Valeria
“Well,” he paused, thinking. “Usually, pretty girls like you are used for everything but actual work.”
“But didn’t you say, ‘If you can’t handle the job, you’re out’? Did I hear that right?” I maintained the same flustered expression I’d worn when I entered the room, though deep down, I was curious to see what else he’d come up with. The experiment had begun…
“You heard correctly,” he said, narrowing his eyes and studying me closely. “My name’s Max, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” I replied, feigning shyness. “I’m Valeria, but you can just call me Val.”
“Alright, ‘just Val,’” he smirked. “Let’s get to work. You wanted to know your duties, right? Here they are. First: do exactly what you’re told, no more, no less. Second: do everything on time. Your main tasks are to take calls, sort them, report to me who called and what they wanted, and then call them back with my responses. I’m not a fan of people, so you’ll be speaking on my behalf.”
“Understood,” I nodded.
“I’m not big on offices, so I work from home,” he continued. “That means you’ll be spending your workday here, at my place. Any issues with that? No jealous husband who’ll flip out later? If you’re married, you can pack your bags right now.”
“I’m not married, and I don’t have a jealous boyfriend either,” I said quietly.
“Perfect,” he grimaced. “Alright, take this,” he pulled a phone out of his pocket. “This one, with the clear case, is for tenants. Always answer their calls immediately,” he handed me the device.
“Got it,” I said, taking the phone.
“This one,” he pulled out another phone with a red case, “is for security and maintenance staff, our people among the tenants. Answer them right away too, especially if it’s security.”
I nodded and took that one as well. I couldn’t help but wonder how many more phones he had and why they couldn’t all just call one number. He seemed like a bit of a control freak…
“And this one,” he produced a phone with a gold case, “is for the board of directors. Answer them immediately too, but tell them I’m on an important call on another line and can’t talk right now, but I’ll get back to them as soon as I can.”
“Should I write down everything I hear?” I asked for clarification.
“Yes, always ask what they want, write it down, and pass it on to me,” he nodded. “But that’s not all,” he pulled out yet another phone, this one with a black case. “Never answer calls on this one. But every day, you’ll report to me if anyone called it and how many times.”
What kind of weird setup is this? I thought, but I kept a focused expression, nodded, and took the fourth phone. I probably looked ridiculous trying to juggle them all without dropping any…
“If you answer a call on this phone, I’ll fire you on the spot,” Max added.
“Understood. I’ll only report if it rings and how many times,” I repeated with the demeanor of an obedient student.
“Great,” he smirked. “Here, take this bag for them,” he grabbed a small crossbody bag from the table and handed it to me. “Keep the phones with you at all times.”
“Do I need to be here around the clock?” I asked, packing the phones into the bag.
“Well, ideally, it’d be great if you lived here,” he said thoughtfully. “Some clients and board members are in different time zones.”
“In principle, your mom did warn me about that,” I replied.
“I’m a bit wary that she’s the one who found you,” my new “boss” said unexpectedly.
“Well, I applied through a job listing. No one specifically sought me out. She mentioned you recently let go of your last assistant…”
“Oh, her boyfriend got on my nerves,” Max scoffed. “Had to fire her, though she was decent. Quiet, calm.”
“I hope you won’t have any issues with me,” I said.
“Alright, I’m heading to the gym,” Max said abruptly, turning his back to me and walking toward the exit.
I stood there, genuinely a bit confused now, not just pretending, as he left me alone in the room.
And right at that moment, one of the phones in the bag— I wasn’t sure which of these odd devices—suddenly rang.
I quickly pulled out one phone—not the right one. Then another—still not it. Meanwhile, one of the phones buried in the bag kept ringing insistently. Finally, I dug out another, and, of course, by Murphy’s Law, it was the last one left in the bag—the one with the black case.
I glanced at the screen; it just showed a string of numbers, no name. Well, I wasn’t supposed to answer it anyway, so I stuffed all the phones back into the bag, feeling a bit foolish.
A second later, another phone rang. I shoved my hand into the bag and, this time, pulled out the right one—it had the gold case.
I quickly answered the call, scrambling to find a piece of paper on the table, but there was nothing there. I darted to my own bag, pulled out a notebook and pen, and got ready to write.
“Hello,” I answered, a bit out of breath from the mini-sprint.
“Hello, can you get Max on the line?” a demanding male voice barked.
“Good afternoon,” I greeted, a tad late. “Max… uh…” I realized I didn’t know his middle name or how to address him formally. “He’s… on an important call on another line and can’t come to the phone right now…”
“Don’t lie to me. He’s just sitting at home and never answers calls! Get him now!” the voice snapped.
