| Nov 7, 2005 |
| 11/07/05, 11:30 AM, 2,397 Words |
Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s personal assistant, Charlotte George, was wanted to decrease her hours at the ministry. Charlotte’s mother was sick and in the hospital. Charlotte had been asking Dr. Adkins-Garnett to get a replacement for her for at least two weeks without much success. Charlotte had suggested Dianne, but Dr. Adkins-Garnett had ignored Charlotte over and over. Charlotte knew that Dr. Adkins-Garnett was stalling for some reason. Every time that Dianne came into the office, Charlotte managed to talk to Dianne about her work history. It was a hard task, but after a few tries, Charlotte had found out that Dianne had gone to secretarial school; the same one that Charlotte had gone to, although they went there 5 fives years apart. Charlotte had told Dr. Adkins-Garnett this information, but Dr. Adkins-Garnett seemed uninterested.
Charlotte walked into Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office, “Dr. Garnett, did you talk to Dianne yet about taking my place?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett looked up at the constant annoyance that was Charlotte, “No, I haven’t. I have until the end of November, why are you rushing me?” Charlotte smiled, “You do realize that it is November 5th.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett cut her eyes at Charlotte, “Yes, I know what the date is.” Charlotte laughed at Dr. Adkins-Garnett, “Don’t cut your eyes at me. Why are you stalling on this?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett made a face at Charlotte, “I am your boss. You shouldn’t talk to me like you are talking to me.” Charlotte sat down in a chair in front of Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s desk, “I know. I am going to sit in your office until you tell me why you are stalling. I already told you that Dianne is qualified. I like her. Plus, she knows how to dress, talk, and act. She would be a good secretary for you. I know that she wouldn’t take any stuff from you either.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett made a face at Charlotte, “you are going to worry me about this all day aren’t you?” Charlotte nodded, “Yep. You need to go ahead and do this, so I can train her. Oh yea, my mother told me to thank you for coming by last week. You brightened her day. I am not sure how long she has to be in the hospital this time. Her cancer has gotten worse.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett stared at Charlotte. Charlotte was a strong woman. Her father had died two years ago. It was hard on her mother and the rest of the family. Dr. Adkins-Garnett had only seen Charlotte break down once, during the whole time. Dr. Adkins-Garnett knew that she had to make a decision, but she was not sure that she wanted to do it now. Charlotte was used to Dr. Adkins-Garnett spacing out on her. Charlotte said, “Dr. Garnett, what are you thinking about?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett batted her eyes, “Why you keep worrying me about this?” Charlotte laughed, “I am going to call Dianne and ask her to come up here at 2:30. You can talk to her then.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett frowned at Charlotte, “You’re not the boss of me.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett licked her tongue out at Charlotte as Charlotte said, “Yes, I am. That’s what you pay me to be.”
Dianne answered her phone, “Hello. This is Dianne.” Charlotte said, “Hello, Dianne. It’s Charlotte George. How are you?” Dianne smiled at how professional Charlotte sounded before she said, “I am doing good. What can I do for you?” Charlotte responded, “Are you free at 2:30 this afternoon? Dr. Adkins-Garnett would like to talk to you.” Dianne paused before she responded, “Uhh, yea, I am free. What does she want to talk to me about?” Charlotte responded, “I am not really sure.” Charlotte silently repented for lying before she asked, “Can you meet her up here today?” Dianne said, “Yes, I will be there.” They said goodbye to each other and then hung up the phone.
Charlotte got up from her desk and walked into Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office, “Dianne is going to be here at 2:30. Do you want me to write you out a list of question to ask her?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett looked up, “I think I know how to conduct an interview. I interviewed you, didn’t I?” Charlotte leaned up against Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office door, “Yes. Dr. Garnett, seriously, I need you to do this. You promised me that you were going to do it.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett sighed, “I am gong to do it.” Charlotte responded, “I am not leaving. I just need fewer hours, that’s all. I will still be around to get you out of trouble, especially with Hazel Carter.” Both of the women laughed. Dr. Adkins-Garnett said, “Alright. I will do it and be serious. What if Dianne says no?” Charlotte shifted, “You have got to convince her to say yes.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett frowned, “Since you are so good at getting me out of trouble, why do not you just talk her into doing it?” Charlotte smiled, “I am not the boss.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett rolled her eyes, “You need to quit being so smart.” Charlotte smiled as she left Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s door.
