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She shot a glance at Olivia behind the circulation desk. The woman’s eyes subtly followed her as she pretended to stare down at a computer screen, her chin dipping low to her chest. Paige noted her neat business-like attire.
“I thought–“ Paige said, returning her attention to Veronica.
Veronica glanced over her shoulder as she wove through the stacks. “You were hired as an archive librarian. You won’t be working in the public eye. Wear whatever you’re comfortable in.”
“Right,” Paige said with a puff of breath. “Archivist. Behind the scenes.”
Veronica pressed her lips together in a tight-lipped smile and gave a curt nod. Her heels thudded across the thick carpeting covering the floors between the ornate bookshelves. Paige tightened her fingers around her tote’s faux leather straps as she followed Veronica down a corridor tucked in a back corner.
Harsh lights shone down on the aging vinyl floor, much more utilitarian than the floors in the main library. An ugly shade of yellow-beige covered the walls in the narrow hall. Army-green doors lined it.
Paige figured her office would be somewhere in this unattractive section of the library. At least she’d be able to enjoy the beauty of the rest of the library when she came in and left every day.
Veronica pushed through a door on her left. The hinges protested as she stepped inside toward a small waiting area. A burgundy chair with plastic arms sat next to a metal-legged table sporting a wilted plant with a dead flower.
A few cubicles were scattered on the edges of the room, their faded-blue fabric walls enclosing the workers behind them.
She scanned the space, wondering how much latitude she’d have to bring cheer to her workspace. A round brunette waddled from within a cube, her necklace bouncing as she ran a hand through her curly hair. It sprang back into place as she hurried toward Veronica and Paige.
Her blue eyes smiled despite her frantic behavior. “You must be Paige,” she said with a smile as she stopped in front of them, the rubber soles of her Mary Janes squeaking on the flooring.
Paige extended her hand as Veronica introduced her. “Jo, this is Paige Turner. I think you have her CV already and all the information you need to get her paperwork processed.”
The woman nodded as Veronica continued. “Paige, this is Joanna Warick, one of the HR team. She’ll get everything sorted for you.”
“Thank you,” Paige said, breathless with excitement as reality set in.
“I’ll leave you in Jo’s capable hands.” Veronica patted Paige’s shoulder. “Welcome aboard, Paige. You’re going to make a great librarian.”
Paige smiled and nodded, her ponytail flicking as she followed Veronica’s departure.
“Follow me,” Jo said, her shoes squeaking as she spun and hurried back toward her cubicle. “So, you just got hired this morning, huh?”
Paige strode after her, slipping into the small cubicle.
“Have a seat,” Jo said before Paige could answer. She shuffled through the papers that littered the desk.
Paige sank into the plastic padded chair, her elbow banging off the metal arm. She winced as she rubbed at her stinging funny bone.
“Yes, this morning. I’m really excited to start.”
Jo offered her a breathy chuckle, her eyes flicking to Paige before she tapped a stack of papers on her cluttered desk and plopped into her chair. It wheeled back across the cube and smacked into the temporary wall in the small unit.
Jo shoved on a pair of black reading glasses as she dragged herself back to her cluttered desk. She blew out a long breath, rustling the curled bangs hanging against her forehead. “Okay, we’ve got a bunch of things to fill out. We’ll start with this basic information collection form.”
She nudged a paper toward Paige with a pen. “Fill that out with your contact information, emergency contact, and all that good stuff.”
Paige flexed her fingers around the pen a few times, trying to stop her hand from shaking with excitement as she printed her information in each rectangular box. When she finished the form, Jo snatched it back and scanned it, then she set it aside and grabbed another form.
“This is your contract. Open-ended, so there is no expiration, which basically means you do not need to worry about performance evaluations and contract renewals annually. This also outlines your compensation on page two. Please review that the figure matches what you discussed with Ronnie, er, Veronica, and sign and date on page three.”
Paige nodded as she accepted the sheet and scanned page one, containing the standard legalese for job contracts. It occurred to her as she flipped the page that she had not discussed compensation with Veronica at all. She couldn’t imagine the wage to be unacceptable. It should certainly be better than her job at the mini-mart.
She searched the page for the hourly rate, or salary if she was lucky. She found it halfway down the paper, typed in a different font on a long underlined space.
Her lips parted as she read it, and she murmured in surprise, “Umm, I think there’s some mistake here.”
Jo glanced over momentarily, clacking around on her keyboard as she entered the information Paige had given her moments earlier. She reached for the black phone to her right. “That’s the number I got from Ronnie. Is it not correct?”
