At 9:00 the next morning, Lawrence returned to the offices of the Townsend Corporation for his first day at his new job. The receptionist, who introduced herself as Amanda, greeted him when he walked into the office.
"Welcome to the Stuart-Townsend Corporation. Mr. Townsend asked me to give you a tour of the office, before you get started."
Amanda led Lawrence through the offices, pointing out Mr. Townsend's office and the office of his business partner, Mr. Stuart, the cubicles where the other employees worked, the conference room, the break room, and the restrooms. Finally she left Lawrence in the break room where he was to wait for a man named Blaine to show him what to do.
A few minutes later a young man entered, introduced himself as Blaine, and welcomed Lawrence to the company. "I'm sure you'll have no problem with this job. I've been doing it all summer and it's a cinch."
"What are you doing now?" Lawrence asked.
"Mostly, I'm going to school. Next week, I'll be starting my second year studying computer science. The bosses here offered me an internship, so when I'm not in classes I'll be working on the new computer system."
"That's nice," Lawrence replied politely, although he was feeling somewhat deflated at working at a "kid's" job.
Blaine worked with Lawrence for the remainder of the morning. When Blaine was called away to look at a computer problem, he left Lawrence on his own, confident that the new employee was ready to handle the job by himself. On parting, he told Lawrence to let him know if he needed any help. 
Around noon, Hector stopped by the mailroom to see how Lawrence was doing and to invite him to have lunch. As they walked into the breakroom they found it occupied by a flirting couple.
"Better watch out, Andrew," Hector mocked. "You might get charged with sexual harassment."
"There wasn't any harassment going on in here until you walked in," Andrew replied coldly.
Amanda, the receptionist, who suddenly looked uncomfortable, moved away from the group. Before leaving, she winked at Andrew and said, "I'll see you later."
"You know, Hector, your little shots are getting to be really pathetic," Andrew said once Amanda was out of the room. "But I guess I can't blame you for being threatened by me, when it's obvious that I'm the one who's going to be promoted next and not you."
"Yeah," Hector replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You keep on dreaming. We'll see how things really go."
Andrew nodded a polite acknowledgment to Lawrence's presence in the room, to show that his animosity extended no further than Hector, before turning quickly and leaving the room in a silent huff.
"What was that all about?" Lawrence asked.
"Just a healthy office rivalry. The kind of thing that makes the business world go 'round," Hector replied. His previously spiteful attitude seemed to melt away as soon as Andrew was out of sight. Now he was the same affable, pleasant person he had been before they entered the breakroom.
Lawrence was slightly confused by the remark, but Hector was already changing the subject.
"So, how are you liking the first day here? Been working hard?"
"No. It's not what I expected, but it's all right."
"Great. I hope this works out for you, Laurie. I really do."
Shortly after lunch, as Lawrence was going about his work, the other half of the Stuart-Townsend Corporation, Mr. Clifford Stuart, approached him with a hearty handshake.
"So you must be Lawrence Arrendale. Welcome to the company," Clifford said politely as he introduced himself.
"Thank you, Mr. Stuart. It's nice to meet you."
"I've heard a lot of good things about you from Hector," he said, eyeing Lawrence. Lawrence noted the suspicious undertone in the statement and wasn't sure how to respond. "Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy many productive years here at the Stuart-Townsend Corporation," Mr. Stuart hurriedly ended the conversation. "If you ever have any questions for me, mine is the front office." As he turned to walk away he remarked to Andrew, "You won't forget about our golf game this weekend, will you, Andrew?"
"Of course not, Mr. Stuart. I'm looking forward to it," Andrew replied with a smile.
The rest of the afternoon went smoothly, and Lawrence, being as bright as he had been during his school days, picked up the job quickly. He was learning his away around the office and learning the names of his co-workers. Everyone was as kind and helpful as he could hope for and his only disappointment was that he hadn't yet seen the beautiful woman he encountered after the first interview with Mr. Townsend.
It was almost time to go home for the day when, Mr. Townsend approached Lawrence in the hallway and asked Lawrence to come into his office for a little chat.
"How has your first day been?" Arthur asked.
"Fine, sir. I have no complaints," Lawrence replied.
"Well, I am glad you decided to accept the job. I do trust Hector's judgment, and he says you'll fit in just fine."
Lawrence suddenly felt ashamed for how he acted at the interview and apologized. "I know it was foolish of me to expect a more prestigious job given my background," Lawrence admitted. "I . . .I've just had a lot of disappointments in my life and I suppose I never learned to manage them well."
"Yes," Arthur said thoughtfully. "Hector told me a little about your history. But keep in mind, very few people stay in the mailroom for long. Keep up the good work, Lawrence, and I'm sure you'll move up in no time."
"Thank you, Mr. Townsend," Lawrence replied. "I am very grateful for this second chance, and I will do my best.
"That's all I ask," Arthur replied with a kindly smile.
Hector caught Lawrence again on his way out of the office at the end of the day and talked him into going out with him for a drink.
"So are you coming back to work tomorrow or are you going to fly the coop?" Hector joked.
"I'll be back," Lawrence replied dryly.
"Better than passing out flyers on the street, right?" Hector laughed. When a dark cloud passed over Lawrence's expression, Hector quickly added, "You really need to learn how to loosen up, buddy. You were always too serious about life. But I guess you had good reason to be."
Lawrence shifted uncomfortably in his chair and fidgeted with the untouched drink in front of him. Hector decided to change the subject. "You know, I'm glad we ran into each other yesterday. It's good to have some old friends around. And I'm glad you got the job."
As Hector stopped talking to take a sip of his drink, Lawrence thought he caught a glimmer in Hector's eye, like there was something just below the surface that had been intentionally left unsaid. Instead of pressing for information, Lawrence just nodded and added a husky, "Thanks."
No comments:
Post a Comment