The elevator opened on the executive floor of Card Enterprise's headquarters, the second tallest building in New Chicago. A young woman stepped out and looked around the lavishly furnished reception area. She was thin, with pale skin and bleached blonde hair that bordered on being white. Her attire was extremely nerdy, she was wearing a skirted business suit with a feminine bow tie and thick glasses. She looked extremely naive and it was clear that this was her first time interviewing for a corporate job.
Behind the reception desk, another woman, several years older than the one who had just stepped off the elevator, cleared her throat. "Oh!" the younger woman said as she spun around. "I'm terribly sorry...I have an appointment for an interview today." She said, beaming with excitement. Her voice was very soft and innocent, and made her sound far younger than a woman old enough to drink.
The receptionist simply looked at the young woman for several long moments, blinking in a rather bored fashion. Finally, in as an annoyed tone as she could manage, she said "Name?"
"Oh! Right! Kelli, my name is Kelli. I have an appointment!" she said excitedly.
The receptionist rolled her eyes and verified that a 'Kelli' did, in fact, have an appointment. Instead of trying to fight the young woman for her full name, she simply clicked the intercom and stated that the 11:30 appointment was ready. A voice with a distinct Eastern European accent simply replied with "Send her in."
--
As Kelli walked into the office, her emotions were a mix of absolute excitement, and utter and complete terror. This was the office of the famed Alan Card, entrepreneur and businessman. A man famous for his innovation, his artistic eye, and his smile. The office was relatively dark, and there wasn't an overall light source to be found anywhere inside of it. Instead, there was accent lighting illuminating the paintings on the wall, the pottery and antiques on the tables, and a low glow that hung over the main desk against the far wall. Of course, that desk was empty.
Kelli looked around, confused, until a voice spoke from behind her. "Welcome, miss." A figure stepped out of the shadows with a smile on his face.
Kelli screamed like a little girl in a haunted house...then immediately turned beet red from embarrassment. "I am so...so sorry, sir, I didn't mean to..." she started.
"It's alright...it's alright. I like to have a little fun with my employees. It helps to make the workday go...a little quicker, don't you think?" He said with a warm smile as he motioned her to a sitting area on the right side of the office, where two antique couches and a table sat under recessed lighting.
Smiling nervously, she made her way over to one of the couches. "I guess it might, sir..." she answered nervously. She looked at the couch cautiously. It was old, something you would expect to see in a movie about Victorian England, complete with claw feet at the bottom of its legs. She carefully lowered herself onto the couch, worried about how it might feel, but to her surprise it was probably the most comfortable thing she had ever sat on.
The CEO moved to a small bucket and pulled out a bottle of red wine, pouring a glass for himself and offering one to Kelli as well. "Would you like something to help...calm your nerves, miss?"
She looked at the wine glass and then at her hands. They were still shaking, although she wasn't sure whether it was from the startle she received at the door or simply from her own nervousness. "Thank you sir, but I had better wait until I stop shaking...if that's ok with you. I'd hate to spill on...well, anything in here really."
Alan smiled and held the glass under his nose, appreciating the bouquet coming off of the wine. "A good choice. That shows self awareness, I like that. And the table in front of you is nearly 400 years old. It was made from the timbers of the Santa Maria...when Columbus no longer had a use for her." He slid his hand over the table and closed his eyes. The expression on his face made Kelli wonder if he could almost feel the history in the table. "The wine, on the other hand, is from a vineyard in France...that was destroyed in 1647. I'll save you a glass." he said with a warm smile.
Kelli smiled, nodding slightly. "I'd like that very much."
"Well then," Alan said as he sat down across from her, flipping open a folder that contained her resume and the job description. "let's get to work, shall we?"
They talked for what felt like hours, and Alan spent a great deal of time and energy explaining the position that he had in mind for her. It was a research position, part of Card Enterprise's business charter was to explore strange new ideas and concepts. To seek out new technology and new innovations. To boldly go out and buy newly made companies. It was a kind of Money Trek. As the executive research assistant, it would be Kelli's job to not only find out the history of the companies and technologies that they were looking to acquire, but to also do a more...hands on investigation. She would act as a kind of corporate probe by meeting the people within the companies and seeing how they were run. Sometimes she would do this openly, as a representative of Card Enterprises, and other times she would do it covertly...as a corporate spy.
The job itself was right up Kelli's alley...well, most of it. She was an expert at doing research, whether it was online or in an old fashioned repository, digging through papers and microfiche. If it existed...anywhere...Kelli could find it. But there was one part she was unsure of. "I really do think I could do the job, Mr. Card..." she started nervously "But, I'm not really sure I would be good at being a corporate spy. As you can tell from my demeanor, I get really nervous in high stress situations." The moment she finished that sentence, she realized that she had basically admitted she couldn't handle the job. Her heart sank, and it was visible on her face.
Alan watched her face closely as he perfectly hid a smile of delight that he so desperately wanted to express. Instead, he simply let out a soft "hmm" and took a small sip of his wine. He set the glass down and let a perfectly calculated, warm smile wash over his face. "My dear Kelli, that is exactly why I asked you here today. In the position that you are going to be in, you will have power and authority. In the corporate world, these things come with an air of...animosity from other corporate types. But you have an innocence, a naivete to you that cannot be faked. We can teach you how to hone that emotion, that innocence, so you can use it on command. And we can foster the confidence that I see hidden deep in your eyes. If you would be so good as to simply...accept the job I am offering you now."
