“Wonderful,” I said, slightly surprised. “Well, uh. I know this is even more abnormal, but can you start tomorrow?”
“I can,” she replied.
“Well, then follow me, let’s take care of the menial now, so you can hit the ground running tomorrow,” I said, and turned, headed back towards the elevators up.
“Will I get to meet the other two bosses?” Sascha asked.
“The other two bosses are out at the moment. Ryland is our C.O.O. and he should be in tomorrow for your first day, however, you may not meet Carson for a while. He’s, well, a bit anal about the company he likes to keep.” She smiled at me, but there was still a tinge of disappointment hidden there. “Don’t worry, Sascha, I’m sure he’ll like you.”
The elevator ride was quiet. I took the time to check my suit, and with everything in place, we stepped out and made our way into my office. I could see Sascha eyeing it with some disappointment. It looked like any other office. We weren’t allowed to put much personality on the walls, but I did have a few pictures of my family, along with my Lombardi Replica Super Bowl trophy. I pulled the chair out for her and motioned Sascha to sit down as I took my place behind the desk.
“As your HR rep, I need to go over some boring paperwork. I’ll just need you to sign after we go over your requirements for the job.”
“And, what are those?” Sascha said with a crack in her voice. She mostly spoke in a quiet whisper since I met her, and only saw her raise her voice when I was getting on her nerves. I made sure to take note of that.
“Typical administration duties like sending rejection emails, answering phones, answering to our every whim, sending paper-”
“Every whim?” Sascha interrupted.
“It’s rude to interrupt your superiors,” I growled, but I wasn’t actually angry at all. I wanted to see her gears turn.
“That’s not actually a part of the job; you can’t think I’m that naive. Are you still joking? Do you even take this position seriously?” Sascha almost went red in the face, and I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. The harder I laughed, the harder my accent becomes.
“Of course, I take my job seriously, and I hope you take yours just as seriously as I take mine.”
“So, not at all?”
“You shouldn’t be rude to your superiors.” I smiled. The room fell silent, and Sascha, too, burst out in laughter. She was irresistible, from her laugh to the way her nose wrinkled when she got annoyed. “In all seriousness, dorogoy, you’ll be assisting us in various tasks, including answering phones and sending emails. You’ll also, technically, be answering to Carson and Ryland as long as you’re in this office. Your salary, tax information, and everything else are included in this document. Take a moment to read it, and let me know if you need clarification.”
“I have a question.”
“Sure.”
“What are you saying in Russian?”
“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out.” I smiled and winked at her.
Sascha had no questions for me as she read the document silently. I was staring intently at her, in fact, it was difficult to look away. I’m not sure if she was doing it on purpose, but I could see directly down her shirt. Her breasts were perfect bell-shapes and perky. Sascha looked fit, and fit meant endurance. I wondered if she’d be able to keep up with me.
“I’m finished.” She placed the documents in front of her, and I snapped back to reality.
“Great,” I placed them inside my folder for new hires, and handed her a duplicate copy. “Before you go, I want you to meet the other employees. It will only take a few minutes.”
“Sounds lovely,” Sasha replied.
I took her to meet the other employees of Calliope Publishing. First, I introduced her to our intern-editors, Noah, Dante, Harvey and Priya. Noah seemed to take an immediate shine to her and was excited when Sascha introduced herself as an editor, but had to correct herself after I playfully jabbed her in the elbow. Dante couldn’t help but crack the all-star pick up line, ‘did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’ Sascha did her best to be nice, but I could see her cringe. Harvey and Priya were both seated together at their desks, discussing their weekend when we showed up. They both hopped to attention when they saw me. Sascha rolled her eyes and I noticed it, but kept quiet. She was going to be a tough one to reign in.
I introduced her to Oliver and Opal next, our resident editors. Oliver behaved himself well enough, but Opal sneered and made a few passive-aggressive comments towards Sascha after I introduced her. It wasn’t the first time Opal acted this way to a younger, more attractive female employee. When Opal was out of sight of both of us in the elevator, I expressed my apologies.