and almost ready to spread my wings, so to speak.
I came to a nearly screeching stop, cutting the engine and hopping out of my car, careful not to wrinkle my resume that I had printed last night. I threw on my red jacket, finally, and then adjusted my black pencil skirt and blush-colored blouse, which I borrowed from my next-door neighbor, Jessica. We lived in a duplex together. She was on the left, and I was on the right. Jessica had rich chocolate skin, crystal clear blue eyes, and her hair was always done in some sort of flawless way, unlike mine that sometimes looked like a bird's nest from the humidity. She was a little less curvy than me though, so her clothes were a bit snug on me, but it was the best I had at the moment. I switched my shoes from sneakers to heels and speed-walked to the building. I hated driving while wearing heels. Pulling open the massive glass door, I walked inside and was soon greeted by a receptionist.
"Hello, may I help you?" She asked. She had perfect skin and beautiful blond hair and was perfectly tall and slender. She looked so beautiful it was almost unnatural. I felt a pang of jealousy as I sized her up.
"Um, yes, I'm here to see Trish? I have an interview with her today." I smiled and tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.
"I'll let her know you are finally here. You can head up to the third floor through those elevators." The receptionist said just a little too sweetly, pointing me to the elevators to my left.
"Thank you." I said, letting her little remark brush off. It was fine. I wanted this job and was willing to put up with jerks like her for it. Not like I haven't dealt with people like that before anyway.
I rode up the elevator, giving myself a pep talk on the way. I wanted this interview to go by easily, effortlessly even. I wanted them to want to hire me in the worst way.
"Valerie?" Another blond woman asked from just outside the elevator. I was beginning to feel like an outsider having black hair amongst the blonds.
"Hi, yes, that's me." I smiled. "You must be Trish?" I asked while shaking her hand.
"Yes, please follow me right this way." She said, leading me down a series of hallways.
I felt like I was in a maze. I noticed a lot of odd stares from the employees. Did I have something on my face? I didn't put my bra on over my shirt, did I? I quickly did a once over and didn't feel or see anything out of the ordinary, though the stares continued. Whatever.
"Have a seat." Trish said while scooting behind her own desk and sitting down.
"Thank you. Here is my resume." I said, handing her the expensive paper filled with my work and school history and personal
information.
"Oh, thank you." She said, barely taking a glance at it before tossing it to the side of her desk. "So let me tell you about the position. You will be working as Mr. Anderson's personal assistant. He is a very particular man. He needs someone to grab him lunch and sort his mail, run errands, among other things. You work when he works. He is typically in on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, morning to night, but that can easily change. You will be expected to be flexible in your schedule. Are those things you think you can
manage?" She asked, an expectant look on her face.
"Yes, absolutely," I said.
Though I knew my school schedule would change with each semester, for the next few months those three days were fine. I had only picked up two courses this semester, needing more money to fund my college education. After those two classes, I only had two more and then I was officially done. Hopefully Mr. Anderson wouldn't change his schedule too frequently.
"This is your starting pay. Should you last longer than thirty days, it will be reevaluated." She said, slipping a folded piece of paper across the desk to me.
I didn't even need to look at it to know it was fine, I needed the money and I desperately wanted this job. I was elated when I discovered it started at fifteen dollars an hour. I almost didn't feel worthy of it, having little work experience, generally speaking.
"Perfect, thank you." I smiled.
"Do you have any questions for me?" She asked.
"No, not really." I shrugged. Figuring she would answer most of my questions during the rest of the interview.
"Alright then, can you start today?" She deadpanned.
"Um, yeah....Does that mean I got the job?" I asked, feeling confused. She didn't even look at my resume or ask me any other questions. I guess I was thankful for that, I hated trying to answer interview questions.
"Yes. I will show you to your work station and will bring over your new hire paperwork later today." She said, flicking her head in the direction of the hallway.
She walked fast, blitzing through the 'tour' of the building. If you could even call it that. She showed me where my desk was, then to the kitchen, stock room, and Mr. Andersons office. Everything else was a mystery to me. If it didn't affect my job, why bother showing me I guess. I struggled to keep up in my heels. Trish was going so fast, almost as if it didn't matter to her if I remembered where I was going or not.
"Mr. Anderson will be in shortly. There is a kitchen that has some basics, make sure that he has something to eat. He takes his coffee black. If you need anything, you come to me, not Mr. Anderson, understood? He doesn't need to be bothered by any fatuous
problems."
"Understood." I nodded.
"Okay, try not to screw up. Mr. Anderson has fired his last three assistants. I would hate to see it be four." She said before turning to leave, completely unnerving me.
"Okay....thank you for the opportunity!" I yelled as she practically ran off.
When she was out of sight, I got settled at my desk, which was set up for a receptionist right across the hall from Mr. Anderson's office. I was in a lobby-like-setting, there were a few fancy-looking couches outside his office, though I was told not many people came through here. The floors had black tiles with one large area rug between my desk and Mr. Anderson's office. My very large island of a desk had a marble top to it. I had a computer that sat on the lower level of the massive desk as well as drawers with locks on them and a phone. I immediately knew I would need to look through the stock room for some paper and pens, at the very least, this desk had nothing in it.
