Company Policy Pt. 02

Between the chairs against a different wall was a bamboo fountain that had lights inside the water reservoir that slowly changed color and showed its colors against the wall. The water dripped and tinkled and made the only sounds in the room.

The fountain suddenly made her have to pee.

To her right was an oak side table with magazines fanned out on it. Titles like "Investments Monthly" and "Stocks and Bonds" jumped out at her. She looked, but there was no People or Vogue magazines to be found.

There was another small end table but this one held a Keurig and coffee cups on it. Presumably the K-cups were in the end table's drawer.

"Miss," the security guard said as he hung up his phone, "Nancy says to take the elevator to the fourth floor. Once you get there, turn to the right and head into that conference room. You'll see the sign on the wall."

Shelby felt her stomach drop. Suddenly she was nervous. This felt too much like a "real" job interview that she hadn't really prepared for. Shit, should she have brought a resume? She had one she'd created as an assignment in her computer class. It was a joke, though, because it had her high school listed on it with "diploma anticipated" next to it. She hadn't ever done much else other than work at McDonald's. She'd babysat a couple times for Lexie when Lexie had double booked herself, but she hadn't remembered those people's names at the time she'd created the resume so she'd left all of that off. She had two of her McDonald's managers listed as contacts and, of course, her stepdad Mike. He'd give an embarrassingly positive review of her, she was sure.

Shelby swallowed hard and slid her purse onto her shoulder as she stood. The double elevators were across from the security desk. They had polished gold doors that acted like mirrors. She looked at herself after she pushed the 'up' button. Suddenly she felt small and young and insignificant. Way out of her league. What was she even doing here?

But just then the elevator dinged. It had arrived and she stepped inside.

There were true mirrors on the inside of the elevator, but after she pressed the "4", she studied the maximum weight capacity sign and the red, emergency phone box instead. It was embarrassing, looking at herself. And it made her more nervous.

When the elevator opened on the fourth floor, she stepped out onto a long, white rug that ran the entire length of the hallway. It looked similar to the reception area rug but it had different colored intersecting squares on it instead of circles.

The conference room was indeed just where the security guard had said it would be, and she stepped inside the empty room.

A huge rectangular mahogany table with rounded edges dominated the space. Surrounding the table were eighteen very high end, very comfortable-looking executive chairs. In the middle of the table was a triangular object that Shelby assumed was a telephone for speakerphone calls.

Hanging from the ceiling was a small projector with what looked like a camera lens pointing to the front of the room. Shelby could imagine the meetings that went on in here.

Another white rug with colorful intersecting circles on it just like what was in the lobby covered the hardwood floor - the pretty mahogany floor slats peeked out around the rug's edges.

A blank white board dominated the front wall of the conference room and a big, blank, post-it note pad was on an easel off to the side.

But what caught Shelby's attention was the large windows. She was afraid of heights, yes, but that didn't translate when she was safe inside a building. She looked out and could see some of the downtown, and a little bit of Main Street, and she could see a lot of Center Street that ran horizontally just below the windows. The big, white courthouse looked pretty situated in the middle of the square with its classical architecture, many windows, and big rotunda. It reminded her of the Capitol Building in Washington DC a little, though it wasn't nearly as big.

She heard the door click closed and she spun around.

There stood a woman with a yellow legal pad, a black folder, and a pen. What was worse, she was the woman who had gotten Shelby fired from her job!

"You?!" Shelby spluttered.

Nancy's smile morphed until she looked a little embarrassed. "You're Shelby, right?" She asked.

Shelby nodded. The woman came over and shook her hand. It was a firm handshake, not too manly but not too limp. Her hand was dry where Shelby's was a little moist due to her nervousness.

"I'm Nancy Addington," she said, introducing herself. "Nice to see you again," Nancy added.

Nancy was a few inches taller than Shelby, but at five foot one most everyone was. Nancy looked...boring. Brown suit jacket and skirt, tan blouse, brown shoes. Her hair was even brown and it was cut in a bob that just brushed the tops of her shoulders. Her eyes were light hazel.

"Well, I'd say it's good to see you but the last time I saw you it cost me my job!" Shelby said.

Nancy cringed. "I know. Which is why I wanted to interview you today," Nancy said. "I think I have the perfect position for you - that is, if you want it. Shall we sit and talk?"

