Dictation
I don't own Creed. That pleasure/pain belongs to Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Fox Entertainment, (and now perhaps to Seed Productions from the latest rumors about the new Wolverine Movie).
A/N Ok at one point I realized that Victor Creed has to have some way of laundering all that money he makes on illegal assassination and terrorism, and since the comics have him shown in a more traditional business environment on several occasions, I wondered how he would deal with a Temp. As far as I know Creed Industries doesn't exist in the Marvel Universe but I think it should.
She rolled over in bed. Her alarm still had two hours before it went off, so what was that ringing in her ear. She realized it was the phone and reached over to answer it before one of her roommates did.
"Hello, this is Bron."
"Bronwyn, I am so glad I reached you. We need you to come into the office right away. We have a wonderful opportunity for you." Shit it was her 'career developer' at the temp agency.
"You woke me up two hours early, so what's the job?"
"Personal Secretary."
Now that sounded interesting, and the pay wouldn't be bad, with a title like that, but the last time she had a job like that it had turned out to not be worth the pay.
"Ok, I will be into the office in twenty minutes." It would take her that long to get her eyes open.
"We need you here in ten, they want you there one hour prior to the executive's arrival. He is VERY particular." Oh great, one of those.
"Fine." She hung up the phone and crawled out of bed. A quick, cold shower to wake her up and refresh the curl in her hair, a quick blow dry, so that the curls looked casually styled, instead of like bed head, and she decided against makeup. She could put that on at the office. She grabbed her best suit, hose and her conservative 'secretary' pumps out of the closet and threw them on. This job better be worth it.
She hailed a cab outside her apartment building and gave him a big tip when he got her to the temp agency before her ten minute deadline.
She knocked on the locked office door. There was still three hours till the agency actually opened. Her developer opened the door, looking like she had just climbed out of bed. Bron walked in.
"I am so glad you were available for this job, Bronwyn. This employer is very particular. He has a Personal Assistant you will be reporting to directly, you should only have to deal with the employer himself very rarely. The job is for three weeks. Evidently he only comes to the office a few times a year and only needs a secretary for those few weeks. The company's own secretarial pool didn't have anyone available to take the position so they called us."
"Ok." Bron said with a yawn. She slipped into the bathroom in the office and put on her makeup, nothing major, just enough to look professional. Light gloss, a little blush, some eyeliner, she thanked her mother for her flawless skin, so she didn't need foundation.
Her developer was standing at the door a slip of paper in her hand. "Here is the address. You need to report to personnel first, they will have further instructions." Bronwyn just glared at her and took the slip of paper, walking out the door and standing at the curb to hail a cab. She looked down at the slip. The address was in the 200 block of Fifth Avenue, the high end business district. Well that looked good. There had been some new construction in that area in the last ten years and several new business buildings. This address didn't look familiar to her, but that didn't mean anything.
She slipped into the cab, and gave him the address. He pulled up outside about fifteen minutes later. One nice thing about being out and about before most places opened, less traffic. She paid the cab and got out. This was one of the new buildings, across the entrance way were the words Creed Industries. She felt her stomach fall, oh shit. She could do this, she could do this, she could do this. She kept telling herself that. The front doors of the building were open and she told the receptionist she needed to go to personnel.
"Second floor and good luck." That didn't bode well.
She climbed the stairs, and walked to the door that said personnel. It was bustling already inside. She walked to the reception desk and handed them her slip from the agency.
"Mr. Anderson will be with you in a moment." Said the harried young woman at the desk, Bron watched the activity in fascination. They were like an ant hill that had been stirred with a stick. Finally an older man came out and indicated she was to follow him into an office.
"Miss Tillman, thank you so much for coming. This assignment is very important. Mr. Creed only comes into the office a few times a year, and frankly we like to accommodate him to the best of our ability. He is very particular. I see you are a good typist, with dictation skills and good interpersonal skills. I can tell you now, all of these will be tested to the limits of your abilities."
"Mr. Varden, Mr. Creed's Personal Assistant, will handle most of your job instructions, but I need to stress one thing, and make sure you understand, what Mr. Creed wants, Mr. Creed gets. If he wants his coffee a certain way, you bend over backwards to do it, he is a wonderful employer, as long as he isn't in the office, when he is here, well you can see the flurry of activity, and he won't be here for three more hours. You will be responsible for basic reception duties for his office, directing his appointments, seeing to their comfort, you will type documents, and you will do whatever work Mr. Varden assigns to you as directed. I have some documents I need you to sign, including a confidentiality agreement."
She just nodded and signed the papers. Mr. Creed sounded like a nightmare. She followed Mr. Anderson's directions to the elevators and took them to the top floor. She stepped out of the elevator and into a luxurious, paneled office, where a young woman just looked at her and pointed down the hallway to a large area near one of the outer walls off the building. At least she would have a view. She walked down the hallway, trying not to look into any of the offices to either side. At the end of the hall were two built in paneled desks, on either side of a set of large brass and glass double doors, inside the doors she could see a large oak desk, no chairs in front.
