Meeting the Co-Workers

"Earth to Amanda, are you with me?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah," Mandy lied as she jolted back to reality. All these instructions and policies and rules are starting to bore her. On top of that, she's starting to feel her brain is shutting down from information overload. There was just too much to remember. And she didn't have enough sleep the night before. She felt her head start to hurt. Good thing she always has pain reliever in her bag. She gets headaches when she's stressed or when she's tired, or both. At that moment, she wanted a tall mug of brewed coffee from her favorite coffee shop.

"It sounds overwhelming, I know, but believe me, it won't be as hard when you actually do it," Maia Dame said, as if reading her mind. Maia is Mandy's immediate superior. Josephine had introduced her to Mandy after their short talk in her office.

"Take care of this one and keep a close eye on her," Josephine told Maia before she left to go to a meeting with the other managers.

"Sure thing, Boss," Maia replied. She was perky and energetic. She also looked young, just a little bit older than Mandy.

Mandy will be reporting directly to Maia. "And if you ever have any problems here," Maia said as she waved her hand across the room, "you can let me know and I will be more than happy to explain things to you," she said with a smile. "Though, of course, I would appreciate it if you will try to figure things out yourself first before you come to me. That will save us both a lot of time." Maia winked as she finished her sentence to soften the message. Mandy understood. There is just no time to babysit anybody here, especially a "nobody" like her.

"This will be your little corner where you can work. Of course you have your own small cabinet here where you can put your bag, you know, and whatever else you bring to work." Mandy looked at the table and the rest of the space she would be occupying for the duration of her stay here.

"It looks decent enough," Mandy thought. She had thought she wouldn't be given any place at all.

"Go ahead. Put your stuff there first."

Mandy put down her designer bag on the swivel chair. She had forgotten to change bags that morning. She prayed nobody would notice it.

"One rule here also," Maia said as she watched Mandy put away her bag. "You CANNOT eat in your workplace. The management doesn't want any cockroaches — or any pest for that matter — living here, especially with all the documents and files we keep. You may drink coffee, or any beverage, though, as long as the container has a lid. We don't want to accidentally spill any liquid on any equipment now, would we?"

Mandy nodded. She couldn't agree more.

"Be very careful not to break any equipment here or you'll never hear the end of it from Josephine," Maia warned, her face serious.

"And now, let me introduce you to the group." Maia clapped her hands twice, as if calling for a servant. "Everyone! Your attention please! I want you all to meet Amanda. She will be our new Office Assistant, or at least, in our area." Maia walked across the room, stopping at each one to introduce them to Amanda briefly.

"This is Carla. She's in-charge of Purchasing."

"Hey, nice to meet you. Welcome to the team," Carla smiled.

"Thank you," Mandy replied.

"This is Jane. She's in-charge of Payables."

Jane waved at them. She was on the phone talking to one of the company's suppliers.

"This is Rae. She keeps our files in order."

Rae looked at them but didn't say anything. And then she went back to work.

"She doesn't talk much but her files are impeccable," Maia whispered as she did some sort of hand gesture to emphasize how organized Rae is. But Rae looked at them again as if she heard what Maia said.

Mandy was trying hard to remember all their names. She was never good at remembering people's names. But she's very good at remembering faces.

"Ok, there is one more person missing. Where's Josh?"

"He went downstairs to the copier. I think Josephine asked him to get the documents she sent there," Jane answered. Her eyes twinkled. She seemed excited while she said it.

"Of course you would know where he is," Carla said teasingly as she made her eyes roll.

Jane blushed. "The only reason why I know is because he told me," she said sarcastically, sounding like a teenage girl. "You know, in case somebody asks." She said as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

"There must be an office romance going on in here," Mandy thought to herself. She was thinking if it's allowed in the company. But for now, she thought, she would mind her own business. She doesn't want to get in trouble with anybody on her first day of work.

"Okay, so the last person here that you haven't met is Josh. He is also an Office Assistant like you so he will be the best person here to explain to you the scope of your work." Maia said as she looked around, hoping to catch Josh but he is still nowhere to be found.

"Great, now I have to work with a man," Mandy thought. It's not that she hates men, but she just doesn't get along with them. It's no surprise why she has never had a boyfriend before. "I'm not picky!" She would tell her friends when they tease her about it. "I'm just not interested!" Mandy has lost count of how many dates she has turned down during high school and a lot more during college. And she never had any male friends at all. The only time she would work with them is during group works, projects, reports and other school related stuff. The only male she has ever had a real conversation with is her father.

"Ok, I am gonna leave you here to Rae's care. You can help her do some filing while waiting for Josh." Maia turned to Rae. "Rae, she's gonna help you do some of your work okay. Give her something simple to do. We don't want her to "crash" from too much information in one day."

Rae looked at her, then to Mandy. She looked like she wanted to protest against baby-sitting a newbie. And she is definitely not in the mood to talk today, as with all other days. Maia went back to her table and started to work.

"So…" Mandy started making conversation with Rae. She would definitely need someone to talk to if ever she would want to stay here long, or at least, until her father tells her it's time to go.

"How long have you been working here?" Mandy continued.

"Five years."

"Wow, that's quite long."

"Yeah, the company doesn't pay much when it comes to salary but the environment is very conducive. And the benefits are not bad at all."

"That's… Uhm… very straightforward." Mandy couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "Well, what I mean is…"

"That's how Rae is. Don't take it personally. Get used to it," Jane said. They hadn't realized she was eavesdropping in their conversation.

"Yeah and that's how Jane is. Don't take it personally. Get used to it," retaliated Rae, mimicking Jane's tone.

Mandy felt that a quarrel is about to start.

"What? It's not like you're whispering or anything," defended Jane. "Besides, everyone knows how you feel about the company."

"Don't mind them," Carla interjected into the conversation. "They bicker a lot but we all love each other here. Don't we ladies?" The comment was meant for Jane and Rae more than it was for Mandy.

"It's okay. I don't mind. It's kinda like home," Mandy lied. It was never like this at home. She''s an only child and her dad hated any sort of bickering or petty quarrels within their family.

"Really? Do you have lots of siblings? Do you have brothers?" Jane asked. She suddenly became very curious about Mandy.

"Well," Mandy thought for a second as she remembered Josephine's warning to never say anything other than what was in the documents she gave Mandy. The problem is, she hasn't read those records yet.

"Well, in our family…"

"JOSH! There you are!" Jane cut in just in time before Mandy said another lie.

Mandy turned around to see a man carrying three boxes that covered his face. She was thankful that Josh saved her from Jane's question.

"Sorry, after I gave the papers to Miss Josephine, I ran into Lee and he asked me to get these boxes and bring them up," Josh replied as he walked towards an empty space on the floor, his head was towards the other side of the boxes, away from Mandy. "And it's a good thing these are all empty," Josh continued as he balanced the boxes, "otherwise I'd be breaking my back carrying these." He put down the boxes on the floor, his back towards the ladies.

"But of course you can always use the trolley, right?" Jane teased. Mandy is now sure Jane has a thing for Josh. It seems to Mandy that Jane was flirting with Josh.

Josh laughed as he straightened the boxes he had just put down. "Of course I can! But who would want to pass up the opportunity to be of service to 'The Great Lee'?" Everyone laughed at the joke, except for Mandy, of course, who didn't have any idea on what they were talking about. Mandy simply smiled.

"I will bring these to Lee's room later," Josh said as he stood up. Then he turned around to face the four ladies who were watching him.

He ran his fingers through his hair as he walked towards Mandy and Rae, but his eyes were fixed on Mandy.

Mandy's heart skipped a beat. She recognized that gesture.