Nancy sat down at one end of the conference table and Shelby sat close and to the side.

"So, I'm the IT director here," Nancy began," and I'm looking for an assistant."

"Okay," Shelby said.

"Yes. Someone to help me with IT work."

"Confession. I don't know anything about IT," Shelby said.

Nancy nodded. "It's okay. I can teach you what you'll need to know. I'd have you answering phones for me as we have several other locations in the country - one in Houston, Texas, one in New York City, and another in San Jose, California. All calls with IT issues come to me. I basically need somebody to keep a log of all the phone calls that come in. I also need somebody to keep a spreadsheet of all the toner cartridges we have which is a big job in itself because we have lots of different printers and copy machines here on site. Then a lot of our employees work from home so they all have their own laptops. You'd be opening broken or damaged laptops for me to work on and re-packaging repaired ones to send back to them once I fix whatever problems they have."

Shelby nodded. "Okay."

"Is that something you'd be interested in doing?" Nancy asked.

Shelby grinned. "Sure. I was selling wrenches and hoes at the hardware store. That wasn't exactly a great fit."

Nancy laughed long and loud. She was not a woman afraid of her own laughter, Shelby thought. Her voice was a little lower-pitched than most women's voices, but it still had a pretty tone to it, Shelby thought.

They talked a little about Shelby's previous job experiences and Shelby turned a little red when she told Nancy she didn't think about bringing a resume.

Nancy shrugged. "It's alright. I can always check references later. I'm a pretty good judge of character, anyway," she said. "Do you have any questions for me?"

Shelby thought for a second. "What exactly does the Addington company do?"

"Addington Investments? We're an investment company," Nancy said with a smile. "My husband and his brother started the business back in the early 80's. This is the corporate headquarters."

"But why in tiny little Stationville? When you've got locations all around the country in bigger cities?"

"Well, my husband and his brother were both born here in Stationville, and William was always a small town boy at heart. And plus I think he wanted to give back to the community," she said. "Now that he's passed on, this building and company is his legacy."

"He died?" Shelby asked, surprised.

"Yes," Nancy nodded once.

Shelby could have kicked herself for asking such a stupid question. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"Well, I miss him, as you can imagine. Maybe I'll tell you about him sometime," she said. "In the meantime, you may be wondering about pay," Nancy said, "and we're prepared to offer you 16 dollars an hour."

Shelby blinked. "Seriously?!" She said. "Wow. I was only making minimum wage at the hardware store. That's great!"

Nancy nodded. "I figured that that figure might be preferable to what you were making before."

"It is," Shelby nodded. "Okay, if the job's being offered to me I'd like to take it."

"Excellent!" Nancy said. "I thought you might, so I already brought the HR forms with me for you to sign," she said, taking them from her black folder and handing them over to Shelby. "Here's a pen and I'll let you get to work," Nancy said, standing. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Nancy left the conference room and literally bumped into Lillianna Harris, her boss, in the hallway.

"Is that your new girl in there?" She asked Nancy.

Nancy had to bite her tongue. Lillianna was the Chief Information Officer and therefore her boss, it was true, but Nancy had never liked her. Mid fifties, with dyed, platinum blonde hair twisted up on her head in a French twist and wearing a sleeveless bright red sheath dress with her purple readers perched on the end of her nose, Lillianna always acted like she knew more than everybody else around her. She was smart, for sure, but Nancy could have done her job. The only reason why she didn't have it was because she didn't want it. Her husband had offered it to her time and time again but Nancy had never taken him up on it. So consequently she now had Lillianna to deal with.

"Yes, that's my new assistant," Nancy said as she softly shut the conference room door behind her.

Lillianna looked around Nancy into the small vertical rectangular conference room window. Shelby's back was visible. "Oh, she's nice. Very nice. And she has no idea what we do here?" Lillianna asked.

"No," Nancy said with a sigh. "Not yet."

Lillianna's face broke out into a huge grin. "Good luck with that one. You're probably going to need it," she said, giving Nancy a poke on the arm.

Nancy bit her tongue as Lillianna walked to the elevators. Always sticking her nose in where it didn't belong, she thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shelby signed a lot of non-disclosure agreements, it seemed. But she breezed through the paperwork, filling in her personal information, bank information, emergency contact information, etc. When she was about done Nancy popped back into the room.

