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I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed. Handcock hopped up a minute later. “Hey, jerk,” I said with my hand rubbing behind his ears. “If I get this job, I’m probably going to be getting a raise. That means you might get the good cat food every day. Will that make you love me a little more?”
He purred against me before hopping down and finding himself somewhere to lie down. I turned off the light and couldn’t help but think about Handcock’s namesake. I thought about him more often than I cared to admit. There were times I wondered who he was. Times when I thought about what would have happened if I would have stayed in that penthouse.
All choices had consequences. I just hoped I hadn’t made the wrong choice and I was now facing the consequences.
6
JON
Iloved walking into the office before anyone else. For a few brief minutes, there was peace. I knew in about thirty minutes, the phones would be ringing, and people would be hustling back and forth. Mrs. Mabel would be bringing me coffee and barking out my schedule. I was going to miss her in all ways.
She was a fixture in my life. It was going to be weird not to see her every morning. I was actually going to have to remind myself to drink water and to eat my vegetables, something she never stopped doing.
I would be sitting at my desk in the afternoon slump and she would come in with a snack like she knew. It was always something healthy. Fresh veggies or fruit with water. I tended to have a sweet tooth. She was always lecturing me about how bad it was for me.
Change sucked. I knew it could be good, but it was always uncomfortable. I was dreading breaking in a new person.
I sat down at my desk and fired up the computer. My schedule was already updated on my calendar. It would likely change throughout the day, but I knew my meeting this morning was solid. I had set it.
It wasn’t long before the employees trickled in. Mrs. Mabel brought me my coffee and gave me the rundown for the day. My first meeting was in the conference room.
My HR team was already waiting, enjoying the catered breakfast I had provided. This was an important meeting and I thought it was important to show my team how appreciated they were. Without a good team, my business failed. And the people in this room were the ones responsible for picking and choosing the perfect people to work in the company.
“Good morning, everyone,” I said.
“Thank you for breakfast,” one said.
“Absolutely,” I said, smiling. I scooped a few things on my plate and took a seat at the table.
“Is this about your new assistant?”
“It is,” I said. “You all know how much I depend on Mabel. She’s my right arm. This entire business runs the way it does because of her. She keeps me on task, which keeps the company moving forward. I need the impossible. I need another Mabel.”
One of the ladies grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her mouth. “I put in an ad with that job service. I’m avoiding the classifieds for now. I don’t think we need to do that just yet. We’ve already gotten a stack of applications.”
“And you’re weeding out the weak ones?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “We have a few good prospects that I’ve seen.”
“Before you send anyone to me for a final interview, I want to make sure we are on the same page,” I said. “If I could clone my current assistant, I would. Since the technology isn’t developed yet, I’m going to need the next best thing. I want someone who is kind first. I don’t want a Pitbull outside my door running everyone off. She needs to be polite to not just our clients but our team. I will not tolerate anyone being rude or catty to anyone else in the building. That is more important than being qualified.”
“You know sometimes that is hard to filter out,” she replied. “People present themselves one way and then act another.”
“And that’s why I need you all to make sure no one slips through the cracks,” I said. “I need someone organized with a positive attitude. Competence is an obvious necessity, but we can train some things. When you’re interviewing someone, compare her, or even him, to Mabel. Does the person measure up to Mabel?”
“That’s a tall order,” someone said. “There is only one.”
“I understand that, but I want the next best thing,” I said. “In every way. I don’t want some young person with grand ideas about how a job should be. I need someone reliable. Someone that’s going to show up every day, regardless of a hangnail. I want someone old school.”
“Old school?” they asked.
“Old. Elderly. Someone that was raised to work hard without bitching. Someone that is mature enough to avoid any office gossip.”
“I think we’ve been advertising in the wrong outlet,” one of them joked. “We should have been scouting nursing homes.”
“Trust me, I would if I could,” I said. “Actually, can we? What about one of those senior centers? Some retired secretary with grown children and too much time on her hands.”
“Seeking grandma,” one teased. “Cookie-baking experience a plus.”
