Amanda

Chapter III

Carlton couldn't remember how he came to Greenwall Headquarters. All he remembered was Evangeline touching his arm and then sleep... blissful sleep. The building was filled with men and women hunched over desks with computers, and Carlton suspected there were many more cubicles on the lower floors. Evangeline led Carlton to a larger office, where a bald, smiley man sat as if he owned the place. His name plate read "Patrick Greenwall", which confirmed that this man was, in fact, the boss. As soon as Evangeline entered the room, he jumped up and hugged her tightly. Evangeline returned the embrace, looking slightly nervous, then turned her attention back to Carlton.
"He's here, Mr. Greenwall."
"Excellent!" Patrick Greenwall exclaimed. "Carlton Kay? Of course, of course." He talked fast, motioning for Carlton and Evangeline to sit down in the two chairs in front of his desk. "Pleasure to meet you. We know all about you, of course, so, no need in introducing yourself to us. But, ah," he rambled on as he almost-hopped to his desk, reaching for Carlton's hand, "you don't know about us."
"So Miss Fitzgerald," he continued, motioning toward a gray-haired woman Carlton hadn't noticed before, "show Mr. Kay our files."
"I'm sorry, what's going on?" Carlton interjected.
Patrick Greenwall blinked at Carlton, like a android not understanding instruction. He then launched into a automatic speech, like he was reading off a card, slow and smiley.
"We're here to offer you a job. You must understand, this job is not usually vacant, and it's not just for anyone. Your experience in the government helps, of course, and your superiors believe you are ready for the next level. Alexandra Wilkinson, in particular, has praised your work in, ah, BetterTech."
"If you think I'm going to abandon my stable job-" Carlton, beginning to stand, was broken off by Patrick Greenwall, shaking his head and laughing, motioning for Carlton to sit.
"Carlton- can I call you that?- I understand. But your job in the government was practice for this. Miss Fitzgerald, do you mind?
The gray-haired woman Carlton had seen earlier reappeared, and she started a slideshow of the various programs Greenwall covered. One in particular, the AMSTP, made Patrick Greenwall and Evangeline tense up. "Ah, Miss Fitzgerald, stop here, please," Patrick Greenwall told the woman, who Carlton realized had the same enchanting green eyes as Evangeline. She smiled and nodded, making the screen go blank.
"So you see, Carlton, you're in good company. We'll take good care of you," Patrick Greenwall said. A moment later, Carlton was signing a business slip, which solidified his employment at Greenwall Corporations.
As Evangeline walked him on a tour around the office, she gave him a list of the do's and don't's of his community he was exempt from. The list mostly consisted of do's.
"You can basically say whatever you want. You can use contractions, informal speech, none of the formal 'Yes' and 'Ma'am' anymore. You're in the big leagues. But, you can't tell anyone what I told you when we met. That was a one-time exception. We're only allowed to do that in special circumstances. Well, here's your office. C'mon."
Carlton stepped into a large room, white and clean. We may have to fix that, he thought, almost maliciously. The room had a minimalistic design, with a simple clear desk and white chair in the corner. One wall had only windows. Evangeline pulled a remote control off of the wall and pressed a few buttons, illuminating a majority of the wall opposite the windows. News feeds, child cartoons, and a simulation featuring a red-headed warrior overlapped each other in a wave of noise. Carlton attempted to pull the remote from Evangeline's grasp, but luckily she got the hint and muted the noise.
"So, yeah, that's really it. You can ask around later. You're going to be busy. Basically, your job is somewhat the same as before, programming some of our various soldier programs, waiter-bots, e-instruments, stuff like that. I'm doing the tough stuff, making sure the wrong people don't get the hint." She left the room with a wink in Carlton's direction. "Just make sure you get everything done at the end of the day, and you won't be fired. Literally."
Carlton nodded and sat at the desk, suddenly eager to get to work.