“Why don’t you start by telling us what is it
that you do in this company?”
“Oh..ok..well..let’s see..there’s just so many
things that I have to do around here. One of them is..”
Concentration was never Ty’s strong points. The
best he could go was half an hour, 15 minutes shorter than the average person’s
attention span. But that case, that case was different. It felt different. It
was as though he was lost from the very beginning and that was not a good thing
because he was there, accompanying his manager as a minute recorder. He was to
type down everything said during the interview and compile it later as notes
for him to refer. He knew he could not afford to be distracted but
concentrating was the last thing on his mind at that moment. Sitting there in front
of them was a blonde, a rather lovely looking blonde who seemed genuinely nice.
“I-I’m sorry, but what is your name again? And
your designation. I-I didn’t catch it the first time..” Ty decided to say
something and try to stay awake.
Eyes shifted to him and he regretted voicing
out immediately.
“It’s ok, here’s my card. I’m Jessica Jung and
I’m the assistant manager of the department. I’m covering for my boss today
because she’s out with food poisoning.”
“R-right..Ms. Jung. I’m so sorry to interrupt..”
Ty glanced at his manager who stared back with an unreadable expression “Please
continue..” he gestured for him to resume the interview.
The interview seemed like it happened a
lifetime ago seeing what had happened from then on. Everything fell in and out
of place over time, it was getting confusing as to what happened when. Ty was
not a good person to ask about things like this, but somehow he could remember
the first few encounters vividly, as if it happened yesterday when it was more
like yesteryear.
The interview, we shall call it from now on,
was to assess their client’s current company situation. Ty worked for a rather
large consulting firm and it was a norm for new client engagements that the
interview was to be carried out in order for them to understand what they have
on their hands to deal with, what they felt needed improvement before actual
consulting work could begin. As the only junior in the office without an assignment,
Ty was dragged out unwillingly by his manager to the interview and was forced
to listen to hours upon ends’ worth of old windbags bragging about how
beautifully constructed their company was, inside and out.
If
only it was really so..we would not be here having this damn interview! I’m too
sleepy for this.
All but one, of course. Only one did not brag
but told them all the holes that needed to be filled up and how the company
truly was. Though having terribly distracted at the beginning, Ty was thankful
for her input because after the third interview, he was getting very, very
tired of listening to the same thing over and over again. About how their
company was one of the best in the business and that they can easily get a
tender even though the price they quoted was not the lowest but it was due to
their excellent workmanship and track record. Ty was starting to worry about
what to write because he obviously could not re-write the same thing for all 5
officers they were going to interview that day.
So not
all are pompous windbags here.
Ty continued to stare at the card while his
fingers continuously typed whatever Ms. Jung said. Typos were abundant in the
Word document but nothing spell check couldn’t handle, he thought when he
looked up to his laptop screen and found so many red squiggly lines in the
page. Ty grimaced at the sight for a moment and then looked up when he heard a
giggle escape from his client. Ms. Jung quickly cleared her throat and returned
her attention to Ty’s manager while uttering a quick apology.
“Thank you for your time and for your input,
Ms. Jung. Can we contact you if we have further queries?”
“Of course, no problem at all!” her gaze
travelled to Ty who, for once, was entirely focused on his laptop.
“What is
your name by the way? I don’t believe I caught it.”
“Oh..erm..Ty, Ty Kim.” He bolted up from her
seat in such a haste that he knocked over his notebooks and stationery.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mr Kim.” Jessica
completely disregarded the little incident and finished with a smile and a nod
before continuing “I shall be off now if it’s all done.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you again.”
And off she went.
Ty collected the chair and sat back down,
reading and reading his notes to make sure it all made sense. Being a junior,
the pressure was on to make a good impression. Interview notes may not be a
very big thing but it was a good place to start, he figured. Maybe if he did
this right he wouldn’t have to be stuck photocopying paper all day. Being young
does suck at times, especially when your seniors think they can ask you do to
anything because they are eons older than you are. It annoyed Ty on a daily
basis that people would just throw things at him and expected him to get it
done.
“Hey I’m meeting up with a friend for lunch so
can I count on you to not get lost and be back here by 2?”
“Sure..not a problem..I’ll just go see if they
have a cafeteria here or something.”
“You sure?”
“Yup. I’ll be fine. No worries.”
“Good. See you then.”
And out the door he went, the same direction Jessica
went a few minutes ago.
Ty grabbed his things and left the room, headed
towards the elevator in hopes of finding a floor directory for the building
there. After a few wrong turns, Ty began to curse under his breath as to why
would people even design the layout of a corporate office to resemble one of a
maze. It also didn’t help that the office was mostly empty seeing how it was
lunch time. Stuffing his hands into his pants pockets, he continued to try his
luck in search for an exit.
