AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Allee walked back towards the alcoves. The one on her left opened into a kitchenette. Dirty dishes filled the sink, the microwave was encrusted with generations of splattered and hardened food, and the refrigerator held containers of half-eaten food, expired bottles of milk, empty soft-drink and water bottles. It stank. She wrinkled her nose and walked through to the opposite alcove. It contained two toilets, one male, one female. Allee quickly checked inside. Mercifully, they were clean.
Back up the hallway Allee noticed one of the office doors had a name on the front. It read: Craig Bateman – Project Manager. The opposite door had no name on it, so she guessed that it was hers.
Turning on the light, she saw a long room with a massive window, shuttered and curtained with thick, heavy drapes to keep out the light. A large desk was pushed against one wall, a filing cabinet and shelving along the other wall, and a rather tatty-looking desk chair.
Box by box, she moved her belongings up to her new office. She drew back the heavy drapes and opened the lovely timber shutters. Light poured in, brightening the room and Allee's mood. Quickly, she placed her belongings where she wanted them and then took the empty box into the kitchenette. Grimacing, she filled it with all the dirty dishes before marching them down to the conference room and dumping them in the middle of the table. Making her way back to the kitchenette, she pulled everything off the shelves and gave the entire area a good clean. Then Allee went back to her office and called Wal.
“Hi Wal, it's Allee from up at Black Bug Studios. Could I ask a favour?”
By the time 8.20am rolled around, Wal had come and provided Allee with a new office chair and the promise that a new microwave, fridge, and new dishwasher would be installed the following day. Allee had also written several large notices regarding the state of the kitchenette. If she was to be happy here as Office Manager, the office would need to make a few changes. She also walked through the workspace and opened all the blinds, letting the early morning light pour into the room.
Allee heard an exclamation behind her. She turned and saw a man in his mid-thirties standing in the doorway of the kitchenette, his mouth hanging open.
“What the hell is going on here? Who the hell are you?” he said.
Allee turned, heart racing, but was determined to see her course of action through. She put out her hand, and the man shook it absently, still focussed on the disappearance of all the kitchen goods.
“Allee Duggan, your new Office Manager. And let me tell you, if the state of this room was anything to go by, you've been in desperate need of one!”
“Craig, uh, Craig Bateman. Project Manager. Holy shit, there's gonna be a riot!”
Allee dropped Craig's hand, gesturing towards her office, “Do you mind if we have a quick chat? I know Tuesdays normally begin with the Team Head meeting, but I thought I'd give you a rundown of what I'm planning so that you're in the know.”
Craig nodded dumbly, still in shock. Allee walked into her office and sat down, the ratty old chair on the other side. Craig glanced down at it and shrugged before lowering himself gingerly onto the tired padding.
“Sorry about the chair, I plan on getting a couple of new ones by the end of the week. I have to say I was disgusted at the state of the kitchen area when I walked in this morning. That mess is a biohazard in the making! I'm surprised that you haven't had any infestations.” Craig opened his mouth the protest, but Allee continued over him, bravado having led her this far. “By the end of tomorrow, there will be a new microwave and fridge, as well as a new dishwasher. By the end of the week, if not earlier, there will be a coffee machine. However,” Allee paused for emphasis, “the kitchenette needs to be kept in a reasonable state because if there's an outbreak of food poisoning, it'll be my head on the chopping block! Everyone in this office is an adult, and they don't have their mothers here to clean up after them. “I will not allow the staff to expect either myself or the cleaning staff to tidy their mess, and if that is their attitude, then such luxuries will be taken from them. I know this probably comes across as harsh, but it’s my responsibility to make things run smoothly.”
Craig stared at Allee, momentarily dumbstruck before his face split in an enormous grin.
“Well said! You’ve got my support, and if you can stick it out, I think we’ll be golden. I don't have the time or energy to kick their arses. As long as they get their work done, bugs are fixed, and we're on schedule, I'm happy.”
“Well, if they can keep the communal areas clean and not trash the place, I'll be happy too.”
Allee and Craig shared a smile. Then Craig went to his own office as the other staff arrived, laughter and gossip flying back and forth as they filed in.
Moments later, Allee heard a commotion. She went to the doorway of her office and looked around the corner, seeing people shielding their eyes, one woman yelling.
“Who the fuck opened the blinds? How the fuck are we supposed to work if we can't even bloody see?” The woman, tall and stocky with cropped blonde hair, dark roots and purple tips, hazel eyes, wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with a white skull wearing an eye patch on the front, walked over to start closing the blinds, one-by-one. “Well?” demanded that strident voice again, “Who's the stupid bloody moron who opened the blinds?”
Allee walked in, and although her voice was quiet and calm, it cut through the ranting of the other woman like a hot knife through butter.
“That moron, as you so eloquently put it, was me. I didn't realise that the entire staff would go into hysterics because I opened some blinds to see what the place looked like. My apologies. I'll keep it in mind that, despite natural light having been proven to be healthier, more productive, and beneficial to people's happiness, you would all prefer to work in the dark like mushrooms.”
Allee held the stare of the furious woman, her gaze firm and unwavering. The sound of Craig's voice broke their contact, and Allee turned and calmly walked back to her office, her heart racing at the confrontation but a sense of pride filling her as well. No matter who these people were, she would not be bullied. She'd had enough of that with Stuart, and she would be damned if she'd allow anyone to make her feel inferior again.
Allee's palms were damp as she walked through the main workspace, feeling dozens of eyes on her. She entered the conference room, carrying a bottle of water, a notepad, and a pen. She sat down in one of the chairs and waited for Craig and the other team leaders to join her for the weekly Team Lead meeting. She closed her eyes, took a deep, calming breath, and then opened them again.
Moments later, Craig walked in, followed by six other people: five men and the woman with the cropped hair and skull shirt. They sat down around the table, making themselves comfortable. Some had water bottles, others had travel coffee mugs. There were several raised eyebrows at the pile of debris in the middle of the table, but almost everyone exclaimed in surprise at Allee's notepad. She looked around the table, eyebrow raised. Craig saw her look and answered her unspoken question.
“Most of us can type faster than we can write, and there are those of us who have barely legible writing, even if we're taking care. We tend to use our tablets or electronic notepads if we're going to take notes.”
The woman with the cropped hair muttered, “We also live in the twenty-first century, not the Dark Ages.”
Allee pinned her with a look, “Just because I can write clearly and legibly, and enjoy doing so, doesn’t make me stupid or ignorant. I’ve actually learned shorthand and can write up to ninety words a minute.” She looked back towards Craig, asking, “Shall we begin now?”
He nodded and began with the introductions. “Everyone, this is Allee Duggan, and she is our new Office Manager. She's been sent up from Melbourne with the highest recommendations, so can we please try to make her welcome? Allee, you've already met Charlie here,” Craig gestured towards the surly and sullen woman. “This is Charlotte Cusack, our Lead QA. She goes by either Charlie or CC, and I don't believe the big-wigs down south are even aware that she's a woman.” Allee nodded politely at Charlie, already dreading that she would have a tough time working alongside her. Charlie scowled at Allee in return.
Craig continued, “Next, we have Darryl Sainsbury; he's our IT expert. He has the pile of debris over in the corner, next to the server room. If you're having any technical issues, he's the man to see.” Allee smiled at the man, who appeared to be in his early forties, with greying brown hair, brown eyes and a walrus moustache, receiving a grin back.
