A/N: People might be a little surprised to see already another update so soon, but I really, really want to finish this story sooner rather than later. That being said, I'm obviously not rushing this to an end, but try to work on it as often as I can. Right now I'm writting on chapter 17 and hope to have this wrapped with a nice, even 20. Let's see how that works out, shall we?
followed him out of his office and a short way to what would be my office, noticing quite a few curious looks from people around. It wasn't like all conversations stopped the moment we left his office, but it was noticeably quieter all of a sudden.
"The door is equipped with an electronic keypad. You choose the code yourself and while it isn't necessary to actually lock the door every time you leave your office, there might be times when something a little sensitive comes your way that doesn't need to be seen by everyone."
Pushing the door open, I was faced with something that could be described as chaos with a view. The windows behind a rather impressive desk were just like the ones in Carlos' office: floor-to-ceiling and huge. Almost the entire back wall was windows, giving the room an impressive amount of light. There were two visitor chairs large floor lamp and some lower than well as standard cabinets. The desk itself was standard: pencils, lamp, trays for order as well as a computer, which didn't look like it was neither assembled nor connected to any power outlet. And then there were boxes, loads, and loads of boxes.
"Since you agreed to start working sooner than what I had anticipated, I didn't really get around to making sure your office was ready. We used the space more or less for storage the last few years," Carlos explained, seeming slightly flustered. In all fairness, I had seen offices that looked a lot worse and were actually used. So, for a place that had been some sort of storage facility, this could have been way, way worse. At least it didn't seem dusty from the looks of it, and it wasn't like the entire office was holding mountains and mountains of boxes. There were maybe 15 or so, divided into 3 stacks.
"That's not a problem and I hate sounding... um...smug, but how exactly do you want to show me a few systems when the computer does not look like it could do anything?"
"Easy," he replied, almost amused. "I'll have Hector from IT set it all up while I take you on a tour and pretend that had been my plan all along."
I laughed at his honesty and the fact that he said it with a smile. "You can leave everything you don't need either here or in my office, and then I'll show you around and introduce you to everyone. We will also stop at Bobby's medical office, so you'll meet him and know that I don't ask you to sign your life over."
Right, the disclaimers or waivers or whatever. I had already forgotten about them, despite the fact that it had been less than an hour since they were mentioned to me for the first time.
"Sounds good," I replied, and a moment later we were on our way again. Carlos had called Hector, told him what needed to get done, and led me out of my own office back onto the floor. I still saw plenty of curious eyes watching me, looking like they were debating with themselves whether to take the plunge and ask whatever they meant to ask. But no one did even say a word, their eyes shifting between me and their boss next to me. Turns out no one needed to really ask anything, since Carlos started introductions only a few moments later.
"Everyone around, I'd like you all to meet Stephanie Plum, who'll try to take on most of the administrative work as well as paperwork from me and Tank. She comes to us with a wealth of experience and a work ethic that will put most of you to shame. I let all you introduce yourself over the course of time."
O-kay, that was definitely an introduction I might have done slightly differently. I wasn't entirely sure what he referred to as a 'wealth of experience' since my only job since college had been EE Martin and he hadn't even seen a single CV from me to know that. But then again, this was a security company and I wouldn't be too surprised if they had ways of getting their hands on information.
"It's nice to meet everyone," I said, a little intimidated by all the eyes on me all of a sudden. The small wave I did with my hand was probably totally unneeded, but I blamed nervous energy on that.
"It is soooo nice to meet you," I heard a voice to my left and turning my head, saw a familiar face from earlier. Before I had come up with his name, Carlos to my right more or less growled "Santos!"
"What?" Lester asked, an innocent expression covering his face. I might not know him very well, but even I didn't buy the innocent act. "You just said 'introduce yourself'. That's what I'm doing after my first attempt was cut short, thanks to you."
Carlos just stared at him for a long moment, seeming like he wanted to roll his eyes.
"I believe you already introduced yourself," Carlos more or less barked, giving me an interesting view of how it might be around here normally. He had mentioned barking out orders, after all.
"Not properly," came as a reply and I was worried about how far this guy thought he could push a button or two, since it was obvious this was what he was doing.
"I'm Steph," I said as a form of intervention - and maybe also in order to save a life. It was rather stupid, seeing as everyone already got my name, but well...
"I'm Lester," he just said, grinning, before looking at Carlos. "Someone with manners, at least."
Oh boy, he seemed to like living a dangerous life.
"So what is it that you do? Like...what's your job here?" I asked, hoping to create maybe a distraction and also make some form of first introduction. Maybe he was the head of HR and could be my best friend whenever I needed a favour in the future. Though, looking at him, he didn't strike me as very HR compliant, so that guess was maybe off.