“But he’s really not available. Let me just write down…”
“He’s not available, or he’s on another call? Make up your mind!”
I wasn’t prepared for this kind of chaos. I was genuinely flustered now, but I pulled myself together and responded in a professional tone:
“Yes, it’s an important call, and he stepped out to take it privately. But he instructed me to write down everything you say, and he’ll get back to you with a response.”
“You’ve passed,” I suddenly heard, both through the phone and from behind me. Now the voice was familiar…
I turned around and saw Max. He looked just as serious as before—couldn’t he at least crack a smile? Clearly, he’d just pranked me. How did he even manage to change his voice like that? Still, I decided not to show any emotion. He wasn’t going to get a reaction out of me that easily.
“The black phone rang too,” I told him, handing over the device.
“That was me as well,” he smirked. “You could’ve figured that out. I thought you were smart, but maybe I was wrong…”
“Well, I’ve got a challenging case on my hands,” I thought to myself. “But that just makes observing him all the more interesting…”
Max
“Alright, now I’m really heading out,” I said, watching her closely. “You’re in charge of the calls. Lunch is at two. Come to the dining room and ask the security guard for directions.”
“Excuse me, would it be okay if I go home later to pick up some things?”
“Sure, but only in the evening, after ten. Until then, you need to be on the phones, and the phones aren’t allowed to leave the premises,” I explained.
“Understood,” she nodded. “Can I ask one more thing?”
“Go ahead,” I smirked.
She seemed to blush:
“Where’s the restroom?”
“If I told you to ask the security guard about the dining room, doesn’t it stand to reason you’d do the same for other rooms?” I countered with a question of my own.
“Okay,” she squeaked, clutching the bag with the phones.
“Don’t stress yourself out so much,” I sighed. “Fine, the restroom is straight down the hall, second door. Follow me,” I turned my back to her and walked into the hallway, then pointed at the restroom door. “I hope your memory’s decent enough to remember this the first time.”
She nodded, staring at the floor.
“See you at lunch, then,” I said curtly and continued down the hall without looking back.
I headed to the stairs leading to the second floor, went into the walk-in closet, grabbed some workout clothes, changed, and made my way back to the first floor. I walked to the pool entrance, stepped inside, and almost immediately dove into the water. The pool always helped me unwind.
I usually swam for about an hour and a half, then worked in my office for a bit before heading to lunch.
And today, I had no intention of breaking from my routine…
After getting out of the pool and changing, I headed back to the living room and unexpectedly ran into the new girl.
“What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t tell me where I should be,” she mumbled.
“Man, you’re a lot of trouble,” I grumbled, towel-drying my hair. “Fine, come with me. I’ll take you to my office. There’s a small room just outside it where you can sit.”
“Okay,” she said quickly, avoiding eye contact.
“I’m not naked, just wet,” I smirked. “What, are you…?”
“What do you mean?” she looked up at me.
“A prude?” I asked, holding her gaze.
“And if I’m not, will you fire me?” she shot back suddenly.
“More likely, I’d fire you if you are. I don’t want the extra hassle,” I replied just as quickly.
“So, should I bring a doctor’s note or something?” Val asked, sounding alarmed.
“Nah, your word’s good enough,” I said seriously. “We’re here,” I opened the door to a dual office space—two connected rooms, though the first was more of a pass-through. “You can work here.”
“Thank you,” she said, walking to the desk and sitting down. “Besides the phones, will I have any other duties?”
“Yeah, after lunch, we’re heading somewhere. Well, we’ll go together, but only you’ll get out. You’ll pick something up, come back to the car, and then head back in. It’s a long story. But I’m coming with you because you’re not allowed to take the phones off the property alone,” I explained.
“What’s so special about them?” she asked, eyeing the bag as if it might explode at any moment.
“They’re basically my entire business,” I replied. “Money—a lot of money. I’m not trusting them to you or anyone else outside this house.”
“So, you’ll stay in the car with the phones while I go pick up whatever you need,” she deduced.
“Exactly,” I nodded. “And if there are any calls on the way, you’ll answer them.”
“Got it…”
“For now, just sit here. I’ve got some work to do. I might give you another task later…”
***
Work felt tense today. It bothered me that there was someone sitting just outside my office door. I wasn’t used to this anymore. But I needed someone to handle the phones because all these people were driving me up the wall.
More than anything, I wanted the calls to the black phone to stop, but I didn’t have the strength to just toss the SIM card. It was mainly because of that phone that I’d set up the others in the first place.
But with an assistant, things should be easier. Maybe I’ll get used to ignoring that phone, and sooner or later, I’ll be able to disconnect it. Let her hold onto it for a month or so, and then I’ll ditch it. I’ll fire her too, and everything will be fine…