This is a sequel to the series, "Jane's Happy Endings." I tried to write this chapter it is not completely necessary to read the previous story.
This story has quite a long build up before anything erotic happens, so please be patient. This chapter mainly focuses on catching up with all the characters. Please enjoy!
--
Three months after Jane left for New York, her previous supervisor, Maria, had still not recovered from the departure of her best employee.
"I'm still upset at you," Maria said, as she sat across from her boss, Jennifer. "If we had just made her a good offer instead of trying to lowball her, she might not be in New York right now."
Jane had taken a job in New York with the company Sunshine Industries after her company failed to make the competitive offer that she was promised. Maria advised them that they were making a terrible mistake with their slow approach, but they did not take heed of her advice.
"I've apologized a million times," said Jennifer. "But let me assure you, you will be part of the decision making from now on, and not Mark."
Mark was the one who suggested lowballing Jane, hoping to get her to work for their corporate office at a much cheaper salary than they originally planned to give her.
"It doesn't help that she's doing so well over there," Maria pointed out. "Have you noticed her online? She has been all over the place, getting deals and sponsorships. She really hit the ground running!"
"You're absolutely right. But I promise to make it up to you," Jennifer assured. "We have allocated money for your branch to hire a secretary."
"I appreciate that, but I don't think anyone can really replace Jane."
"This will be a much better position than the intern job Jane had and will be higher paying as well. We have a candidate coming in today for an interview. And we have two really good candidates coming in tomorrow. I need you to help me decide who we are going to hire."
Maria reluctantly agreed. Although her heart wasn't in it, she trusted herself to make a better decision than Jennifer, even if she was just lucky last time.
"Tell me about the one coming today," Maria requested.
"She's actually not the best candidate in the world," Jennifer reluctantly explained. "She is quite young and inexperienced. But the two that are coming tomorrow are really great candidates."
Maria sighed before standing up and rolling her eyes. "I just need a moment to refresh my brain," she said, before walking out the door of her office.
She went into the break room to get a cup of coffee where she ran into her prized worker.
"Veronica, what are you doing in here?"
"I just needed a mental break," she responded.
Veronica was previously in a relationship with the departed Jane. However, once she learned of Jane's offer from Sunshine Industries, she decided to lie to her, holding in her true feelings, so she could push her away to New York.
"You and me both!" Maria responded, also needing a mental break.
"What are you so stressed about?"
"I don't know how you are going to feel about this," she prompted. "But Jennifer wants to hire a new secretary to work here."
"A secretary?"
"Yes. Basically, a personal assistant for me. And she will help with some of the smaller tasks to assist you ladies, as well."
"Oh," Veronica reacted, as she rolled her eyes. "You mean, kind of like Jane's old position?"
She still wasn't over the departure of the popular intern. In her mind, she did the right thing by encouraging the former intern to go pursue her dreams in New York. However, she was never quite able get over her, like she thought she would. Being apart only made her realize just how important Jane was to her.
The Latina was still curvy but had lost some weight. She was in a state of depression and had lost her appetite. She just couldn't understand why she was so unhappy after convincing Jane to leave for a better life.
"Don't think of it as a replacement," Maria said. "Nobody will ever replace Jane, but we can use some help around here. Trust me, I'm not crazy about this either. But the company is desperate to get on track. And I'm not going to say no when they allocate more resources in our direction. I just can't take that risk."
"I understand," Veronica said with a blank face. She then shook her head, trying to snap out of the deep state of thought. "I'm fine. And you deserve to have a personal assistant."
After a relaxing break, both women were recharged and ready to get back to work. Maria went to her office as Veronica went back to her desk. But as Veronica was sitting down, Ashley and Monica, her co-workers, began to get nosy.
"So, why is Jennifer here?" Monica asked.
"I'm not exactly sure."
"Come on," Ashley said. "Maria must have told you something."
"She said they are hiring a secretary soon. Maybe Jennifer is here to do the interviews?"
"That makes sense!" Monica responded.
"Why don't they let you choose?" Ashley joked. "You're the one that seems to fall in love with the assistants. Who better to choose a keeper than you?"
Veronica was frequently annoyed with Ashley's antics. They used to be best friends, but for some reason Ashley had been poking fun at her ever since Jane left.
"Whatever, Ashley," Veronica said, as she rolled her eyes and got back to work. She was smart enough to understand what her co-worker was doing. But it was still a lot to deal with, considering how much she was hurting from the departure.
"Oh, you two stop it, please!" Monica intervened. She had watched the friction grow between the two and was growing very tired of it. She missed Jane as much as anyone, except Veronica. But she wanted their friendship to go back to the way it was.
"I know things have been stressful, but let's save all our venting for the bar, tomorrow night." Monica and Ashley had been planning on taking Veronica to their favorite sushi bar to try to get her mind off Jane.
It had been so long since the three of them had a girls' night together. Although Veronica and Ashley had some problems lately, they both looked forward to a night out, just like the old times.
--
Over in New York, Jane's new supervisor, Miranda, could not say enough positive things about her.
"This has been a very successful hire," she said, on the phone with the hiring coordinator, Cynthia.
"I'm glad it has worked out so well," Cynthia responded. "I have to say, it's very interesting how we came upon this gem."
"It sure is! But she and Camilla are tearing it up. And her ideas to focus on social media advertising have been a home run!"
"You're telling me! We've saved so much money and reached so many people at the same time."
"She doesn't know it yet, but she's the full package."
--
Jane sat in the office, trying to get several tasks accomplished at once. She really was a woman on a mission, primed to prove herself to the world and to anyone who doubted her.
The young Asian worker looked started wearing nicer clothes now that she had the money to update her style. She went to many popular events, so she always needed to look her best.
Jane found a gym and been working out seven days a week. Her little petite figure was now looking toned. She also had the money to eat healthy, after being on such a cheap diet when she was an intern. Most importantly, she was much more confident in herself.
As the clock struck four, her co-worker, Camilla, walked up to her. "Are you almost ready?" she asked.
"I just want to finish up a couple things," Jane responded. "You don't have to give me a ride home. I can just take a taxi, so you don't have to wait for me."
Jane left her car for her parents to sell. She flew out to New York with nothing but a suitcase and aspirations for a new start. Camilla and Miranda were taking turns giving her rides to work and back, just as they promised.
"Don't be silly, Jane," Camilla responded. "I'll just work on a few things until you're ready to go. No rush."
Jane got back to work but was still thrown off by how nice Camilla had been to her the entire time. She was starting to grow quite anxious of Camilla's kind behavior towards her.