Mr. Anderson's office was made of large glass windows going from ceiling to floor. It looked like he had blinds setup for privacy but they were currently drawn back. I could see a large conference table on one side, loaded with leather rolling chairs, and the other had a lonely looking desk. There were also a few dead plants. Nothing too exciting. I still couldn't believe I was an assistant to Mr. Anderson himself. I figured it would be for someone higher up in the food chain, but the owner himself? I needed to make sure I didn't blow this opportunity. I don't care who he was or how I got treated here. I was going to succeed if it was the last thing I did.
Okay. First thing first. Let's go see what the kitchen has for food. Trish said Mr. Anderson took his coffee black and needed breakfast. I roamed the third floor halls in search of the kitchen, eventually coming across it just around the corner from my desk. Of course, I had started searching in the other direction first. Typical. I searched high and low and there wasn't anything edible, was there a different kitchen Trish was talking about?
"Hey Trish?" I said, knocking on her office door. She was whispering something to the receptionist who had guided me upstairs earlier this morning.
"What is it?" She snipped.
"I don't see any food in the kitchen for Mr. Anderson? Am I missing it somewhere?" I asked.
The receptionist snorted and rolled her eyes, starting to head out of Trish's office.
"If there is nothing in the kitchen, go out and grab something." Trish said, very matter of factly, before ignoring my existence.
"Drinks later Liz?"
"You know it!" The receptionist yelled from the hallway.
"You had better hurry, he will be here in the next twenty minutes." She added before some guy came knocking at her door. "Hey, come on in Jeff! Is Alpha coming in today?" I heard her ask in a hushed tone. Alpha? What an odd name for someone. Whatever.
"Thanks.." I muttered before heading back to my desk to grab my keys.
There was, thankfully, a small grocery store only two minutes away from our building. I drove over and ran through the isles like I was in one of those cooking show contests trying to pick out all my ingredients before time was up. The worst part was, I didn't know how to cook very well. But the office kitchen only had a microwave and toaster, so there wasn't much I could make anyway. The expectations had to be low, which would work in my favor. I was self-taught, knowing how to boil water and heat up frozen
premade meals.
I ended up grabbing bagels and cream cheese, coffee grounds and filters, two pre-packaged ham and turkey subs and several bottles of various beverages. I didn't know what the guy liked. God help me if he was gluten free or dairy free or a vegetarian or something. I would be way out of my element then. I should have asked if he had any food allergies! Shoot! No time now. I quickly loaded my items onto the conveyer belt where a good looking guy around my age began scanning them at the end.
"Find everything okay today?" He asked. Gosh, he sounded familiar.
"I guess." I snorted, digging through my wallet in search of a card that wasn't maxed out.
"Would you like these in a bag?" He asked.
"Yes please." I nodded. I normally bring my own reusable bags but was obviously not prepared for that today.
"Valerie?" He asked. "Is that you?"
I looked up to get a better look at my cashier. "Carter?!" I asked, breaking out into a smile.
"Wow! How long has it been? What six, seven years now? How are you?" He asked, coming around the counter to give me a hug.
"I'm good! Its been way too long!" I said, hugging my childhood best friend. We lived a few doors away from each other, until I left home when I was eighteen. "You work here now?"
"Yes, six weeks tomorrow." He smiled proudly. "Gotta pay my way through college somehow, and I don't feel like being a male stripper just yet." He laughed.
I laughed with him before remembering I was on a time crunch. "I'm really sorry to do this, but I really need to get going. I just started a new job today and I'm already royally messing up."
"Sure, go. We'll catch up soon, I'm sure."
"Absolutely! See you later!" I waved goodbye, grabbing my bags on the way.
I quickly went back to my car and sped back to the office. This place paid weekly, which was good because I almost emptied what was left of my bank account to feed my new boss. I thought about the last time I saw Carter on the way back. I was sneaking out my bedroom window with a packed bag in the middle of the night. Carter was coming to check on me about the fiasco that happened earlier that day. He begged me to stay, even told me he loved me. But I couldn't live there anymore. Although I could probably have left in a better way, I don't regret leaving home. I pulled into the parking lot and parked haphazardly, running inside, hoping I would make it back before Mr. Anderson arrived.
"Better hurry..." Liz said while she filed her nails at her desk.
Shit! I took the elevator up and threw my things down at my desk. I could see that Mr. Anderson's door was open now, which told me he was here somewhere. I grabbed my bags of food and headed for the kitchen, unloading the perishables and cold items into the refrigerator. I grabbed the coffee grounds and filers, ready to set up the coffee pot, only to find it had mold growing inside the water reservoir. I washed it as best as I could and then, thankfully, was able to find some vinegar and ran it through the coffee pot with some water. No way could I serve my new boss coffee from a moldy appliance.
Okay, while that cycled through I could at least start toasting the bagels. My hands were practically shaking from today's events. And I haven't even eaten yet today. That matched with getting hired on the spot, starting work immediately, being underprepared, seeing Carter, and having rude coworkers completely threw me off my game. At least nothing else could go wrong, right? I grabbed a knife which was incredibly dull, but still had some life in it, and got to work cutting the first bagel in half.
"Valerie?" Another familiar voice called to me.
I turned to see who was calling my name, my breath hitching when I saw his face. His perfect, gorgeous face. The face I spent many nights thinking about while I was in my bed all alone. The one that made my core clench and weep from just the memories of our one passionate night together.
"Derek?! Ouch!" I yelled, dropping the knife and bagel to the ground. I held my hand, trying to prevent blood from getting all over the place.
I just had to say something.
- Writer
