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 Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 2:23 am
Finding a "nice outfit" was a difficult task when one was on a limited budget.
Reid had scoured the racks of Goodwill, the Salvation Army and the local thrift store Trash to Treasure in hopes of finding something appropriate to wear for his first day at a proper job. The closest thing he'd found was a dress shirt a size too small and dress slacks a size too big so he'd settled on paying for the pants (which cost him three dollars and a two mile walk back to his apartment) and settling on a collared shirt he'd worn a few years back with a stain on the right collar - hopefully, if he kept his head tilted towards the right, his face would manage to hide the stain... for the most part.
It was still a surreal circumstance, for him, to be plucked up out of nowhere and offered a job by some pretty, albeit ridiculous stranger while delivering food for GrubHub one evening.
He'd lied on his application to the food service, stating he had a car when he clearly didn't, just so he could find another way to earn a few extra bucks that didn't involve selling his soul to the neighbors for odd jobs or flipping more burgers at the greasy McDonalds he worked at. He knew his streets pretty well, so fetching the food and then grabbing a bus or jogging his way towards his destination (usually a combination of both), he'd arrive at the buyer's home only a few minutes later than what was probably expected.
Most people who used the hoity-toity service were good enough tippers, making his choice to jump on the GrubHub wagon a sound one. He'd been delivering Chinese to this huge mansion in the wealthy part of DC when some pinkette had started yammering at him - both fussing at him for taking twenty minutes longer than her usual delivery boy and flirting with him because... well, he wasn't quite sure. It was odd, it was embarrassing and he was mortified when she pointed out that his car was missing from the long, extremely long driveway of the mansion.
But she hadn't called him out on his lie - she could have darn well reported him to GrubHub and had him dropped from the service but instead she had winked, of all things, and offered to set him up in one of her boyfriend's companies.
He'd declined and almost made it out of the doorway with his pride, up until she dangled the promise of at least a twelve dollar an hour pay.
..........
And, long story short, it was how Reid Covey found himself waiting uncomfortably in some large office-like area, avoiding the gaze of the secretary as he waited to be called in for his paperwork and assignment. He could have sworn it had all been some cruel joke - that she'd set it up to get him back for being late or something - but when he'd shown up at the office on the address she'd scribbled on the back of the receipt, sure enough, they'd been expecting him.
He didn't know exactly what he was getting into but for twelve dollars an hour starting pay, he was just about ready to sell his soul and find out.
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:00 pm
Jade wasn't suited to manage a company, not one the size of Argent Industries anyway, but it was a duty that had been thrust upon her and she hardly ever backed away from a challenge. Besides, Chase Black had placed his expectations on her shoulders and there was something about the weight of letting him down that kept her shoulders as straight as they could be while she attempted to navigate this difficult burden.
It certainly didn't help that Levi was still so very much entangled in her life and that there would likely never be a time, unless she left the city, where he wouldn't be. But her shields were up again, like they should've always been, and she was great at being an ice queen when she felt like it so that's what she was doing.
Jade did her best to avoid the two people in the building she couldn't stand to look at (for very different reasons) but she sucked it up and dealt with it when she had to. That's what happened when someone became the face and then more of the company.
And being more meant that she met with some of the new hires, most of them were of her own choosing, with input from Chase and his girlfriend, who didn't seem to like being left out of things if it involved her boyfriend and another woman, but this was a hire she had never met.
A secretary would have escorted Reid to another room, which Jade would walk into, a binder in her arms when she crossed the room to sit on the other side of the table from him.
"Hello," she greeted, polite and professionally, "Reid Covey was it?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:24 am
If he had anticipated waiting a lengthy time for the hiring person - a Ms. Argent, the secretary had named - Reid was clearly sorely mistaken for his assumption. The time he was planning on utilizing to rehearse his practiced comments was stolen away from him, eyes widening slightly as the white haired woman entered the room, soon taking her place across from him at the table.
The binder in her arms looked professional - hell, everything about this place screamed way more professional than you, Covey. and it made him swallow nervously. He was in over his head and it was clear that he was probably going to be kicked out on his thrift-store rump over the course of the next few minutes.
