Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 2

I woke the next morning in a rush, though I was two hours earlier than I had planned for.
Yesterday, Mr. Lawson had walked me through the requirements of the job before I left, and the secretary- Amy- showed me my office on the way out.
Seeing that I had extra time, I decided to take advantage of it, and go rummage through my roommate's closet. Passing through the tiny kitchen and dining room- and living room (it was all packed into a tiny space that separated the two bedrooms).
Unlike mine, her room was scattered with an array of bright colored clothing, and papers from her work. Hanging on her walls, were an assortment of pictures and inspirational quotes, paired with splatters of paint, and other stuff that definitely wasn't paint.
She and I were polar opposites. I couldn't stand to sit in my room or read- or anything for that matter, if even one thing was out of place. Soma was an aspiring artist, and she could draw or paint anything she wanted, if she put her mind to it. But she definitely could not keep order. Ignoring her messy room, I headed into her closet, feeling a bit guilty for doing so, but knowing I had no choice. Soma had always told me that I needed help with my fashion, but I could never bring myself to ask her to help me. She said that I should borrow her clothes more often, because she had so many. Now that I was gazing into her closet, I saw what she meant.
"Good gracious." I muttered, staring at her overflowing closet, and searching for something that wasn't in a florescent color.
Finally, I convinced myself that I was running out of time, so I stepped up to the mass of clothes, and begrudgingly began sifting for something black. After ten minutes of searching, I found a fancy white dress top, and decided it would match my black skinny jeans.
I checked the time and saw that I only had half an hour to shower, change, and eat breakfast.
Rushing into my bathroom, after grabbing my flats and jeans from my empty closet, I started the water and undressed.
*
Once I had showered and eaten, I dressed, and stood in front of my bathroom mirror to put on some light make-up. I hated wearing makeup, but I assumed it would be best to wear a little something for my first day.
Satisfied with my work, I stepped back to look at myself in the full-length mirror, admiring the way the white top made my brown eyes shine. Or maybe it was the mascara, I wasn't sure. Squatting a little, I frowned at how tight the jeans were, but decided that I didn't have time to change. Over all, I looked much better than I had yesterday, thanks to Soma's bursting closet.
Fixing my hair back into a high ponytail, I noticed that my natural blonde highlights were making their way back into my hair since the summer had begun. Originally, my hair had been golden blonde like my highlights, but as I grew older, it had darkened to a light brown. Fluffing the back part of my ponytail, I humbled my waves with some mousse, before I grabbed my purse and headed out the door.
*
"Miss Oana, Mr. Lawson is expecting you inside his office." Amy greeted me as soon as I stepped off the elevator. Raising my eyebrows in surprise, I quickly nodded and followed after her, trying to keep up with her quick pace.
She had speed-walking down to a tee. "Mr. Lawson has also reminded me to inform you of the company's etiquette concerning other Co workers, and customers," Amy started, and I frowned.
"I thought-"
"Yes, you will be working mostly with Mr. Lawson, but you will have to cater to the needs of some of his partners, as well as be in attendance in all public meetings." She nodded briskly.
How did she do that?
"The company forbids rudeness to customers, or co-workers. We also recommend that you use appropriate language while you are inside the grounds." Amy began listing off the rules.
I never expected a business company to have etiquette rules.
"Mr. Lawson has also asked that water be served at every meeting, and your desk is to be cleared at the end of each day. Cleaning supplies is located in the closet inside his office, should you need it." She hurried on, and I started to feel overwhelmed as we approached Mr. Lawson's office. Amy stopped talking, as soon as we came to the front of the door, and she turned to me with a look of expectancy. "Are you ready?" She asked me. For a moment, her business face slipped into a gentler expression.
"No, but I guess I'll figure it out." I breathed, and she grinned.
"You'll be fine." She assured me, and with that, she ushered me inside, closing the door behind me.
"Good morning Miss Atkins." Mr. Lawson turned to me from facing the bookshelf behind him, holding a stack of papers. "Your desk is through those doors. I expect you'll be settled within the hour. Take this stack of papers with you, they need to be scanned into the computer. Your password is provided in the footnotes." He dismissed me by turning back to the books, and I gladly hurried into my new office with the papers in hand. Though it was considerably smaller than Mr. Lawson's, my office was bigger than any I had had before.
In the center, facing the door into Mr. Lawson's office, was a large desk. It was equipped with a stapler, tape round, and paperclip holder. The drawer held a few other necessary office things, but other than those, it was empty. Luckily I hadn't brought anything to unpack besides a picture. My last office job had required that we leave whatever was on the desk at the company. Setting up the picture of me and my brother, I turned on the computer and typed in the password.
*
"Oana, I have a meeting in five minutes, I need two copies of this paper." Mr. Lawson burst into my office. I jumped in my seat, snapping my eyes up to him. He paused for a moment, looking me over, before he gave me an amused half-smile. "Did I scare you?"
"No, sir." I answered, but he took no notice of my cool reply, and handed me a paper.
Amy had been in a few minutes ago to help me work the scanner and the printer, so I took the paper from his hand and nodded. He sent one quick look over my desk, and started to leave. As he closed the door, he called back to remind me that I needed to have a water pitcher and three cups ready inside his office in two minutes. Letting out a breath, I threw the paper onto the printer, and rushed out the back door to my office, out into the hallway, moving in the direction of where I thought I'd seen the water pitchers this morning. It only took me a minute to find and fill the pitcher, and grab a trey with a few glasses, before I hurried back into my office and took the printed pages off the printer.
By that time, I heard Mr. Lawson greeting a few men inside his office. I hurried through the door. Slipping inside his office, I glanced up to see two men, possibly a little older than Mr. Lawson shaking his hand and moving in through the open double doors. As I set the trey down, I heard Mr. Lawson mention my name, and I turned to face them with an expectant expression on my face. Mr. Lawson's face was serious, but the man beside him was smirking. The stranger was in his late twenties, with slicked back, deep redish hair, and a rather lanky appearance underneath his tailored suit.
"Do you need something, sir?" I asked Mr. Lawson, cocking an eyebrow.
"No, Oana, you're free to go back to your office." Mr. Lawson nodded at me.
As I was leaving, I heard the red-haired man question Mr. Lawson.
"It's her first day?"
Mr. Lawson must have nodded.
"She's quite attentive."
"She's not bad on the eyes either." The second man added with a chuckle, as I closed my office door.
Is that all men think about?