Start new job

Summary of the previous chapter: Darren left by offering pastries and his number to Candice. Her family will come to her house.

The doorbell rings, I put my cup down on the table and go to open the door quickly. My little sister jumps on me, I take her in my arms, laughing. I give her a big kiss and put her down to say hello to my parents. We go to the living room; I just get some drinks from the fridge. My little sister has already taken my tablet, I have games for her on it; she likes to play games. I take her on my lap and talk to my parents. Suddenly My mom looks at the notes that Darren leaves for me. She takes Darren’s note, I’m in deep trouble. ‘FUCK! I forget it.’

“Who is this Darren?”

“Nobody.” I said as quicly as possible.

“Will you present him to us later?”

“No, because I hardly know him and I don’t risk meeting him so soon.”

“Why?”

“Mom, it’s nobody for me, that’s all.”

She sighs, so do I. I watch what my sister is doing, she is playing with daddy on my tablet which makes me smile. In my life, I have always been closer to dad, it was my whole life until an illness brought me closer to mom. She had lung cancer when Lili was two and I was too scared for her. I accompanied her to all her appointments and chemo sessions. We talked a lot and it felt good to be with her, to tell her about my love affairs. She didn’t even know that I had already had several boyfriends and that I had one for almost two years.

The afternoon passes quickly, my parents and my little sister are at the door, we finish the conversation, but Lili is in a hurry and tired.

Suddenly, we shorten a bit and I give my sister a big kiss. I say goodbye to my parents and then I am alone in my apartment again. I take advantage of the calm to do the dishes and prepare my things for tomorrow. When everything is ready, I make myself a quick sandwich and go to eat in front of the television. I am really exhausted from the evening yesterday; I fall asleep in front of the television. I decide to go to bed after finishing my sandwich and going through the bathroom.

Monday morning.

My alarm is ringing, I don’t want to get up. I switch off my cell phone and then I get up quietly. I go straight to my bathroom and lock myself in the shower when I take off my pajamas and taking my time.

When I leave the shower, I wrap myself up and go to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast. I’m still a bit tired compared to Saturday night, but I should survive my first day on the job. I toss my chocolate, take out bread chocolate and make myself a fresh orange juice. I take everything to my room and I put on makeup while eating quietly. I still have a good hour to prepare, so I’m taking my time. Thanks to makeup, I found myself a beautiful face.

I quickly dry my hair and tie it into a ponytail. I take my clothes and I change. I put on a white shirt, a black skirt, and a black jacket. I take out my beige pumps but I don’t put them on now. I finish my chocolate then I return to my bathroom to brush my teeth, put on a necklace, earrings, and a discreet bracelet.

I am totally ready now; I check my lipstick and I can go. I don’t forget my bag and I’m off. Once get in my car, I start to stress to passing. I really don’t know how I’m going to be greeted, how they work. I had two interviews and I went there a third time to sign my contract, but I’m still stressed. I have to be normal myself, nothing gonna change in my life.

I have just parked in the company parking lot; I take the elevator to go to the reception.”

 When the doors open, I am always impressed here. I walk up to the reception, a secretary smile at me. I looked at her and went straight to her.

“Hello miss, how can I help you?”

“Yes, I start working here today and I was told that I had to come to the reception.”

“Okay. I’m just going to ask you for your name and the department you’re assigned to.”

“I’m Nicolette Gray and I go to the HR department.”

“Thank you. Give me a second.”

She looks at something on her computer and then hands me a badge which I take.

“There’s your badge. You should always have it with you. The number of your floor is indicated on it.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Have a nice day and welcome Manson Construction.”

I smile at her then I look at my badge as I walk away from the reception. I’m on the fifteenth floor, that’s fine with me, I’m not dizzy. I go to the elevator, attaching the badge and off we go.

I have just arrived on my floor; a woman sees me and comes smiling.

“Hi, you must be Nicolette?”

“That’s it.”

“Me it’s Roxanne Meyer, we will be in the same department. I suppose you already know Mr. Lopez, our manager, you know?”

“Yes, I spent all my interviews with him.”

“Bah, it’s perfect. Okay, I’ll show you your office and our floor a bit. And you can talk to me, we are colleagues.”

“As you wish.”

We smile and then she shows me around my floor. Our chief’s office is open, so I got to talk to him a bit. I am happy to meet him, he is a very nice man, listens to his employees and quite funny. He also reminded me of tasks, it’s not very complicated. I have to take care of employee training, it’s something that I know well since I worked a little in a temp agency. Once the site visit is over, I discover my office. It’s pretty straightforward, there’s my computer, a full pencil holder, some photos of the company, and a little notebook. I settle in, it is really good. Roxanne shows me some files and then I start to work. The files are more or less complicated, but I’m doing well.

A few hours later.

Half-past twelve is ringing, I’m starving. I took my rhythm for today, I don’t want to stop it, but my stomach decides otherwise.

“Nicolette, I’m going to eat, are you coming?”

“Yeah, if you want.”

I get my bag and we go into the elevator. When we arrive on the ground floor, Roxanne walks towards the reception. She talks with the secretary who greeted me this morning, the two laugh and then they come. We three leave the building and we go to a small restaurant that looks nice to me. Both seem to know the owner since we are super well received. When the owner’s gaze falls on me, he smiles at me.

“Who is this young lady?”

“It’s Nicolette Gray, a new member of the company.”

“Welcome Nicolette Gray then.”

“Thank You, sir.”

He laughs a little and repeats my sir, I said something stupid.

“You can call me Michael and talk to me about my little one, there is no problem.”

“As you... you want.”

I smile, too, and we’ll settle down. The reception secretary looks at me with a smile and then nods.

“I forgot; my name is Stacy.”

“Enchanted Stacy. I don’t need to introduce myself; you already know me.”

“Indeed Nicolette.”

We laugh and then we discuss work. Finally, they discuss work, I am in the company for three hours. We eat in a good atmosphere; I like these two women. I smile throughout the meal, even when we return to the office.

I close a file; the day is over. It is already dark when it is 6 p.m. Roxanne is already gone, she can leave early, that’s what being here for a long time. I tidy my desk, put on my jacket and leave the office. There are still quite a few people, it’s impressive, it looks like an anthill.