The Staircase of Dragon Jerico
Chapter Ten
MONDAY MORNING, Ellen met Erin in the lobby and took her to have an ID badge made.
“This is the only way you can get to your office,” Ellen explained. “The badge is keyed to areas where you have access, and very few people have access to the penthouse suite. Part of your job will be calling the elevator when there are authorized visitors. You press the badge against the reader in the elevator and then tap your floor number.”
“I take it my boss doesn’t have many visitors.”
“I guess we accept it because the penthouse is his apartment as well as his office. But don’t worry about that. The areas are separate. And he doesn’t like close contact with people. He’s out of the office today, surveying a land acquisition. As soon as we get the paperwork taken care of and go through the new employee orientation, Mrs. Carver will take you up to the office and give you the specific job instructions. She’ll work with you all day tomorrow to be sure you’ve got the systems down, and then you’ll be on your own.”
“I can do this.”
“I’m sure you can.”
Erin filled out tax forms, signed for the employee handbook, got set up for health insurance and a new 401k, and listened to the benefits person go through her payroll deductions and corporate policies. The company had a liberal vacation and time off policy. In general, the people she saw around the office seemed happy and productive.
Just before lunch, Royce Duval stepped into the room and introduced himself as the president of the company. Erin didn’t really know the organization of the company. Mr. Duval did not look like the kind of person with the social interaction problems Jacqueline had told her about the previous day.
She looked at Ellen with a question on her lips, but Ellen shook her head, so Erin held her piece until Royce left.
“Do I work for him?” she asked.
“No. I mean no more than everyone works for the president of the company, but by that token, we all work for your boss, the chairman and CEO. I have to tell you that Royce is the real engine that powers this business. He comes up with ideas that make us all a fortune. And he can stand in front of a thousand people and have them eating from the palm of his hand in five minutes.”
“Impressive.”
“You know we’ve done some belt-tightening in the past couple of months and you’re the only new hire that’s been allowed. We’ve heard Royce is about ready to present a business-reviving idea to the board next month. He’s been behind closed doors most of last week with just a few engineers and architects with him. No one ever sees your boss. He’s the chairman because his mother and grandfather own the company. Royce is the real brains.”
“Oh. That’s interesting,” Erin said noncommittally.
Maybe Mr. Duval was everything Ellen said, but Erin had worked in marketing and management for ten years. She’d seen people like Royce in other companies. They could sell anything, but they were nothing without a product. Ellen called a stop to the training when Jacqueline came into the room.
“Are we ready for lunch?” Jacqueline asked.
“Just waiting for you, Mrs. Carver,” Ellen said. “Why don’t you take Erin to lunch and continue the training at your pace. Good luck, Erin. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“Thank you, Ms. Barrett,” Erin said. She gathered her jacket and followed Jacqueline out of the office.
“I’m sure Ellen filled your head with nonsense, but that’s her job,” Jacqueline said as soon as they were out of the building.
“I… uh… Ms. Barrett was very informative,” Erin said.
“You’ve mastered lesson one,” Jacqueline said. “Our company is generally informal. People refer to their coworkers by their first names. They dress in what is usually described as business casual—though sometimes that becomes a little too casual for a business environment, if you ask me. That applies to all employees except you. You represent the Chairman of the Board. He is also the Chief Executive Officer. It might seem pretentious, but you will always address your boss as Mr. Carver and he will return the respect by calling you Ms. Scott. Unless you prefer to be ‘Miss?’ No, I didn’t think so. You’ll address every employee as Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms. If there is a question about which to use, fall back on Ms. There is probably only one employee in the company you could go wrong with and he used to be a she. Don’t ask. We just use the preferred mode of address.”
“I see, Mrs. Carver. Using honorifics is an established way of maintaining professional distance. Mr. Carver is a man who is not comfortable with familiarity. Maintaining the formal address keeps him from uncomfortable situations.”
“Yes, Ms. Scott. You do understand. You may also assume that anyone attempting to address you by your first name, or your boss by his first name, is attempting to insinuate himself into a closer relationship where none exists. If Preston decided to have a first name relationship with anyone, it would be his choice, not that person’s.”
