Margo stood on the pavement facing an enormous, black building. She stood, shifting her weight from one leg to the other back, holding a coffee in one had while the other nervously patted her hip. She always looked forward to a morning cup of coffee, but today she couldn't bring herself to take a sip. She felt sick from her nerves. Today was her first day at her new job.
She finally elected to toss the coffee in the trash, taking only one small sip from the paper cup. She was already so jittery; she figured a cup of caffeine would make her explode. She felt the cold January air and immediately missed the warm paper cup in her hands. She wanted to make a good impression on her first day. This wasn't just any job; Bartok Industries was a giant in the field.
She had been running a small tech start-up, finding moderate success, when Bartok had bought her out. She hadn't wanted to go through the beginnings of starting a company again, so she didn't think she'd be willing to sell, until she heard their offer. They were willing to pay a remarkably generous sum to buy her company, and to take her on at Bartok in an upper management position.
Her friends had told her not to take it. Well, at least, not to take the job at a company run by some old
man
. They had all insisted that she could start a new, even more successful business! They had said she'd never be taken seriously as a 22-year-old woman surrounded by middle-aged men; that she was 'surrendering her power'.
Margo had responded that Bartok was a modern company that had a great atmosphere, and valued it's employees. While Bartok did have a pretty good reputation, the truth was that she was exhausted. The pressure of running a company, even a small one, was beginning to take its toll on her. Part of her had respect for all the CEOs of the Fortune-500. Even the old men. It was NOT an easy job. Despite what she and her friends had thought back in college.
Still, Margo had defended Bartok with more confidence than she actually felt. She was anxious to make a good impression because this was going to be a new place with new people and first impressions were important. But more than that she needed to set the tone to make sure she was respected by her peers. She would not tolerate any slimy old men calling her 'doll' or making her do secretary work. She had been an accomplished entrepreneur, and just because she was happy to be rid of the overwhelming stress that came with being responsible for an entire company didn't mean that she would demand any less respect.
She repeated her mantra to herself, feeling somehow both more comfortable and more intimidated. Damn, she wanted to smoke. She longed for the all-too familiar feeling of a cigarette between her lips, the warmth of the nicotine in her blood. Maybe she could bum one off someone as they walked in.
No, don't do that. Nothing owns you; not even addiction
Why not? She still had time, and it would really take the edge off.
No, keep your word impeccable,
she thought to her herself.
You promised yourself that you'd quit
She instantly knew that it would be easier to take her mind off of her craving if she still had a cup off coffee in her hand.
Well, nothing for that now.
She stood there, consciously trying to keep herself from swaying back and forth, trying to calm her nerves a little and at least
look
confident. She took several long slow breaths, speaking quiet words of affirmation to herself.
She looked at her watch, and felt that it was finally late enough that she wouldn't be
too
early on her first day. She couldn't stand to wait any longer so she began her march forward along the pavement to the glass doors at the front of the building.
As her heels clicked away the space between her and her new career, Margo found that the building seemed to lose it's power over her; as if it was seeming more and more like a friend. She caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection from the glass doors. For her first day, she had chosen a very elegant suit that she felt looked professional, while still highlighting her natural curves, and she found that she was very pleased with that choice.
She couldn't help but smile as she opened the front door, wondering what she had been so nervous about.
A tall, brown-haired man stood facing her as she stepped into Bartok Industries. He wasn't exactly good-looking, but not hideous either. He had an athletic build, and an easy, comforting smile on his face.
He extended a hand to her, "Margo Matthews?"
She took his hand, trying not to think about how much of her first impression would be made right here with her first hand-shake at her new job.
"Yes. Hello its' mice to might you. Mice. Ni-Nice to m-meet you." Oh dear god. Margo's smile fell, seeming to run for it's life away from the disaster that was Margo's first impression at her new job.