Dianne arrived at the By Example Ministries office at 2:10 PM. She sat out in her car in the parking lot for a few minutes. She was trying to figure out what Dr. Adkins-Garnett wanted to talk to her about. Dianne could not figure it out. At 2:25, Dianne got out of her car and walked to the building. When she walked in, Charlotte was sitting at her desk. Charlotte stood up when Dianne walked in, “Hello, Dianne. Dr. Garnett is waiting on you. You can go right in.” Dianne didn’t even have a chance to catch her breath. She looked at Charlotte. Charlotte smiled at Dianne. Dianne walked towards Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office. She looked back at Charlotte before she entered the office. Charlotte was not paying Dianne any attention.
Dr. Adkins-Garnett looked up when Dianne walked into the office, “Hello.” Dianne looked Dr. Adkins-Garnett up and down before she responded, “Hello. What did you want to talk to me about?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett looked nervously at Dianne, “Just get straight to the point, huh.” Dianne sat down in a chair in front of Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s desk, “Sorry. I figured it must be important because Charlotte ushered me right in here without saying anything to me.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett smiled, “she is in a mood today.”
“Ok. So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“There you go again, rushing me. Do you have somewhere to be or something? No.”
“That’s good. How are you doing today?”
“I am fine and how are you?”
“I am doing well. Thanks for asking.”
Dianne stared at Dr. Adkins-Garnett. Dr. Adkins-Garnett appeared to be stalling for some reason. Dianne said, “You are acting weird, what’s going on?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett made a face, but didn’t say anything. Dianne stood up and walked out of Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office. Dianne walked over to Charlotte, “Charlotte, what is wrong with that woman in there. She is acting weirder than usual.” Charlotte looked in the direction of Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office. Charlotte rolled her eyes. Charlotte looked at Dianne, “Can you come with me? I knew that woman was going to make me do this.” Charlotte grabbed a pad and pen. She started walking to a conference room, with Dianne following her. After they entered the conference room, Charlotte closed the door and sat down in one of the chairs. Dianne followed suit. Charlotte smiled at Dianne, “Sorry about all of this. She has been putting this off for two weeks.” Dianne frowned, “Putting what off?”
“You know my mother is sick right?”
“Yea, I know about that.”
“Well, I need to cut back on my hours to take care of her and Dr. Garnett needs to find a replacement for me. I suggested you, but she has refused to talk to you about it.”
“Why has she refused to ask me?”
“I do not know. She can get in a mood and act crazy. I scheduled this meeting with you so that she could interview you, but she is acting crazy, so I guess I have to do it. Do you think you would want to work here and for Dr. Garnett?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“I figured you hadn’t. I know you went to The Franklin Secretarial School, so I know that you have a good educational background.”
“That’s right; you said that you went there, too.”
“Yea, I did. Have you worked as a secretary anywhere?”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
Dianne was quiet for a second. She frowned, “It is a long story and I don’t like talking about it, much.” Charlotte made a face, “Ok, can you tell as much as you can?” Dianne grimaced, “I helped my ex-boyfriend run the house. I kept track of his personal appointments, trips, and finances.”
“Oh. I guess the break up was pretty bad, since you do not like talking about it?”
“Yea. It was very bad. I haven’t had any other secretarial experience. I am a very good secretary. He was audited by the IRS, and everything was in order. I think the auditor wanted to offer me a job with the IRS.”
“Do you think Dr. Garnett would be harder or easier to work for than your ex?”