The two women ate Caesar salads at a pleasant restaurant a block from the office. They took time to enjoy the meal while Mrs. Carver found out more about Erin and Erin learned more about her new boss.
“If you will pardon me, ma’am, Mr. Carver sounds like… let us say, an older gentleman. A man much older than would be possible as your son.”
“Yes, you are right. He sounds that way. It’s his grandfather’s fault—the former chairman of JeriCorp. My father, Mr. Jerico, established the rules during a time in which that form of address was the standard. It’s the way Mr. Carver was trained to take over the duties. Formality is a protection against his social… awkwardness. It works well and you will never misunderstand him.”
Jacqueline paid for the meal and they walked back to the office. The streets were wet, but most of the snow had melted.
“It is unnecessary for you to walk through the common areas to get to your office. Come directly to this entrance and go to the top in the elevator. You do not need to announce your presence when you step off. Greetings are not required.”
Jacqueline watched as Erin used her keycard to operate the elevator for the first time.
“Your office is here, immediately next to the elevator. You’ll find you have a top-of-the-line setup. If you need any hardware or software, let the tech people know and they’ll get it for you. This office has all the supplies you’ll need without having to go to the lower level supply cabinets. You just need to be on top of reordering as needed.”
“This is impressive. I can hardly wait to get into my work.”
“While Mr. Carver is on his site visit, let’s tour the entire office. First, masks. Mr. Carver insists on masks in his office. He had a bout with the pandemic a year ago and has been overly conscious of it since.”
Erin snapped a mask over her face. It was convenient to have masks available in the elevator so she needn’t worry about carrying them around or forgetting one.
She was impressed with the open room in front of her. Her office area next to the elevator was well-defined. It was completely open to the rest of the large room, in the middle of which was a table with a three-dimensional terrain map. Beyond the map table, Mr. Carver’s desk was on an elevated platform. A second work station was in the other corner.
“Don’t be put off by the dais,” Jacqueline said. “It isn’t a power trip. It’s very difficult to get a good perspective on his project if he’s on the same level. Sometimes you’ll see him go upstairs and look down over the loft railing. He isn’t spying on you. He just needs a bird’s eye view. He has no boundaries in this office. If he wants to see what you are doing, he will walk directly up to you and look over your shoulder.”
“That’s not too spooky.”
“It’s actually quite refreshing. You may have worked in places where you get the feeling someone is looking at you but can’t see it. Mr. Carver leaves you in no doubt,” Jacqueline laughed. “Let’s start at the top and work our way down. Are you familiar with Rubik’s Cubes?”
“Oh, yes. I competed in speed competitions when I was a teen,” Erin said.
“Don’t mention that to Mr. Carver. He’d want to test you and compete. But whenever you see a Rubik’s Cube around the office or apartment that has been solved, scramble it. I’ve bookmarked a web page on your computer that will provide instructions for randomizing a cube without following a pattern. Mr. Carver works them as he is contemplating problems in his project or in the business. You’ll find upward of twenty of them of varying degrees of difficulty scattered around. For example, this one by his bed he uses to put himself to sleep at night.”
“A 7x7x7? Wow! He must have trouble sleeping if it takes that much.”
“His mind is working at a speed you can’t comprehend. His record for solving the 5x5x5 Professor’s Cube is fifty-one seconds. The world record for the 7x7x7 cube is 1:36. Mr. Carver is significantly slower than that, which is comforting.”
“Why?”
“It tells me that no matter how brilliant he is, he is not an idiot savant. He has many things in that mind of his,” Jacqueline said. “Now, you will notice his bed is made and there are no clothes out of place. He is obsessively clean and tidy. When he awakens in the morning, he showers and dresses. Everything he has worn or used is deposited in the laundry chute that drops into the bathroom on the lower level. He makes his bed and dresses in clean clothes. You’re responsible for tying the laundry bag and sending it down in the elevator when the service comes to pick it up on Friday. Monday morning, you will receive the clean laundry and put it away. Learn the order of his drawers carefully.”