A middle aged man was sitting at one of the two desks.
"You must be the temp." He stood up, and took her hand to shake it.
"Bronwyn Tillman." She introduced herself.
"Miss Tillman, it is miss isn't it?" She nodded. "This is your desk, your user name and password for the computer are written down. You will primarily be responsible for typing and reception duties, unless I am away from my desk for any reason. Mr. Creed is very particular, he likes his coffee two sugar, one cream, and that is part of your job. He doesn't like it to get cold, and he drinks coffee all day. He has a set of coffee cups, near the pot, and he wants his coffee on his desk when he gets in, and it can't be cold. I recommend making it about three to five minutes prior to his arrival time and then pray." He smiled at her. "Good luck, Miss Tillman.
She sat down at the desk, and began to familiarize herself with the set up. Simple and to the point, just the way she liked it. There was a clock on the desk that was counting down; it was now less than one hour. She looked over at Mr. Varden questioningly. He just nodded, and started filing paperwork in the file cabinets behind his desk; countdown to D day. She logged into the computer and was surprised to see that she could access the security cameras that gave her an idea and she put the one for the front lobby and the main elevators on her task bar, she would see him before he came up.
She started coffee brewing in the coffee pot and found a cup that didn't belong to the set for Mr. Creed and poured her a cup. She was going to need caffeine this morning. She looked over at the clock on her monitor she had ten minutes. She pulled up the security monitors and watched, the clock counting down in the background. At five minutes till, a large man entered the lobby, and EVERYONE began fawning. That must be Mr. Creed. She went and fixed his coffee just as he entered the elevators and put it on his desk in the large office. She walked back to her desk, and Mr. Varden indicated that she shouldn't sit down. She stood there waiting for the elevator doors to open.
Open they did, and he was huge. Seven feet if an inch, broad as a barn, even in that expensive suit he was wearing. His long blonde hair was pulled back neatly in a pony tail, and his unusual dark eyes took in everything around him. He walked straight down the hall, briefcase in one of his large hands. He just glared at Mr. Varden as he passed between the desks, and then glanced her way, and stopped.
"Who the hell are you?" It came out as a growl.
"Bronwyn Tillman, sir." He nodded, and signaled Mr. Varden to follow him into his office.
She situated a mirror so she could see him at his desk. He was giving Mr. Varden some sort of instructions and just noticed his coffee. She smiled when he took a sip and put it back down, without stopping his instructions to Mr. Varden.
Finally the door opened, and she suddenly realized his office was soundproof. She hadn't heard a word that was said in there.
"I will be in taking dictation, as soon as I am done, I will give you the sheets to type, I have some errands to run for him, and he has appointments all morning. Mr. Tyner will be here at nine thirty. I have a list of his most common appointments and how they like their coffee. Just buzz him when they arrive and he will let you know when he is ready to see them. One more thing, you are going to have to keep an eye on him, make sure his coffee is always fresh. He is in a mood this morning, so other than that, just avoid him." He reached over and pulled up the calendar, she saw the morning was booked with appointments. She smiled and prepared for a long day.
Mr. Varden picked up his notepad and went back into the office, shutting the door behind him. She sat at the desk, looking over the list of clients, and how they liked their coffee. She went to the pot about three minutes before Mr. Tyner was supposed to show up and prepped his cup. She heard the elevator behind her and turned. He was a small man, looked like an accountant or something, and she smiled.
"Mr. Tyner, I will let him know you are here." She said as she handed the man his coffee. He just smiled, and looked her over appraisingly. She walked to the phone and buzzed into the office on the intercom. "Mr. Tyner is here." She didn't wait, just indicated that Mr. Tyner should sit down, and went back to the coffee pot. She heard his voice over the intercom at her desk, and she escorted Mr. Tyner in, and replaced his almost empty cup of coffee with the fresh one in her hand. Mr. Varden followed her out of the office, and smiled.
"Very smooth." He handed her about twenty sheets of shorthand and she sat down to start typing. The morning was quiet, with the only interruptions being his appointments arriving, and remembering to watch him with his coffee. She did her best to be invisible, efficient, and professional. Several of his appointments were obvious mutants, but she didn't mind. She had grown up around them, and these days no one seemed to care anyway. She did have one scare right before lunch. She had been so busy getting his dictation typed she was only looking at the next appointment, instead of looking down the whole list. Erik Lensherr, oh great, she looked at the coffee list, two sugar, black. Shit, shit, shit. She hoped to hell he didn't recognize her.
He stepped off the elevator, his black trench coat resting on his shoulders, his suit tailored, carrying a metal cane in one hand. She smiled and handed him his coffee, Mr. Creed's replacement cup ready.
"Mr. Creed, Mr. Lensherr is here." She said into the intercom.
"Send him in, and where's Varden?" He growled through the intercom.