Dianne laughed, “Easier to work for Dr. Adkins-Garnett. At least I think it would be.” Both of the ladies laughed. They talked for awhile longer. After awhile, Dr. Adkins-Garnett walked into the conference room. Charlotte said, “We do not need you.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett made a face, “I didn’t ask you if you needed me.” Dianne said, “We are doing fine without you.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett made the same face at Dianne, “I didn’t ask you anything either.” Dianne rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe you.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett made an innocent face, “What did I do?” Charlotte answered before Dianne could, “You know what you did when you did when you did what you did.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett made a face, “Whatever. I’m leaving.” Dianne said, “You really should.” Dianne and Charlotte laughed as Dr. Adkins-Garnett left the room.
Dianne looked at Charlotte, “Is she always like that?” Charlotte smiled, “Naw. There must be a reason she is acting like this. If I felt like it, I could press her and find out, but I do not feel like going through that today.” Dianne looked puzzled, “What does all that mean?” Charlotte said, “Sometimes, when something is bugging Dr. Garnett, you have to drag it out of her by asking her questions. It can be nerve racking at times. This is probably one of those times when it would take forever to drag it out of her, too.” Dianne tilted her head, “OK. Anything else?” Charlotte looked at the paper in front of her, “No, that’s it. You can go try to talk to Dr. Garnett if you want to.” Charlotte stood up and Dianne followed suit. They both walked out of the conference room. Charlotte went to her desk. Dianne went into Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office.
Dr. Adkins-Garnett was reading a book when Dianne walked in. Dr. Adkins-Garnett looked up at Dianne, “Hey.” Dianne frowned, “Do not hey me. Why didn’t you just talk to me about working for you?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett looked down at her book and then back at Dianne, “I don’t know.” Dianne sat down as she said, “I k now that you weren’t scared to ask me if I would work for you.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett made a face, “No, I was not. Maybe I just do not want you to work for me.” Dianne laughed, “I don’t believe that for a second. As much as I am up here, at your inviting. What is the real reason?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett bit her lip. She didn’t want to tell Dianne that she didn’t want to ask her because she didn’t want her husband to be right. It was stupid, but that was what stopped Dr. Adkins-Garnett from talking to Dianne. Dianne looked at Dr. Adkins-Garnett, “Well, are you going to tell me?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett shook her head no. Dianne responded, “Well, then, I am not going to come work for you.” Dr. Adkins-Garnett face didn’t change, “That doesn’t bother me one way or the other.” Dianne twisted her lips, “I bet it doesn’t. I am leaving. Bye.” Dianne stood up and exited the room before Dr. Adkins-Garnett could respond. Dianne walked out of Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office and over to Charlotte’s desk, “Bye Charlotte. I will think about what we talked about and let you know.” Charlotte said, “Ok, thanks.” They said their goodbyes. Dianne walked out of the building.
Dianne was half way to her car when a thought hit her. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, to head back into the building. She walked through the front door and walked into Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office. Charlotte was in the office with Dr. Adkins-Garnett. Dianne acted as if she didn’t see Charlotte and asked Dr. Adkins-Garnett, “Does this have anything to do with your husband saying that I would end up working for you before long?” Dr. Adkins-Garnett looked astonished. Charlotte looked at Dr. Adkins-Garnett and then at Dianne and then back at Dr. Adkins-Garnett. Charlotte could tell by the look on Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s face that Dianne had figured out what was going on with Dr. Adkins-Garnett. Dr. Adkins-Garnett looked at Dianne and then Charlotte. Dr. Adkins-Garnett said, “Ok, I need you all to leave.” Neither Charlotte nor Dianne moved. Dr. Adkins-Garnett made an angry face, “I told you all to leave. Now, leave.” This time Charlotte moved. She grabbed Dianne by the arm and ushered her out of Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s office. Dr. Adkins-Garnett’s last words were, “Close the door behind you.” Dianne closed the door as they left.
Dianne stopped moving and asked Charlotte, “What is wrong with her?” Charlotte said, “I do not know. She is having a moment. I can’t believe you figured out what was going on with her. That’s probably what’s bugging her. Do not worry about it. All we have to do is wait like 20 minutes and she will be okay.” Dianne made a stern face, “I ain’t waiting for that bitty. She can call me if she wants to talk to me. I am leaving.” Charlotte waved at Dianne as she left the building. |
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