Tank was a guy who certainly lived up to his name.
While I wasn't considering myself short, meeting Tank gave me certain complexes and made me feel almost tiny. He was big, massively built and looked like he could bench-press a car without breaking into a sweat. To some degree, he was intimidating and a little scary, looking sternly at me and reminding me about a principal who was about to lecture you on something. And yet, I hadn't even done anything so far.
"Tank, meet Stephanie," Carlos introduced me a moment later, and I got more than just a curious look.
"Good to meet you, Stephanie," Tank said, offering me his hand after he had gotten up from behind his desk, making me feel even more tiny. "I have heard a whole lot about you and, according to him, you'll be making my life hopefully a lot easier."
"I see what I can do," I replied, still not even sure what it was that I was supposed to do to begin with.
A minute later, some contracts were pushed my way, and I was supposed to read them carefully before signing. "Any questions let me know," Tank said, handed me a pen and turned towards Carlos.
"Can I talk to you for a moment about a few issues that came up last night?"
They left the office a moment later and I was by myself, reading through dozens of pages of contract. I might not have had plenty of different jobs so far, but the contracts seemed standard, without any outlandish requests and demands. Once I had read through the main contract, I found a wide array of waivers, the aforementioned NDA and several documents that seemed to be manuals to what I would probably be working with. The waivers still freaked me out. The rational part of my brain understood the need and purpose of these, but it really felt like signing my life over to something unknown. I hadn't known Carlos a month ago, had never heard about his company and had not even the slightest idea about the man he was. While it would be a very far stretch to assume all this had been an elaborated scheme and I was making a mistake by signing most of these papers, I couldn't help but wonder.
"All done?" I heard Carlos behind me, entering with Tank in tow a moment later. I nodded, handed him the contracts and held on to the waivers. Before I could say or ask anything, Carlos must have spotted the unsigned documents.
"I know we usually do this differently, but we have Stephanie only sign the NDA for now and push the waivers to a later point," he remarked, and I saw Tank nod, looking uncertain though. "I don't think it will be much of a problem, since she'll be bound to a desk for the timing being. We revise in a few weeks' time."
"Okay," Tank just replied, noting down what I figured might be a date and looking slightly confused. I guess it really wasn't common for someone to not sign over their life right away – in a matter of speaking.
Before I could dwell on it any more, Carlos grabbed me by the elbow and guided me out of Tank's office and on our way we were once more. But we didn't make it too far, and I was well aware of a whole lot of eyes on me, or us, and all of them seemed way too curious. What on earth was going on?
"You must be Stephanie," someone said, blocking our way effectively. I saw a wide grin and mesmerizing green eyes that might have pulled me in for a second. Blonde hair that was styled in spikes and gave a very weird vibe, yet one that worked for him surprisingly well.
"Santos," Carlos more or less growled, as if issuing a warning.
"What? Can't I introduce myself to our newest hire? And definitely way more beautiful than our usual recruits. I have heard a lot about you already. Well… Maybe not a lot, but more than what we usually get through the grapevine."
"Grapevine?" I asked, shocked. Did I already make the office gossip before I even arrived? Oh god, hopefully not with speculations about Carlos and my relations, seeing as some of them probably had seen me get of that company jet.
"Ignore him. You are fine and nothing has been through any grapevine. He just tries to get a raise out of you or anything that might give him some advantage or intel," Carlos said, slightly annoyed next to me. "Lester Santos is best handled by ignoring his outrageous attempts at flirting or sweet-talking. He thinks he knows everything when, in fact, he is just good at getting information out of you that you think he already has."
Carlos pushed past Lester and took me with him, leaving me to simply wave his way and throwing a 'it was nice meeting you, I guess?' his way, before I was brought into another office. A nice office with large floor-to-ceiling windows, the most massive desk I had ever seen that also looked a little chaotic, with stacks of files on every possible surface the desk offered. For a moment, it reminded me of a light-version of my EE Martin desk when it came to the files. The stacks on mine had been higher, but then again my desk had also been smaller, so maybe this was a tie.
I watched Carlos get behind the desk and fish a manila envelope from somewhere, making me realize this was probably his office and his desk. And his files.
He handed me the envelope. "Your company badge as well as a token that grants you access to more or less every place in the building – starting with the parking garage as well as the gun ranch and ending on the sixth floor with the gym and the swimming pool."
"What's this key for?" I asked after a closer inspection.
"An apartment on the fourth floor," came his reply, and I was almost certain I couldn't hide my surprise and confusion.
"I...um...okay?"
"Technically, as an employee of RangeMan you have access to an apartment, though I know you probably have a place already. Most guys have their own place as well, but use the accommodation on site if they have to work double shifts and only a short time between their next shift. A double shift, though, isn't something that will apply to you."
"So, I get the key as a general handout?"
"No, in your case you actually will need to use the apartment. You are one of only two women RangeMan employs, so our facilities are restricted when it comes to restrooms or changing rooms for the gym. I hadn't really thought about it until just a few days ago and to be honest, I don't think there will be any changes anytime soon."
"Oh, okay, so...there's only two women working here?"
"Yeah, you and the housekeeper, who happens to be my aunt. She lives with her husband in the building as well as would be your first contact if you need anything. She takes care of the catering, the cleaning, the uniforms and everything else that falls her way."
"Good to know," I mused, still surprised that I'd be surrounded by men. Of course, the business I was changing into was primarily employing men, but I had never really spent a lot of time actually thinking about it and therefore understanding what that meant for me and future coworkers.
"Questions until now?" I heard Carlos ask his question followed by an expectant look.
"This... might sound odd, but maybe we can talk about my job and what you want me to do? Your explanations all seemed rather greyish in regard to what is expected of me."
"I guess you could say your position is under construction and we proceed as we go along and see what works and doesn't work."
I let his words sink in for a second, trying to process what had been said and couldn't help but wonder. "I...you didn't give me a job that doesn't exist because of what happened on our way from Fargo, did you?" I asked cautiously, wondering whether I was just paranoid in some way.
"What? No, of course not. I know what it looks like at first, but I guarantee you that whatever happened is no reflection on me offering you a job. Truth be told, someone who actually helps with the admin stuff and the paperwork and works a little in the background has been long overdue, but it was never really a priority. You happened to walk into my life at the right moment, and the little things you showed about yourself and your work ethic seemed genuine. You showed a side and said the right things without even knowing about me, my company, or a potential job."
"I wouldn't go as far as to say I said the right things or showed a good side, but well.. to each their own," I laughed, relieved that this wasn't a pity job.
"I would," he just replied in a serious way.
"How about we discuss what you are expecting of me? What my role is and the duties that fall into my responsibility? As you said, it's kind of like a work in progress, but there must be something that I start with and work my way into?"
"Sure," he agreed and walked around his desk a moment later. "How about we go to your office so I can show you a few things and systems you might need?"
"My ...office?" I asked, confused.
"Yes?" he replied questioningly, seeming confused by my confusion.
"I thought I would get a desk out there with everyone else?" I suggested, pointing outside Carlos' office and into the bullpen.
"As good as that would be when it comes to settling in and finding your footing with everyone, you probably get a lot more done in your own office. It might not seem like it, but a lot of the guys are incredible gossips, involving everyone and their mother whenever they have news. You lead a much quieter and more productive life in an office by yourself," he laughed, making me laugh in return. I got his point, seeing as my entire life at EE Martin had been spent in a bullpen and while I wasn't the go-to for new gossip and was hardly involved at all, it was hard to fade out conversations that took place around you.
And on our way we were.