Just Call Me Kelley

5

The rest of the workday finished off smoothly and I spent my afternoon curled up on my couch watching tv.

Part of me really wishes I said yes to Jeff, if for no reason other than to be less lonely and bored. But I also really like Jeff, he is sweet and smart. Plus he's driven and we do have a lot in common, at least at work, but we also majored in the same thing in college and went to the same universities, just in different ways. He went to school at University of Chicago and interned at Northwestern while I did the opposite. We never met though until he joined the company.

My hand subconsciously reaches for my phone to call him so we can hang out, before I realize he probably won't want to. This sucks. I said no to him just to avoid this situation and it's happening anyway. Work on Monday is just going to be a blast! I think sarcastically.

Right now, even though a date with Jeff sounds nice, all I really want is my friend back. Sure, I have Cassandra and Lily, and they're really great, but with Jeff I can talk about work, and he understands. Plus, even though I always knew we could never be together, I still had a little crush on him, though I never flirted because I knew it couldn't happen. It would make it hard to work with him if we broke up or had a fight, and if it hurt the business badly and unprofessionally then it could mean that I might be voted out by the board. Don't want  to give them any reason to fire me, I'm pretty sure most of them don't like me. Why, I can't be sure.

Retracting my hand from my phone, I turn my head back to the tv and stare at it mindlessly, completely unaware of what is playing. Sighing, I turn off the screen and shuffle over to my office knowing that I might as well get some work done.

Sinking into the chair, I pull out the documents on the intern presentations today and review Chris's, the head of employment, notes. Reading through each of the intern's  pages, I match them with Chris's notes on them and decide on which three out of twenty will receive a job. Some of them are easy to eliminate, especially if they are still high school age and can't handle a city job during the school year.

Eventually, I decide on a 21 year old early college grad named Matt who proposed an interesting product for the classroom, a 23 year old named Carolyn who came up with an app modification that puts the texts in simpler English for ESL students, and Garett, a 22 year old financial genius who will serve as a fiduciary for the company.

Neatly arranging the files back into the folder with those three on top, I place them in my bag and pull out my next task, hiring a corporate lawyer. Man, Chris has me busy with employment, though to be fair this task is partly to blame on legal and of course the lady who quit. Slamming the huge, overstuffed folder onto my desk, I open it with a sigh as a few papers flutter out. There must be at least a hundred resumes in here, I don't pay you for nothing, Chris! Shaking my head in dismay, I pull out the first one and see Chris's assistant's, Maya, handwritten note.

Dear Ms. Greene,

Chris is sorry he was not able to go through these files yet since he was busy with the interns. He asked me to hand them to you since we need another lawyer ASAP, he says Wilkins can't handle it all by himself. Apologies for having to trouble you.

Sincerely,
Maya Caraway

Ugh, he seriously couldn't at least do SOME of these? He has two employees of his own to help with this sort of thing. Usually I just get about 10 to choose between, not 100! Pursing my lips, I pick up the first resume.

Jacob Anders, MBA
Corporate lawyer

Education: graduate degree from Texas University. Passed Illinois Bar on...

I keep reading through it, unable to stop thinking about the people I still have to email back, the calls I have to make, the appointments I have to keep, and documents I need to approve. And yet here I am, reading through resume after resume of corporate lawyers. I have to answer all those emails and make all those calls before nine o'clock tonight. Right now it is 7:45. I could put off the resumes till tomorrow, I think Wilkins, our other lawyer, can survive the weekend alone. As long as no one decides to sue on a Sunday, I think we're safe. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time, not with Acetex of course, but L.E. is no stranger to Sunday suits.

Picking up my phone in dismay, I text Chris.

Me:
Hi Chris

Chris:
Hello, Ms Kelly

Me:
We need to talk, call me.

It only takes a few seconds before my phone starts to ring and I place it to my ear.

"Hello, this is Kelley Greene."

"Hello, miss." Chris says into the phone, his British accent seeping into his voice slightly. .

"I got the lawyer resumes and I noticed there were quite a lot, Chris." I say.

"Oh yes, I apologize, Ms. Kelley. Did you get Maya's note?" He sounds nonchalant as he says the last part, does he realize that a note does not sort resumes for me?

"Yes, I did." I say, my voice now slightly annoyed. "Chris, I'm going to be blunt with you, I'm not happy. I realize that you  had to deal with the interns, but this is your job. I don't have time for one hundred resumes, I have fourteen other tasks I have to do before I can go to sleep tonight, and I really don't need this to be one of them."

"I understand, and it's one hundred and twenty two to be exact." I roll my eyes into my phone, I really didn't need to know that.

"Chris, I'll tell you what," I say, exasperated, "I'll drop all these off at your apartment tomorrow morning around eight and you hire someone. I trust you to make the right choice that will suit both Wilkins and the company. Sound good?"

"Wait, so you want me to hire someone for the company without your approval?" He asks, flabbergasted.

"I'm sure you'll pick someone great, I've never run into a bad option with the people you usually have me choose between, you'll be fine." I assure him.

"If you say so, miss." He answers, still sounding unsure.

"Oh and Chris? Don't forget to mention to them that they start Monday."

"I know, Miss." He responds.

"Okay, goodnight Chris." I say.

"Goodnight, Ms. Kelley."

Ending the call, I put the files aside, relieved and open my computer, click on mail and watching the icon jump up and down on my screen.

8:05, 55 minutes to reply to 7 emails and call back 10 people.

Maybe watching tv wasn't the best idea. Yeah, probably not.

---
Hi everyone,

Sorry for taking so long to update and the short chapter, things will start getting more interesting soon. I should update by Sunday at the latest!

Don't forget to vote and comment! Thanks.

--Authorsskate