“I get the feeling I’m a sort of domestic servant,” Erin said.
“It’s a part of the job, but isn’t the extent of it. Check the sitting room, bedroom, and bathroom for anything that looks out of place or may have been dropped. The kitchen is his special domain. Mr. Carver fixes nearly all his own meals, but if you make a great cup of coffee in the morning, you’ll endear yourself to him. Picking up, straightening, and generally making sure the space is tidy is a very important part of your job as his personal assistant. Now, let’s talk about your business responsibilities.”
Erin was thankful for the detailed instructions Jacqueline gave her on routine procedures and how to make decisions on non-routine things. It was an entire business education in an afternoon—customized to the way JeriCorp did business.
“Ms. Scott, you have one job above all others. You will keep anything that prevents Mr. Carver from focusing on his job out of his way, and that includes making sure he has everything he needs in order to do his job. Everything else is your responsibility. It has proven to be too much responsibility for many who have come before you. That is one of the reasons I felt your management and executive experience were good qualifications for becoming Mr. Carver’s personal assistant.”
“I assure you, Mrs. Carver, I will strive to be the best assistant Mr. Carver has ever had.”
“I believe you will succeed. Meet me at the elevator downstairs at 7:45 tomorrow morning. I’ll work with you for the day tomorrow. Now, let’s call it quits for today.”
Jacqueline took her jacket from the coat rack and put it on while Erin went behind her desk and picked up the instruction sheets she had been following. She put them in the desk drawer and arranged her desktop in an orderly fashion. Nothing was on her desk except the tools she would use every day. Jacqueline watched with a hidden smile as Erin went to Preston’s desk and went through the same general steps, making sure everything was in its proper place. She wiped down his desk and chair with a disinfectant wipe and then grabbed her own jacket. She joined Jacqueline at the elevator.
“Yes. I believe you will succeed.”
“It turns out, I’m still pretty much a waitress,” Erin laughed on the phone with Dolores. “Or a maid. But there are some interesting projects, too.”
“So, who are you working for that was shrouded in such mystery?”
“The head honcho of JeriCorp. What’s ironic is that it’s the same company that Bruce worked for,” Erin said.
“The head? Be careful. I’ve heard he’s quite the ladies’ man. Goes through them like water,” Dolores said.
“Really? I haven’t actually met him yet. They’ve prepared me for as many faults as they can, but no one mentioned being his private call girl. I don’t think it jibes with what I’ve found so far.”
“Just be careful, honey. You’re still emotionally vulnerable. Don’t let him take advantage of you,” Dolores cautioned her.
“Thanks, Dolores. You’re such a good friend. Did the new girl work out okay at the diner?”
“She’s a little scattered but I have hopes for her. It will take some time to get her proficient, though. Seems like you had the job down in a day. I’m going to need to watch this girl every step of the way for a while.”
“Well, if it turns out my boss wants sex in the morning, I’ll be right back there busing tables. As long as all he wants is for me to make reservations for his date, I’m good with it.”
“You don’t sound very morally outraged by that kind of thing.”
Erin really didn’t have any qualms about making personal reservations for her boss. It was all part of the job. She really didn’t care who he slept with, as long as it wasn’t her.
“When Bruce cheated on me, it was a personal affront to the trust we had in each other. I wasn’t offended by his morals. It was the breach of our contract with each other. One of the classes I took during my MBA was on how to use a personal assistant, assuming we’d all be on the executive end. It included a professional who talked about her role. She said a personal assistant can’t afford morals. If she is offended by her boss’s behavior, she’s in the wrong job and needs to quit. Otherwise, as long as he isn’t engaged in something illegal, moral judgments don’t have a place in the office. The job is to facilitate my boss’s performance.”
“Wow! I never thought about it like that.”
“She also made a distinction between morals and ethics and said she demanded ethical behavior from her employer. I guess tomorrow morning, I’m going to meet him for the first time. I’ll find out then if I can cast my lot with him or if I’ve made a big mistake.”