"Ye-Yes ma'am."
Hands fell into his lap, fingers clinging to one another as he planted his feet firmly on the ground.... at least, until he realized he should have probably risen when the young woman had entered the room.
Alarmed at his huge grievance, he immediately shot out of his chair and mumbled an apology, blood rushing up to his face as he soon returned to his seat - only after ensuring she was comfortably settled in hers.
Oh god - he was screwing this up, majorly!
"Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today," he quickly added in, trying to make up for his mistakes. "I was excited to hear that your company was hiring."
Granted, she didn't have to know that up until a couple days before, he didn't know the company even existed.
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:47 am
Her smile was her practiced, people smile, and she offered it his way before her gaze dipped down and she was flipping through the binder to the appropriate forms. A few were selected and slid before Reid, a pen offered along with them before she cleared her throat.
"We're always looking to add to our teams," she said. Argent Industries started as a media company but they were rapidly expanding, aiming to reach their fingers into all of the metaphorical cookie jars if allowed.
Reid Covey's application had been different than the others that had been pushed through and stamped by the Argen-Black-Stratford team. He didn't have half of the credentials that the other new hires had, but he'd been pushed through the hiring process anyway.
Jade suspected it had to do with Prissy wanting eye-candy after she overheard a conversation between her and Chase where she'd complained about how many women the company had employed. She hadn't stuck around for clarification, the conversation sounding more like a lover's spat than a professional one and, frankly, Jade had no issues with a predominately female staff.
Especially if it meant she saw less of one Miss Bright as a result.
The woman didn't seemed bothered by his flustered behavior or the fact that he hadn't stood when she'd arrived. She could easily chalk it up to nerves and a lingering glance made it pretty obvious to her that the man felt like he was out of his league. She elected to not comment upon how she could tell that his clothing was secondhand.
Some people liked thrift shopping, others did what they had to do.
"Before we get started, what did Miss Stratford tell you about the duties that you might be engaging in?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:52 am
The pen was gripped tightly, blue eyes skimming over the small print as he looked through what he assumed to be everyday, typical hiring paperwork. The company expects blah, blah, blah, the employee is responsible for yada, yada, yada. It was all fancier than most of the retail and fast food joints he'd been apart of but this was definitely[ more Big League than he'd ever taken on, as far as jobs were concerned.
At her question involving a Miss Stratford, the pen was ignored for a moment, the first of the set of pages having finally received his simple signature, along with the date.
"She, er... did not exactly explain any details," he confessed slowly, trying to appear amused and not concerned that maybe the admission would cost him this coveted paycheck. "She implied rather flippantly, if I recall, that you would... erm, find something for him?"
When the words tumbled from his mouth, he immediately regretted them. He wasn't a charity case and it was hard enough to endure the idea that the prissy, pink fluff of a woman was probably treating him like such.
Shoulders straightened back and he stared the woman down, chin rising in added effect.
"I promise I'm a hard worker, Ms. Argent. I may not know computers very well but I'm a quick learner and I'll do anything to get the job done - you won't be disappointed in me."
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:38 am
Every movement of Mr. Covey was assessed quietly. Her face was kept rather neutral but blue eyes followed his nervous movements. Reading people was an art that Jade was well versed in and it's what made her successful at what she did.
"Of course she didn't," Jade replied, her tone flatter but still pleasant and mostly professional. Priscilla didn't know anything about the company or their needs and didn't seem to care to learn but still expected a say. It was a little aggravating but Chase was the money behind the company and she had to give here and there.
The shift in his posture received a raised brow from her and the slight pursing of her lips. "Tell me what skills you have now and we'll work on placing you accordingly while working on areas we can teach you in."
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:28 pm
"Of course she didn't."
He didn't know why but the tone in which the words came across had him inwardly wincing in reaction. Clearly his (hopefully) future boss had some issues with the pink haired, high maintenance woman and like it or not, he was partially responsible for the aggravation Miss Jade Argent was now experiencing.
Crap.
