iNcomplete

“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?