Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 95311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Finally to her left, a woman in her late thirties with damaged blonde hair and deep brown eyes stood up as she hung up her phone. "Miss Clary?"
"Yes," Hannah answered, standing up straighter and smiling.
"Please follow me," she said, turning into the office near the elevator and leaving Hannah to scramble in behind her. "Alright," she said, sitting down and opening a file which, Hannah presumed, contained her resume. Judging by the thickness of it, it contained a few dozen resumes. "My name is Sally Jones. I am the head secretary on this floor. It's more like an office manager position. I am in charge of all the hiring and firing and office disputes." Sally paused and Hannah nodded, making her face appear impressed and interested. This one had a bit of an ego, apparently. "Okay, here we are," Sally said, pulling out the paper Hannah recognized as her fax from the day before. It had notes scribbled in the margins and had been highlighted in parts. "Well, Miss Clary. You certainly have an interesting resume. It caught my eye. For this position we generally look for someone with a long history of office work. But I thought that, perhaps, with your varied employment history, you might have something that all the people in this position in the past have been lacking, namely, flexibility." Sally looked up and Hannah felt the need to fill the silence.
"Yes, absolutely. I have learned invaluable things from each job I have held."
"I figured. As you can see... we are an extremely busy office. We are looking for someone who can multi-task and be at a high energy level from the time they arrive here until the time they leave in the evening. Lunch breaks are, well," she said with what could be perceived as a smile in her usually dry voice, "a laughable concept. On the off-chance that we have time to take lunch, we eat at our desks. We almost never leave our desks. The jobs are simple enough. We make calls, answer phones, make appointments, keep schedules so nothing ever accidentally overlaps. That sort of thing. That being said, we have had many a people quit within a week when they couldn't stand the pressure here."
"That's to be expected. Most people are used to a less demanding office."
"Exactly," Sally said, tapping her pen and looking pleased. "Now the personal assistant job is, of course, a little more than making calls and scheduling. Though all of that you are still required to do," she added firmly, "but you will also make the coffee and run the errands for the office and the boss. You will, essentially, be the boss's right hand. Anything he needs, you do. No questions or objections. Your main goal will be to make sure all his needs are met. Now if you feel you are unable to do that, please tell me now so you don't waste my, or your, time."
Hannah smiled. She was a real ball-buster. In a fairer world, this woman would be the boss and not just a secretary. "I believe I am fully capable of living up to that job description," Hannah said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.
Sally nodded, pleased. "Right then," she said, closing the folder. "The hours are... uncertain. Some days you will be able to leave at five like the rest of the office. Other days you can be held back here until eight at night when there is a need for you. You are expected to be here by eight-thirty every morning. Not a minute later. And there is often a need for you to come in even earlier. Punctuality is imperative at this company." She paused long enough for Hannah to agree with her. "Do you have any issues with the hours?"
"Not at all," Hannah replied. It's not like she had anything to do with her free time anyway. And a company this size was sure to hand out overtime to its employees.
"Do you have any more questions you would like to ask?" Sally inquired, looking at the clock.
"I can't think of any," Hannah said. Aside from... did she have the job?
"Then you are a very foolish girl," a deep male voice said from the doorway.
Hannah felt her heart leap into her throat and let out a startled yelp, turning in her chair so quickly the room blurred for a split second. When her vision cleared, she saw the man responsible for the interruption. And the insult, she reminded herself.
He was leaning slightly against the doorjamb. He was tall, well over six foot with broad shoulders and thin waist. A swimmers body, she had heard it called in romance novels. He had dark brown hair cut short and kept neatly with startling blue eyes. His face was all sharp angles- a straight nose and a strong jawline which was covered in more than a day's worth of stubble. He was dressed in an expensive-looking gray suit with a bright blue tie and silver cuffs links. Everything about him was imposing. Powerful. Maybe even a bit cruel from the way he held his mouth and the lack of smile lines in someone well into his thirties. He straightened as she eyed him up, but he barely spared her a glance, focusing his attention more on the clock above her head. "Only a fool wouldn't ask to know their wage," he clarified in his strong voice.