“Mr Kim?”
Ty snapped his head back towards the voice and
saw a familiar blonde standing by, what it seems to be, her office’s door.
“What are you doing pacing around here?”
“Oh..er…” Ty could feel his face colour but it
was no time to act smart “I’m lost” he decided to just say it out.
A chuckle escaped
“Oh dear..clumsy and with no sense of
directions, what the hell am I doing to do with you?”
“....”
“Would you like me to show you the way out?”
“Yes please..and to the cafeteria if you have
one here.”
“We don’t so you’re going to have to think of
something else for lunch. But seeing how you’re new here, I think? Would you
like to have lunch with me?”
“Will I be intruding?”
“Not at all. Come on, let’s go”
---
Lunch, if Ty remembered it correctly, was at a
cute little deli about two blocks away from the office building. It was a nice
spring day, the weather just perfect for an afternoon stroll in the city. Jessica
lead the way while Ty trailed behind her, not daring to even walk beside the
blonde, completely unsure of how to act when alone with a client. It was until
when they have settled down in the seats and received their orders that Jessica
spoke up.
“You know..you don’t have to be so distant and
professional. It’s lunch time, we’re technically off the clock. So chill, we
can be like two friends going out for lunch.”
“Oh..er..ok.” Ty’s posture improved
immediately, sitting up straighter and the awkward air around him disappeared.
“That’s better. So tell me about yourself, you
barely spoke a word during the interview just now.” Jessica took a bite off her
sandwich.
“It wasn’t really my place to say much. I’m
just a junior. Honestly the only reason why I’m here with him because everybody
else is busy and I was the only one free enough to go travelling and be a
secretary for two days.” Ty made an exaggerated gesture and rolled his eyes,
much to Jessica’s amusement.
“A junior? How old are you?”
“I’m 22, fresh out of college. This is my first
job actually.”
“Wow you’re making me feel old.”
“Oh? How old are you? If you don’t mind me
asking..”
“I do but it’s fine, I did ask you first. I’m
27.”
“That’s not old!! Geez when you said old I
thought you were like, what? 35?”
They chatted like they were old friends, exchanging
stories and laughs even as they made their way back to the office.
“Next time you’re in town, hit me up. We can go
for a drink or something.”
“Sure, I’d like that.”
“See you around.”
***
Jessica remembered Ty as this lost puppy who constantly trailed
behind anybody when he was unsure of things. Like how he trailed behind his
manager when they came into and out of the office, how he trailer behind her
when they walked to the deli for lunch. When they chatted during lunch, Jessica
found a very different side of Ty, one that was more outgoing and vibrant and
somewhat, enchanting.
During the interview, she felt that Ty was doing everything but
paying attention to it. She doubted he could write the minutes of it well. She
caught Ty staring at her on a few occasions and the young man would cut his
gaze back to the laptop and his face would colour slightly.
She was glad that she invited Ty for lunch that day. It gave her a
change of pace in her routine-like day. Even the people in the deli were pleasantly
surprised that she did not enter the store alone like she always had on
Wednesdays. It was a refreshing change for the assistant manager, having
somebody else to talk to, other than her immediate boss. Your colleagues would
typically avoid you once you are in the managerial positions, even though
you’re just an assistant. They won’t trust you anymore like how they did before
your promotion. They would be more careful and thus have reduced Jessica’s
lunch buddies down to her immediate boss.
Jessica also remembered that time when Ty returned for what he would
call fieldwork three months later. Ty came in a team of three and would be
staying a week. She being the only junior was busy running errands for his
seniors up and down the building. Asking questions back and forth at his
seniors’ command, retrieving information that apparently was crucial for them
to assess the process and making sure that he had an answer to everything his
seniors asked. It was tiring, she remembered Ty complain during lunch.
“Honestly I think they ask the weirdest questions. Some are
completely unrelated to what we’re doing!”
“Now, now Ty, calm yourself down and eat.”
Ty?
“When are you leaving?”
“Friday after hours. What’s up?”
“I thought you might want to see more of the city at night. I bet
you’ve been nothing more than lying in your bed at the hotel wasting the night
away.”
“Guilty as charged but it’s fun! You should try having the hotel
room to yourself. It’s practically feels freedom itself!”
“And not a single cent spent, aye?”
“Well, that part is nice too but that’s not my
point.”
“I get it..so what do you say?”
“Say to what?”
“A night out in the city”
“Oh..er..sounds fun. Just us two?”
“Do you want to include your seniors?”
“Hell no, I have had enough of those two dimwits
during hours I really don’t want to see them after hours.”
“Good. Later would be a bit rush so how about
tomorrow? I’ll pick you up at 8? Or would you prefer 7:30?”
“Whatever floats your boat.”
“8 it is”
***
TBC? End?