"Still working?" Nancy asked.

"Just finishing," Shelby said, and Nancy took the paperwork. She glanced over it quickly, nodded, then put it inside her black folder.

"Come with me. It's time to see the company doctor."

"The...the company doctor?" Shelby asked.

"Yes," Nancy nodded. Every new employee gets a free checkup," she said.

Shelby shrugged. She always liked anything that was free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They left the conference room and walked in silence down the hallway until they came to a sign that said "Clinic". Nancy knocked on the door and a man said "Come in."

The clinic was essentially a large, self-contained exam room. There was a funny looking green chair in the corner with arms on it that Shelby recognized as the blood draw area. In the middle of the room was a matching green exam table with wide white paper drawn down the middle of it. The doctor was sitting at a little table with an open laptop. He wore a white doctor's coat and he was typing.

"Dr. S?" Nancy said.

The doctor turned around and grinned when he heard Nancy's voice. "Hello! Come in!"

"Dr. S, I have Shelby Jacobson here. She just joined the company."

"Oh, yes! I was told we might be getting some new blood in here!" Shelby had to listen closely to understand the man because he spoke with a thick Russian accent.

"I'll be back in a little bit," Nancy said to Shelby, and she left the exam room leaving Shelby alone with the doctor.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Dimitri Sokolov," the doctor said. He walked over to Shelby and he shook her hand. "But people around here just call me Dr. S. You can too if you like."

"Okay," Shelby said.

He was a white haired man in his early sixties. He was a stout person and was not very tall at all - he looked to be around five eight. "Have a seat on the exam table and we'll get started," he said.

They just talked at first, about Shelby's medical history, her periods, sexual activity, and any problems she might be having.

"No, overall I'm pretty healthy," she assured him.

"Ok, that's very good. Now one thing we do here is blood tests. So hop on down and come over to this chair and we'll draw some of your blood." He turned around to look at her. "I have no nurse here; it's just me. But I can assure you I am an expert at blood draws," he said with a grin.

Shelby sat down. She watched him open a package and he pulled out the needle. It had a tiny plastic tube attached to it and it had green wings where the needle met the tube.

"You are sufficiently hydrated?" He asked, tying a big, thick rubber band around her bicep.

Shelby shrugged. "I drink when I'm thirsty."

He felt around the inside of her elbow, found a spot, nodded and said, "this will work just fine. Okay. Here we go."

Shelby, more fascinated than squeamish, watched the needle pierce her skin and slip into her vein. It was only a mild pinch and then she watched the red liquid fill up one, two, three, and eventually five small vials that the doctor attached to the end of the tube, one after another. He loosened, then took off the rubber tourniquet as he finished, cotton ball and band aid now on her inner elbow and the whole thing wrapped tightly by a bright orange compression bandage. The end stuck to itself after he wrapped it once around her arm.

"There we go. All done," the doctor said.

"Do I get a sticker?" Shelby joked.

The doctor smiled. "You were very brave. Now we will do your physical exam," he said. "Take this gown," he said once he had removed one from a drawer under the counter next to the sink, "undress and put it on backwards."

"Ummm..." Shelby said, "I've already had my annual exam this year."

The doctor nodded. "That's fine. But this is a company exam. It's different. You can go into the attached bathroom there to change. Oh, and please take one of the containers from the little basket in there and fill it up to the line with urine for me, okay?"

Shelby hadn't even noticed there was a bathroom there. She took the gown and went into the restroom. She cursed under her breath as she undressed. This is stupid, she thought. I've already done this exam with my own doctor. Why do I have to do it again?

Luckily the gown was big so she could wrap the edges around her so that nothing showed.

She came out of the bathroom with her urine sample to find the doctor waiting on her.

"Up on the table," he said. As she climbed up he unfolded the stirrups. "Feet go here," he said.

She put her feet in the stirrups and laid down. On the ceiling was taped a picture of two empty white adirondack chairs sitting on a deserted beach. The water was aqua-blue. It was a beautiful photo, but it was ridiculous here. What, thinking about being at the ocean would make this less embarrassing and awkward when getting your hoo-ha examined by a guy you've never seen before?