"Running errands, sir" she replied. He just growled. She escorted Mr. Lensherr into his office and replaced the coffee cup. She started out the door, when Erik turned.
"Bronwyn, isn't it?" SHIT.
"Yes, Mr. Lensherr, nice to see you again." NOT.
Mr. Creed glared at her, and she suddenly felt like the frog in a biology class, ready for dissection.
"Yes, empathy wasn't it."
"Yes, but only a class one." She hoped they would let her go.
"I remember."
"That will be all." Mr. Creed snarled at her. She ducked out the door and shut it behind her. SHIT.
She sat back down at her desk and went back to typing. Just because she had been a student at Xavier's all those years ago, and just because she had a minor mutation, didn't mean she wasn't a damned good secretary. Just because she was working temp at the moment didn't mean she wasn't looking for a good job. She didn't know why she was suddenly nervous.
Mr. Varden came back, dry cleaning, and bags from stores in his hands.
"I hate his errands." He muttered. Bron laughed. He glared over at her. "Go to lunch."
She grabbed her purse and headed for the elevator. She was waiting, when she heard someone step up behind her, she didn't look back, just stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. Erik stepped into the elevator with her.
"It's been a while. How are you doing?" Shit she didn't want to make small talk with Magneto.
"Good, not easy holding a job as a mutant, but I do what I can. You know how it is, don't tell them and they fire you when they find out, tell them and you don't get the job."
He just looked at her. "No I don't know how it is."
She just looked down at the floor. Shit. The door opened, relieving her of the onus, and she smiled and said "Nice seeing you again" and slipped out the door. He gave her a strange look as he walked away.
She went to her favorite café and sat outside. The waitress took her order, and she sat, watching the crowds of people pass by.
"Hey. How's tha job goin?" Marie slipped up to the table with her.
"Like hell." Marie and Jubilee were her roommates. This was NOT a good job for her to try to keep.
"Oh, it can't be that bad."
"Oh, really, my boss is Victor Creed."
"SHIT"
"Yea, and he just found out I went to Xavier's"
"How'd he find out?"
"Magneto was his eleven thirty appointment."
"Oh shit. You are having a bad day."
"No shit, Marie. I just want to get through this, call the agency, and tell them I won't take the job tomorrow and forget it ever happened."
"Damn, is he all scruffy at the office?" Leave it to Marie to ask, with her crush on Logan.
"NO, expensive Armani suit, hair pulled back, shaved, to be honest, he looks kinda hot. I can't believe I said that about Sabertooth." She shuddered. "But he snarls and growls a lot so I can't forget who he is."
"Damn. Get out of there as quick as you can. If you ain't home by five, we are comin in after ya." That was sweet, but if they waited until five she might already be dead.
"I just hope he doesn't kill me after lunch." She whimpered. Her mantra started back up in her head. 'I can do this, I can do this.'
"Call me; let me know you are ok." How the hell was she supposed to do that?
"Just, if I don't make it home, send Wolvie."
"Right."
She stood up, and left the money for her lunch and the tip on the table. Marie would take care of the rest; at least working for Xavier paid most of the bills. Bron had been hoping she would be able to afford to pay her third of the rent this month. She hated the other two having to cover for her.
The lobby was quiet when she got back, and she had the elevator to herself. Dread was weighing her down, making the ride take forever. She hoped he was still at lunch, or better yet had taken the afternoon off. No such luck, she could see him sitting at his desk as she walked up.
Shit. She dropped her purse under the desk and went to make his coffee. Mr. Varden just looked at her, and she knew something was wrong.
"He wants to see you." Shit.
"Carpe Diem." She replied. Well, if she was going to die, at least he would get his damned coffee first.
"Your coffee, Mr. Creed." She said as she entered the door.
His chair was turned, and he was looking out the window. "Close the door." He hissed almost a whisper. SHIT. She closed the door behind her, and replaced his empty cup with the full one. She stood, empty cup in hand in front of the desk.
"You're a mutant?"
"Yes, Sir."
He heaved a huge sigh. Well he wasn't coming across the desk fangs and claws flashing, so she began to think she might live through this.
"Graduated from Xavier's I am assuming."
"Yes, sir, NYU for my bachelors degree in Business Administration." She watched the top of his head drop in a nod.
"You ever serve on the team?"
"No, sir, I am just a class one."
"Good. I don't like bad blood on my staff." His staff?"
She just stood there, waiting. "Be here at eight in the morning. You have paperwork to fill out in personnel. You will man the office when I am out, schedule appointments when I am in, and basically handle all mine and Varden's secretarial needs. Anderson in personnel will fill you in on all the particulars." She tried to swallow the squeak in surprise. He was giving her a job.
"Thank you, sir."
"Don't disappoint me." He snarled.
"No, sir."
"Get out."
She walked out the door, closing it behind her. SHIT, she was Victor Creed's executive secretary. How the hell was she going to explain that to Logan?