Page 10 of The Emma Special

“Hold them?”

“Take a message, and I’ll call them back this afternoon.”

Good grief. He wasn’t even using legal jargon, and she was confused. “Oh, right. Of course.”

“Thanks, Emma.”

“Yep. Bye-bye.”

“And Emma?”

“James?”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

Mayday. The receptionist was melting. “Oh! Um, thank you.”

The moment she hung up, Florence swept into the lobby. “Sorry about that. Mr. Anderson caught me in the hallway and needed me to convert a document to a PDF.” She looked Emma’s way. “Do you know how to do that?”

Emma’s shoulders relaxed. Finally, something she could do. “Yes, ma’am.”

Florence clasped her hands in front of her chest. “Great. Before we’re interrupted, let me show you how to pull documents from the client database. I have an SOP here you can read through, or I can demonstrate. What would work best for you?”

They worked together on the system for the next hour and unless Emma was diligent about taking her own notes, she found her mind continually drifting away.

“I’m going to have you sit at the desk for a while on your own. Do you feel comfortable with the phone yet?”

“Yep, I think I’ve got it.”

“See? You’re going to be great. Some days are like this, slow and easy. I’m sure you’ll get a doozy your first week on your own, but no need for a come-apart. You just call me on my cell, and I’ll talk you out of any bind.”

“Thanks, Florence.” Emma tapped her short fingernails on the desk. “Um, can I ask why I was hired? Were there many applicants? It’s a nice job with the benefits and all.”

“Oh, honey. This place gets lonesome sometimes with all these serious men marching around, and you were a ball of happiness. Such a delight at our interview. Easy to talk to, willing to learn. Teachable. That’s a big one. Never trust someone who thinks they already know everything under the sun. And it didn’t hurt that you were the only one who didn’t ask for double the advertised pay.”

Emma gasped. “People can do that?”

“They can sure try.”

Emma scrunched her nose. “Missed that boat, didn’t I?”

Florence laughed and patted her shoulder. “You hang on for the first few months, then you call me. I’ll coach you through how to get a raise without asking.” The older woman’s glasses slid down her nose as she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Thank you for giving me a chance. I know my resume has some holes in it.”

“Hush, now. We all start somewhere. Why, I was married with two babies by the time I was your age. Didn’t take on full-time work until they were off the apron strings. I’ve lived life in quarters it seems. I’m excited for the next one. The grand-babies and cruises. Already booked our first one. We’re contemplating an RV too. See here, sweet thing, you got me gabbing again. We’ve got five days to get you trained up. You sit here for a dry run with the phones. I’ll be in that heapin’ mess of a breakroom. I’ll leave you with a clean slate there at least.”

Emma took one message for James and successfully transferred two other calls in the next half hour. Mostly, she sat and doodled on a pink sticky note. She could do this, no problem.

Payday was every two weeks and the health insurance would kick in after thirty days.

Hallelujah. She’d been wearing her last set of contacts for far too long, and she could finally see a specialist about her knee. Florence could beat her in a foot race the way things were. Emma chuckled quietly at the image of the woman hiking up her paisley skirts to race down the dirt track. Emma was too young to have a janky knee for the rest of her life. Maybe a doctor, or physical therapist could⁠—

Bzzzt! A red light blinked. “Anna, bring fresh coffee to the boardroom.” A rough voice shot through the phone intercom without her needing to push anything.

She spoke back. “O-okay. Be right there.”

“Florence? Anna? Can you hear me?” The voice drifted away. “...why we hire people who don’t stay at the desk…”