"I'm Jethro Packer. I'll be working with you for your first couple of weeks. Just to help ease with the transition here. We have a very...specific way of doing things." The man was kind enough to pretend not to notice her fumble of her first words at her new job.
"You can call me Jet." He continued. "Did you have any trouble finding the building?"
Just relax
she thought to herself. Margo forced another smile through her nerves. "It's hard to miss."
Jet chuckled, "Haha, yeah. You know, there were supposed to be other buildings of similar size built in this district. Not sure why, but none of the projects ever seem to get anywhere. Anyway, we have your office all set-up, but I need to take you to on-boarding for some initiation videos, first. Is that okay? It's just standard stuff."
Jet began walking to the elevator before she could react. "Yes. Yes that sounds good."
She got into the elevator with all the poise she could muster. Jet didn't even look at her, he just stared eyes forward, stoically saying nothing.
The elevator doors surprised her when they opened back up, since she had only gone up a single floor.
"You okay?" Jet asked
"Yes. Of, course" she tried not to let her insecurity show. Why would he ask her that. Didn't she seem okay? Wait a minute....
"Your name is Jet Packer?"
Jet turned to her and laughed. His laugh was honestly the most annoying sound she had ever heard. It was high-pitched and nasally. In that moment she forgot how ridiculous his name was, and desperately hoped that she wasn't supposed to be working with Jet long-term.
"Ha! Yeah," Jet said. "I always introduce myself as 'Jethro' to try and keep people from catching that at first, but it hardly ever works."
Margo made an effort to continue being polite, "Would you rather I called you Jethro?"
"No! I can't stand that name. Jet is fine, please ma'am."
Ma'am? Was he showing respect for his superior? Or was he someone who called everyone sir or ma'am. Margo had met people like that before. Also why introduce himself as Jethro if he hated that name?
"It's just over here," Jet gestured to down the hallway to their right.
"Lead the way," Margo kept her professional smile pinned to her face. But the more Jet spoke, the less she liked him. She tried not to let that throw her off. She did want to make a good first impression, regardless.
As Jet opened the first door on the left, he turned to her, allowing her to enter first. And as Margo approached the door, she realized that she hadn't seen a single other employee. She had definitely seen quite a few men enter the building while she had waited outside. But Jet was the only person she'd seen since entering the front door. There hadn't even been anyone at the reception desk.
She entered the room in front of Jet, finding a moderately sized office with a single desk in the middle of the room, facing away from the door. The large appeared to be high-quality, made of a dark wood, and it supported a rather large computer monitor. At the back of the room, opposite the door where she stood, was a black love-seat, and two matching armchairs.
How long was she supposed to spend in this windowless room?
Margo stared into the empty room before entering. She had been under the impression that Phillip Pendergast himself would be meeting her to welcome her into the company. He had seemed so excited to have her on board. Was that just a sales tactic?
Jet stepped into the room and walked over the desk, leaving her in the doorway. Without sitting down, he leaned over the chair, using the mouse to click something she couldn't see on the monitor.
"Jet," she started, still standing in the doorway, "is Mr. Pendergast here? I had thought he--"
"Mr. Pendergast has meetings all day." Jet interrupted, "I'm so sorry I thought that you had been told. He wanted me to assure you that he hadn't forgotten you, but his schedule today made it impossible for him to see you.
Margo stood motionless, feeling slightly better. Even though it she felt it appropriate to be angry that the man who had bought her out and nearly begged her to come work for him was now blowing her off, she honestly felt like her nerves might get the better of her today. Maybe putting it off one day would be best for all parties involved.
Jet continued, "This is all just standard stuff, everyone has to do it. Insurance and NDA's and some trainings that H.R. insists on. Mr. Pendergast wanted me to welcome you here and made sure you know your place here, and how much the company values you."
Margo stepped inside the room, letting the door shut behind her. She smiled and nodded. "Okay, then"
"If you insist on speaking to him, I can call his secretary and see if he can spare a minute," Jet offered.