Erin was at the elevator at 7:40 in the morning, determined to go to her job at 7:45, whether Jacqueline was there or not. Jacqueline showed up just as Erin was stepping into the elevator.
“Good morning,” she said, taking a mask from the box in the elevator. She held her key card to the reader and pushed the button for the top floor.
“Are you an overachiever, Ms. Scott?” Jacqueline asked.
“I don’t think so, Mrs. Carver. However, I am very conscious of my responsibilities.”
“Excellent. Start with the coffee and then scan for cubes that need to be reset. Don’t go upstairs until Mr. Carver has come down to the kitchen.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jacqueline sat at Erin’s desk and started up the computer to check the morning mail. That was the obvious reason for sitting there, but she was also watching Erin as she went about her work. The smell of coffee was soon in the air. Erin worked her way through the lower level of the penthouse, resetting cubes and wiping off surfaces with a disinfectant wipe. Jacqueline noticed Erin had also pulled on a pair of latex gloves.
At Preston’s desk, Erin paused and looked puzzled, as if she were memorizing the position of everything on the desk. Then she went about the process of wiping down the surfaces. She went to the sitting area next to his desk, and was resetting a cube when Preston came down the stairs. He wore a suit and tie, and a mask. His dark brown eyes were a perfect match for his thick dark hair.
“Ah… M-Ms. Scott, I assume,” he said, pausing at the kitchen door.
“Yes, Mr. Carver. Good morning.”
“R-right. Carry on. I’ll… have… things to go over… after breakfast.”
“Yes, sir.”
Erin returned to her task without looking again at Preston. Preston hesitated a moment as he watched her, shrugged, and went into the kitchen. Before long, the aroma of bacon cooking filled the apartment.
“Uh… Mrs. Carver,” she said quietly, “who sits at the other desk?”
“Oh, that’s Mr. Jerico’s desk. He seldom comes in unless he and Mr. Carver are working together on a project. Please do make sure it is tidy and ready for him at all times.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Erin went upstairs and found the bed freshly made. She checked for cubes and spent nearly five minutes resetting the 7x7x7 according to the instructions on her tablet. She wiped down the bathroom surfaces and made sure his toiletries were organized. She noted his bottle of moisturizer was nearly empty. She would order a replacement.
When she got to her desk, Jacqueline was on the phone instructing someone to put the delivery in the elevator.
“I delayed the delivery of Mr. Carver’s laundry, since we were not in the office yesterday morning. That will be it arriving now,” she said.
Erin called the elevator and took the laundry bag. It was smaller than she thought it would be, but then, it was only laundry for one person. Erin had been doing her own laundry only once every two weeks because her loads were so small. She took the bag directly upstairs and opened it on the bed, sorting out the piles of underwear, socks, handkerchiefs, and towels. She located the proper drawers for each item, took the sheets and towels to the linen closet, and took the laundry bag back downstairs. In the lower-level bathroom, she located the bottom of the laundry chute and placed the bag, ready to receive more.
When she returned to her desk, Jacqueline smiled at her with her eyes. Erin hoped the smile had also reached her mouth behind the mask.
“Mr. Carver will be finished in the kitchen in five minutes. You’ll want to check it to be sure everything is clean, then be ready for the day’s orders. Here, I’ve flagged the pieces of email he needs to see. You should read every item and be prepared to talk about it if he asks. But most of this corporate correspondence really shouldn’t have been sent upstairs in the first place. Mr. Duval forwards everything he receives or sends. Pay attention to those, as Mr. Carver will have specific instructions on some of them. Otherwise, use your best judgment.”
“I’m allowed to just decide?”
“Yes. The same is true of purchases and purchase order approvals. Check to be sure it is legitimate and if it is for $5,000 or less, make the decision yourself.”
“It seems unusual to give a new employee that level of authority.”
“We’ve reviewed your background carefully and know you are qualified. Mr. Carver believes any employee will make at least 51% good decisions. He wants to know immediately if his judgment is off. Believe me, he will know if you make bad decisions.”
Erin settled in for her first day of real work, continuing to get instructions from Jacqueline throughout the day.
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