"So you have lost your virginity you said, yes?" The doctor asked. "Arms above your head, please," he added, and he whisked the left side of the gown open. He took his cold fingers and walked them around her left breast. "Do you do your own breast exams?" He asked.

Shelby sighed and shook her head. "No."

"Well, you should. You know your body best."

She was silent as he explored one breast and then the other.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"Just one second," he said, and he went to answer it.

Luckily the exam table angled away from the door. The doctor was able to open it a crack and whoever it was on the other side wouldn't be able to see in.

This was all well and good, but to Shelby's horror, the doctor opened the door wide and another person entered the room.

"You're just in time!" The doctor said.

Shelby, in a panic, quickly tugged the gown back so it covered her, but it was too late. Nancy, of all people, had walked in and had seen her with her gown half open.

"Oh my God!" Shelby said, sitting up and readying to take her feet down from the stirrups.

"Don't move, little one," the doctor said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's very important that Nancy be here for this part."

"What are you talking about?!" Shelby squeaked. "She's not a doctor! She shouldn't be in here!"

Shelby took her feet down from the stirrups.

"You need to lay back down, girl," the doctor said sourly.

"I don't understand," Shelby said. "Why does she need to be in here?"

"Our bosses like to be very familiar with the health of their assistants. It's vital that she be here."

"But the next part of the exam is...?" Shelby began.

"Is when I look between your legs. Correct."

"But Nancy shouldn't be here for that!"

"Yes, she should," he said. "Very much so."

"No, this is bull crap!" Shelby chanced a look to the side and saw Nancy watching the two of them very closely.

Suddenly, the doctor moved and he was standing over her. He grabbed her wrists and squeezed. "You need to calm down and lay back down, little girl, or I'll have to inject you with a muscle relaxer."

Shelby's mouth fell open. "What?" Shelby said, horrified. "Are you kidding me right now? Get your hands off of me," she said, wriggling her wrists out from his grasp. "I'm leaving!"

She lept off of the exam table and ran past both the doctor and Nancy to the door. But when she tried to turn the door handle, it was locked. "Oh my God!" She said, looking around frantically. Holding her gown together with one hand, she took her other hand and banged on the door. "Let me out!" She yelled.

"You don't need to make a big fuss out of this," the doctor said.

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to just lie there while you two examine me!" Shelby said. She banged on the closed door even harder.

The doctor reached into a drawer, pulled something out, and walked up behind Shelby. A pinch on her ass was all she felt next. Shelby whirled around and saw the doctor walking away from her and putting a used syringe into the red sharps container. "You didn't! You didn't just..." she said, and then the room started to blur at the edges. "I mean I can't...I don't..."

"Come here, sweet one," the doctor said. "Let me help you."

"No...no!" She said, but her tongue was starting to feel funny and her voice sounded slow to her own ears. Shelby's legs went suddenly weak and she stumbled right into the doctor's grasp.

He easily caught her and led her back to the center of the room. "Back up onto the exam table, now," he said. "Be a good girl."

Something was wrong. Very wrong. Shelby couldn't figure out how to get away from the doctor. She wasn't thinking clearly - her thoughts were all jumbled in her head. The doctor assisted her and helped her numbly back up onto the exam table.

"Lie down, pretty girl," the doctor said.

Shelby collapsed onto her back on the table and looked up. She blinked a few times. Oh, yes! The adirondack chairs! The picture on the ceiling now made much more sense! She was on that beach. Right now. She was looking at those adirondack chairs, debating whether to sit in one or to go wade in the ocean. She could actually feel the sun, and feel the wind on her face and in her hair. She could taste the brine in the air.

"I burn...in the sunshine," she said, but it came out like a whisper.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them, a few minutes had passed. Her feet were back up in the stirrups and when she tried to take them down they wouldn't budge. Velcro straps now circled her ankles and held her feet fast to the stirrups.

She tried again to take her legs down, but they were going nowhere.

The doctor whisked open her exam gown and she felt cold air immediately on her body... everywhere. Her hands - her hands didn't know what to do. She couldn't figure out how to get her gown closed again. Her hands flung every which way until Nancy took one wrist and secured it down to the exam table by her side. "What's going on?" she asked, as the doctor did the same to her other wrist.