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“He’s ready to see you,” Carly said. “Charlie, could you take her down there?”
“Sure thing.”
Butterflies erupted in my stomach at the thought of meeting the head honcho. I wanted to make a good impression, and more than anything, I wanted to do a good job. James put negative thoughts in my head, making me feel like I was only here for one reason. I took a deep breath as Charlie pushed open the door to a large office that was littered with design boards and papers on every surface of the multiple desks in the room.
A man stood from behind the desk, his suit jacket laying on another chair. “Ah, Rose, it’s so nice to meet you,” he said as he stood. His tie was crooked and his sleeves rolled up.
I walked forward with my hand outstretched. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“I heard a lot about you from Margaret.”
I looked at Charlie, hoping he could help me out.
“She’s my boss, the one I was telling you about.”
“Oh, I assumed you were Charlie’s boss,” I said to Mark.
“Not directly. Margaret heads up our design team, and works directly under me.”
“Oh, and she told you about me?” I asked, hoping what James said wasn’t true.
“She was so excited to be working with Charlie on your apartment. I can’t tell you how many times we get jobs that are just so boring, lacking any sort of challenge or creativity.”
“Well…I’m glad I could help liven things up.”
“So, let’s get you to your desk. It’s not much, but it’s all we have right now.”
“I’m happy just to be here. When Charlie mentioned the opportunity, I never actually thought I would get the position.”
“Well, it’s a lot of filing and looking over documents. Nothing too elaborate to start.”
“That’s fine by me.”
“Perfect,” he grinned, motioning for me to follow him.
“I’ll see you later,” Charlie nodded, walking in the opposite direction.
I followed Mark down the hall to the back of the office. “We call this the cave. It’s where the bulk of the grunt work is done, but it’s all very important. Nobody here would get anything done without the people that work in the cave. Sheila will be your boss. She runs the cave and makes sure everything is taken care of for our other departments. You could say the cave is the last line of defense in our company, making sure no details slip through the cracks.”
A stern looking woman walked over with a plastered smile on her face. “Mark, you’re looking a little ruffled this morning.”
“I was here all night finishing up some last minute details.”
“You should have let me know. We would have stayed late to help.”
“No, everyone needed a break.” He turned to me with a tired smile. “We’re finishing up plans on a very big project. Just making sure all the T’s are dotted and I’s are crossed.”
I smiled at his humor.
“Anyway, Sheila will get you set up. It’s good to have you on board.”
“Thank you very much,” I said, shaking his outstretched hand.
Once he left, Sheila turned back to me with her eyebrow raised. “I didn’t approve hiring you, but in the end, it wasn’t my decision. Just because you’re a Langston doesn’t mean you’ll get special treatment. Everyone here works hard, no matter what their last name is.”
I smiled at her. “I think we’ll get along just fine then.”
* * *
