Interlude Thirtytwo point Three point Two, Alden's New Assistant (II)
Alden Bryce felt pulled in twenty directions. Due to a production design
snafu, he was sitting in a major meeting at Bluehardt CompuTech. These
sorts of meetings were never good when the 'Big Bosses' got involved. There
were the usual ten minutes of explanations and fifty minutes of blame
passing. Gazing at his watch, he worried that he would be late for Mara's
appointment with the baby doctor. Her pregnancy had been confirmed and it
was time to have the first ultra-sound. Of course, there was the usual
workload, the outstanding repairs at the Fortress, and a remodel project at
home to make a baby room.
Making matters worse, his assistant of six years would not be returning from
maternity leave. She and her husband had decided she should be a
stay-at-home mom. While Alden was happy for their addition, he felt a
little lost without her. He had precious little time to even change his
mind about lunch decisions, much less any personal projects he might have
cooking.
After the meeting wrapped, only ten minutes over schedule, Alden hurried to
his car. In the Bluehardt parking lot, he walked past a young woman staring
at the meager contents of a cardboard box before her. She sat on the curb,
her head cast down. Alden could hear a faint sob. He had seen this before.
Someone had been 'down-sized.' Mara would understand why he was running
late.
"Are you alright," he said gently as he drew near.
"Huh? Uh-huh," was her reply. She looked up, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Mr. Bryce?"
"Yeah," Alden replied cautiously. He looked at the woman's face. There was
something familiar about her, but he could not place it.
"I'm Karen Townsend. We meet a couple of weeks ago at the con." She paused
for him to remember her, adding after a moment, "I was the one dressed as
Defender."
"Oh, yes. My little Defenderette. What are you doing out here?" He asked,
squatting down to be at eye level.
"Oh... just staring at what's left of my dignity." She sniffed, tears
postponed. "Cost cutting measures. I did more work than the other three
girls, but I'm the one walking because I was last hired."
"That's the problem with a big company," Alden said as he pulled a
handkerchief from the inside pocket of his sports coat. "They have to
establish stupid rules. Are you all right? Do you need a ride home?"
"I'll be fine, Mr. Bryce. My roommate Jill is coming to pick me up. But I
could use a job, if you happen to have one in your back pocket."
"Do you have a resume?"
"Yeah. Printed a couple off right before being escorted out the door." She
dug into her box and produced a single sheet. Alden looked it over, noting
the skimpy experience section: only two jobs. Both were secretarial
positions. Both were companies that he knew. "Here, I've still got my
letters of recommendation. Do you think they will help too?"
Alden studied the letters. She did not have much of a work history, but she
had impressed some people during that time. If her resume was even
partially true, she was skilled. "You're hired."
"Yeah, I wish it was that easy," she responded glumly.
"It is. You're hired. When can you start?" Alden pulled his business card
out and handed it to her. Her face washed from depression to disbelief.
"I'll take that as a 'today.' So, we'll assume today is a paid personal
day. Go do something fun. Be at the office tomorrow at 9:00 AM. We'll
discuss your duties and pay."
"Mr. Bryce... I don't know..."
"Don't thank me yet. You've not seen the amount of work we have to do. And
my name is Alden. Tomorrow morning. Remember, we're a business casual
office. So... leave the Defender costume at home."
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Last Updated 21 July 2003
