J. McKenna: Secretary’s Punishment

“Congratulations. You got the job,” said the prim, fifty-something human resources manager, looking over the top of her glasses at the pretty young woman seated in front of her. “Welcome to Bonham Industries.”

Emily Robinson was so thrilled she could barely contain her excitement. It had been three months since she’d been laid off from her previous job and her savings had just about run out. She had begun to wonder if moving to St. Louis had been a mistake. Somehow, by luck or by the strength of her two interviews, she had made it!

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Dowd—I’ll do a real good job for you, I promise,” she gushed at the woman.

“Yes, well...” Mrs. Dowd seemed uncomfortable. She took off her glasses and folded them carefully in her hands. “You should know that you’ll be the administrative assistant to Mr. Caudry, one of our senior salesmen. He, uh, can be, er, difficult.”

In her mind, Emily pictured a crotchety old man who thought of all young people as “whippersnappers.” Still, she would not be dissuaded from her good mood. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll get along. I get along with everyone.”

Mrs. Dowd nodded and bit her lip. “Um, good. Well, we have some paperwork for you to fill out, then I’ll begin your orientation.”

Emily filed out the information for health insurance and a 401(k) plan and was handed an employee’s manual. Everything was so exciting and new! She almost hummed to herself as she completed the forms.

“That should do it,” Mrs. Dowd said. “Now, let me show you how the phone and computer work.” Over the next forty-five minutes, Emily took notes as she tried to keep up with the dizzying rash of instructions the woman tossed out. Everything was simultaneously straight-forward and complex. Filling out the calendar for her new boss’s movements should have been easy, except for the codes she had to memorize to use the program. And the phone! It was so high-tech she could probably call up satellites with it but all she wanted to understand was how to get an outside line.

With her head still spinning, she suddenly realized Mrs. Dowd had stood. Emily rose to her feet at once, feeling butterflies in her stomach. “Any questions?”

Emily had too many to ask and realized at the same time that “none” was the correct answer. She shook her head.

“Good. Follow me.”

Mrs. Dowd led the way through the warren of cubicles, pausing to point out a conference room, the bathrooms and the employee lounge. Emily was aware of many eyes on her and tried to nod and smile in response. Mrs. Dowd came to a section where three offices lined the far wall. They were all faced with rich wood paneling. Thick carpeting padded the floor, setting the area off from the common cubicle farm. Mrs. Dowd stopped at the first desk just outside an oak door. “This will be your spot.”

Emily opened her eyes wide in disbelief—she had just been hired and already she was assigned as administrative assistant in such a cushy spot? She looked past Mrs. Dowd to the cubicles and then back to the woman, confused.

“Yes, I know what you’re thinking—why are you here instead of one of those other girls? Someone who has been here longer? Am I right?”

Emily could only nod.

Mrs. Dowd pursed her lips. “Uh...” She seemed to struggle to find the right words. “Mr. Caudry is, well, very particular. He’s gone through several administrative assistants, I’m afraid. He’s, uh, quite valuable to the firm, you understand, so we give him a certain latitude. We’re hoping you’ll be the right fit.”

“Oh, I’ll do my best,” she assured the woman, feeling a disquiet in her stomach that she could not dismiss. “Uh...”

“Yes?” Mrs. Dowd looked over her spectacles at her.

“What happens if he doesn’t like me? Will there be another position you can assign me to?”

The woman grimaced. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it, shall we?”

From her expression, Emily did not feel confident that she could transfer should she fail. Suddenly, she realized she could easily lose this job she had fought so hard to land! She took a deep breath and vowed to herself she would work hard to please her apparently demanding boss.

Mrs. Dowd knocked on the oak door and listened for a moment. When she heard no answer, she opened it and peeked in. When she pulled back, Emily thought she seemed relieved. “Mr. Caudry appears to be out for the moment. I’ll leave it to you to introduce yourself when he returns.”

The woman left quickly as if afraid to be around when Mr. Caudry returned, her heels clicking softly once she reached the linoleum of the cubicle farm. Emily stood and surveyed her domain, her mouth half-open in shock. Her area was about eight feet wide by six feet deep, partially hidden from the lowly workers beyond by a four-foot panel of dark wood that covered half of the entrance. A full wall separated this office from the one next to it. A tall filing cabinet stood against it. Her small desk sat just to the right of his door. A computer and phone were the only two items on it.

She wondered if this alleged ogre Mr. Caudry would allow her to place a small plant or a picture there. Emily sat down and swiveled the chair smoothly under her. Looking up, she noted how the paneling nearly hid her from the view of the cubicles. That made her smile. Emily vowed she would be the best damn secretary she could be. She felt she’d died and gone to heaven.

She needed this break. Her life had seemed to lurch from one crisis to another. Growing up in Kansas City, she never imagined she’d be in this position at age twenty-nine. Her life was supposed to have worked out by now. When she was a child, her father had been the center of her world—strong, handsome, caring—and very definitely the “man of the house.” He had been ten years older than her mother and she had loved him so deeply, Emily wanted to have that kind of relationship with a man when she was older. He protected the family and took care of things. And yes, her mother did dote on him. Perhaps that attitude would be considered old-fashioned now, she mused, but it worked for them.

When Emily went away to college she wasn’t really sure about what kind of career she wanted. It was an adventure to her—her first step toward a new life that she expected would mirror her mother’s, who had met her true love right after she graduated. There was no conscious thought of obtaining her “MRS degree"—she was far too modern for that outdated concept—but Emily did find herself looking at her dates as potential life mates.

Her world shattered in October of her sophomore year. Her mother called in a tearful panic—her father had died suddenly of a heart attack. She was distraught and unable to cope. After Emily got over the initial shock, she packed up her belongings and returned home. For the next five years, she took care of her mother, who had gone into a grief so deep it would seem she might never come out. Emily found herself in the role of caregiver, which wasn’t how she saw herself—she wanted someone to take care of her.

When her mother finally began to come out of her depression, Emily felt too much time had passed for her to return to college. She found a job as a store clerk and tried to find a life separate from her mother, though she still lived at home.

Her mother finally began to date, which pleased Emily, though she realized no man could take the place of her father. Still, it was encouraging to see her mother finding happiness again.

Emily began to date as well, but never seemed to meet the right kind of man. Most had been immature or stuck on themselves. That was, until Adam had come into her life. She met him through work. He reminded her of his father—sure of himself, as well as handsome and intelligent. His only flaw was his quick temper, but Emily felt she could change him.