"What don't I do?" he asked, looking at me with a wide grin and showing me some very perfect teeth in the process. "I do literally everything."
"As does everyone else," Carlos to my left said as clarification which dampened Lester's smile for one moment. But only for one.
"But no one does it as well as me."
"I'll take your word for it," I admitted, amused myself. Judging by the expression on Carlos' face, he had different opinions on that matter.
"Now that my cousin made sure he made an everlasting first impression, we move on and everyone else can get acquainted with you at a later stage," Carlos decided and a moment later we were on our way to continue my tour - or get it started.
While I found the idea of a tour nice, I hoped Carlos - or anyone for that matter - didn't expect me to remember anything and the location of most places. The gym and gun range were maybe easy to find, but being asked about one of the numerous conference rooms was more of a challenge. Most of them were on the first floor, with a few scattered on to the second as well. The third floor held a few offices in which IT could be found - though IT was a very narrow word for their field of expertise. Apparently, they also were responsible for all the equipment as well as the technology that came with security.
There were large storage rooms that hosted a wide variety of everything you could imagine: smartphones, surveillance and security cameras, a small selection of electric panels - probably for home security systems - as well as things I couldn't even start to imagine what they could be used for. Carlos explained to me that the remaining space of half of the floor was also storage for housekeeping and janitor and stocked whatever they needed on a daily basis.
The other half of the third floor was all dedicated to the welfare of employees: the medical offices. I had expected my little tour to continue with them, but Carlos had other ideas.
"I'd rather leave that for the end. Also, I believe Bobby's in a meeting and wouldn't have time right now, anyway. We'll come back later for that."
The fourth floor was quickly dealt with since the entire floor was made up of employee apartments and we only actually went on that floor to test my keys. While I certainly wasn't needing the apartment as accommodation, I had to admit the small space was better-looking and definitely better equipped than my own place. Maybe I should reconsider?
It wasn't a big place, but it held everything you could technically need. While not luxurious, it was still better equipped and designed than a lot of more normal places.
"They are mainly used by new hires who relocate to Trenton and need a place to stay in the meantime until they find something of their own. Some of the more senior employees share a place between them for double shifts or triple shifts - though the latter hardly ever happens outside flu season."
"Is there a large demand for one of these?" I asked, curious. Trenton wasn't New York City or Los Angeles, where rent was through the roof and you could take years to find an affordable and semi-decent place. There was a wide selection of places throughout the city and I figured if you relocated, it wouldn't take you a month to find something. Maybe not even a week.
"Yes and no. As mentioned, a lot of the guys more or less share a place for when they need to crash between shifts. And the new hires usually find a place in a short time. A few others move back in occasionally when they want to save money in order to get the deposit for a house set aside. But that's about it. You can store a few things here as well, if you want. Or use it as a place when you need to get away from everyone for a moment," he laughed, and I started getting the slight feeling that working for RangeMan would be very different from working for EE Martin. Just the thought of me leaving my desk due to non-work related things - even if only for a minute - during the day was unheard.
"Do you think I'll need to escape that often?" I asked, amused, seeing him think about my question.
"I'm not going to lie. Some of the guys can be ... exhausting. Especially Lester, who is a great guy but gets distracted easily by everything shiny or pretty. The good thing is you can just tell everyone to get lost if it gets too much and they stop you from getting work done. I'm just going to warn you that because you are pretty much the only woman employed, things might need a bit of time to shift to a state of normal. Some of them might go out of their way for your attention or to show off one way or another. If it gets too much, let me know."
"As long as they don't start stalker-tendencies I guess I can handle it. But thanks for the heads-up," I admitted, wondering how odd a woman working here really was.
"I'm certain that apart from Santo you have nothing to worry about and with him you can pretty much hit him and I won't care." Judging by the amusement in his eyes, it was meant as a joke.
"He seems to be quite the troublemaker," I concluded and heard Carlos only laugh loudly.
"He has a somewhat special status, seeing as he is my cousin, and therefore thinks he can get away with more than the rest."
"He's ... your cousin?" I asked, surprised. I thought I had heard him say something similar earlier but figured I misheard - or that he referred to someone else.
"Yes. I know we look nothing alike and character-wise we are worlds apart as well. That's why whenever he becomes too much for you, just hit him. I authorize it," Carlos laughed again, and this time I joined the laughter.
After the apartments, it was up to the sixth floor, where the gym and pool were located.
"What's on the seventh floor?" I asked once we were back in the elevator and making our way down to the third floor for the last stop on this show-and-tell.
"My own apartment."
"It takes up an entire floor?" I asked, astonished. The building we were in wasn't particularly small and seemed to be rather straight going up. So, the size of previous floors would therefore be the same size his apartment was on. Before he could reply, the doors opened again, and I saw the third floor once more.
Time to meet the doctor, I guess.