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"Thank you, sir," she said. She gave the instructions and introduced the first caller in the queue. While she was checking in another research analyst, she heard McConnell's voice sharpen, and her attention snapped back to what was being said.
"I think we've answered that same question several times, Duncan. If you haven't got anything else, we need to move along, and give someone else a chance to ask a question."
The analyst kept on talking, becoming increasingly hostile and demanding.
Kingman paged her and said, "Cut off Duncan Lansdale and don't let him back into the queue."
"Yes, sir." Amanda hit the disconnect button and grabbed her list. "And the next call is from the line of..." She read the name and affiliation, and connected the caller. Her heart was racing, but she'd done just what she'd been asked. She felt like she was part of the team now.
The call went on for another quarter of an hour, though without any further incidents, until there were no more callers in her queue. Lansdale had dialed in twice after being disconnected, but Amanda simply closed the line on him.
"I'm showing no further calls at this time," she announced. "I'd like to turn the call back to Mr. McConnell for closing remarks."
"Thank you Amanda. And I'd like to thank..." She was almost there. The call was nearly over, and she hadn't made any gaffes. McConnell finished, and Amanda slipped back into the conference with a serene closing.
"That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for attending, and have a wonderful day." She clicked the music back on, and sat back with a sigh. That was it. She'd done it. Her first real conference call and she'd come through like a trooper.
Someone was paging her. "Yes? Hello?"
"It's Bill McConnell again. Thanks for all your help."
"It was my pleasure, Mr. McConnell."
"You're a very good operator."
Amanda could feel her face grow hot. "I appreciate that, sir."
"You have a good voice, too, trained. Are you an actress?"
“Not really. I’ve done a couple of commercial voice-overs, but nothing more."
"Do you have ambitions in that direction?” he asked.
“No. I’m content to use my voice when I need to, but the acting life isn’t really for me.”
There was an awkward pause. "Well, I wanted to say thank you, and well done."
"Thank, you sir. It was a pleasure."
He closed the connection. Amanda was surprised to find that it made her a little sad to hear him go. He had such a nice voice.
"Why are you staring at the strawberries?" Helen was looking over Amanda's shoulder. "Oh gosh, I can smell them from here. You should get some. I'm going to."
"I haven't been able to afford them for so long," Amanda said.
"All the more reason." Helen grabbed a box and inspected it. "They look nice, too. Nothing mushy on the bottom. That's the worst."
"Y'know," Amanda said as she chose a box of berries for herself. "I didn't really mind being poor, and I sure don't mind working. I think everyone needs to work. But I just hated working and being poor."
Helen smiled and nodded. She'd been there, too, but had moved on from waiting tables to a fairly well-paying job at an insurance company. They shared an apartment, and for months Amanda hadn't been able to do more than pay her share of the rent and utilities.
"Those days are over, sweetie. I have a good feeling about this operator gig."
It wasn't what Amanda had really wanted to do, but it paid a living wage, and the hours were pretty regular. There were worse ways to live. "Me too," she said. "Let's get some ice cream to go with these."
She had a long list of things she needed to buy with her first paycheck, most as basic as toilet paper and detergent. Helen argued with her, but Amanda insisted. "You've been paying for all that for months now, the whole time I was working at Crud-Mart. It's my turn."
"I don't really mind, Mandy."