At her responding question, his head was quick to nod and he appeared almost too eager to recite off all of the good qualities about himself. He'd brainstormed all morning what exactly he'd say to a question such at this one - it was his time to shine.
"I'm really good at fixing things - like, most everything." It was hard to say everything when he had little to no knowledge about how software worked but he sure as heck could fix the desk that a computer sat on. "I'm timely - real timely. I can stay as late as you need me to or come in as early as you want. Don't need many breaks - or any, really - and I can lift more than most guys my age. Just comes with the territory of fixing things and all - really good with my hands, I promise. I can tackle just about anything you want me to learn, I'm a fast learner, I swear."
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Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 2:02 pm
The edges of her mouth twitched, as if Jade was resisting the urge to smile. "Good with your hands, hm?" She mused, blue eyes dropping to the paperwork as she jotted something down.
Teeth tugged on her bottom lip when she tapped the base of her pen against her chin before she wrote something else down. "I don't know that we need a 'fixer'," she mused but her brows lifted and shoulders rolled back in a shrug.
"But, we'll take you on, on a trial basis." It was better than telling him no and Prissy had offered him a job, it wasn't fair to dismiss him because the girl was an airhead.
"Have you do errands and other things we need. Almost assistant or receptionist like, but not quite." She already had to teach one person how to be an assistant, she wasn't exactly looking forward to teaching a second person but that was what it was.
"I need to be your priority as does the company and everything we do. Understand?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:56 pm
"I'm very good with my hands, yes ma'am," he reiterated, remaining serious despite the slight irritation he internalized at having to repeat himself. What didn't make sense about that??? He had hands and they were great hands - he could fix practically any problem he put them on.
But then, she said it:
A trial basis.
This meant he wasn't officially-officially hired yet but it didn't mean he was dismissed, either. He was going to have to prove his worth to stick around, to make a decent amount's pay with the hope of making even more in time.
Sure, she didn't need a repairman at the moment but maybe over time they'd figure out that there were things that he could do that all of these silly techno-geeks couldn't.
He could only hope, at least.
"Anything you need will be my priority," he echoed back firmly, nodding his head for emphasis. He could certainly put the company before anything else -- not that he really had anything else to distract from. "You won't regret this, Miss Argent. I appreciate the opportunity you're giving me with this."
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Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 11:50 am
Her comment went right over his head and Jade shook her head slightly, suppressing the amused smile that threatened to take over. Loose hair was tucked behind her ear before she busied herself with fishing out the official hiring forms.
"Three-month trial period and then you'll go through a review with me as we monitor your progress and contributions," Jade explained when she slid paperwork over to him. A pen was produced and set on top of the stack.
"Fill these out, its for HR." In case he'd never quite interacted in this type of an employment setting before. "Do you have any questions? You'll be eligible for insurance, if you need it, immediately and the forms are provided in that stack.
Her lips pursed, eyes narrowing in thought. "For the first while, I'll have you working with me. I have an assistant but it won't hurt to help you get accumulated considering the other hires have specialty areas." Her smile was warm enough when it flashed his way again.
"I think you'll do fine Mister Covey, or we'll get you there." A pause, because she looked like she was considering him. "Do you have any questions?"ghouliboo you can probably wrap us up
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Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:34 pm
Three months.
He had three months to prove his worth or be shown the door. Ninety days.
Reid swallowed hard as he lifted the pen from on top of the papers, blue eyes glancing over the sea of words written in tiny little font all across the forms. Words and phrases looked very official - no doubt foolproof ways for Argent Industries to keep or drop the poor man at any time they please, provided he sign his name away to their company.
With the need for money so dire... what other choice did he have?
Eyebrows rose as he scribbled his signature, gaze flicking up towards the woman who seemed very assured of a young man she'd just met. A young man who'd been promised a job by some flighty pink haired woman --- but it was a job he planned on acing, no matter what it took.
"The only question I have," he said with a smile, though slightly forced in an attempt to overcome his nerves, "... is when may I start, Miss Argent?"
Reid Covey had gotten a job and he was going to keep it by any means possible.
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