I Think My Boss Is A Total Nutjob

Eden was a fast learner but having her entire chemistry career staked on it was more than a little nerve-wracking. Would she really be okay here with a boss like this?

They had passed other labs on the way in and it looked like all of the other research teams had three or four research assistants. It seemed that Zim really didn't have a history of playing nice since he had only been able to hold on to one before she got hired.

"How long have you been here?" Eden asked somewhat desperately.

Amanda smiled. "Longer than Zim. I got transferred over from another research team when he first arrived. It took us a few weeks to get used to each other but it's been fine ever since. As long as you follow all of his instructions and don't slack off, you'll be golden."

Follow instructions…don't slack off…learn where everything was kept before the end of tomorrow. She was already planning on the first two so the third point was what she needed to focus on now.

"Got it. Thanks."

The senior research assistant continued showing Eden what to do as Zim seemed to be off in Chemistry Land by himself until it was time for their first break of the day. He continued working right through it but Amanda joined her in the breakroom.

She got herself a coffee from the espresso machine and looked at Eden expectantly. "So. Tell me more about yourself. Zim doesn't like pointless chatting so we won't be able to get away with it in the lab."

Her new boss may be eccentric to the extreme but at least her other coworker was nice. That was a relief.

"There's not much to tell. I'm from L.A., have an older brother, and graduated with a chemistry degree from San Jose State last year. Why don't you tell me more about yourself? I'm sure you're more interesting than me."

Amanda giggled. "You're funny. Just because I've lived longer doesn't mean I'm more interesting. But I'm married with two daughters. My husband actually works in another part of this business complex so we're able to eat lunch together every day.

"We're originally from the Midwest but we moved here about ten years ago when he got a better job opportunity. That was quite a culture shock, let me tell you! It was all for the best though. We've made some great friends out here."

That must be really nice. She seemed happy in her life and family. Eden was willing to bet her family was more like the Combses than the one she grew up in.

How great would it be to find someone that loved her enough to want to eat lunch with her every day because they couldn't bear being apart for the whole workday? That was so romantic.

She didn't have expectations that high though. Not after seeing her trashy father and all of her ex-boyfriends' behavior. Love that lasted did exist—she had seen it—but it didn't seem to be in the cards for her.

"That's good," Eden said simply. She didn't have any other response for that.

Amanda immediately launched into a series of helpful tips for getting on Zim's good side that she greatly appreciated and the matter of love and marriage was completely forgotten. She was at work; she shouldn't be thinking about useless things like that anyway.

After the break ended, they headed back and saw that Zim was still deeply in the chemistry zone and left all the training to his underling. Eden couldn't help but wonder how a man like this managed to even get into a position of power here, no matter how smart he was. He didn't seem like a very attentive supervisor.

At least not until after lunch when he started quizzing the new employee out of the blue on where things were. She managed to get everything right but two and he didn't have any further comment for her.

Did that mean she exceeded his expectations? Or was he angry that she got two wrong? He had given her until the end of the day tomorrow!

By the end of the day, Eden was completely exhausted but was starting to get the hang of things around here. Amanda was a good teacher and, surprisingly, Zim's quizzing was actually helpful in getting her to remember where things were.

She changed into something more comfortable before flopping down on the couch. Kayla was out with her boyfriend again so she had the apartment to herself. She texted Aubrey first to let her know about her crazy new boss before sending a similar text to Troy.

'My first day was kind of wild. I think my boss is a total nutjob'

He replied almost immediately. 'What happened?'

'The first thing he did was lecture me about not falling in love with him. As if that's why I was there! I lost my temper a little and said I wouldn't date him even if he was the president of the United States and he ended up doing a complete 180 and laughing and acting all friendly.

'It was the weirdest thing. But apparently the girl before me got fired for trying to hit on him. Still, what a narcissist! He's supposedly some sort of genius but that doesn't give him the right to act like that'

To her surprise, her phone rang. Troy was calling her rather than texting her back.

"Hello?"

"Eden! What exactly happened? Tell me everything from the beginning," he demanded, sounding worried.

She hadn't expected that level of concern from him. The whole story began spilling out of her word for word from the moment the HR woman told Zim to play nice. She complained a lot more than she meant to but having a listening ear seemed to have opened the flood gates.

Normally, she never would have complained like this to anyone but Aubrey. Troy was almost too good of a listener letting her go on the way she did without coming off as annoyed by it.